A 23-foot ocean rowboat.
No sails, no motor,
just two pairs of oars.
Solar panels to power the watermaker.
A 90-day supply of food.
A husband and wife team
with a desire for adventure
and an intense determination to succeed.

Rowing across the Atlantic
3,000 miles in 53 days

Atlantic Caper

Video by Ray Jardine
Available in DVD or VHS

Run time: 48 min.

Our program "Atlantic Caper" begins with us taking the boat for our first spin, in a marina on the Channel Islands between the UK and France. For it was there that the previous owner lived.

Returning to Arizona, we spend six months training on our rowing machine, while preparing our food and gear. To me this is the most grueling part of the journey, since I have little patience to sit at a rowing machine. But the perseverance paid off.


In the video Jenny describes some of our gear, then we are whisked away to the Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa. Here we rendezvous with the boat once again, and begin three-weeks of dawn-to-dusk refurbishing. And of course we take the boat out into the bay for conditioning and to test the solar-powered watermaker and electrical systems.

Two days before departure we wheel three fully-loaded shopping carts across town, in succession, provisioning the boat with bottled water, used as ballast, and groceries.

Then comes the long-anticipated morning of departure. The wind is calm, the sky blue, the waves mild, and in the first couple of hours our hands blister. But it's all good, and the overriding emotion is that of unbridled joy.

And so the journey unfolds, day by glorious day. And I might note that while producing the video I kept the scenes in their proper sequence. I left the viewer to understand that when midnight turns to mid-day in a flash, or rough seas to flat calm, the stark transition is caused by the passing of time.

How true that the adventure proved to be everything we expected. And contrary to what some might imagine, the beauty of the open ocean was unsurpassed.


Yes, we encountered some rough weather. And unfortunately the more harrowing incidents went un-filmed. Such as waves up to 30 feet tall that threatened to crush the boat into matchsticks. A few lesser waves almost succeeded, or so it seemed. In the black of night one engulfed the boat and me up to my armpits, breaking an oar and sending gallons cascading into the cabin.

Midway across the ocean we lost the wind. The tropical sun glared intensely, but fortunately there was a lot of cooling rain. Unfortunately almost all rain occurred at night. Night after night, week after week, we rowed in intermittent rain. But thankfully we dried, soon as each cloudburst moved on.

Then at last - on day fifty three - we sighted land on the distant horizon. Barbados!

A pair of 40' powerboats kindly escorted us around the island. "Lionheart" skippered by Chris Rogers and "Serenity" by David Peterkin motored slowly alongside us for some six hours, making sure we were not swept onto the dangerous reefs by the wind and current.

Naturally, while producing the video I could not resist including a couple of skydiving scenes. Shown are one of our free-flying routines, and two skyball jumps.

See also: Atlantic Row

David D. : "I recently bought Ray and Jenny's new video "Atlantic Caper". What a wonder, rowing across the Atlantic! That two people can not only have the audacity to dream of doing such a thing, but then to actually do it! If you have seen the video, you may know what I mean. If not, let me give you a little "audacity checker" exercise...

Go back to Ray's Home page www.rayjardine.com and scroll the graphic of "Atlantic Caper" into view.

What do you see...ocean, boat, couple of people...now look closer still and what do you really see. Ray and Jenny in the middle of the Atlantic ocean in a boat that is unfathomably small being powered by those two people alone using those two oars.

Now, put yourself in that boat, just you and one other person...quietly examine your feelings as if you were there...what thoughts and emotions arise?

Now you know how you might feel on such a journey!

For an inspirational treat, if you are interested, definitely buy the video and see Ray and Jenny in the real situation that you just envisioned. In this video Ray and Jenny are sharing a gift. At a certain level "Atlantic Caper" can be thought of as instructional video on how one might live life to the fullest ( and I don't necessarily mean buying a rowboat and crossing the Atlantic). From shore to shore and from take off to landing, what always comes through from Ray and Jenny is a love of life and a joy for living it."

R. S.: I have to say that Atlantic Caper is one of the best documentaries that we've seen! I liked the gear lay-out at the start and the work on the boat that you guys did before starting out. Once again, great job on the video!

Brett T. : "Atlantic Caper" is a fantastic show! Thank you so much for investing the time and effort to produce this gem of a movie. The production values are surprisingly good, the editing and narration are first rate, and the on-ocean footage is breathtaking. What a way to spend 53 days in winter -- moment by moment the viewer can actually see you and Jenny transforming into sun-soaked and wave-whipped denizens of the sea. The open ocean has far more texture, the tropical sky greater magic, than I had dreamed. Whatever the cost for such beauty, for all of that wonderful "elbow room" (as you say), it is a bargain.
Thank you, again, for the privilege of transcribing and editing your daily updates from the sea.
Tailwinds and blue skies.

Dad Jardine: I've watched your video three times now and I think it's suuupppeeerrr!!! I must admit, I cried when you left La Gomera and I cheered and cried when you arrived at Barbados.
Sure was glad you included the Skydiving also! I would like to tell everyone who buys the video just how difficult those maneuvers really are. I, for one, appreciate the talent and skill and the time involved to be able to perform that well. Great!!

Mom Jardine: We just watched your video. It's awesome. The music is great, the length is great. We loved the sky diving at the end. You both are humble, loving, brilliant, beautiful people. What an undertaking, and you appeared to really be enjoying it. The sun sets were spectacular. Your narration was perfect. In fact you get an A double, double plus. What a special pair you two are. We'll watch it many, many times.

Ben A. : Caper Across the Atlantic is awesome! Last Friday night, we sat in awe of the adventure, the sunsets and sunrises, the Ocean. Congratulations, and the professionalism is impressive. Many thanks, the video arrived within 2 days.

Curtis W. : After getting your Video in the Mail, I took it to our Scout meeting where the Scouts and adults,(Who are very familiar with you because we had a RayWay Campout) absolutely loved it. The boys had questions they wanted to ask:
1. Did you design/build the water purifier?
2. Why East to West is because of currents and wind, and has anyone crossed the other way?
Congratulations on an excellent video.

Curtis: to answer your questions:
1. Did you design/build the water purifier? No, and if I made it seem that way in the video, it was inadvertent.
2. Why East to West is because of currents and wind, and has anyone crossed the other way? The Atlantic has a clockwise gyre, or rotation to the winds. So when heading west, boats take the southern route, as we did. When going east they take the northern route. Because the northern route is farther from the tropics, it is much colder and also more boisterous, so it has been rowed only a few times.

Nancy P. : That blue slip from the parcel post had an AZ designation, so we raced right over in hopes of finding your video. Sure enough it turns out to be a delightful chronicle of the Caper adventure, informative and at the same time wonderfully atmospheric. We both liked it a lot, being carried along by the music and conjuring similar impressions of our own time on the open ocean, albeit in a bigger boat! Thank you sincerely for allowing us a glimpse into that special world.

Andrew V.: I hope it was the camera lense having an effect on your oars, and not the heat of the sun or some such phenomenen! I must admit I was glued to the TV - a fascinating, and very useful, account of your journey. It really made it seem so much more real to think that I'll be doing a similar thing in a few months. Somehow other video diaries I've seen don't manage to convey the intimacy in quite the same way.
Best wishes to you both,

Andrew, in low light conditions, at dawn or dusk, we sometimes used the video camera in infrared mode. This slows the frame rate and creates a jerky action. Combine this with the heavy rolling and pitching of the boat, and it appears to be wild times indeed. And come to think of it, it was.
At any rate Jenny and I wish you all the best as Caper's new owner.