Climate Change!

Lia and I flew into Stanstead airport at 17.30 yesterday to be greeted by 3 inches of snow and a temperature of -1. Just five hours earlier we had been complaining about how hot the taxi was on Tenerife as we hunted for a surf shop to buy some foot straps for the boat on the way to the airport. The display in the taxi was reading 24 degrees.

I had only shorts to wear on the journey as I had sent all but my rowing clothes home with my family a week and a half ago figuring that the next stop for me was Antigua via rowing boat. It was with some relief that on leaving the plane that it had connected to one of those covered walkways so was spared the usual trek across the tarmac you get with budget airlines (thank Thompson Airlines).

A slightly surreal experience being at home in the lead up to Christmas when I had expected to be a third of the way across the Atlantic, especially knowing that I will be back in the Canary Islands within the week and still have an ocean to row!

With family visiting I was clearing the snow off my trusty truck this morning and it was then off to the supermarket for those last minute items (oh the unexpected joys of Christmas).

Ready Steady Cook Lia Style!

During the short time that Lia has been my rowing partner I have been delighted by her ability to create tasty meals form the somewhat sparse and ecclectic selection of ingredients in our apartment fridge. We have been entertained with an excellent Thai coconut Curry and Chorizo sausage with rice and vegetables.

Today however was the crowning glory to a week of cooking Canary Islands style. For breakfast this morning we had the novel and interesting mix of ingredients "fried egg and fruit flapjack".

To be fair to Lia though we are trying to eat up what is left before we leave on Friday.The flap jack had been donated to us by 'Team Insight' a fours crew in the race and had a very interesting taste of fibre glass having been stored in their boat for some time.

This was washed down with a glass of Chocolate protein shaake as we try to build our reserves up for the start of the race. Yum!!!!!!!!

Any suggestions for other menu's gratefully received.

Simon Chalk Unveils his latest Ocean Rowing Boat!

We were privileged today to be present when race organiser Simon Chalk (who has rowed 4 oceans) unveiled the prototype for his new ocean rowing boat. Simon described the boat as 'taking ocean rowing back to it's roots' and plans to build the new boat out of Carbon Fibre, used dehydrated meal packets and beer mats from the Blue Marlin (the legendary ocean rowers bar here in San Sebastian). Although quite a lot smaller than current ocean rowing boats it should suit diminuitive rowers like Simon especially as it is quite 'beamy' compared to it's length.

Simon is seen in the picture showing off his revolutionary design and we are pleased to have it proudly moored next to our boat.

Just in case you think we are sitting in the sunshine with our feet up.....!

We have tried to use the extra time that we have in La Gomera wisely and have today been repacking our food supplies (for the 4th time). Due to the amount of salt water that washes over the boat we have to be very careful to ensure that none gets into our food and destroys it. The food is stored in compartments under the deck of the boat which have waterproof hatch covers however no hatch is ever completely watertight so we have spent the day double packing each days supplies in 2 layers of plastic baags and sealing them with tape.

This is a long and laborious process we managed to repack approximately 25% of our food in 4.5 hours. This was aided by the fact that it was hot with bright sunshine after yesterdays rain. This also has it's disadvantages as the main cabin on the boat where we sleep was 35 degrees this afternoon.

The pictures above show us packing the food back into the boat.

We hope to finish the job tomorrow before flying home if the weather holds, it has however in the last hour started throwing it down with rain again so we will have to see what the morning brings.

Boat Preparations

The delay in the start to the race has in a lot of ways, up until now, been really good news for us as we have had a chance to use Lia's ocean experience to change things on the boat and professionalise the operation.





This had been an interesting experience for us both. To have an ocean professional inspect every bit of the boat and equipment and give a brutally honest opinion as to whether it will last the distance or not is challenging (especially as it has been two years of extremely hard work to get to this point). For Lia to join a completely amateur campaign put together by a bloke who knows very little about oceans is equally challenging in a reverse way and shows that she has taken an enormous leap of faith in doing so.





By trading food with other crews and the support boats we have been able to lighten the boat considerably and have removed upto 100 kilos of weight. This will also give us a greater variety of food to choose from, which is important as we have to eat 2-3times the normal daily intake and meals bacome highlights of the day between rowing sessions.





We have also concentrated on trying to make everything on the boat as strong and as watertight as possible and Lia's experience has been invaluable in doing so. We are currently having some new hatches made and also have spent a lot of time finding appropriate foam to make seat cushions. Sitting rowing for 12 hours a day takes an awful toll on ones behind, so 'butt care' is very important.

Flying Home For Christmas! (or nearly)

Due to the delay in the race start date it is now more cost effective for us to fly home for a week than stay in La Gomera. We have been renting an apartment and the cost of doing this until race start date now exceeds the cost of flights home and back.

I have now been here for nearly four weeks and although not looking forward to the English weather it will be great to back for a while. Lia left England in May to drive a powerboat to Spain and has not returned since then as she has had a series of jobs including running the power boat and delivering a 48ft Carbon catarmaran from South Africa to Dubai amongst others.

On the subject of weather you will be pleased to hear that it is now raining heavily so we can sympathise a little with you all in cold old England and elsewhere around the world. It is however strangely warm and we are still in shorts and flip flops, so it's not all bad.

As a result we will be flying back on Friday afternoon (I'm not looking forward to landing at Stanstead as I only have shorts and flip flops. I sent all my other clothes back last week thinking we would be starting rowing).

We have to be back in La Gomera 48 hours before race start (13:00 27th Dec)and can only get flights back to meet this deadline on Christmas day. We therefore will be flying back to the Canary Islands at midday on Christmas Day so no Turkey for us! unless Luton Airport offers it in the departure lounge (Yum!)

New Start Date 29th December 09

Due to the continuing poor weather in the Atlantic the race organisers have taken the difficult decision to postpone the race to 29th December. The problem is that for the forseeable future winds are blowing strongly back towards Africa or North towards the North Atlantic. Forecasts vary but the consensus is that we would have at least 20 knots of wind against us and perhaps 40 plus. If we have winds above 15 knots we cannot create enough power to go forward and would have to put our parachute anchor out andwait until it subsides. This means that all the boats would get battered by the wind and swell which is not good.

I have attached a weather map to give the idea. To view the animated weather forecast for the Atlantic go to passageweather.com and click on the mid-Atlantic area on the map until it brings up a picture similar to the one attached and then click animate.

Todays news

This afternoon we went out on Dream Maker to continue to refine our rowing technique. We were assisted by Margaret Bowling who was responsible for bringing the two of us together and has travelled out specifically to support us (as well as acting as an equipment 'mule' on Easy Jet bringing some much needed items of kit).

Margaret was a competitor in the 2007 Atlantic Rowing Race and her advice has been very helpful. Margaret was able to use her river and ocean rowing experience to help us and we had a very productive outing.

We have also been assisted by Billy who is a friend of Lia's who is doing great work on the boat by using his engineering experience to spot potential points of failure and remedy them.

Weather, weather, weather!

An update on the current situation regarding the race.

The race was due to start on 6th Dec but due to the hurricane in N Atlantic we were unable to leave as it created difficult conditions for us to row in.

Following the hurricane there has been a large low pressure covering the whole of the North and mid Atlantic that means that we are unlikely to have safe conditions to start until at least the middle of next week and most probably the start of the following week (20th Dec).

We are therefore taking time to re-prepare the boat and get used to rowing together.

We have already changed some of our food making the boat much lighter (100 kilos) and with Lia's ocean experience have been making changes to various aspects of the boat.

Richard Rows the Atlantic

It was with great pleasure that yesterday (sunday) I competed in a round the bouys race just off San Sebastian together with Richard my original rowing partner who had come out to assist in preparations and see the start that was originally planned for Sunday.

Both Richard and I really enjoyed the race and it was fantastic to for both of us to row the Atlantic together if only part of it. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Richard for his help and support throughout the project as with out him I would not have got this far!!

Great News I have a new partner!

You will be pleased to know that I have managed to find an excellent new partner. Following appeals on ocean rowing websites I was put in contact with Lia Ditton who is a sailer rather than a rower.

Lia is a 29 year old professional yachts woman who has completed 3 transatlantic solo crossings as well the Route de Rhum and has over 75,000 miles of ocean sailing experience. Lia has beeen interested in rowing the Atlantic for some time and therefore is an ideal candidate.

Lia arrived in La Gomera yesterday at 10pm after flying from Dubai where she had just completed a yacht delivery from South Africa.

We were on the water today with me using my rowing coaching skills to assist Lia in getting to grips with rowing.

Lia also put me through my paces by casting her professional eye over all the equipment and the boat itself and we now have a long list of jobs to do and yet more things to buy.

We are confident that we will be on the start line with the other 30 boats on Wednesday lunchtime (weather permitting)

Great News I have a new partner

Photos of boat and launching in Gomera

Race Website

You can follow our progress on the race website at http://www.atlanticrowingrace09.com/

Update 1st December

We have been in the Canary Islands for 10days now and it is with sadness that I have to announce that we have split as a rowing partnership. It has been difficult for us since getting to San Sebastian and we have found that the pressure of preparing for the start, getting through scrutineering and boat surveys have all taken their toll. It became increasingly apparent that we reacted differently to situations and this caused issues with many things.

After a lot of thought and soul searching I (Mick) took the difficult decision to dissolve the partenrship for safety reasons. It is OK to disagree on land but for this to happen at sea can become a real safety issue.

I (Mick) am now seeking to recruit a replacement partner to complete the row.

I will keep you informed as to my progress.

Food, Glorious (Premier) Food!!

As well as the getting the boat into shape for shipping to the Canary Islands we also had to get together all our provisons for two months afloat. Thanks to Premier Foods for providing all our food requirements for the row. We will be needing to eat 6-8,000 calories per day and this is an enormous amount of food.

Our daily diet will typically consist of
4 ration packs
400g of cous cuos
2 x supernoodle
several choclate bars
sweets
energy drinks
200g of nuts and raisins
Ginger/lemon or treacle cake each

Thanks to all those who helped packing the individual day bags.

Boat preparation - Dream Maker gets a makeover

Following the eventful to the Scilly Isles, we needed to get to work on refitting Dream Maker. The trip as intended had given us a chance to test a number of things on the boat including the steering system (which broke anyway!) and the elctronics. The row also gave us the chance to try out the latest set of oars and decide exactly what length to order for the other two sets. The length and set up of the oars in crucial in a trip of this magnitude as the longer they are the faster you go but then more effort is needed to pull them through the water. With such a long row we need to have oars that we can pull on all day but still get a decent speed, so a compromise is needed. For those of you that are into these things we finally decided on one set of 312cm and two sets of 308cm. All three sets of oars are XCell X3 purpose made ocean rowing oars with hollow carbon and kevlar shafts, wooden handles and macon spoons.

With regard to the steering it quickly became apparent that the existing system was difficult to use and had a number of weak points that are difficult ot repair at sea. The foot plate was also non adjustable which meant that we could move it to accomodate our differing heights. We decided to order a new carbon fibre steering footplate from Woodvale (the builders of the boat and organisers of the race) which would not only let us adjust the length but also would save many kilos in weight over the massive stainless steel structure that was fitted to the boat previously.

The boat was also fitted with a number of deck hatches that leaked badly during the row and needed replacing with smaller water tight ones (although the leaks were not big enough to cause any danger to the seaworthiness of the boat they were likely to cause contamination of our food and waterlogging of other equipment). This involved removing the old hatches and creating a new section of deck to fit over the newly created holes within which the smaller holes for the new hatches were cut. Thanks to the building department at Cambridge regional College for help in cutting the holes to precision in the 8 foot long new deck section. This was then coated with epoxy resin and painted with 5 coats of marine paint.

Due to the movement of the hatches we then needed to move both of our large batteries to another compartment within the cabin and also resite and replumb the water maker for a second time. Neither of these items would fit through the new hatches.

The leaks through the hatches meant that much of the wiring outside of the cabin had corroded and needed replacing (leaks had obviously been a problem throughout Dream Makers previous Atlantic crossing). A big big thank you to our marine electrician Simon Wilcock for giving up his weekends and who almost lived on the boat each weekend in October and undertook not only the rewiring but installation of new electronic equipment.

Other tasks that needed completing to name but a few were

Replacing the footwell floor

Replacing the rowing rails

Varnishing exposed wood

Filling, sanding and painting the damge sustained on the Scilly's row and predominently from shipping back from the islands.

Scrubbing the decks (never buy a boat with white decks)

Repainting the anti-foul

Replacing the guard wires

Removing all the old logos

Refitting the cooker mount

With the date for shipping the boat from Tilbury Docks set for Monday 19th October it was all hands to the pump as Mick conned, bribed and cajoled acquaintances, friends, friends of friends, acquaintances of friends, and friends of acquaintances (you get the picture) to lend their skills to the cause.

The front lawn of Mick's house resembled a Formula 1 pit stop area for ocean rowing boats with at some stages up to six people working on the boat (which is not bad as it is only 24 feet long).

Thanks to the following -

Pete (I like your wood - is it oak?) Douglas - for the many bits of carpentry that needed doing.

Nick (they didn't have self steering like this at Jaguar or Lotus) Sampson - for engineering our new auto pilot steering system and for putting up with my incessant ramblings about ocean rowing at work for the last two years! (Nick has had the misfortune to sit at the desk opposite me for nearly 3 years!) Also for the pit stop tent!

Simon (whahoo! the GPS is talking to the AIS) Wilcock - for his ceaseless enthusiasm and professionalism when doing the electronics and wiring. If he spent any longer on the boat we would have needed to apply for planning permisssion for change of use to a dwelling.

Jake (Simon's son or should it be apprentice) who assisted on two weekends when any self respecting teenager would have been on his XBox.

Pete (I know a man who can, and to me the most important man in Oundle) Dixon - for his advice and assistance in installing the new footwell floor and much, much more besides. Without Pete I am sure that the boat would be nowhere near sea worthy.

Mark (I'll do anything for a large glass of red) Stratton - for turning his hand to just about anything that was needed.

Mark (I'm sure it was white paint when I bought it) Quigley - for helping out on that hectic Friday when I thought that the boat would never get put back together.

Marinepool kit out the Oarsome Challenge crew.

Leading marine clothing and equipment suppliers Marinepool have come to the aid of the Oarsome Challenge crew by supplying the essential foul weather clothing for both Mick and Anton.

Marinepool have supplied us with a full set of high performance waterproof jackets and salopettes together with fleeces and 'wicking' shirts and under clothing which will allow us to continue to row even in the worst conditions. Marinepools extensive experience enables them to provide state of the art technical clothing to sailors and anventurers worldwide. There products have been used on events such as the Vendee Globe round the world yacht race and also for many other extreme challenges.

Visit their extensive website at http://www.marinepool.com/ to view the large range of technical clothing and also their extensive range of leisure clothing.

There's a bloke in the local Indian who looks like Elvis!

On Friday 9th October we both attended an Elvis night at the Spiceland Indian restaurant at Sawtry (at the side of the A1 near Huntingdon) as guests of our ever generous sponsors LeMark group. We were treated to an excellent performance together with 300 other diners by Elvis tribute act Sal.

Sal has been performing at the Spiceland for a number of years and is recognised as one of the leading Elvis tribute acts in the country. We were also kindly given the opportunity to publicise our row and pass the bucket round for donations. As a result our charitable causes are nearly 300 pounds better off! Thanks to everyone who gave so generously and to Spiceland for letting us use the event to raise the profile of the row.

This was a fantastic fun event and thoroughly reccomended as a good night out. For those of you who are interested in booking for for the next event contact Spiceland on (01487) 640012

For information on the fantastic Sal visit his website at http://www.sallikeelvis.co.uk/

Weldon Stone join the team

We are proud to announce that local firm Weldon Stone have become our latest sponsors.

Weldon Stone constructs, restores and conserves fine stone buildings and features. Their sympathetic repair and cleaning of traditional stonework has helped major buildings, such as Stoneleigh Abbey, Portsmouth Cathedral and Belton House, return to their former glory. Smaller projects on churches, hospitals, bridges, and stone features are completed with equal care and skill.

I (Mick) have personally been able to visit a church that the company was restoring and climbed on scaffolding to the top of outside of the spire (scary!). It was a truly fascinting experience and showed off the enormous skill of the Weldon Team. For more information visit their website at www.weldonstone.co.uk

Thanks very much to MD Peter Dunn for his generous support.

Mick and Anton meet James Cracknell and Ben Fogle

As part of the Oundle Festival of Literature James Cracknell and Ben Fogle came to Oundle to give a talk about their recent adventures in their race to the south Pole. The duo first came together when they entered the 2005 Atlantic Rowing Race and got much publicity for rowing naked! (this is not an unusual thing for ocean rowers as clothes get caked in salt and chaffe causing sores, and if any one is asking yes we will be following their lead, weather permitting).

We were able to ask them both questions and were given the advice to take some luxuries and to make sure we were comfortable in the boat. As James Cracknell said 'A little extra comfort means extra speed'

Snooks sponsor Oarsome Challenge

We are pleased to announce that Raunds based The Snooks snooker club have become our latest sponsor. So why not pop along for a frame or two. The Snooks is situated in West Street and can be contacted on 01933 626437.

ADEC Marine join the Oarsome Challenge Team

We are proud to announce that ADEC Marine have become an official sponsor of the Oarsome Challenge team. ADEC Marine Limited are Marine Safety Specialists who sell, hire and service a complete range of lifesaving, chandlery, safety and fire fighting equipment. The are suppliers of life jackets, buoyancy aids and inflatable liferafts including the new ISO 9650 type 1 life raft.

ADEC Marine have generously supported us by supplying much of our safety equipment including lifejackets, pyrotechnics, a liferaft and grab bag, fire extinguisher, compass, drinking water, lightsticks and more.

Ocean Rowing is a dangerous sport and as such we need to have the best equipment for the job, ADEC's expertise and high quality equipment will allow us to cope with any emergency that may occur. For more information visit ADEC's website at http://www.adecmarine.co.uk/

Many thanks to Martin and his team for their generosity

Scilly (or should it be silly) row part 2

We rowed out of Newlyn harbour at 6 in the morning and out on to the open sea. This is the first time that either of us has ever rowed outside sheltered waters. We rowed togehter for 4 hours as we needed to get a good way towards Lands End before the tide turned. Quickly the other boats who were with us became dots on our very close horizon and we could only see them on when we and they were on the top of the moderate swell. The boat felt extremely stable in the water and handled short coastal chop and swell really well which is more than can be said for the crew.

After 4 hours rowing we had passed Lands End and had taken the lead from the other crews when a pin holding the steering mechanism sheared. Anton stopped to mend it and lasted two minutes before he was sea sick. With sea sickness taking it's toll and the lack of two good nights sleep Anton retired to the cabin for his first experience of sleep on the open sea.

I continued rowing for another couple of hours before the steering broke again and I stopped to fix it. Within 30 seconds of trying to concentrate on the small pin of the steering mechanism I too felt extremely sea sick and was heaving over the side. We swapped places and Anton began rowing again. We were finding extreme difficulty in holding the desoired course to the Scilly's as there was a strong Southerly breeze and this coupled with the highest spring tide of the year combined to push us North.

After 11 hours of rowing we had been swept 15 miles North of tthe Scillys and and called up the support boat on VHF to give us a tow. All the other boats were in the same situation and gradually the support boat took us all in tow. It took another four hours for us to reach St Marys harbour on the Scilly's during which we both tried to catch up on some sleep.

It was dissapointing we had not made the Scilly Isles under our own power but the real purpose of the row was to experience open sea conditions and get used to handling the boat in open water. With the choppy conditions, lack of sleep and sea sickness we certainly had experienced what it was like to be out at sea in such a small boat.

Despite the debilitating unpleasantness of the sea sickness it confirmed to us both that we could work together as a team and that Anton would officially become my new rowing partner for the race.

Rowing to the Isles of Scilly (or nearly)

At 5 am on Friday 24th August a bloke called Anton who I'd only met for 5 minutes arived at my house in readiness for a weekend which we were to spend in each others very close company!



Woodvale Challenge the race organisers had arranged a training row for those crews that were interested from Newlyn (next to Penzance) to the Scilly Isles.



With boat in tow behind the mighty HiLux an 8 hour getting to know you conversation ensued as we journeyed to Newlyn. All the time fingers crossed that we I had not bought a lemon and that it would not blow up on the M5.



On arrival in Newlyn we quickly changed the boats VHF aerial which had been snapped off for a new much longer one (the only one available in the nearby chandlers) in preparation for the row. It was good to see 3 other crews who had been on my sea survuval and navigation courses also there.



After putting the boats on the water and a quick briefing it was 11pm and time for our first nights sleep on the boat. I was not particulalrly looking forward to this as Anton is well over 6 foot and the cabin is just over 6 feet long and 4 feet wide. Surprisingly once we both managed to get in side it was remarkably comfortable.



After an all too brief sleep considering we had only had 3-4 hours sleep the previous day we were up at 3am for breakfast and preparing the boat in order to catch the tide by 6am.

Introducing another new team member

Over the past year we have been kindly been given the use of a 110 Landrover to tow the boat (see previous posts re low ratio gears and diff lock!) but with the prospect of journey to Cornwall and a couple of other events I thought it was time to invest in some serious boat pulling wheels.

For weeks I had scoured the internet for a suitable Land Rover for the purpose but ot no avail. the only ones i could afford on my ocean rowing depleted budget were so old it would have been foolish (and very slow!) to attempt to use them for such a long towing or is it rowing trip.

Eventually I gave a gave up on buying British and settled on looking for a Toyota HiLux Surf. These vehicles are Japanese imports and are based on the same vehicle that Top Gear tried to drown, blow up etc. but did not succeed. So one Sunday afternoon saw me travelling to High Wycombe to look at several 15 year old specimens. After rejecting four of them following test drives and visual inspection I finally settled on a metallic red one with a large dent in the front wing. As part of the deal the seller included a new front wing that he had already ordered and would get it posted to me!

I am now the proud possessor of a 15 year old Japanese import Toyota Hi Lux 3litre auto diesel together with a spare wing. I know very little about cars however hoped that the reputation of these (almost cult) cars would prove true and that it would tow our boat the 400 miles to Penzance the following Friday.

Help -Rower wanted!

Following Richards withdrawl from the race team I (Mick)have been searching a new partner who will be foolish enough to spend two months with me in a small boat on the open ocean. After drawing a blank at the local asylums I decided other tactics were needed.

I reasoned that the best place to look for a rower was at a rowing regatta, we were already booked to display the boat at Peterborough rowing Regatta. With 750 crews (approx 1000 rowers) entering over the two days there would surely be someone who would be interested, in fact I would probably have to beat them off with a stick.

I hit on the plan to put a large sign on the side of the boat with the words

Atlantic Rowing Race 2009

Crew Member Needed

(Go on, you know you want to do it!)

Day 1

Saturday arrived, with scorching weather and with a prime position just up from the finish line where rowers by the score werewalking past I thought that it would be no problem finding a partner. Many rowers stopped and talked and said they admired what I was trying to achieve but it was not for them, many were volunteered by their mates in their asbsence (who needs friends like that!).

A couple of others stopped and said they might be interested but after 10 hours of standing by the boat I went home despondent with no real interest.

Day 2

Sunday was another scorching day and again hopes were high but again many stopped to say how they were interested in what I was doing but none wanted to take part! After refreshing my deoderant (well perhaps I smelt or something and that what was putting potential partners off) I continued to canvass unsuspecting rowers.

By 5pm after nearly 20 hours with no real interest I had almost decided that it was time to leave, however not one to give up easily I thought that I would stay to the very end of racing.

At approximately 6.30pm I was approached by a long haried, sweaty, lycra clad rower from Cantabs Rowing club in Cambridge who stated that he had been trying to get talk to me all weekend but had always been busy talking to people. He stated that the thought of rowing the Atlantic was really inspiring and that it was the sort of thing that he would perhaps like to do in the future. We has a pleasant 5 minute chat about the row in general he took a leaflet and off he went which I thought was a shame as he seemed like a pleasant chap who totally got what I was trying to achieve.

With zero rowers added to the team over the two days I headed home with the boat (no easy task when it is 27ft plus on its trailer and the large numbers of people leaving the regatta).

At about 9.30pm I was sitting at home consoling myself with a large glass of red when my mobile rang and the caller stated "Hi it's Anton the mad rower from Cambridge you spoke to at Peterbrough, I am really interested in doing the row! however I am holiday from tomorrow for ten days so will send you some details by Email so you can see who I am and what I do." I explained that there was little other interest and that I woul d be delighted to consider him. I explained that there was a training row to the Scilly Isles organised by race organisers in two weeks time and that if interested he should consider comimg along. Anton explained he was not back from the South of France until that weekend but would consider it.

Over the next 10 days we exchanged Emails and had a couple of phone conversations the upshot being that Anton would join the team and come along to the Scilly Isles row, which would mean him arriving back in the UK on thursday evening and then meeting me in Oundle at 5am on Friday for the long drive with the boat down to Cornwall.

Crew Change

18th July 09

It is with sadness that Richard has been advised by the medical experts that he should not carry on with the row. I (Mick)wish to say that without Richard I would not have had the confidence to get to where we are toaday and that I will be eternally grateful for the tremendous amount of work that Richard put in towards getting the boat and raising the necesaary funds to carry out the row.

Richard will still be involved in the row as a supporter and helper.

The search is now on for a new partner!

Peterborough Rowing Club Summer Regatta 7th/8th Aug 09

With the kind permission of John Canton Peterborough Rowing Club Chairman Oarsome Challenge spent two very enjoyable days at the Peterborough RC Summer Regatta. With an excellent spot to show the boat on the side of the course we received much interest in the challenge and many encouraging comments. With hot sunshine and a grandstand seat (ocean rowing boat) by the finish, it was a pleasure to also watch some great racing over the two days.

Many thanks to all those who offered their best wishes, gave donations and took leaflets with the intention of following us via the race website during the challenge.

Again many thanks to John and Peterborough Rowing Club for their hospitality and support. For more information about Peterborough Rowing Club visit their website at
www.peterboroughcityrowing.co.uk

Warning Systems support Oarsome Challenge

We are delighted to announce that Warmington based Warning Systems UK Ltd have become our latest sponsor.

As the UK Market leader in electronic warning sirens Warning Systems UK supply and install resilient and high quality Emergency Warning Sirens and Control Systems to Industry, Government and the Military.

With a background in the monitoring and reporting of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical hazards, Warning Systems UK has more than 15 years' experience of providing hazard warning and control systems.

Warning Systems UK has designed, delivered, installed and supported Emergency Warning Systems and control infrastructure across the world in environments as diverse as the Kuwaiti Desert, Tropical Singapore and the extreme cold of Russia's Sakhalin Island.In addition, they have worked and continue to work with the UK's Local Authorities and the Environment Agency to bolster the UK's Flood Defences in a number of regions.

Mamy thanks to Managing Director Guy Chilvers in supporting our challenge.

For more information visit their website at www.warningsystemsgb.co.uk

Mick is interviewed on BBC Radio Northampton

On Monday evening I travelled to Northampton and was interviewed live on the Monday Night Sport Show. I took with me a number of items that we will be taking with us on the boat including one of our emergency satellite positioning beacons, GPS, VHF radio and short of something to put them in one of our fundraisising buckets.

The bucket however is a significant item of equipment on the boat as there is no toilet on board and great hilarity ensued as I described its function in a process known as 'bucket and chuck it'.

A 15 minute interview enabled me to put across what we are trying to achieve and who we are raising money for.

Thanks very much to presenters Laura, Geoff and James for making it an enjoyable experience

Beatles, Manfreds, OG's, Fireworks, Brides and Rain!

Staurday 11th July saw us both with the boat with the kind permission of the Oundle International Music Festival at the annual music and fireworks concert in Oundle. A sell out crowd of 5,500 people watched local group the OG's perform together with the Bootleg Beatles (the premier Beatles tribute band) and the Manfreds (featuring many of the original members fo the Manfred Man Band).

With the boat in the main concert field we were able to get an excellent view of the bands and had a lot of interest in what we were doing. We potentially attracted some commercial sponsors however of note was one enquiry from a lady who ran a bridal wear company who asks if we would do the row in wedding dresses! I've heard of most things but two blokes rowing the Atlantic dressed as brides might send out some interesting messages! We did however volunteer to take a boquet or top hat with us.

The rain almost held off for the night but unfortunately decided ith an hour to go to give everyone a soaking. As ever the cockpit area of the boat filled with rain water (we must get a new bilge pump, anyone interesting in sponsoring this, please call!).

A fantastic fireworks display finished the evening and the rain did nothing to dampen peoples spirits. Many thanks to all those who donated to us on the evening.

Remember you can also sponsor us on line with Gift Aid using the weblinks on the blog and our website.

VIP's? and Royalty

Friday the 19th June saw Mick at the East of England Show in Peterborough together with the boat. We were sharing a stand with our sponsors who make the Incredible Kraken tape.

The Duke of Gloucester was at the show and spent ten minutes talking to Mick about the row and looking at the boat. He was accompanied by an ITV news film crew and a short clip of the two chatting made that evenings news, with the presenter saying that if people looked carefully they may see some VIP's (cue shot of Mick) or some royalty (pans out to show the Duke).

Richard joined Mick on Saturday and Sunday in raising the profile for our row.

We are also now both dab hands at demonstrating The Incredible Kraken Tape and it's ability to seal leaking pipes without the need to turn the water off.

Radios, Liferafts, Latitude, Longitude and Headaches!

4a.m. Friday 5th June saw us both heading down to KTY Yachts in Southampton to complete our compulsory navigation, sea survival, first aid at sea and marine VHF courses. These courses are essential for us for two reasons, firstly and most obviously we need to be able to navigate and survive in the ocean should the worst happen. Secondly we need to be able to evidence to the Spanish Authorities in the Canary Islands that we have sufficient skills so that they will allow us to leave port. It also gave us a chance to meet three of the crews we will be racing against.

The courses ran continuously over 8 days from Friday to Friday and involved some very long days in the class room (8-9hrs each day!)

The week started with a full day of learning how to operate a marine VHF radio. In order to allow us to use a VHF radio on the boat each of us had to qualify for an OFCOM radio licence. Alarmingly much of the day was spent learning how to put in MayDay and distress calls hopefully two things that we will not use! As well as learning how to use the emergency features we learnt how to contact any passing ships, this particularly important to ensure that they know of our presence. Travelling at 20 knots a large tanker or container ship can beon top us in 15-20 minutes from first spotting it on the horizon. Many previous ocean rowers have reported large ships passing close by without apparently realising their presence. Our boat is at maximum 1.5 - 2 metres above the water and with a 2-3 metre swell we are almost invisible from the bridge of a large ship!

Day 2 was spent learning how to survive should our boat sink or we cannot right it should it capsize. We learnt about the features of the type of liferaft we will have (when we find the £1,500 to buy it that is!) and how to organise a grab bag with essential emergency kit for abandoninig ship. We then spent two hours in the pool learning how to operate life jackets, inflate liferafts and turn them back over when they inflate upside down. This was allo great fun in a warm swimming pool but all the time we were aware of the harsh reality that there was a small chance we have to do this for real in the cold stormy waters of the mid-Atlantic and possibly in the dark.

We were also shown films of the rescues of yachtsman during the infamous Sydney - Hobart race and the disastorous Fastnet Race (for those of you who are old enough it's the one when Simon LeBon's yacht Drum amongst others capsized). The footage,much of it recorded by news helicopters at the time brought home the real reasons for doing the drills and put into context just what we moight be letting ourselves in for.

Day 3 was spent with more sea survival and first aid.

The remaining five days were spent learning how to navigate using sights taken from a sextant. We need to prove to the authorities that we are able to navigate safely without elctronic aids such as GPS before they will let us leave port. Those of you who enjoyed maths at school would have been in second heaven! To work out each improved position takes between 20 and 30 different calculations looking many strange and various times and sun positions in page after page after page of numerical tables. We spent 5 -6 hours each day doing this with an hour or two of homework as well. Thanks to Yvonnes our patient and sometimes scary (only joking) tutor all 9 of us managed to pass our RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Navigation quialification.

Friday afternoon was spent at a company called Ocean Safety in Southampton looking at the various pieces of safety equipment that we still need.

A 3 hour drive back to Oundle and Mick was off to the Oundle Rugby Club Dinner Dance where Mick gave a short presentation on the row and passed the bucket round. Many thanks to all those who gave generously and to Andy Gordon for taking and selling portrait photos in order to raise even more money. We finished the night with over £300.

SEE US AT THE EAST OF ENGLAND SHOW 19-21st JUNE

Come and see us at the East of England Show. We will be exhibiting the boat at the East of England Show from Friday 19th to Sunday 21st June.

We have been given the opportunity to share a stand with our generous sponsors the LeMark Group. Le Mark are suppliers of the incredible Kraken Tape that we will taking as an essential part of our repair kit on the row. For more information about this incredible self fusing tape which can be used for a multitude of purposes visit http://www.gaffertape.com/

We will be at the show for all three days so why not pop along and have a look at the boat.

'Elvis' comes to the Ship Inn

Thanks to the great support from Robert and Andrew at the Ship Inn 'Elvis' came to Oundle to support Oarsome Challenge.

Richard and Mick took a collection throughout the evening in aid of the challenge raising a total of £150. Many thanks to those who attended and for your generosity. A very enjoyable evening and much more entertaining than the "Britains Got Talent Final".

27th May

Richard
My first venture into the world of the blog, exciting stuff!
went up to do some work on the boat today, trying to get the pump from our water maker out of the hatch under the deck. only 6 screws holding the thing in (or so i thought) an hour later i got the last of them out only to find that the plate must be glued in too (god bless the boat builder for making things so secure!!) Anyway the pump is still attached will go back later this week with a few better tools.
We have today received news that the Middle Nene Sailing club www.middlenenesc.co.uk in Thrapston are willing to give us access to their water, so will be taking the boat over this weekend to take a look and to show them what the boat looks like.
This weekend Elvis will be performing at The Ship Inn Oundle, with all door donations going to our challenge. Big thanks to Robert and Andrew for organising the event, would be great to see a lot of people there.

The Story So Far

The Story So Far


1997 Challenge Atlantic Rowing Race – Mick hears about race and has passing conversation with colleague that this seemed an interesting challenge.

2005 Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race 2005

Christmas
2006 Mick receives copy of ‘The Crossing’ the book by James Cracknell and Ben Fogle describing their crossing of the Atlantic in the 2005 Atlantic Rowing Race. Is fascinated by the challenge of the race and thinks it is something he would like to attempt.

2007
April - Mick attends Springforward self development course run by the Springboard Consultancy (see sponsors). Mick undertakes a process of self development and when looking what he wants to achieve in life, (both professionally and personally) the theme of rowing the Atlantic is a recurring theme.

June – Mick finds Woodvale Challenge’s website on the internet and finds himself registering for details of the 2009 Atlantic Rowing Race.
July - Information pack arrives at Mick’s home and is discovered reading it by his wife who humours him and agrees to him trying to find someone to row with him.

July2007
to February 2008 – Mick asks many of his friends whether they would like to consider joining in the challenge. Most think he is mad and decline or do not want to take on the challenge of raising the money to do so. A few would love to take part but cannot afford the time to do so.

February 2008 – Mick tells members for the Rowing Club what he is looking to do during a post regatta drink at the Ship Inn (see sponsors). Says that he is looking for a partner to do the race and the universal opinion is that he is mad. Richard (the only sober person in the group!) states that he would love to do something like that. Mick, probably due to too many pints, fails to realise this as a serious expression of interest.

During the following week Mick remembers the conversation with Richard and the following Saturday asks him if he was serious about doing the race. Richard replies that he had thought of nothing else since the conversation in the Ship and the rowing partnership is formed.

Mick and Rich formally enter the race, sending £150 each to Woodvale and the search for a boat starts. Both agree that they cannot afford to buy a new professionally built boat and neither would set to sea in something they built themselves! (Woodvale sell kits for crews that wish to make their own boat).
September 2008 After looking at the details for many boats Mick and Richard are informed that ‘Spirit of EDF Energy’ the boat used by Cracknell and Fogle is possibly for sale. Mick contact details of James Cracknell from Simon Chalk (MD of Woodvale) and begins to find out more details.
‘Spirit of EDF Energy’ arrives at Woodvale’s HQ and Mick and Richard travel down to Cornwall to look at it. Unfortunately the boat has been stored outside since the completion of the 2005 race and needs extensive repair work before it could be used again and much of it’s equipment is missing. This would make it uneconomical for them to buy.
Simon Chalk recommends that the pair look at a boat called ‘Dream Maker’ which was built for two nurses from Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and was rowed by them across the Atlantic in the 2007 Atlantic rowing Race in a time of 77 days. Mick and Richard begin talks with GOSH who own the boat and agree to buy the boat.

Mick and Richard attend a weekend rowing session with Woodvale in Plymouth. The event was originally scheduled to row from Cornwall ot the Scilly Isles however bad weather meant that the event took place in Plymouth Sound. This is Mick and Richards first experiece of rowing an ocean rowing boat. The row starts well however the boat that they have borrowed from Woodvale has only recently come back from being loaned for a row in Scotland and it is not long before the wheels on one of the rowing seats disintegrates. The pair also experience problems with the oars and after a while have to change to another boat. Despite these early setbacks both thoroughly enjoy the experience and are gain further enthusiasm to complete the row. This is also a vital chance for the pair to look at a large number of ocean rowing boats and compare the different equipment and set up of each boat.

October 2008 –Mick travels to Bala in North Wales and collects Dream Maker from Elin Davies one of the GOSH crew members. On returning to Oundle the pair take the boat to Prince William School where the Rowing Club are holding their annual indoor fund raising rowing regatta (six Concept 2 rowing machines are linked together and the progress of each rower is plotted on a virtual race course that is computer projected on to a big screen. Bets are placed on the outcome of each race similar to that in pub ‘race night’). There is great interest in the boat and the pair have their first experience of answering questions on ocean rowing including the inevitable “How do you go to the loo?” and the now familiar reply of “bucket and chuck it”.









November 2008 – Mick and Richard mail shot Oundle Chamber of Trade with details of their row. Chris Woodford of Woodford and Co. Estate Agents agrees to sponsor and support the pair (see link from home page).

January 2009 – Mick and Richard display Dream Maker outside the town hall in Peterborough City Centre for two freezing cold Saturdays and collect money in aid of the row and their charitable causes. The pair spend 9 hours on each Saturday talking to the public about their row and as a result raise over £500 and create interest in the row from potential sponsors.

Mick does live radio interview with Radio Cambridgeshire breakfast show highlighting the row and what they are trying to achieve.

Belvoir Lettings (Huntingdon) agree to become a sponsor.

Following a letter from Mick to the directors of The Springboard Partnership they agree to become a sponsor. It is as a direct result of attending the Spring Forward course that Mick started the challenge.




The Ship Inn, Oundle become become a sponsor and agree to support the pair with fundraising events throughout the year.





Stuart Gibbons Managing Director of Le Mark Group agree to assist the pair in publicising their row. Le Mark have a stand at the National Outdoor, Caravan and Boating Show at the NEC in March and will promote details of the row.

March 2009
Mick and Richard attend a meeting of Oundle Town Council and obtain their support for the row.

March 13th – Mick and Richard attend the National, Outdoor and Caravan Show in support of the LeMark Group. The company has an innovative repair tape which Mick and Richard will be taking on the row with them. The Incredible Kraken Tape sticks when wet and forms a waterproof seal capable of withstanding high pressures which will be invaluable if the pair need to repair any of the hoses or electrics on the watermaker. The tape can also be used for electrical insulation and a myriad of other things. Visit the site at www.krakentape.co.uk

LeMark assist the pair in obtaining a stand at the East of England Show in Peterborough on 19th, 20th and 21st June in order to promote their row. Dream Maker will be on display for the three days of the show which attracts over 100,000 visitors.

March 21st – Richard and Mick display Dream maker in Oundle Market Square. A fantastically sunny day, with many people showing interest in the boat and the row. Richard gets sun burnt (in March!). An amazing response to their requests for sponsorship raising over £450 and interest from several potential commercial sponsors. Thanks to Chris Woodford of Woodford and Co. Estate Agents for the coffees, croissants and soup that kept us going throughout the day.

March 28th – Thanks to a very generous sponsor who is a member of Peterborough Rugby Club (PRUFC) Mick and Richard attend the clubs sponsors lunch and are presented with three pairs of ocean rowing oars. The oars will bear the name of Peterborough Rugby Club in recognition of this. This a great example of the spirit of camaraderie that exists within rugby union with the larger club, PRUFC, supporting the raising of money for a smaller club, Oundle.

The oars are purpose made for ocean rowing and differ from normal river rowing oars that hollow carbon fibre shafts in that the shafts are made of solid American ash sheathed in carbon fibre. This gives the oars strength yet retains flexibility to cope with the harsh conditions of ocean rowing.

April 2009

April 3rd – Mick and Richard display the boat at Oundle Rugby Club and give a short presentation at the club Vice Presidents lunch before watching the 1st XV clock up an outstanding win in their last league game of the season. The pair raise over £250. Many thanks to Mike Smurthwaite for collecting ‘donations’ from spectators and for Chris Woodford for donating the food for the BBQ.

April 17th – Following a refusal from Anglian Water to allow the pair to train by rowing the boat on Rutland Water (one of the largest stretches of inland water in Europe with conditions that often resemble the sea) the pair launch Dream Maker on to the River Nene at Oundle Town Rowing Club. After a bit of difficulty getting Dream Maker off the trailer the pair get their first experience of rowing her (not quite the Atlantic but we all have to start somewhere!). Several members of the rowing Club have a go at rowing Dream Maker on a flat calm and sunny river and find the immense difference in weight between an ocean rowing boat and a racing scull. Mick decides to take advantage of the opportunity and disappears into the dimunitive cabin at the rear of the boat and promptly drops off to sleep! (not sure it will be that easy on the Atlantic with 3-4m swells and sea sickness to contend with, however Mick feels sure that he and the cabin will be seeing a lot of each other throughout the voyage).



The row goes well and it feels great to get the boat on the water particularly with the brand new oars (thanks Bruce!). It is soon apparent however that the rowing positions on the boat will need altering radically as the seats are very low and will put unnecessary strain on the rowers backs. The footplate and steering mechanism will need to be looked at as there is no adjustment on them and Mick and Richard as you may have seen on the photos are of quite different heights. This will be a major piece of work for the pair so if there are any boat builders out there with time on their hands please give us a call!


Getting the boat out of the water turned out to be slightly more difficult than getting it in, as a result of the small muddy slipway at the club, however thanks to Peter Dunn who found that the guide rails at the rear of the trailer expand to allow easier access. Also a big thank you to John and Jo Milborne of Oundle Osteopaths (see sponsor link) for the continued loan of their Land Rover to tow the boat not to mention the long term care of one ageing rugby players back and that of slightly younger (it’s only 19 years age difference between Mick and Richard!) rowers back. (For all you Land Rover anoraks out there, Mick finally got to use low ratio gears and diff. lock for a genuine reason and gets all four wheels spinning!).

April 25th – Dream Maker is launched onto the Nene for a second time. This time the launch is easier and trouble free. Mick and Richard row their first 3 or 4 miles together to Lilford lock and back accompanied by some excellent tunes from Richards Ipod. The thing that we are rapidly learning is that ocean (River Nene) rowing is better accompanied by good music. We are both undertaking the process of filling our Ipods with as much music as possible to last the two months at sea. Mick intends to listen to the complete Harry Potter series of audio books on the way across and Richard has some Agatha Christie lined up to take his mind on what is going to be by all accounts a painful two months rowing. The ability to mentally transport your self away from the hardships of rowing 12hours a day we have been told by many ocean rowers is essential

Recovery of Dream Maker goes much more smoothly on this occasion although for all you Land Rover enthusiasts Mick gets to use low ratio and diff lock again! (mind you don’t spill that real ale into your beard and sandals in the excitement).


Mick pressure washes Dream Maker in order to remove the River Nene mud and also to spruce her up for displaying at Oundle Rugby Clubs mini and junior presentation day the next day. We are raising money to support the successful mini and junior section of the club. In cleaning the hull the large number of barnacle shells that were attached to the bottom of Dream Maker from her last trip across Atlantic were blasted off and she now has a smooth bottom (Mick gets to have all the fun!). This is a point that although it seems trivial will be vitally important in the Atlantic. As the boat will only move at walking speed it creates it’s own micro climate in the cold ocean. As a result barnacles and weeds rapidly grow on the hull despite the anti-foul paint. The drag caused by these growths can rapidly decrease the boat speed to nil if not scraped off. Mick and Richard will have to regularly swim under the boat to clean the growths off with a scraper during the voyage, this is not without risk as large sharks have swum around the boats of previous rowers.

April 26th – ORFC presentation day. Dream Maker is displayed at the club with much interest from players and their families.