11/04/2006
Well, I'm quite sure that there's nobody reading this anymore - prove me wrong and email me on george@atlantic4.co.uk! Anyway, the reason for writing. A lot has happened since we last put an entry on here - we had our last rowing outing in August, back on the Solent - just like old times. A couple of us were seasick for the first time in our lives - I suspect it had a lot more to do with the skinfull the night before than the moderate conditions though. Big news: We're having a documentary professionally made. Should be "in the stores" in time for Christmas. So if you want a copy, drop one of us an email. Not sure what the cost will be - £5to £10 I assume. It'll be a lot cheaper than Through Hell and High Water... and there's going to be a lot less blubbing!

22/01/2006
First chance I have had of putting an entry on since we have arrived. It's great to be here at last after a very eventful journey, I will be happy to tell anyone who wants to hear all abot it when I get back. By then the waves will have got highwe the wind stronger and the whales bigger. The support we have had during the crossing has been magnificant, we had no idea how it would grip everyone at home, thanks for all the text messages they were a highlight of our days. I would like to say thanks (in true Hollywood style) to all our supporters, families and sponsors and personally to the rest of the crew, we did what we set out to do and remained friends. - David

19/01/2006
George here - on terra not so firma. A quick note to say we are safely here as of last night at about 0400 GMT - in SECOND PLACE! Actually, we were last in our class, second in our class and second overall - all at the same time. Anyway, for us it was definitely the getting safely across primerily. Well done to All Relative, an amazing effort given the conditions, and what a nice bunch of guys; they waited for us to get in and have just left us with a crate of beer. Cheers lads! A quick note before I get seriously drunk... 1) thanks for all the emails and best wishes, mst of which I am just now getting to read. I can see that many of you thought we were picking up emails sent from the site aboard the boat - we weren't. Only text messages got through - all of which we really enjoyed. I'm going through the emails and everyone will get a reply - I promise that if I have to sit in this lovely bar / internet cafe by the beach doing one hour shifts drinking and one hour shifts typing I'll get through the lot! 2) the crossing; people keep telling us how incredible it was to have done. Wierd, seems like the norm to us really. I suppose if anything we are all humbled by the ocean. To have faced down two tropical revolving storms and a hurricain armed only with shorts and a t-shirt (although we missed the worst of them) makes you (well me) think that we got lucky and that despie al our preparations, undertaking an ocean crossing is never a task to be underestimated! There were some hairy times and we plan to put together a good photo / diary ASAP for all the interested people. 3) It;s very good to be back on land. I think we were just about ready for it all to be over a couple of weeks ago now. 4) Will I do it again? erm... no. Not the Atlantic anyway! Got to go as typing hurts the mangled claws formerly known as hands, but please stay interested enough to listen to my procrastinations as soon as I can get them written down! Once again, a massive thanks to you all. Honestly, there were times as hard as anything you could imagine, physically, mentally and moreover emotionally. Without the knowledge of so many people willing us along I know of at least one Atlantic crusing yacht who we chatted to on the VHF with an all female French crew that might just have had some dinner guests!

18/01/2006
This is definately it, the final day. We have just under 25 miles to go and could possible arrive at between 3 - 4 am GMT (11-12 Antigua time). All the sores and ailments that we have are out in force today but we don't care. I am sure that when we stop properly and grab our first 8 hours uninterrupted sleep, the aches and pains will come out properly. Before that however we will be living on lovely adrenalin and, accompanied by friends and family, be dining at cafe Woodvale where we are promised a breakfast on arrival. There may be a celebratory drink or two but bottled water is top of the list for now. We can't quite believe that it is going to be over, as it has been such a long time. It has been an incredible adventure and so much has happened. We are looking forward to recounting tales of heroics at length when we return. Thanks again for all your interest and especially the daily text messages. You wouldn't believe how much easier things become with a simple message, joke or quote from home. There will pictures of us on the Woodvale site soon after finishing. You can have a laugh at the state of us all, luckily though you won't be able to smell us. The surf speed record has been increased by Neil and Glynn to 17 knots. We think this is the winning speed. Happy birthday Caroline see you in about 8 hours.

17/01/2006
With less than 120 miles to go now there is a bit of excitement in the boat. 60 miles today and 60 miles tomorrow should see an ETA of 11.00GMT, or 07.00 Antigua time, as the sun rises. It is going to be very special indeed. We can't wait to see our loved ones in the harbour waiting for us. It may get emotional. We have been enjoying sunshine for the last few days but, so we don't get too excited, we were drenched on both early shifts this morning. We'll laugh about it on Friday, lying on a beach with a pinacolada. We saw support yacht Sula last night. We happened to tune in on VHF and caught a conversation between them and EDF Energy about half a mile south of us. I guess the race will go down to the wire. It was great to see Sula's crew and have someone else to talk to. The fun continues with flying fish. The hit count is Neil head and legs, George face and legs, Dave torso and legs, Glynn face and armpit (fish came off worse there). Hello to Darrell, Kim and Jake. Looking forward to getting back and seeing that lovely infectious smile (not you Darrell).

16/01/2006
We can tell we are getting close to land. We have seen 2 boats in as many days. A massive oil tanker came in close for a look. They don't realise how big and scary they are from a small boat like ours. Also a Swiss yacht with a guy on his way to Guadeloupe for a break. These things always happen at night when they take on a much bigger magnitude. I don't know if we are getting Caribbean weather yet (sub 170 miles) but it is suffocatingly hot. The wind has dropped too so we are having to drag our heavy carcass over every scorching mile. This also means that EDF Energy have slowed right down and they are only 2 miles in front. Their ETA is Thursday a.m. and so is ours. Hang on to your hats. Speaking of EDF we have been in radio contact with them. They have lost sat phone comms so we are relaying messages to and from them and their loved ones. They are looking forward to finishing as much as we are, and we have a wager (rum punch) between us for the victors.

15/01/2006
We are assuming that EDF Energy are now in front due to their proximity yesterday. We are not despondent and our goal is still to arrive in Antigua on Wednesday. It is very very hot today but we are enjoying our last Sunday out here and shortly there will be less than 200 miles to go. We have a massive list of what we want to do/eat drink/see first on arrival. We will have to line them all up and jump in. Things that we will never eat again after this trip are pepperami noodles. Hello to Matt and Catherine. Thanks for the messages. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

14/01/2006
We changed our nightshift to one hour on, one hour off, to maintain our movement and improve our mileage. If you take getting used to 3 of the crew falling asleep at the oars in various shifts and with 300 miles to go we are knuckling down to get to Antigua as soon as possible. The crew are vey tired but hoping to arrive Wednesday evening. We shall see. Been keeping an eye out for EDF Energy but no sign yet. Expect to see them soon particularly after George's quip with them yesterday to "come and have a go if you think you're hard enough". Hello to Jen. Hello to daddy Bates, mummy Bates and baby Bates.

13/01/2006
Problems (technical) of the past few days have gone and moral in sky high now since somebody stated last night that it was our last Thursday on the boat. Today is our last Friday, and so it goes on. Weather extreamley hot today which is helping with our solar problems. We are now allowing ourselves to think about the finish at last (now sub 400 miles). The beard competition is in its final stages. Neil has put all his energy into cultivating a shock of red facial hair any Scot would be proud of. Glynn has gone for the tortoise shell look and favours more follicles per square inch. The judge is to be an Antiguan barber. There is the usual pint on the outcome. Craig re boredom. We can honestly say we were never bored once during the crossing. I think time passed this year because we are constantly reacting to an ever changing and sometimes dangerous environment. Also Neil keeps finding new ways to display his genitals. There was another toilet incident. The story of this one however will never leave the boat. Hello to Brian, thanks for the messages speak to you on our return (from David). Thanks to everyone at dial-a-flight for your help, your interest and enabling us to change our flights at short notice. Hello to everyone following us at Reading rowing club, I'll never whinge about a boat being down on bow side again. Thanks for the support.

12/01/2006
Days are getting tough, nights are getting tougher. We stopped from 6 - 11am to sort out a few issues and recoup. Stopped again later to deal with our rubbish problem (nothing yet thrown overboard that is not biodegradable). We're off again now though and rowing as hard as possible to arrive the middle of next week. We are trying not to get too exited about arriving until we can smell the land (beer). Thanks ITQ for sorting out the texts. Now I know why you need me (Dave). Happy 50th birthday Helen Munroe. Have a wonderful day.

11/01/2006
The ocean is now telling us that if we want to say that we've rowed the Atlantic, then we'll have to earn it. The whole night shift was spent surrounded by a squall and vicious cold winds. Every shift got soaked which made for a miserable night. Our routine has been thrown by water shortage which in turn impacts eating. However, at some point tonight we'll be sub 500 miles. Nothing now can get us down. Upon verification of Dave and George's surf speed record yesterday, it was found to be 14.3 on the GPS not 14.8. That has now been obliterated by Glynn and Neil acheiveing 14.4. Mine's a guiness fellas. Thanks for all the messages of encouragement in reference to EDF Energy. If he gets any closer we'll have to start using both arms. Jolanea, thanks for the quotes. They help keep the spirits up. Could you sort out ITQ. None of their messages are getting to us. Dave and Rachael, thanks for the messages. No blue whales. Reading half marathon this year as usual. Pam, happy birthday. Love from mid atlantic. Hope you have a really great day.

10/01/2006
Making progress all the time but tough going. Taken some water in each cabin this afternoon. Have stopped for a couple of hours to tidy up the mess. Very annoyed with ourselves. Neil and Glynn were pelted by flying fish at 4 o'clock this morning. One hit Glynn's face, another in Neil's head and others flapping around on deck. Couldn't pick them up for laughing. Surf speed record has been broken again by Dave and George with a respectable 14.8knts. Our rudder is making it very hard going in these big seas. Attempts at improvements are hampered by the conditions.

9/01/2006
Strangely this is the hardest part of the trip so far. We are marking off the centuries quite quickly (now under 700) but there is a toll both physically and mentally on the crew. We are feeling that we are on the last leg of the journey and are quite close but 700 miles is still quite a distance. We are taking one day at a time. The biggest seas accompanied by powerful winds make for a surreal landscape and some exhilarating rowing. Glynn and Neil smashed the current, and dare I say paultry, surf speed record of 12.8 knts with a practically flying 14.3 knts this morning. Toilet brush situation is resolved with a BAe Systems inspired stealth brush comprised of the most modern and light weight materials (wooden spoon, nail brush and string). Hello to Chris and Ade, happy birthday Chris, have a lovely day.

8/01/2006
An incredible 24 hours really, we have had the lot. Big sea, high wind, surf, lightening and a downpour to end all downpours. It only seems like 5 minutes ago since we broke through 1000 miles to go. Now we are at 750 to go. Long may it continue. We are all really ready for dry land (shower, real food, beer etc). Hello Birmingham rowing club. Sir Adrian said you are all watching. See you all at the dinner. I'll bore the pants off you with the story. From George(the missing vice captain). Hello to all at GCC, sorry can't make Tuesday meeting after all my ranting about making sure you are all there. Thanks for all messages of support. Keep up the good work from Neil. All the crew of Atlantic 4 would like to congratulate the crew of All Relative on winning the race. Put the beers on ice we'll be there soon.

7/01/2006
Another good 24 hours for the crew. Winds and swell are still with us. Fingers crossed they stay this way and we can make up some time. There are no grumbles from us now the weather is with us, even when we get woken up at 3am to get cold and rained on. Simon's appeal has been upheld and he is now free to go pending an inspection of the new BAe Systems inspired loo brush. Following messages from George: Sam, thanks for the tip. Sadly there are no cuppa soups. Did you say you are going to Antigua? I'd say there's a chance of a session if you are. John & Glynn, dreaming about Pam. Mum, I don't want you to come to Antigua. Might try to get some time on a yacht and after 2 months at sea you'd only cramp my style.

6/01/2006
The light is starting to appear at the end of a very long tunnel. Good progress yesterday and still rowing strong today. There are lots of welcome squalls around this afternoon. We are hoping that one of them gets us as our last showers were 15/12 for two of us and 3/12 for the other two. Court has been adjourned and sentencing put back until tomorrow due to a last minute appeal by Simon's legal representatives (Claims Direct). Their case centres around him not fitting the bucket correctly. However in the case of Bluebeard vs Tiddles (1640) the use of a swiss army knife and junior hacksaw was upheld in the interest of crew moral. Chris and Ade. Thanks for the updates. Good luck in the new job and how is Tom? Hello to Rosie.

5/01/2006
Apparently the server is down so you can't check out our position. We are currently at 18.06N 44.46W. The server uses statute miles whereas we are using nautical miles and we can tell you that during the night we went below 1000NM to go. Progress over the last couple of days has been hot and slow. However today is new and improved and we are making good ground. Simon, the ship's cat, has been found and the kangaroo court convened. He is on a charge of laziness and the punishment is 20 days community service. Community service in this instance is defined as whatever is takes to keep the toilet bucket clean. Sentence will be passed this evening following any last minute appeals. Thanks Niamh. We hope to catch you in Antigua.

4/01/2006
It is getting hotter, sea is getting flatter and wind is getting calmer. Perfect conditions for lying on a beach in Antigua. All miles equal hard miles and at least we are on board and it is a tribute to the stength of the crew that we keep each other ??unintelligable?? We have now had the next worse boat incident after George nearly lost the toilet bucket overboard. The toilet brush has disappeared, assumed overboard. I'm sure you are capable of painting the picture yourself. George is currently fashioning a new and improved version. We played chicken with an Italian tanker at 4 o'clock last night. It was a tribute to our nav lights that the tanker didn't win this time. Terry, thanks for the message. The reason for going so slow is that we have to carry our own shoes to the finishing line. Tracy, Neil says he is in no position to negotiate re the dog but had you thought about children?

3/01/2006
Yes we are still here. I guess it's back to work for most of you. We are still chipping away at the great distance that lies before us. It seems the weather has been against us all the way. Again today we are being affected by it. Tropical storm Vita. This is over 300 miles away, so there is no danger of us getting it, but it's throwing up contrary winds and swells. There are some slow and hard miles for us to come for a while. As long as we are back for the start of the six nations, I feel an England resurgence coming on. George would like some advice from anyone with experience of night shifts and sleeping patterns. He is struggling to stay awake during the night shift and would welcome any theories. Neil and Glynn found a way of staying awake at the oars last night. That is to be shocked out of sleep by a whale's blowhole only a few feet away. This resulted in neil getting sprayed (whale snot) but the adrenolin kept us awake for the next hour. Hi, Chris and Ade. The diet would be good for you and the boat is for sale. Den, here is your fickle mention. Gordon, good work fella. Hi Craig. Thanks for the jokes. Please please please stop!

2/01/2006
A good 24 hours rowing after the frustration of the previous few days. We have given up making predictions on our ETA now though. We are noticably losing weight now. Each days rations contain 6000 calories each. At first we struggled to eat them, but now we are eating additional food on top of the rations. Look out for our diet book "How to Lose Over a Stone in 30 Days While Sitting Down", in book shops when we get back. Karon, a message from the Old Git. Hope your car is not too bad. Happy birthday Allen from the Atlantic 4 crew. Thanks for doing such a good job on the diary.

1/01/2006
Happy new year to family, friends and anyone who is following our little adventure. Last night's party rocked fully for 10 minutes before the lure of the oars captured us once again. At midnight at 18 36 N 24 07 W we wished each other a happy new year and took photos for posterity. Either side of this, rowing was lousy and resulted in crew spirits reaching a new low, as the reality of our ETA started to look unrealistic. Things have picked up this morning and we are all back on top form. Thanks for all the messages of goodwill, they really help. Hello Carla. Yes 50 miles and closing. Hopefully we can keep them at bay.

31/12/2005
Another action packed day on the ocean. Scalding hot and lots of rowing. Progress has been better than yesterday. We feel like we are getting closer. Wild life count today has been one flying fish and one very large whale. We also saw a snake like creature with a floppy dorsal fin skimming across the surface. Any ideas? We are looking forward to new year's eve. If we row fast enough we could celebrate midnight twice. We have a small flask of whiskey to see in the new year in style. We also have canopeys (oil packed olives) and cheese and wine (babybel and wine gums). Should be quite a do. Luke we are getting your messages. Thank you.

30/12/2005
The heat today has been spiking and the sea state like glass since last night, with no wind whatsoever. We went for a swim today at 1pm which was increadibly refreshing, apart from the thought of 5000m of water and who knows what else below us. There will be some great pictures of us diving in off the stern. All fingers and toes have been accounted for and we are back to the grindstone. The splashrails are working fine. Thank you. Hello to Pam, Robert and Honey. A special hello to Archie as he is 5 today. I hope you've still got your special rowing Tshirt. Hello Kylie from George.

29/12/2005
There is nothing like a great day's rowing to make you want to get up and row all day again. Spurred on by yesterday's progress, we all have our predictions about when we will finally arrive. Neil will arrive on 14/01, Dave on 15/01, Glynn on 16/01 and George on 21/01. It is hotter today and there is no wind so progress is a little bit slower. Thanks to James Cocker for the motivational playing cards. Snow in the south of England? Has anyone seen a council gritter.

28/12/2005
ANOTHER POOR SATELLITE DAY. Two scorching days which sorted out our power problems. 80 & 4 solar energy in the batteries so no more manual water pumping hopefully. There are two schools of thought on how to deal with the heat. One is to row naked, the other is to cover up. We are 75% in favor of nakedness at present. It is too hot today ??unintelligable?? There is a mini beard growing competition on board between Neil and Glynn. Neil hasn't shaved since 16/11 and Glynn hasn't shaved since 10/12. It's looking close but we'll sort out the winner when we reach Antigua. This is to Chris and Ade, how long have you had them? Good day to Pat and goodnight to Bob if you're reading this in the middle of the night. See you soon.

27/12/2005
David & George claimed the new boat surf record this morning with 12.8 knots (lucky). Yesterday James Cracknell called to wish us a merry christmas. However, if you get the idea that rowing the ocean is glamorous, then here is a list of current ailments: sleep deprivation, delirium & halucination, claw hand, tendonitis, calluses, blisters, rashes, dead legs, piles, pustules, boils, dehydration, indigestion, chaffing, and last but by no means least B O. Luckily the boat pharmacy is coping well with these. We are witnessing things that another human should not have to see as everything is done in front of the other 3!

26/12/2005
Christmas is all over again for another year. It is safe to say that it was a unique experience this year. The pepperami noodles were perfection. The table decoration was almost an oil tanker that was happily heading straight for us. A massive thanks to Sarah, Neil's sister, for the well thought out presents. Being at sea we hadn't really bothered, so to receive 6 or so individually wrapped presents was a christmas bonus. We all smell a bit better now. Thanks. The next best present was when George lost our only toilet overboard and had to retrieve it from 30 yards off. He returned with all limbs intact. He's our hero. Could someone plese text a useable number for George's brother to us. Hello to Dawn and Stuart and happy birthday to Sam.

25/12/2005
Merry Christmas to all the families and friends form George, David, Neil & Glynn. And a happy Christmas to all our readers.

24/12/2005
Yesterday a special treat from the sea gods. We had a whale to play with for 3 hours. It swam behind us, along side us, and under the boat, and surfaced a couple of metres away. We took some excellent pictures and will be able to identify it when we get back. At twice the boat's length it was pretty amazing. It put a spring in our step so progress is still good. Karen! The kit and shoes are doing well although they will have to last a little longer than originally thought.

23/12/2005
Making good progress although the shift last night was miserable. Rain and cold winds made for a long night. Sun is shining today and we have all joined the flying fish club. We have all independantly seen flying fish over the last few days, but this morning we saw a whole schole or flock of flying fish taking off. We have a new bird which is grey with a fine tail and black head. Latest news just in is we have a new cleaner fish. Although whether he says any longer than the last one remains to be seen.

22/12/2005
Wind and spray came into our favour yesterday evening. Powerful ones too. It certainly was a lively nightshift in places. The highlight of the evening is the claiming of the wave surf speed record by Neil and Glynn of 9.3 knots on a 30 footer. These sort of speeds come at a cost however, and we can report that Dick Wombie went astray during the night. Even his favorite pepperami noodles failed to make him appear. Still, there are plenty more fish in the sea! Today is much calmer and we are clicking along nicely. We saw a whale this morning. It crossed behind us on it's way north. Marvelous sight. Thanks to Neil's mum for the cake. Can we have some more please?

21/12/2005
!!VERY POOR LINK TODAY SO THIS MAY NOT MAKE SENSE!! ??Unintelligable start of message?? ......some high seas in the small hours which have all gone our way. Sometimes we feel we are rocketing along with Dick Wombie swiming along contentedly beside us. Still waiting for the weather bonus but we are making hay whilst the sun shines. Chris, thanks for all the messages from Tom. ??Unintelligable?? ...there's someone waiting at reception. Hello to everyone at Fishburn Primary School.

20/12/2005
Today is indeed a novelty. We started rowing yesterday and we are still rowing today. We are making fairly good progress despite not having the wind with us yet. It is getting easier though and at some point today we should get lifted by the weather. Everyone is glad to be back rowing and moral remains high. We received loads of text messages yesterday. Thanks again, these are the highlight of our day. We've just heard that one of the crews has had an encounter with a shark. So ther may be some action for you.

19/12/2005
As of 12.40pm today we have started rowing again. Winds have not changed direction yet, but have dropped a little. It is slow progress but progress it is. We have been told winds will change within 24 hours and will be with us rather than against us. Haven't seen Colin for some time now. He must have got fed up waiting. Dick Wombie however is keen as mustard. He thinks we are a whale and he is looking after us. Everything that goes over the side, food, toothpaste, or toilet, is checked and either eaten, attacked or retreated from. Wonder how long he'll be with us.

18/12/2005
Apart from the menagerie, which is maintaining itself very well, nothing else is going our way. The weather is against us again, and so we are at sea anchor again. However, Neil managed to get the world service yesterday, so we managed to catch a live football match which reminds us of a real Saturday afternoon. Adverse weather until 20th December so keeping fingers crossed for some good stuff after that. Hello to Robert Price of Castleton and all at M.Morrell School. Simon has turned out to be a very good mouser. George says hello to to family and thanks for all the messages. You have made the 4text limit up. Keep them coming.

17/12/2005
FOR SALE. One ocean rowing boat, fsh, low mileage, needs nothing doing to it. No tyre kickers please. Purchaser to arrange collection, currently at N22.21 W 28.61. Will accept part exchange for yacht.

16/12/2005
Some days it is hard to be completely positive. As we headed south for fair winds, sadly we found ourselves on the anchor. There have been some frequent and frank works about the weather. Fortunately we now have Professor Stuart Williams on our side. Big thank you to him. In answer to some questions: The fish is named after a famous fisherman. Thank you to Geoff. Have we won the lottery yet? If so, send someone to pick us up. Thanks Liz. Don't work too hard, as usual. Wilson, you are a git. Thanks ITQ for the messages. We have a question. What is in an Egg Nog? BAe, 10% increase in diet coke was not in my contract.

16/12/2005
The crew are happy to receive texts on their satellite phone. To do this for free log on to www.iridium.com. In the centre of the page click on "send a Satellie message". This will open a new page. In the To box put their Satellie phone number 881631573439. Type your message in the message box. Limit 160 characters. If you've got more than that to say send two. Click on "send message". That's all there is to it. For those who have been texting thank you. For those that haven't, WHY NOT?

15/12/2005
Sea anchor again yesterday. Weather is trying everything to try and slow us down. Apparently we are in an area of thunderstorms and sqalls which explains why we have been rowing through syrup for the last few days. Caught a couple of very heavy downpours last night, so put our hats on and continued rowing. First time this morning we tried naked rowing whilst enjoying a fresh water shower. Moral is very strong. We are now heading south for some better weather after advice. Fish name is called Dick Wombie!! Its from a friend of George. Thanks to everybody else for the suggestions.

14/12/2005
Last night started off looking promising. Lit by almost a full moon, we were making good progress. However, a number of squalls appeared and surrounded us. Then we spent most of the night running from those that contained lightning. Our route map for last night must look like something from the underground. This morning we are still taking waves and wind from the south (side on). They are not the best conditions. However, every stroke is closer to our goal and we are feeling positive. We were surprised to see fish still with our bows this morning. Cheers for all the names, we'll officially christen him/her later. Colin came back with his tail between his wings this morning and brought a peace offering; his mate. We named her Edith. Hello to Abbey School in Reading.

13/12/2005
We started rowing again late yesterday and we are still rowing today. We have a southerly breeze and a northerm swell, so conditions are perfect. However, we have been sitting in a shoebox sized compartment having a staring competition. Apparently, Colin has been spotted flying around another crew's boat. Traitor. On the interseting pet front, we have aquired a new vertically striped black and white fish swimming alongside next to the bows. Its been around for 18 hours. Wonder how long he'll last. Any suggestions for names?

12/12/2005
Still on the sea anchor, we are all very bored. Some spectacluar waves, wind and rain. Nothing dangerous though. Managed to catch a few more fish but limited fun as we are not eating them and just throwing them back. Had a visit from the support yacht this morning just to say hello.

11/12/2005
Everything has stopped again. Today we've got bad weather. We have been battened down since Saturday afternoon. Looks like the bad weather is in until Tuesday!! Nothing to worry about, just boring. On the positive side we've taken up fishing and managed to catch a 3 foot Dorado. This has knocked the stuffing out of George's fishing pole.

10/12/2005
Today is good. Progress steady. Very hot day. Easy going. Very nice. Friday evening we were treated to a special display by dolphins. Goodness knows how many of them there were but between 3 & 6 were surfacing and swiming under the boat. This was made more special by ?? unintelligable ?? ghost like figures. Pretty spectacular.

9/12/2005
We followed winds SW all of yesterday and last night. Early this morning the winds died down, so we took the opportunity to aim west for Antigua. It is a beautiful day, 34C and crew are feeling great. Colin rocked up again this morning, did his usual circle of us and left. From the following description we wondered if anyone had any idea what he may be. Looks like a swift with a dark V on his back and wings. Answers on a postcard please.... Big hellos to Whitegate School in Clifton and Carlton Junior School in Barnsley. Keep up the geography.

8/12/2005
TODAY'S UPDATE FROM SATELLITE PHONE RECORDED ON ANSWERPHONE SO SOME OF IT UNINTELLIGABE. SORRY. Yesterday's seas were a torrent of white crest crowned high waves going in our direction. We ??junked?? the morning and had an energetic day keeping up with them. After that it stopped playing and showed us what it could really do. That coupled with the rain left us no choice but to batten down for the night, and avoided the ??drunk?? and sat all night while it went out with ??......?? Despite making 9 miles last night, crew moral is still high, livened in part by the texts we receive. Please keep them coming. They are the highlight of our day. Thankyou. Dave says Well done Yvonne and Chris. Look forward to having some wine with you soon.

7/12/2005
There is something wrong with the world. Picture the scene: Four men in a tiny rowing boat hundreds of miles from land, reliant on each other and nature. Just a few moments ago we were treated again to about 50 wild dolphins jumping and playing metres away from us and yet we are told that last night Carol Thatcher became Queen of the jungle!! Today very large waves and strong winds but making good progress.

6/12/2005
A mixed day today. We realised that plan A was not as good as it might have been. So, rather than soldier on we changed it. We will now head to 21N 25W, hopefully avoiding some 'very blowy' conditions, and pick up the elusive trade winds. We've also made some tough changes to improve the routine which went badly wrong after the last cabin change. Hopefully the results will be improved daily mileage. All this doom and gloom will not dampen our spirits. As if to say 'come on lads' our host has sent a pod of dolphins over to say hello. The only down side to this is that it triggered George to list 1000 reasons he is more intellegent than a dolphin!! NOTE: For those of you having difficulty checking progress on the race website. 1. Click the link from the Home page on this website. 2. Click Home on the race website. 3. Wait while the Home page refreshes. 4. Click progress. This will show current position and mileage for all teams. 5. Click the dot next to the team's entry to see daily progress.

5/12/2005
To the President, Royal and Ancient Golf Course, Tring, Scotland. Dear Sir Stop Have found new sport more monotonous than golf stop Named ocean rowwing stop Yours Dr Simpson stop PS I wish we could stop.

4/12/2005
Dave and George 8.9 knts surfing speed. Cabin Change over day today. Neil and George to the bow, Glynn and Dave to the stern. Stopped rowing for 20 minutes at 12 noon to swim in the ocean and freshen up. Blue skys today, very hot. Going well.

3/12/2005
Since yesterday we have aquired a little friend called Colin. He is a small bird that circles around a few times and then disappears for a few hours. The night passed without event and this morning we are getting to grips with some large waves and are having some fun as wind and currents are in our favour.

2/12/2005
Sea is choppy and wind has picked up a little. It is a good job we had anti sea sickness patches/tablets/gum/wristbands. We have been out 2 whole days now and have lost sight of all land. The next land we should see is Antigua. Here's hoping..... George said 'rowed, slept, rowed again. Having a word with Thomas Cook.' Thanks to all those who have sent messages so far. It is nice to receive them as little else is happening.

1/12/2005
At last we are finally off. First full day now, lots has happend. At start took an hour for pack to dispurse. Each crew has their own idea about which way is best and all routes are different. Some large rolling waves to play with, so far Dave and George have the top speed for surfing at 7.5knts. Last night errie silence. Never this quiet in the Solent. Stars were fantastic. Never seen such a full sky. Neil 800!

29/11/2005
George, this computer has a virus of some sort so I can hardly type this or email anyone. Very frustrating.

The race is on for tomorrow. Lin has been a big help today, the storm yesterday has riased my blood pressure significantly so she´s been busy educating me.I now possess a barometer, and like a good scientist, I have calibrated it. The weather today is 1010 units of some kind. Dam, I forgot to learn what that means... ah well, what am I going to do with the information anyway!? Eyes down for a full house. Between you and me, you can smell the nerves on La Gomera tonight. Best of luck to everyone, especially our direct competition All Relative. You boys are going to be very tough to beat. Don´t forget the deal... who ever gets there second does not even need to leave his boat before finishing his drink.

One last thing, I will never do anything like this again as long as I live. My nerves simply are not up to it. I´m taking up golf ASAP. As for rowing, I have one last outing tomorrow then you can shoot me!

28/11/2005
I´d like to introduce you all to the second wave of emotion this week; firstly we had fear, and now we have relief! While I write from the comfort of an excellent hotel, our boat is attached by every bit of rope in La Gomera to the pontoon whilst Tropical Strorm Delta is lashing the island. Yesterday the weather was wonderful. A lovely hot day with a slight rolling swell. We went out for a 5nm race (which All Relative won, well done lads) and had a great time, it would have been a wonderful day to start the race as the rowing was easy. Waking up this morning would have been a real baptism of fire. The storm itself would be fine were we to meet it at sea (the boats have been proven many times in horrific seas) but when close to land, the danger is that you might be blown on to land. We have things called sea anchors which are basically big parachutes to hold the boat against the wind. I´m glad we´re not using it! For anyone concerned, thanks very much for the text messages. Please do not worry, the lady making the decisions RE the race start knows what she is doing and the forcast is for us to start on Wed when the storm has passed north leaving us friendly winds to get us underway with a fast start. All is well! Ta, George

28/11/2005
George here again, a quick update on the weather situation, I´ve found that I have become obcessed with it and talking about it is some form of thearapy! Today the storm built in the morning, then bust in to flames about 1300 and tonight all is calm. The sea is still very choppy, but that is expected to die down during tomorrow. Here´s hoping anyway as the start is almost certainly going to take place on Wed at 1100. Most of the supporters have now left (for all the teams) and my Mum and Dad are on the 0700 ferry tomorrow. It´s a shame that they´ve all missed the start of the race, but I know there´s nobody around who would have wanted to be at sea today. Lin (Parker) tells me that the faster storms aproach, the shorter they last and the higher the wind speeds - which means it´ll all be ok on a couple of days. I think most people are fairly humbled by today´s events. There´s been a lot of sucessful rowing crossings and it´s easy to be complacent. I know that after seeing what can happen I´ll be wearing my harness more or less all the time which can only be a good thing.

26/11/2005
Greetings, George here again so another information packed and interesting diary entry is on the cards. A bit hard to type again today because even though I'm using a UK keyboard, I spent a large portion of last night carbo-loading in La Gomera's only nightclub. The reason for this was that the start has been postponed due to some adverse weather. The problem stems from a low pressure ~900 miles away which is causing some fairly blowy conditions here. The forcast is for southerly winds up to 30 kts on Monday. If the fleet were to leave then there would be a real risk of some boats being blown on to the southerly edge of El Hiero. The race organisers think (and I agree) that it is safest to wait a few days for better conditions. The predictions are that after Wed there will be a 10kt N-E wind which is perfect to help us get a good start on the Atlantic. On the nerves front, feeling much better at the moment. Chats with persons such as Jan Meek and the Queensgate boys have aleviated many of my worries of the unknown. We've got a fun regatta tomorrow (for the family and press who wil now miss the start). So a few more days tinkering time and we're off when the weather window apears. Cheers ears. George

24/11/2005
The crew's current activities involve rowing for an hour to a quiet cove which is a few miles south. Swim for an hour or so then row back. That is pretty much the 9 - 5 at present. This time next week things will be very different.

24/11/2005
George here, this is the first time I´ve been given the password to write something, so it will also be the first entry worth reading. If the typing is a little off, forgive me as the keyboard is unfamiliar here in La Gomera. The boat is ready to go, the to do list is almost completely done. The crew are all in good shape, rowing strongly and making 4kts without too much effort (for AN HOUR at a time!!) it´ll be interesting to see how quickly that falls off. Mentally I can´t pretend to be that strong at the moment. It´s taken until now for this to be so much more than just something I talk about 24-7 and the prospect of being found wanting is haunting me. Who can know how they´ll handle something like this until they do. Interesting to see the other competitors. Some are impressively unphased by it all. I´m sure there are others in my shoes. Better pucker up and keep drinking, that will solve the problem. Jowan turned up out of the blue last night aboard his Frigate to remind me that alcohol makes you strong! Thank God for the Royal Marines, oh sorry mate, I meant the rubber daggers. I will try to write again before Sunday, we will be dictating short entries whilst we´re away for those who are interested. Big thanks to everyone for the ace send off(s).

20/11/2005
We have all now arrived in La Gomera for the start, Neil and George arrived earlier in the week and David and Glynn today.

10/11/2005
We heard today that the boat has arrived safely in La Gomera after clearing customs in Tenerife. It is now sitting waiting fior us to arrive.

25/10/2005
Boat packed in the container now and ready for shipment

16/10/2005
All the food and other equipment is packed on the boat. Getting 50 days of food into the hatches was a problem, about 10 days wouldn't fit and the packs that are in may never come out again. However it is all on the boat somewhere and we are ready to go. Next weekend the boat has to be taken to Felixstowe to be loaded into the container.

11/10/2005
The boat is now loaded up with all our food and equipment, ready to be be taken to Felixstowe next weekend for shipping.

3/10/2005
A week of packing food, we found some better dried food that we all found palatable and purchased a vacuum packing machine (and then another one to speed things up) to get the home made cakes and flapjacks packed safely. Glynn's wife Clare and her mum helped by spending the days at David's house packing and sealing.

2/10/2005
After a week off work George has got the boat 'finally' ready, there is still bound to be jobs to be done once we get it out to La Gomera but for now that's it.

21/09/2005
Moved the boat down to Kemble Airfield near Cirencester so that it is close to George for some final work to be done.

17/09/2005
Last outing in the boat from Hamble on the south coast. Rowed along the Solent from Saturday morning until early Sunday morning to have a last reasonable length outing and test out the cooking facilities and the dried food. The awful discovery that none of us liked the dried food was however a bit of a shock so we need to quickly find an alternative. The rest of the trip was uneventful and just added to our confidence in the boat.

12/09/2005
Just over 2 months to go before we leave La Gomera and we are now into our final preparations. The boat is almost ready and we will be going for our last outing in the Solent next weekend to check everything out. The food will be loaded and all systems should be working. We will then have a couple of weeks for any changes or last minute jobs before the boat is shipped out in early October.