2011 01 15--And They're Off Again by Angela

2011 01 15  And They're Off Again

By Angela via Sat Phone

Big Blue made a stop in Tarfaya and restarted their Record Breaking Row to Barbados at 8PM GMT

That was quick!   Big Blue left Tarfaya at about 8PM GMT tonight.  They are on their way to the record.  They are moving at 4.7 to 5.1 knots at the moment.  They dumped about 1000 pounds worth of stuff and there are some very happy locals.  They dumped tools and stainless hardware that they did not need and lots of the heavy drink mix that was on the boat.  Angela assures me there is plenty of food on board for the whole crew.  She has always been right on with food on her other 3 rows.  The quick return to the sea hopefully will keep them all from getting sea sick again.


To beat the record Big Blue will have to arrive in Port St. Charles Barbados in less than 35 days 6 hours from when they left.  My calculations are then 19th of Feb as a arrival.

2011 01 14 Audio Blog By Margaret

http://margaretbowling.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/audio-post-4/

Audio Blog by Margaret regarding conditions and the group of 4 crew with whom she is rowing.

2011 01 13 Margaret's Audio Blog

2011 01 13 Margaret's Audio Blog

Margaret talks about Day 2 and a restart from Tarfaya.

2011 01 12 Day 1 By Angela Via Sat Phone

2011 01 12 Day 1 By Angela Via Sat Phone

I just spoke to Angela.  They did not realize that the Spot had not reported their position.  (There is a link onwww.BigBlueRow.com) They are at 29N 20 428 and 101W 38 741 as of 8 pm (I will be reporting in GMT) tonight.

The winds have been against them until tonight.  Now they are just slightly favorable for the 1st time.  Margaret has not gotten her computer up and running yet, so her daily blog is not daily yet.

Angela said it was a day of Dolphins and Blisters.  They had a beautiful sunrise and the clear skies at night allowed them to see millions of stars.  No one on the boat is so sick that they are incapacitated.  There are a few who are uncomfortable, but it is getting better for most.

The only other thing anyone had to add was that they were involved in a distress call relay from another boat.  The good news about that is the VHF is working and they were successful in relaying a call.

2011 01 11--And we’re on the move By Margaret

 

And we’re on the move

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Margaret Bowling| Leave a comment

We left at 8am this morning and are making slow progress through sluggish water as we hug the Moroccan coastline. I’ve been rowing all day with Sylvain and Ryan. David the engineer should have been rowing with us but was still making last minute tweaks to thing as we went today. Had lots of fun rowing with the boys. Very tired but good to be back out here. Body holding up well and each shift has been consistent. Nice rowing with people who have many years river rowing experience. Must dash, have a pack of beef jerky to get through.
Don’t forget to donate time or money to the QLD flood relief effort.

2011 01 10 Blog by Margaret Official Departure Time

2011 01 10 Blog by Margaret

PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE AN OFFICIAL DEPARTURE TIME FOR OUR OCEAN ROW

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Margaret Bowling| Leave a comment

Having consulted our weather router Lia and encouraged the crew to work overtime to get things ready we are finally able to announce a final official departure time of 0600 GMT on the 11th of January. We will now be leaving directly from Agadir instead of Tarfeya. The weather couldn’t be better. We have light winds pushing us in more or less the right direction all the way down the Moroccan coast. By the time we’re ready to change course and start heading out to sea the winds will have veered and increased in speed giving us an excellent push in the right direction away from Africa. The trade winds are blowing and conditions as they stand look ideal for a record year. Whilst I am an eternal optimist I am also realistic that over the course of a month things could change. I’m going out there with a record smashing attitude but as always will take it on the chin should it fall from our grasp.
I’ve stepped in last minute to a team of really amazing people. There are usually at least a few pretty ‘interesting’ types on these expeditions but this time I have the good fortune of landing up with one of the coolest teams I’ve ever met and not an ‘interesting’ person in sight. I know we’re going to have a lot of fun, that is if they can put up with my bossing! I’ve been made watch commander so will be responsible for half the team. This is essentially a co-skipper or second in command role which is something I’ve thrown myself into and am mostly looking forward to. The increased level of responsibility means I can’t let things slip and I will need to work hard to hide my anger, disappointment, upset and exhaustion from my guys. Fortunately I have my own comms system and lots of you wonderful people will be following the trip so I will be able to share those moments with you instead.
All the best from Captain Super Pants at the start of Aussie domination attempt number 2. It seems I have a whole nation to make it up to following the Ashes.

2011 01 11--And they're off! By Deb

Big Blue left this morning from agadir, morocco. The need to be in Barbados by Feb 18th to beat the record. More photos to come!

Deb

I am testing posting blogs via email.

Hoping that this blog post from my secret email address for the Big Blue Blog.

2011 01 09 Update by Deb

2011 01 09  Update by Deb

 

Well we did not leave yesterday as planned.  We are hoping to leave tomorrow.  It really depends on the weather, but for now...Hopefully tomorrow.

The boat was launched yesterday.  I put up some pictures on Photobucket  http://s168.photobucket.com/albums/u196/debmole/Big%20Blue%20Row%202011/Big%20Blue%20Agadir%20Morocco/

I also put up a short video on you tube of the launch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hy8_OQBhbs

Margaret did a voice blog on her site.  http://margaretbowling.wordpress.com/

Luisa-Tom's wife shared this news article:

Check out this Globe and Mail article "Toronto Islands resident to row across the Atlantic" at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/globe-to/toronto-islands-resident-to-row-across-the-atlantic/article1862444/?service=email&utm_source=Shared+Article+Sent+to+User&utm_medium=E-mail%3A+Newsletters+%2F+E-Blasts+%2F+etc.&utm_content=1862444&utm_campaign=Shared+Web+Article+Links.

More when I know it!

Debs