Virgin Global Row

'Tenacity on The Tasman' Complete!

2009-11-09T03:46:00.000-08:00

At last after six months of sorting through endless crashing waves, seascapes, rowing scenes and interviews we have finally finished the edit of 'Tenacity on the Tasman'. The film which documents the first attempt of the Virgin Global Row expedition.

The film has been received well by the few that have seen it so far and just a few little tweaks and technical rejigs and it will be ready for the big screen.

Tickets for the premiere on the 19th November 7.30pm are now selling fast so please book yours online or send a cheque to secure your seats.

After the film we will have a Q&A session before heading across Leicester Sq. for a drinks reception and after party in Orchid bar.

George and I both much look forward to seeing you on the 19th and having a drink with you in the Orchid bar after the screening.

For the trailer, tickets and more info please visit the film website -

http://www.tenacityonthetasman.co.uk/

Film Premiere: 'Tenacity on the Tasman'

2009-08-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

Hello and firstly apologies for the long silence. We have been busy here tying up all the loose ends left after the Global Row Mk1. I am still looking at what the next step may be and whether the attempt goes ahead again in a solo capacity or with a larger crew. This and several other water and land based adventures are on the cards.

In the meantime George and I have been busy sorting through the footage from the voyage and have begun work on the film ' Tenacity on the Tasman ' which charts the preparation of the voyage, funding, boat construction etc all the way through the time at sea and the final stages of landfall in NZ.

I managed to secure some exciting footage of the time at sea some of which can be seen in our trailer at http://www.tenacityonthetasman.co.uk/

The premiere will be screeened at the leicester Square Odeon in Central London on 19th November. It would be great to see as many of you there as possible as well as at the after party in Orchid just nearby, and to meet some of you who I hope enjoyed following the voyage.

Thank You

2009-05-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

A belated thank you to everyone who followed the Virgin Global Row and all those who sent messages of support during the voyage. It was all hugely appreciated and helped to get through the trickier parts of the trip.

Thank you also of course to all our fantastic sponsors who have been phenonmenally supportive throughout, especially when we made the decision to suspend the voyage in NZ.

and an enormous thank you to all who have worked so hard on the project to date in an astounding variety of capacites - from accountants to engineers to crane drivers!

I think one of the most wonderful parts of the project is the tremendous goodwill it seems to have generated and the incredible kindness, hospitality and generosity we have been shown wherever we have been.

The project may be suspended for now but for sure it will return, perhaps in a slightly different guise but return it will - the challlenge to row the first boat around the world remains!

An enormous debt of gratitude is also due to George Olver (Manager of expedition operations, logistics, commnications, shore team, crew, film maker, etc....) who has worked tirelessly on all facets of the project, overworked and underpaid would be an understatement, he has been a brick thoroughout the project, bringing his superior organisation skills, his technical know how and a certain glamour thorugh his aerial pursuits! George coordinated the complexities of building the website between 4 different countries and is largely responsible for how you could follow the voyage. Not only was George busy in the office but he was also happy on the ocean wave; venturing out from Tasmania on Blizzard and then rather more dramatically aboard the fishing vessel Shangrila to hook up the tow in.
Already he has been talking excitedly of plans to put together a film of the voyage thus far.....

So thanks to all involved and watch this space for updates on projects and the upcoming film.

a thousand thanks, Olly.

Thoughts on Terra Firma

2009-05-07T19:27:00.000-07:00

I have now been back on land around 10 days and it is quite surprising how quickly things get back to normal. I am sitting in the Virgin Lounge in Sydney with George, writing this update about to head back to England. It does not seem long ago that we were in this airport heading out to meet the FC in Tasmania.

On arriving in Bluff we set about deciding what to do with the FC. Our decision was made for us partly by Customs, to who we would have had to pay $92,000 in tax unless she left the country. So we have been busy preparing her to travel back to the UK. Pumping out the water, unloading and cleaning her before loading her into a container.

Whilst it is good to be back on land the dissapointment is still enormous that the project ended so soon. But i suppose that was always a likely possibility given the ambitious nature of the task. I hope to now use that disappointment as a fuel to drive on and put the next project together to complete the same goal. So once we have a proper proposal in order we will speak to all our sponsors and have another go once we are fully prepared and ready.

But for the present life returns to normality. Get home, get the FC and equipment home, regroup and move forward from there. I have plenty of ideas for new trips which i thought of on the Tasman and we will hopefully use this website as a window to follow those future trips too.... more details later!

Olly

Boat Coming Home

2009-05-07T03:13:00.000-07:00

Packing the boat in Bluff to ship back to the UK.

a chaange of circumstance......

2009-04-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the radio silence, We've had a bit on the last couple of days. I think thw last report said how things weren't looking too good to make a landing - and so they were not. Having been approx 12nm off Big Moggy island and things were looking good for an approach iinto doughboy bay with a good E drift. That would of course have been too easy. The weather did not favour us. The promised N wind arrived and coupled with a strong S flowing tide/current we started flying S at about 2kts (bloody quick). Unfortunately the current didn't slacken and the wind didn't drop and we kept moving quickly S. I had been met by the Fishing vessel Shangri La who were to standby and they had gone to shelter in the Islands. After another 24hrs drifting South and seen the land fall away again we were about 30nm due south of the S cape of Stewart Island. At this stage I made the decision to pull the plug and set up the tow with Shangri La. The weather looked bad for at least the next week, we would need about 3 days at least of steady S winds to reach back up to stewart I and then as we got closer in our ability to navigate into one of the few safe coves would be largely down to lady luck and the caprice of the wind and currents. Thus another dissapointing decision was made. Perhaps I could have stayed out there and waited for the winds to come good - maybe they would, maybe they wouldnt . Anyway the decision was made and I radioed Shangri La who steamed down about 25nm to my position. They found me rolling around in 40kts of wind and about a 4m swell so it was pretty sporting to transfer the tow line but some pretty driving and work with the lines by Rewi saw us hooked up and barreling through the swells up towards Stewart Island at an unprecedented 8kts! After about 8 hours and only one broken tow line later we came into Pegasus Harbour on the SE side of Stewart Island. We came in under darkness but the sheer rock islands could be made out in the Shangri La's powerful lights. The Carrot was brought alongside and beer was produced, I met George, Rewi, Salts and Ma, the crew on Sangri La as I stumbled onto her rather more solid deck. Rewi pulled out an incredible tea of Roast lamb and veggies - best ever... What an awesome arrival the shangri la more than lived up to her name. Supper came and went and a few beers and then about 3am crawled into the comfiest bunk ever which didn't try and throw you out . Then yestrday morning anchors up and we stamed all day to arrive at Bluff about 1600. I was relieved to see there were not too many people to greet us and we passed off a fairly low key arrival into Bluff fishing wharf. After the joys of form filling for customs and MAFF we were cleared in to NZ annd set off for a shower.... Anyway rough fill in of what's gone on. A little colour to add to this dry update to follow later........ Land's alright....

25 NM South.

2009-04-29T14:25:00.000-07:00

April 28th. Rewi (skipper), Salts and I steamed out to the FC, dropped off some fresh fruit and other goodies to give Olly a bit of fuel for the final push into land (see pic) . Olly keen to push on to try and make landfall but with persitent northely wind determined to push him south of Stewart Island,this might not be possible.

We steamed back into Murderers Cove to take shelter away from building seas. Murderers Cove is on a Maori Island off the south tip of Stewart Island where Rewi's family live. Maori blood is a pre-requisite to step ashore, so a privilege in itself. Turns out Rewi Bull (Shangri La Skipper) has a large family, so many Bulls running around catching (by hand) the traditional dish, Mutton Bird (See Pic) delicious! Ben Amory you would love this set-up!

Called Olly early morning to discover that he is 25 NM to the south of Stewart Island with no sign of a Southerly to blow him north, safe landing looking impractical. Full steam ahead for FC preparing to rope and tow. With 40 knots and building pretty wet ride roping the FC could be a bit of fun! Eyes peeled for Olly Hicks and the FC.

Rewi at the helm.

Calling from Murderers Cove

George Olver

,gale 8, poor, falling, showers

2009-04-27T03:19:00.001-07:00

A foul gale ridden night. Very rough sea and horrendously confused waves crashing into boat from all angles. Things not looking at all good, the weather outlook has changed for the worse - the window I thought we might have had has gone or at least turned into a wee rift in the clouds tomorrow night. Having seen land several days ago it was not with a smiling face that I saw it disappear again over the horizon this morning as we were driven rapidly S by the gale. Our position for making a landing into a tenable bay - of which there are 2 ok 1 dodgy, is extremely poor especially as we continue to be forced S. Having been 12 miles offshore lastnight we are now about 20... I will sleep on it...hmm maybe not too well! The man of many guises appeared on the scene again today this time riding aboard the fishing vessel Shangri La which we are using as a standby vessel and perhaps as a tug.... They delivered me a noble food parcel and thus the bill of fare improved considerably: Lunch: ham and lettuce sandwiches and milk Supper: starter: rasperry jam snadwich Main course: fried steak sandwiches Pud: apples and kiwi fruit Very exciting. Power problem continues as weather bad not much solar action....power rationed to restrcited communications and GPS. Generator won't fire up. Perhaps I will put up the spare windmill tomorrow - though that will be a performance in this weather...

near yet far

2009-04-26T04:29:00.001-07:00

Fickle weather it be.... Last night 50kts+ v uncomfortable, sleeping tricky, now only 10kts from N. Tomorrow more gales due from N..... Really not v good outlook for trying to make landfall.... Though we get a brief let up in the weather when it turns a bit lighter and into the W on Wednesday morning...perhaps that will be our chance to strike out for land but I reckon by then we will be well South of the hard stuff... Rendezvous with standby fishing vessel tomorrow morning, since we are only 12nm from Big Moggy island our closest bit of land... Few power issues as windmill seems to have bad corrosion in bearings prob from constant spray hitting it...and winter sun not so efficient at charging solar panels... Para anchor retrieval line fouled round rudder in storm last night...kerfuffle to free it..

Mechanical Bird

2009-04-25T13:21:00.000-07:00

What the majority of the west coast of Stewart Island looks like.

One possible landing location if the wind blows in the right direction: Masons Bay, Stewart Island.

Some shots of TFC from the mechanical bird.

G.OLVER

92

2009-04-25T04:39:00.001-07:00

After the excitements of yesterday today looked set to be dull in comparison. The bad weather forecast has not yet arrived but i think the rain now drumming on the roof may be the arrival of muchos wind. Currently i am drifting around about 40 miles from the South Island and about 30nm due east of Stewart island. Landing places are few and far between. This is due to precipitous cliffs with resulting breakers constituting most of the coastline otherwise rocks and heavy surf. So coulpled with a very limited no, of places to land is the weather which looks set to drive us south away from land. So without a gentle Eish wind it is going to be hard indeed to make an unassited landfall. So for now we wait and see what this weathewr will do to our drift over the weekend and monday... The Expedition manager, George Olver Esq, is, it turns out a man a many guises and with a certain affinty for fun machines. Last i saw him he was on the other side of the Tasman sea riding aboard a sieek silver super Schooner named Blizzard , prior to that he had been seen taking to the skies of Tasmania, above the City of Franklin in a flying boat no less! ANd now today, lo and behold who should come swooping in low and fast out of the sun, over the sea, in a mechanical bird but the very same G. Olver, riding shotgun in a helicopter! - However, this was of course no joyride but a mission of the most critical importance..... We transferred a camera on a line from the Carrot to the chopper before George 'iceman' Olver roared off to do a little reconaissance of Stewart Island's coastline to scout for possible landing places. I suspect this may not be the last we see of G. Olver in the skies! SO great excitement to have a visitor from the skies other than the feathered varitety this afternoon.

bloody mess

2009-04-25T03:29:00.001-07:00

An action packed day yesterday.... Despite no rowing due to N winds much needed housekeeping and fishing and a little chartwork. Weather forecast is horrendous, from 35 - 60kts (hurricane force) depending who you listen too. So boat battened down gear stowed as well as can be. Wind and sea rising, para anchor set... Good fishing yesterday a haul of 2 fine snappers or whatever they be, so plenty of boiled fish in order....what a sturggle to get them in! had to let out some much line to get deep enough i was about done by the time they were in range of the wee gaff.... Somewhat clumsily I sliced open my finger whilst gutting les poissons, what a muppet. Cold hand and sharp knife so didn't hurt much initially. Bloody blood everywhere... An odd feeling to be all alone in such a predicament, bleeding well and reliant on oneself to administer a fix... Now fortunately I did just such a n injury to myself a few months before leaving - same finger too! so saw how the nurse cleaned and patched the wound and with our medical kit sorted by our medical team, I was well prepared! Cleaned her up, stopped the blood and patched it up with a few steristrips and was very proud of my handiwork... Calm night .

amazing day....

2009-04-23T06:43:00.002-07:00

A happy St George's day one and all. It has been pretty incredible aboard the Flying Carrot. Having seen little of anything other than water and sky for the past 90 days today was a red letter day.... We had visits from 2 performing seals, myriad sea birds, the sun shone strong all day the sea was freakishly calm even glassy in some places. I saw the first aeroplane of the voyage, I saw a pod of about 8 whales, about 100 dolphins came past as darkness fell about us. Then when the dark settled there were masses of stars and phosphorescene and when I ws putting out the sea anchor, in the torch beam were thousands of little green eyes inn the water , belonging to some tiny squid like creatures... Absaolutely amazing day.... Also clapped eyes on land....Solander island about 22nm NE of me and I coulkd just see the NZ alps below the clouds - these are about 40nm away so it shows how clear it was... Solander island looks v forbididing - like the rock where chateau d'if is.... Also now in vhf radio range of NZ so hear the fishing boats talking to each other... George, expeditions manager extraordinaire arrived in NZ this afternoon and has already been busy trying to find a boat to escort me in make sure I don't go on them rocks.... Still that probably won't be for a while as weather now predicted rubbish till Tues... Much feasting onboard the carrot in honour of St Georges day and Stan gets the sleeping bag tonight since he is the most patriotic spade onboard.

trouble aheeed....

2009-04-22T03:09:00.001-07:00

A grey day but still pretty calm. V slow rowing. No fish today but a lot of birds following, indeed we were victim to a muttonbirds bombing run where he strafed the carrot and her captain with Sh*#te! I have put the fishing line out tonight with a lightstick attached to see if that will attract 'em... Gonna be harder than it looks this landing lark. We are to all intents and purposes like a hot air balloon - at the mercy of the winds. From tomorrow evening until Tuesday the wind goes into the North with some 40-50kt winds during those days so problem is looks like we'll be shoved South of Stewart Island. Still at least we're still in deepish water and near the 1000m depth contour which is where will be pushed into, so deeper water...(deeper water = less bad seas). Have to just see how well the para anchor slows our drift to the South. We are between 55 and 75nm from various bits of land - to put in in comparison my old boat could cover that in 2 maybe 3 days...the carrot...God knows....

Write headline

2009-04-21T03:59:00.000-07:00

Well what a crackerjack day... We are in the midst of a rather groovy high pressure system which means the weathers pretty good, little wind, the odd shower but calm sea and often blue sky. Rowing was v slow today - as ever! So growing impatient with that and the drift was about the same as rowing anyway we set about a bit of fishing. Put the rod out with a few jiggers on and let out about 200m of line, then tied the rod onto the rail and rowed slowly on. We seemed to be in albatross HQ today there were masses of them all over the shop and other birds too, so we had something of an air display all day. I suspect it must be good feeding hereabouts with the shallowing waters and the temperature gradients changing, and upwelling nutrients etc.. Often a smell of fish will drift across the boat presumably from a nearby shoal of fish or maybe a whale at the surface. I see on our current course we should also pass over a sea mount where it shallows to only 117m, here it is about 770m deep. SO all this activity should stay around... Made my day (1st part) when I saw an albatross fly past with his head bent backwards - liiterally so he was lookiing behind him and his face was covered up with his large, pink webbed foot with which he was scratching his head! Quite a sight. Then after brunch I thought I would change the lure on the fishing line and put on a lightstick to try and attract something overnight. Anyway started reeling in and bit of a jerk, another then a hell of a tug, woop woop afish! Anyway reeled him in and it was pretty heavy and took about 20 minutes as I had so much line out. Up he came though without much of a fight and came to the surface to get a gaff in his head - not sure what he is - some sort of snapper I think. But great excitement all round - especially for the birds. I gutted it and made a rather clumsy job of filleting it, skinned him and he produced enough flesh for about 2 people - probably 3 if it had been butchered more skillfully... Suddenly the fc was like Piccadilly Circus, Albert Ross arrived with many pals, grey heads, great wanderers, mutton birds... They enjoyed fighting over the skin and scraps - they are incredibly voracious, as well as pretty stupid, they don't seem to have very good eyesight as often they would miss morsels of snapper... Anyway the rest of Monsieur snapper was headed to the Carrot kitchens. A little had been served up raw as an aperitif, this was ok, certainly fresh, and rather tasteless. Then he was fried in the kettle, unfortunately I couldn't think of anything to use for fat so this method made him a little dry and so for the large part we had him boiled in the kettle - or perhaps we should be a little grander and say he was poached in the fish kettle! This final method turned out the best. A white fleshed poisson, with a little lemon and butter would be proper. So after about 1 kilo of snapper 3 ways and apple and custard for pudding we had done well. Interestingly spades don't eat fish but gnomes do. So after 80 odd days the fishing trip has been an unmitigated success.....

potage du jour

2009-04-20T04:09:00.000-07:00

A good fresh, cool day. There is an intangible change in the enivrionment here it feels strangley different. Perhaps it is just the noticeable signs that land is near - more birds, changing swell patterns... The sea has shallowed here to 1.5km from over 4km. Perhaps time for a peche... It is still early to say it but I will be sad to leave the old Tasman Sea for terra firma...of course that is easy to say with landfall approaching and a good day today, but nevertheless I have got to know the old girl pretty well and despite or maybe because of our slightly circuitous route thus far, she has lost none of her desolate allure. I think the Gods have been kind to us thus far and other than 2 storms and a few gales we've got to here pretty lightly if slowly - of course there is still much time for an almighty blow. It is a little ironic perhaps that part of what has slowed us down is the huge weight of provender the carrot is carrying and of that about 2/3 will now be surplus. Still it will last till next time. And of course the end nears for my tranquiltiy of solitude - odd to think that since seeing the ship about 50 days ago I have had the whole planet to myself, not a single sign of another human bean... Ah well we will enjoy the last leg and look to the future and another attempt at some stage knowing a little more than we did 3 months ago. Stan has been most spritely of late, rather getting in the way actually. Photo; a little fusion of technologies bust camera fixed with whipping twine...

2009-04-19T04:55:00.000-07:00

life goes rolling on.....

wrangle tangle

2009-04-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

A slow start this morning since whilst recovering the sea anchor it became apparent it had become tangled up with a fishing net, and the retrieval line had unattatched itself. So 2 and a half hours later having cut all the ensnaring netting off the anchor line and untangled and untwisted about 200m of line, rowing could begin... I realised part way through this process that it was not in fact a fishing net but a spool of twine that had been washed overboard during the storm and tangled everything...what a palava. Good hint for les poisson though to carry a fine titanium diving knife. This would put and end to their troubles with fishing nets, though one wonders how a fish would wield a knife most effectively... Still we move South , though we did make a littlte easting today and hopefully we will make a bit of n tomorrow.. We were accompanied by fine drizzle and a fur seal porpoising alongside for a while this afternoon. It is good to be rowing again

a very busy day....

2009-04-17T06:25:00.000-07:00

A little calmer now....but still sending us towards the ice. We are now south of NZ but hopefully the wind change on Sun/Mon will push us back north. Managed to find time in the schedule to fit in some chartwork...we are 100 nm from the nearest point in NZ - Windsor point on the SW tip and about 111nm from the E tip of Stewart Island. It looks as though there are a few soft spots to land on but it will not be so easy. I hardly had anytime to read books at all today as there was a day long tutorial in ropework, splicing and knot tying which kept the crew engrossed. The crew should be pretty interesting company on landfall....

the best laid plans....

2009-04-16T05:05:00.000-07:00

And still it blows! It is at keast beginning to ease up a little and the sea has simmered a little though it looks as though she will boil again tomorrow....Last night the retrieval line for the parachute anchor chafed through and is now in something of a tangle trailing behind the boat. So 'twill be a good fight to get the parachute back onboard. For now we are being pushed south which is not ideal, I want to stay to the north of Stewart Island as drifting to the south af there will cause problems...fewer places to land - and a better chance to miss land altogether! So we have to play against the caprice of the wind and current..hopefully on Sun/Mon the wind will go into the SW and push us North again above Stewart Island and give a better angle of approach hopefully so we can find a soft landing on the south island. As we get closer to land the tides will take effect a bit more so that then we'll really be out of control.... Perhaps Miss Dalt, Miss Beerad, Miss Nina, Gran and Jimmy Gunn you could get your classes to find me a nice soft landing place on Google Earth?! A la carte menu Brunch: Wispa Galaxy Fudge X2 Nutrigrain X2 Peparami firestick Supper Spag Bol (amazingly magnificent) Rice pud 2009 vintage eau de mer

Tumultuous tempest

2009-04-15T04:19:00.000-07:00

After 12 days my outside bobble hat is dry, hurrah. Crikey, there's one hell of a tempest going on out there, much ado about nothing really, hopefully it will be tamed like the shrew soon enough... Has been blowing old boots - that's about 50+knots all day, that old carrots been dancing one hell of a jig hanging off the parachute anchor - thank goodness for that - without 'ee I reckon we would have pulled off about 12 360's by now, she is rough as hell.... The windmills been in the water a couple of times, but seems ok, one of the cabin bags has been torn off the bulkhead by a wave over the deck, and there's regular waves trying to get into the old hotel carrots cabin with me, trying their best to smash the hatch asunder but shes holding up ok. Only dry space for hundreds of miles see! Hell of a racket waves thundering around and the rain lashing the cabin - solution = turns up the radio... Some of them waves completely envelop the boat as they break right over her, what a strange feeling as the whole boaT IS CARRIED ALONG IN THE WAVE and we just hang on inside.... Went outside to stretch the old legs this afternoon and it is quite something to see...white water all over and frog in throat size waves.... Good old girl she's hanging in there and staying right side up....hopefully storm relenting overnight..hope so since you can get out of the boat by reading but the violent motion does start to gnaw at the nerves a little...at least we're still in deep water. Weather not favorable for NZ approach unilt Sun/Mon... Looks like i'll probably finsh Don Quixote after all.... Bill of Fare R/V Flying Carrot 20 April 2009 Breakfast: dehydrated swiss muesli Luncheon: Haribo Tangfastics Peparami Supper: boil in bag sausages, baked beans and egg Rice pudding Note to crew: there will be no more after dinner cigarettes or cigars due to the exhaustion of tobacco stores onboard. Apologies.

Don Fridtjof

2009-04-14T04:27:00.000-07:00

On the bill of fare this evening we had sweet and sour chicken which hasn't turned up for a long time and what a goodn he is. Rowed a few hours today before we were making too much South and had to set the old parachute anchor. Its surprising how quickly ones hands start getting soft after just a few daYS without rowing. Had to break into the forrard library the other day and bring a new store of books into the Ritz. Of course DOn Quixote is still ongoing...as well as Farthest North, about Fridtjof Nansen's drift across the arctic Ice and an anthology of Cast Aways. Its good reading all these books, good to get a bit better learned innit.... Plenty of birds around - as well as water and sky. It has been asked when we will arrive - well I dunno - when we do really. Maybe 2-3-4 weeks... Depends on the weather and how much I sleep and read.

Easter

2009-04-12T05:23:00.000-07:00

Turns out Easter at sea is pretty relaxed not so different from other days in fact, except of course a holiday was granted to the republic of the carrot and festivities were held, a short church service, v dull sermon, prolonged and rather fruitless easter egg hunt, and that was more or less it... Plenty of rain for the daffodils and lambs...

Easter tidings....

2009-04-11T04:47:00.000-07:00

A fine day, warmer and sunny followed by a magnificent full moon lighting the silvery waves this evening. Few miles clawed to the east. There were many flocks of birds crossing our path today heading north - I wonder if they're off to warmer climes for winter. Not sure what they were, seabirds for sure, maybe muttonbirds, though they looked a little smaller and very fleet of foot they were too. The wind generator seems to be working loose somewhere as makes a hell of a racket, can't find where though, hoope its still up top in the morning... Now I must admit i 'm not familiar with the etiquette of Easter at sea. Not quite sure what we'll do. Of course there will be eggs for all the crew, then perhaps after church and communion (not for stan - he's not confirmed), I fancy a treasure hunt might be in order before our sumptuous luncheon. I'm also not sure what we will substitute the pascal lamb with - perhaps a paschal fur seal - plump and juicy a little underdone with barnacle sauce... Right best be off to doze must not miss church in the morn....

sad news

2009-04-10T04:27:00.000-07:00

Day 80 'tis a rough old cruise indeed...I was sitting on a pile of ropes and drogues on deck looking at the moon and contemplating life and the wondrous solitude of the seas when the sea made itself known in the more physical sense of a wave over the boat and me... After many weeks deliberation and consultation on various elements of the journey so far it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that we will be suspending the Global Row in New Zealand. There are numerous reasons behind this bitterley dissapointing decision. The main reason is our incredibly poor progress, simple arithmetic shows that in 80 days I have covered approx 1600 nautical miles, the straight line distance from Tas-NZ is only 800 miles, and I am still apporx 160nm from NZ. Thus our mileage made good is miserable and would works out if I was to carry on regardless in completion of the end goal in about 5 years..... In large this poor progress is down to problems with the boat. She does not like to go downwind of her own accord or indeed once the wind gets above 20knots not even under oars. SInce the average windspeeds in the SOuthern Ocean are 20-30kts this is obviously something of a problem. The boat is also incredibly heavy about 2 tonnes and on a calm day I can make only about 1.4kts average which is v slow. We had anticipated making about 1000nm a month as per my Atlantic boat but evidently this has not been borne out. Another fact taken into consideration was that this is the worst year on record for drift ice coming out of the Ross sea. With Icebergs over 5km long reported in the region. This is obviously a great problem to me being solo and thus oft asleep as well as not maneuverable enough to avoid these larger icebergs. We are also now very apparently moving into Winter and it is not recommend to winter in the deep south in any vessel - let alone a wee red rowing boat. So in short it would be belligerence and folly to continue regardless into the deep south in our current state. Thus I am making for NZ where we will have a beer and then go back to the drawing board. We will look at modifying the boat, consider increasing the crew, etc.. All options will be looked at in order to try and complete the GLobal Row. Thhe main criteria is being able to go fast enough to cross half the Southern Ocean in 6 months - ie, the summer. So, sorry to be the bearer of bad news but the decision has been made, thank you to Lee Bruce at Tactical Weather for his help and the continued support of all our stalwart sponsors, Virgin, Google, SPB, Wedlake Bell, OC Vision, Expedition Foods, Musto, Fourth Element, Glycine watches and all the others. Thank you also to everyone who has sent me emails and messages they really are a wonderful support and food for thought on the longer days, and apologies for the lack of a response but rest asssured they are being received and a terrfic fuel for the FC crew... Now it still remains to make a safe landfall in NZ in the next few weeks before we can look at the way forward after what we will treat as a very useful sea trial with many lessons learned, GLobal Row MK1 perhaps... picture= morning visitor, Pintado or Cape Pigeon - rather wonderful friendly fellows, v inquisitve and energetiic.