Barnacle Bill Magazine March 2016 issue 3 | Page 7
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Janice Meek, who took part in the first Atlantic rowing Race in 1997, completing the crossing with her son,
Daniel in a wooden rowing boat Jan has been an adventurer and motivational speaker since. She kindly sent
us the following on Kenneth:
KENNETH CRUTCHLOW – An appreciation
Friend, ocean rower and adventurer Jan Meek writes ..
Everyone who ever met Kenneth and then had the privilege to become his friend has wonderful memories
of times spent with him. Mad, happy, frenetic and enthusiastic, whether at his home in London, where he
and Tatiana were always so hospitable, Los Gigantes, La Gomera, Barbados, or Antigua, he was a wonderful
person to know.
There are so many stories, but my son Daniel and I have a special memory of our first actual face to face meeting, which came about when Kenneth, having heard a radio interview with Daniel about the first Atlantic
Rowing Race, got in touch.
Daniel and I had managed to borrow the Prototype Ocean Rowing Boat for a weekend of press opportunities
at Wargrave on the Thames. We had Regatta Magazine, Central News Television and the Sunday Telegraph
all coming along to interview us. We suggested to Kenneth this would be a great chance for us to finally meet,
which we did.
What makes this meeting particularly special is that we introduced Kenneth to the Telegraph Journalist and
at the end of the article he mentioned Kenneth and ‘The Ocean Rowing Society’. Kenneth gleefully told me
this was the first time the Society had appeared in the press.
That might seem hard to believe today, when ocean rowing is a more established extreme sport, but back then
there had been no races. Only 22 people had ever rowed an ocean. Ken kept the flame of ocean rowing alive
then, and I have no doubt that both the sport and the Ocean Rowing Society he loved will continue to thrive
- in no small part due to his hard work and dedication.
Daniel and I are proud to have been part of that momentous moment and to have been friends with this remarkable man.