Virgin Global Row

I recently returned from working onboard Pelagic Australis in Antarctica and we are now pushing on with getting the boat (still unnamed -- any ideas welcome!) finished. The hull is now complete and we are currently flat out working on the fit out stage - Jamie and Emily (see www.globalboatworks.com) are putting in some very long days to get her as finished as possible before she moves up to Suffolk to be wired up and any finishing off done by Robertsons Boatyard and Deben Marine.

Fingers crossed she will be complete and ready for sea trials by late May..... Watch this space!

Equipment procurement and sponsor hunting continue as we try and fill our coffers to match the required budget. Any ideas please get in touch.

Training begins in earnest from May with the aim of improving my general fitness and trying to gain about 10 - 12 kilos before I leave in October, - easier said than done methinks.

All in all the expedition is on track with a hell of a lot to do before kick off!

I am currently writing from a cafe in Ushuaia the most Southerly city - or big town in Argentina. We arrived back from a brilliant month on the Antarctic peninsuala about 5 days ago and are now here refuelling and re-provisioning the boat for our next voyage which begins on Sunday.

The plan for the National Geographic project in January came unstuck somewhat as unfortunately the heavy ice conditions in the Weddell sea on the eastern side of the Antarctic peninsula were such that we could not safely get in there. However plan b swung into action and having picked up 3 enormous 2 man kayaks from the Chilean base on King George Island, we spent the month heading south down the peninsula. The expedition team kayaked and filmed as we went along, thorough ice filled straits and channels and in amongst towering icebergs. The aim was for the team to collect up to date evidence of global warming in action. I think this was a success, many hours of film was shot and some very dramatic scenes captured - including an enormous arched iceberg collapsing into the sea only about 150 yards from our boat!

continuing south we got just inside the Antarctic circle, when at the top of Adelaide Island, we came up against the fast ice (ice frozen to the land) and could go no further. So after spending the day messing about on the ice and on the floes we headed slowly north again.
En route a few of us climbed Jabet Peak a small mountain just above Port Lockroy (an old English base), this was very fun, especially for me who has done no real mountaineering. Sadly as we neared the summit there was a huge unstable slab of snow, so we could not quite reach the top without triggering an avalanche so we headed back down. At the foot of the mountain is an old refuge hut where we stayed the night - a wonderful hut built by the British Antarctic Survey and still full of
emergency provisions and 10 bunks.

The time came to head back to Chile and with an obliging weather window we headed out into the Drake passage which separates Antarctica from South America. On our way south we had a good crossing and managed to sail most of the way down. On our way north we had north - north Westerly winds and had to motorsail all the way back slamming into 10ft seas all the way back to Cape Horn.

Now the boat is cleaned up, fuelled up and ready to go back down for another month in the icy waters of the peninsula.

The boat is coming along well, and I much look forward to getting back to blighty to seeing her and all the work that has been going on in my absence. I hope you like the photos...

Olly is back onboard Pelagic doing further research into the environment in the Southern Ocean. He is supporting a Kayak team that is creating an HD film about their expedition, namely, The Larsen Iceshelf Expedition. Information about this adventure can be found at: http://antarctica2008.com

The boat build is progressing well. The navigation systems are being built in to the cabin bulkhead which are now secure on the hull.

At the end of July Olly reached Cape Town, South Africa after a 40 day trip from Punta Arenas in Chile via Cape Horn and the Falklands. The trip gave an excellent insight into the conditions he will face on his row through the Southern Oceans. The conditions he faced were in fact milder than expected; 'we never had much more than 50 of knots of wind and all though it was cold with regular snow, hail and ice it was not much worse than an English winter at sea.' This is reassuring knowledge for the trip! Although it does not mean he can relax completely!

The sea was often rough but we never really faced any waves of over 10 meters, which on a 74 ft expedition yacht is no worries! This would obviously look a little different from a 24 ft rowing boat! Although we were not hit by any really bad lows we could see from the weather files the deep depressions passing to the south of us - this is where I will be rowing - it will not be comfortable to say the least!

The expedition is now concentrating on securing further sponsorships to fulfill the funding programme and continually designing elements of the boat as we build it. see

http://globalboatworks.com/ice-virginglobalrow.html

for pictures of the boatbuild at its current stage. The build is progressing well the hull is complete the cabin tops are now under construction and the interior bulkheads are being installed. We have carried out destructive testing on samples of the boats material - including shooting it and hammering it, it is as hoped extremely durable for its weight.

We will post some photos of the South Atlantic research trip and the boat build here soon.

Olly is currently on board Pelagic Australis on an expedition research trip. Pelagic will shortly depart from Chile setting sail for South Africa. Visit the following link to track progress and read the crew blog: http://blog.mailasail.com/ondeck