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Together
or not?
Andrew
Chapple and Ian Anderson rowed separately in shifts right across
the Atlantic. Having
passed the Eastern limit of Barbados and rounded the Northern
point they decided to row together over the last six miles.
Only then
did they discover that Andrew’s short strokes forced on him by
his sore hands could not keep time with Ian’s long strokes
required to compensate for his sore back. They quickly reverted to single person rowing.
Observers noted they were nevertheless equally effective in
driving Comship.com despite the vastly differing techniques.
Loss
or Gain
Thanks to yet another helpful resident of Port St Charles
several of the crews on Monday evening were able to weigh
themselves to measure losses and gains in weight.
Without
divulging individual figures your correspondent can report that
some had lost as much as 8 kilograms, admittedly from a starting
weight above normal due to supplementary diets before the start.
As
interesting was the speed at which weight was recovered.
One crew member who had lost 4 kilograms recovered half
that in just 36 hours. Another
competitor claimed to have lost 4 kilograms and in eight days
since finishing to have gained 5 making him heavier now than when
he started on 7 October.
Whatever
next
With
nearly thirty boats still to complete the crossing, the organizers
and supporters are enjoying a brief respite in Barbados following
all the recent excitement. As
of today Bruxelles has 233 miles to go and should finish in
seventh place. Currently
sixty miles further back are the Army pair of Rory Shannon and
Alex Wilson in Atlantic Warrior, doing well for two previous
non-oarsmen. They are
hard pressed however by Yantu, American Star, UniS Voyager
and Team Manpower all of whom could finish in the top ten.
The position of Esprit PME has not been updated since 23
November, four days ago. They
too are probably in close contention.
The
results over the next week will depend on local weather as much as
on technique, stamina and good fortune.
Our thoughts are with these brave crews and we look forward
to welcoming them all at the end of successful crossings in the
world’s toughest rowing race.
Fresh
fish soup
Most crews finishing have reported seeing numerous flying
fish. Most of these
skim the surface, but many instances are reported of flying fish
once airborne gaining impressive height using their wings.
Instances are told of fish flying well above tall crews
even when the crew has been standing and heights above water of 20
feet or more have been seen.
These fish
do of course sometimes end up inside the boats.
Having to clear flying fish from the deck in the mornings
became a regular routine during parts of the crossing.
More painful has been the odd literal slap in the face with
a wet fish, more appreciated was the attempt by one flying fish to
enliven Win Belgium’s monotonous fare by flying straight into
Alain Lewuillon’s hot soup.
Unfortunately this fish lost his nerve once in the pan.
His desperate attempts to return to the ocean and face the
merciless tuna rather than Alain’s hunger led to most of the
prepared soup being thrown out of the pan by the fish’s
frantically beating wings.
Alain will
have to pay for his first flying fish soup after all in one of
Barbados’s outstanding fish restaurants. |
