Posted: Jul 13, 2005 03:50 pm EDT
We are not an ocean rowing website, but these guys are hard to stay away from. At least they are almost there. Except for...Ollie:
"After a promising start 4 hrs later we are on anchor again wind coming out of the SSE 15kts, wind+seas building . Now drifting backward infuriatingly quickly. Had phone call from Virgin Atlantic today to discuss means of resupply should it become necessary. Possible Options are;
RAF airdrop
Oil rig
Passing Ship
Assigned boat.

Day 47

"Well there's something to think about... In a way it is a shame to resupply because then the voyage becomes 'assisted' officially. However at current rate of progress it looks as though we will be 20-30 days short of food. It would be possible to survive on the emergency rations on board but these would not provide enough energy to row all day.

Also by that stage we will be racing to get in before the autumn gales start sweeping across the atlantic! Hopefully after this run of unfavorable winds ends we will get a fair crack at the halfway line... Stan (a mascot ed note) showing signs of stress - probably lack of digging. Penguin sulking as got punched - keeps asking 'are we nearly there yet?'"

OceanFours: The Doc is in the water!

The Dutch instead, got into the pool after their whale encounter a few days back:

"Patience is a virtue. The wind is still from North East and quite strong. so we are unable to row. The forecast doesn't show us some favourable winds either. So we wait and wait. But waiting has some implications. Beside the fact that the record of 55 days becomes nearly out of range, we have to be very careful with our food. So in this 'waiting times' we try to eat as little as possible, to save food for our rowing days.

The team spirit is still good. Frustrating, but nothing to be done about it - such are the rules of the sea. One can prepare perfectly, but there is one thing which you don't control.. The weather. What to do in times like these? Rest and swim. The Captain went in to clean some private parts. Doc was the only one who hadn't dared the plunge yet, so he threw his fear 'overboard' and jumped in, only to be out within a second."

Ocean Fours/Holland departed May 27 from Atlantic Highlands NJ, planning to set a world record by rowing to the Scilly Islands (UK) in an 11.1 meter (34 ft) long boat in less then 55 days. After this journey they will row to their home city, Rotterdam. The team members are Dutch Gijs Groeneveld, Robert Hoeve, Jaap Koomen, and Maarten Staarink. They are using Contact 3.0 software to provide live images and updates of their expedition.

Oliver Hicks/British departed on May 27 2005 at 14:30GMT from Atlantic Highlands NJ onboard an Atlantic challenge class rowing boat (24.3 ft long), intending to reach England in 62 days or less, thereby breaking the USA-Europe solo Atlantic record. Oliver is the youngest rower (23) to attempt the 3,000-mile crossing.

Previously, Oliver Hicks has competed in the Marathon des Sables and the world’s longest kayak race, the Yukon River Quest. He first developed an interest in ocean rowing at age 16. He is using Contact 3.0 software to provide live images and updates of their expedition.

Frank Samuelson and George Harbo, two Norwegian immigrants and fishermen, rowed with an eighteen foot skiff ‘The Fox” in 55 days from New York to the Scilly Islands. The ocean rowing pioneers ended their trip in Le Havre. They hoped to cash in on the lucrative lecture tour circuit and make their fortunes. But they ended up with two medals and had to return to fishing. George Harbo died in 1908 and Frank Samuelson in 1946. Their record of 55 days has yet to be broken for that particular route.

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