06:01 PM PST on Sunday, November 13, 2005

By ROBERTA ROMERO / KING 5 News

SEATTLE - You may spot an oddly-shaped vessel floating on the smooth waters of Lake Union and wonder "What is it?"

It’s a rowboat, and it’s destined for the Atlantic Ocean.

Why row more than 3,000 miles from New York to England across one of the most dangerous routes in the world??

KING

Greg Spooner, foreground, and three others will be the only American team to race from New York harbor to the British port of Falmouth.

“All of us rowed in college in rowing and this is a chance to try something new in the sport of rowing and it's an opportunity to be modern day explorers,” said rower Greg Spooner.

In 8 months, the crew will be the only American team to compete in the grueling and dangerous quest to race across the Atlantic in a 30-foot row boat made of fiberglass and foam.

The logistics alone are daunting. On the small vessel, they need to fit on board 100 days’ worth of food, water, computer, GPS system, to name a few of the necessary items, and of course themselves.

"This is the cabin that will house all four of us during a storm," Spooner said, showing a cramped space smaller than most closets. "The only reason we would all get in here at the same time is if we had to escape poor seas outside. If that is the case, the boat is going to be rolling around quite a bit - really the less space the better so we're not getting tossed around the inside of this boat,” said Spooner, tapping the curving fiberglass hull.

The Oar Northwest crew has teamed with the Americal Lung Association.

Team captain Jordan Hanssen wears his dad's wedding ring on a chain around his neck.

“He died of asthma when I was 3 and I was diagnosed with asthma six years later. He's one of the reasons why I'm doing it,” said team captain Jordan Hanssen.

And now you may wonder, “What do you win if you come in first?” Nothing but the glory of being one of the few to undertake and conquer an adventure of a lifetime.

Team Oar Northwest plans to keep an online documentary of their trip. Right now they are still looking for funding and hope a corporate sponsor will step up.