Cindy Way, a Tabor Academy alumna, and her boyfriend James Caple are preparing for an exciting trip to Ireland – and they’re going to row there.

The Alexandria, Virginia-based couple is planning to leave from Chatham this week.

“We’re waiting for a weather window,” Way said, a member of Tabor's 1992 graduating class. “Hopefully Thursday or Friday this week.”

The journey to Dingle Peninsula on the west coast of Ireland will cover roughly 3,000 miles, and Way and Caple are planning for it to take about 90 days.

According to their website, the boat they will be using on their trip was built in the United Kingdom by Justin Adkin of SeaSabre in 2004 and is made of fiberglass and timber. It’s an ocean rowing boat with two gliding seat positions as well as a covered stern and bow cabins, one of which will be used for storage and the other for sleeping.

Way works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and said both hers and Caple’s jobs have been accommodating in letting them take time off for the voyage.

The couple believes the weather will be their biggest obstacle. To prepare they took a Safety at Sea class as well as classes about the weather.

Both Way and Caple have experience with competitive rowing. Way started rowing at Tabor and rows competitively with the Alexandria Community Rowing club on the Potomac River. Caple is also a member of the club.

As they take the final few days to prepare, Way said they’re ready to get going.

“We’re really anxious to get on the water,” she said. “We just really want to get started.”

Completing the row would make the couple the first-ever American pairs boat to row across the North Atlantic. Way would also become the first American woman to row the North Atlantic.

She hopes that this trip can inspire people to stop putting off their dreams and to get up and chase them.

“You can live your dreams today, you don’t have to wait until retirement,” she said. “You can do what you want to do today.”

To read more about their journey and track their boat visit www.1000leagues.com/#sthash.GVnoXJsi.dpbs.