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They think it’s all over…

Copyright Tony Matthews

Sir Garfield Sobers is regarded as one of the finest all-round cricketers in the history of the game and is a legend in Barbados. In 1969 he scored six sixes in an over, an unbeatable record that will stand for all time. By coincidence 1969 was also the year that John Fairfax became the first man to row the Atlantic from east to west, he took 180 days.

Since then 167 teams have attempted to row the Atlantic, east to west.

The British Ocean Rowing team is only the third team to achieve this amazing feat in under 40 days. What is even more incredible is that three of the four man team have never rowed an ocean before or anything like it.

Out of food, tired and drained from their efforts, the team arrived in Barbados to a very warm welcome at 14.09 (16.09 GMT) on Tuesday 20^th February 2007 after completing the Atlantic crossing in just 37 days.

A huge welcoming party was staged at the Barbados Coastguard base including Captain Peter Morgan, Defense Advisor at The British High Commission.

The rowers missed the world record by a four man team by a single day but they are all heroes. They risked their souls to live a dream, this row was unsupported when they left the Canaries they were on there own; four men-one ocean.

As predicted by Barbados Coastguard the Northerly approach into the Island was a hazardous one. The tiny and cramped 26ft rowing boat was being tossed around by the three metre swell and the coastline is dotted with sharp coral reefs and growlers; rocks that only just break the surface. But the team received no assistance from the Coastguard until they touch land, ironically being the jetty of a cement factory after a concrete performance.

Copyright Tony Matthews

There were emotional scenes as the team was greeted by their girlfriends and head sponsor InnotecWorld; unsteady on their feet but in amazing shape after their monumental ordeal;

Team Captain Dom Mee commented upon reaching Barbados;

“I feel immensely proud of the team, they were absolutely top class and a privilege to work with. We always knew that breaking the world record was going to be tough. Nobody has had the guts to speak out and take this record on before and if we had not had a four day dose of head winds in the middle of the attempt we would have smashed it by a couple of days. The boat has been our rock with only minor repairs carried out during the voyage.”

Pete Bird was embraced by his family dockside; his Mother, Father, two brothers and his girlfriend were there to see him come in;

“At the moment I just feel elated to be here and to be reunited with my family, breaking the record would have been the icing on the cake but we all feel that there was nothing more we could have done to achieve that. I have formed an unbreakable bond.”

Ed James from London had an emotional reunion with his Mother and girlfriend;

“ It has been epic when I look back on the row, the first few days were surprisingly not as difficult as we had envisaged but about day six we had a bad night, vicious squalls with the wind all over the place and very confused seas, at one point we got hit bow on by a big rogue wave and the boat was spun through about 40 degrees, if that wave had hit us a amidships I don’t like to think about what might of happened.”

Tom Rendell’s legs literally buckled as he saw his girlfriend for the first time in over 40 days;

It has been tough but I didn’t expect anything else, I have always wanted to row an Ocean and now I have and I have done so with some really special people, Dom, Ed and Pete will always be like family to me.”

 

Ed James, Pete Bird and Tom Rendell are young men that have had a life changing experience that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. They are bold men prepared to work hard and endure immense sacrifices for their team to succeed in their goals.

No doubt Captain Dom Mee will announce another expedition soon; he has rowed, kayaked and even kite surfed in some of the most inhospitable places on this earth and his next trip is sure to be as awe inspiring and in some ways, motivating to all of us.

 

Coming in hot!

Photo:Tony Matthews

A big hello from the friendly and sunny Island of Barbados.

The British Ocean Rowing Team are now roughly 100 miles from Barbados and are straining to get to the tropical island in the Caribbean. “We are currently north of track and crosswinds are preventing us from steering south to Barbados. We are coming in hot and we are only just laying the northern point of Barbados. It is a pretty daunting prospect of coming in on the North shore, it is far from ideal. We are heading for a remote beach just about the only spot we can come in.”

Logistics shore manager Chris Collison has been working on this expedition since its conception;

“After having detailed discussions with the Barbados Coastguard who have voluntarily offered to oversee the team’s arrival, we have surveyed the North Point area and there is a possibility of getting the lads into a small bay west of Touce Point, Lt Roberts  at the Coastguard has been very helpful and although it is a possibility that the team can get in there, it is not ideal; the bay is remote, surrounded by cliffs and there will be a terrific ocean swell, it may be fairly easy to get in and touch land but getting out even under tow could be a bit risky. We won’t compromise safety for anything and we will need to see what the sea state is like at the time.”

The British Ocean Rowing Team will reach Barbados just an agonising two days behind schedule, they have run out of food but will be looking forward to an all inclusive holiday at the Barbados Beach Club with their partners, courtesy of team sponsors Virgin Holidays. They will need to lay on some extra food at the buffet!

100 mile barrier smashed

The British Ocean Rowing Team have posted an incredible 108 nautical miles (124 miles) in the last 24 hours, their best run since they started the row twenty-seven days ago and believed to be the most miles rowed in an ocean rowing boat in a  24hr period.

This is nothing short of a Herculean effort by the team to make it to Barbados in world record time, strong north easterly winds of between fifteen and twenty knots are ideal and if anything the wind looks to be increasing and remaining in this favourable direction. One other factor aiding this astounding achievement is that the boat is getting lighter, the team have been eating 6kg a day in supplies but now they are literally dumping fresh water dramatically decreasing the weight of the twenty-six-foot rowing boat and increasing the distance that it surfs in the Atlantic swell. As Dom Mee explains;

“The Spectra watermaker has done its job and has been as reliable as ever, it has provided us with all of our drinking and cooking water during the trip as I knew it would. We have been carrying  200kg of  bottled drinking water as ballast but we don’t need to anymore, we are still running the machine everyday but that water is now used for washing and then thrown over the side, having the first fresh water wash after three weeks is a serious boost to moral!”

A tired but defiant Pete Bird added; “We are now less than 700nm from Barbados and if we can keep this pace up we can break the record, my thoughts are now turning to my girlfriend Nicola and my family who will be in Barbados to see us in, I don’t want to wait any longer than necessary to see them all again. The banter on the boat is all about looking forward to seeing our loved ones in a few days time.”

Yo Ho Row and a bottle of rum!

The British Ocean Rowing Skipper, Dom Mee contacted the shore team less than a thousand miles from Barbados. With just 12 days left to break the fifteen year old Atlantic Rowing record, it looks like being a photo-finish.

Hello, everyone firstly thanks for all your support through the blog it makes a difference and the team really appreciate it. Team moral remains very high as we have just passed the final 1000 mile mark, so the numbers get smaller from here on. I am really proud of my team they have met every challenge on this voyage head on and passed with flying colours. My mind is never far from the stopwatch which drives my mad, I swear I can hear it tick in my sleep. In my imaginary race with 'la Mondial', she is currently 70 miles a head after our bout of headwinds but we are closing the gap. It is going to be very close, so fingers crossed.

Mike Broughton of www.winningwind.com, our ace weather man, says for the next ten days the weather looks good all the way to Barbados and boy I am needing a rum. Life on board is generally busy for Ed and myself as we live in the stern cabin so have to do the majority of the boat admin. Such as making water from the Spectra and cooking for the boys. The days pass quickly the night time seems the longest and everyone is pretty tired at breakfast which consists of rolled oats.

I am enjoying the lack of hurricanes, sea ice and polar bears which normally threaten me on expeditions its hard work, but low on the danger front which is nice for a change. Ed is doing a great job as first mate on board and Tom (T1000) and Pete (Birdy Bird) are working hard and keeping us entertained from the Gimp Locker (front cabin).

Our Innotec MS1000 is proving its worth again and is being used for everything we even thought about using it for personal chaffing problems (which are not good for moral). All is going well and with only 12 days to push for the record it going to be pretty full on.

People always ask what motivates me. It is simply rum and I believe that Barbados knows all about that tipple!!

Surf's Up!

“Facing backwards, you see the wave coming, as the boat reaches the top of the wave, we up the pace; pulling with all our might until the oars go slack in the water and we are off! Surfing down the face of the wave, oars out of the foaming water, sea spray flying all around us. Some of the bigger waves make the ride seem like forever, we are pushing hard, sometimes it is just crazy, crazy crazy.” Dom Mee.

“Right now they have to average 84 miles a day to break the record and it is touch and go but the weather is looking like it is going to be absolutely perfect for the foreseeable future; they have a great ‘wind lane’ of east, north easterly wind of between 15 and 25 knots. In ocean rowing terms averaging 84 miles a day is phenomenal pace but they have been achieving very close to that for the last four days, if they can keep it up they are in with a good chance of breaking that record.”  Tactical weather navigator, Mike Broughton.

Ed James (pictured on board with  well placed hat! Talks about life on board:

“Generally morale remains high. There was even an impromptu naked YMCA dance routine by those not on the oars to keep everyone amused! Night time rowing provides a welcome escape from the sun but it is no less tiring as the two hour on two hour off rota means this is the main time for decent rest. To date getting woken to go rowing every 2 hours has not been getting easier! The prospect is considerably worse when it is raining torrentially in the small hours as it has on a couple of occasions.

Having said this we have witnessed some spectacular pastel coloured sunsets, sunrises and brilliant views of the moon and stars. Dom and Pete saw dolphins at night, heard a whale breaching (though I still think it could have been one of them out of breath!) and even saw a bizarre midnight rainbow of white light.

The T1000 Aka Tom Rendell and I haven't yet been so lucky on the wildlife front but flying fish and shooting stars have become ten-a-penny! My turn for rowing again so I will sign off. I would like to take this opportunity though to thank all those of you who have posted messages of support. They are very well received, keep them coming.

STOP PRESS: A minor disaster stuck earlier today as the ship's head (toilet) was lost overboard! Luckily a replacement was sourced from the ship's stores - ie. We have a spare bucket!” Crewman Ed James.

Oceans Apart

Right now the British Ocean Rowing Team are slap bang in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean about a thousand miles from any land save the ocean floor two miles below. Although the Pacific is a far bigger Ocean to cross than the Atlantic that ocean has many islands dotted throughout and the team are currently further from land than anywhere else on the planet.

To put that into perspective they are about as far away from getting to a hospital as an astronaut in a space station. They have now been in a rowing boat out of sight of land for eighteen days and will have become acclimatised to the strange world around them.

Physically, there is little to focus the mind on outside the boat; during the day there may be clouds in the sky and waves on the water and the occasional glimpse of wild life but that is about it. The rowing boat has become the team’s little world. Things that may seem uninteresting and mundane to us like a chocolate treat or a chat on the satellite phone become highlights of the day for them.

At night the world outside the boat changes dramatically; away from air and light pollution the sky at night explodes into a million stars twinkling with such clarity that you feel like you could almost touch them. The little world of a rowing boat expands to the size of the Universe.

The messages from the team often centre around this environment that they are living in; the wild life, the sea, the weather. It may seem a strange place to be for you and me but remember two thirds of the earth is Ocean, uninhabited by humans.

Most of you reading this will be in a town or a city, it is we that are in the unusual environment created by mankind, not the British Ocean Racing Team.

When the going gets tough

The British Ocean Rowing Team are back on track, the move south has paid off for the team and they are now experiencing tail winds from the north west. Sunday 28th January was day fourteen of the attempt to break the Trans-Atlantic rowing record and the team posted their best mileage so far; 97 miles. More importantly, in a westerly direction towards Barbados.

Dom Mee had missed a sat. phone call on Saturday and the shore team were worried about a communication problem onboard but the team captain reported in on Sunday with good news;

“We got hit by some fairly big waves which drenched the satellite antennae, no dramas though, one spray with Innotec AS1500 and she was good as new. The wind has swung around to our starboard quarter and we are caning the miles, after being dogged by headwinds.

We are now up against it but the lads are determined to make up the lost miles and get to Barbados by the 18th February, there was a big cheer on board as we rowed passed the 1,000 mile mark. It was always going to be a tough record to beat but if anybody can do it, it will be this team, we have been pacing ourselves and now have the benefit of a good rest. If the weather holds there is no doubt that this team can step up the pace.”

The team have 11 days to row approximately 1100 miles, they need to average one hundred miles a day. The weather looks set to give the team a sleigh ride into Barbados and the Royal Marines Reservists have been pacing themselves for a sprint finish. Wednesday 31st January will be half way through the 35 day target.

Going South

It has been a frustrating last few days for the British Ocean Rowing Team but the light is at the end of the tunnel. As crewman Tom Rendell explains by email on Thursday 25th January;

"As I write, the weather is getting back to our way of thinking after a couple of days of headwinds, beam on seas, and generally slow conditions. This culminated in us spending a frustrating night on a sea anchor. Hopefully it will be the last time the device sees the light of day, before being ditched for the sprint into Barbados. Birdy Bird dived the boat today, to remove the start of Barnacle growth and reports one 4ft Dorado in tow.  Although we are now behind schedule, we have already proven the crew's ability to exceed the daily mileage requirement, and we are still playing the long game, confident that our speed will increase as we go on.  Our weight is decreasing by about 6 kilos per day, and already feels more like a rowing boat and less like a fully laden barge."

Highly experienced tactical weather expert Mike Broughton is confident that the team will see a big improvement in the wind direction;

"By Friday the wind had already swung around to the North meaning that the team were able to set a course to the South, although this is not ideal, the team are making progress towards far more favourable weather, it is never easy to predict too far into the future but all of the data is supporting a return to fast conditions on Sunday and for at least a week after that."

Peter Petrel

Tom Rendell reports that the crew is still in good spirits;

"We have two Peter Bird's on the trip.  One shares the tiny locker in the bows of the boat with me, but our new "Peter" is a very graceful Storm Petrel, predictably named Peter the Petrel, who stays with the boat for most of the day.  A turtle was sighted momentarily on Saturday, and today two more birds have come in close to join us for a short while.  This morning I spotted some flying fish playing off the stern. Small visits like this make a big difference to morale. As do all the messages of support. They all make a big difference to our spirit and help keep us focused on bringing another small piece of maritime history back where it belongs!"

Sea Anchor deployed

Dom Mee contacted the shore team today confirming that the team had no option but to deploy the sea anchor last night (23.01.07). Rowing into a headwind of more than ten knots is futile, even at full speed the boat will go backwards against the force of the wind.

The sea anchor is a parachute which is set in the water and acts as a drogue.

Dom Mee explained; “Unfortunately, as suspected, we have experienced headwinds for the first time since the start of the expedition. We have been forced to put out the sea anchor. The team are taking a well earned rest after over a week of rowing but obviously the current situation is not ideal. The lads remain focused and moral onboard is good. We are looking forward to getting back on the oars and catching up on the miles we are losing, we may be the only rowing boat out here but we are racing against the clock.”

“The weather forecast for the next few days looks good and we should be able to make up the lost time, the whole team has done a cracking job so far and we are determined to get to Barbados and break that world record.”

Alone together

Tom Rendell has served for eight years in the Royal Marines seeing active service in Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Tom enjoys fishing and lists tuna steak as one of his favourite foods, although there is no time to fish in the team’s grueling regime of rowing twenty four hours a day for over a month. He is now a personal trainer at Clifton College in Bristol and a Royal Marines Reservist.

Tom describes the feelings on board the Ocean Rowing boat as they head towards the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. In just a few days the team will be at the halfway point in the expedition; over 1000 miles from land and a long way from human contact, the British Ocean Racing Team are unsupported; they have no support vessel with them.

“Yes, we are on our own but if we are to successfully complete this task, our achievement is heavily reliant on all four of us hanging together as a team and we are all capable of doing that, teamwork is instilled into every Royal Marine, it is in our mind-set.

On a personal level I have wanted to row an ocean since I was about fourteen and when I heard about the Atlantic row I started to train for it straight away, I was very pleased to be selected for the team and I am looking forward to completing the task and arriving in Barbados, hopefully breaking the world record.”

Currently the British Ocean Rowing Team are ahead of schedule and one of the crucial factors is the weather as tactical navigator Mike Broughton explains;

“The weather has been close to perfect so far with tail winds pushing the team on. There was a possibility of them being caught up in the recent storms that have hit the UK and that is why the team have taken a more southerly course. The threat of headwinds is still there, especially over the next few days and the team is maintaining a southerly course.”