Andrew Major has always lived near water & as a child lived in Cyprus.
Born in Abingdon, on the Thames, Andrew grew up in Cricklade, near the rivers source. As a student, in London, studying for a BSc Hons in Geography near the Thames estuary & then living in Benson on the Thames near Wallingford.
Andrew now lives in Port Solent, near Portsmouth & his Atlantic rowing boat is moored in Gosport, at Hasler Marina, thanks to the really helpful & supportive team at Boatfolk.
Andrew is a keen runner, competing in the New York Marathon three times & loves listening to live music.
ABOUT ANDREW
Many people ask me the six million dollar question
..why row an ocean ?
Most of my adult life, I like most people, have been working flat out & in the last 15 years I have been running my own company focusing on healthcare marketing research & business intelligence.
It has been a very rewarding time knowing my small contribution has been making a difference to patients’ lives in areas such as HIV, Schizophrenia & Depression.
Two years ago, I read a newspaper article that knocked me off my feet... It was like the article was describing me!
It was a wakeup call & made me realize I was suffering from the early signs of burnout.
Creeping & insidious I had noticed my reaction to stress intensifying, my levels of anxiety increasing, I couldn’t sleep properly & I had a constant feeling of being overwhelmed.
It's Burnout
Why?
I consider myself to be a very lucky person with a lovely wife, children, family, friends, home & community in which I live but inside I realised I needed something just for me!
Something I could focus on, that was both physical & technical, whilst also providing an opportunity to do some good in the world.
That’s when I saw ‘Pegasus’ an R25 ocean rowing boat, at that time , owned by the ‘Grandads of the Atlantic’ moored in Port Solent marina. Ocean rowing was the perfect tonic. The more I found out about it the more it rejuvenated me & this in turn then benefited others around me indirectly.