Race Start 19.10.03

Race day began like every other day here in La Gomera, warm and sunny. However, today the relaxed atmosphere was permeated by the merest hint of impending stress and duress - at least that's how the supporters felt! Kevin and Jamie said their farewells and best wishes to the opposition - there is an obvious respect here amongst the crews. We gave our best wishes with stoic hand shakes while the women shed a tear or two, "It's been emotional," said my wife Rachel. We then clambered onto the 40 foot launch hired for the day along with the TV3 crew who are sending back footage on the NZ teams.

At the start our guys angled out from the island immediately to try and get into a more favourable current while most of the other crews stayed close to La Gomera's towering sea cliffs. After a couple of hours of rowing Kevin, who was rowing in bow seat, had a slight edge over Jamie! When they converged the NZ crews were first and second. They were in fine form when we turned back, Kevin's parting words referring to how calm the sea was, "Rob, you were right, the seas were much bigger in '97!"

As I write early on the morning of day two the Holiday Shoppe team (www.holidayshoppe.co.nz/tranzatlantic) are leading the fleet! Go Holiday Shoppe Challenge!!

Rob Hamill

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HS Has an Edge - 26.10.03

Kevin called this evening sounding alert but soon qualified that saying, "We weren't feeling this chirpy a few hours ago in the pre-dawn sleepiness. Staying awake and maintaining the rowing intensity in the early hours is hard yakka." But the guys have been rewarded for their hard work with their best 24 hour run of 78 miles, the second placed crew doing 75 miles.

Generally speaking their spirits are high. They have been passing the hours by singing along with the music on their Apple Ipod. Apparently they sing like birds…..crows! It's a good thing there is no one there to hear them.

Rob Hamill
26.10.03
www.holidayshoppe.co.nz/tranzatlantic

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Lead Increases - Day two

Saw on the web that the guys have increased their lead to 12 miles. They now appear to be heading south-west which is where they want to be going. Just spoke to Jamie who on hearing their lead had increased by nine miles was pretty casual , 'Oh, yeah,' was about all I could get out of him. As if to say, 'Big deal Rob.' Good to see he is keeping things in perspective. After all they still have around 2,500 miles to row!
Rob
www.holidayshoppe.co.nz/tranzatlantic

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More Good Weather 25.10.03

The crc crew made a gain of seven miles last night, a 23 % increase in boat speed. Kevin and Jamie were a little surprised to hear the news when I spoke to them saying they'd had a very good run and thought the trend of the last few days would continue. At the previous poling 12 hours earlier the Holiday Shoppe Challenge (www.holidayshoppe.co.nz/tranzatlantic) team had increased their lead by seven miles. That means in the last 12 hours crc have rowed 14 miles further than Kevin and Jamie did in the same bit of ocean with similar weather.

Kevin said the rough weather was made more interesting last night with no moon. The seas have been very favourable with lots of white caps hitting the boat sending it surfing down the swells. "In the dark we call the white caps 'What the f…s' because when they hit that's what we yell," said Kevin on his Tech Rentals phone, "Surfing the waves is really exciting, we are catching good rides often. It's enjoyable stuff and the boat handles the rough seas really well."

The real news of the day is that Jamie has an awkward way of putting his shorts on in the cabin when getting ready for a shift, "It's like he's doing a forward role to get them on," said Kevin, "It looks hilarious." That may well be the case but I guess you've just gotta be there.

Rob Hamill
25.10.03

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A Day of Presents 22.10.03

'I'll give you a present,' said Kevin Biggar last night as he emerged from the cabin of the 7m plywood rowing boat, 'I'm coming out three minutes early for my shift.'
'Is that right,' responded Jamie Fitzgerald, ' Well I've got a present for you too,' he said as lifted his T-shirt to reveal he was rowing naked.
'It was a sight for sore eyes,' said Kevin, 'I wished I'd stayed in the cabin.' So life on the ocean waves has fallen into the all too familiar scene of rowing naked. It happened in the first race though it took Phil Stubbs and I about a week to work out the benefits of rowing starkers - benefits for the rower that is, not necessarily the non-rower!

The other present, Kevin and Jamie received, was the news that they had maintained their lead from overnight. They rowed 35 miles in the last 12 hours. The second placed crew CRC rowed 24 miles in the same time. The biggest mileage in the last 12 hours came from one of the British entries, Bright Spark with an impressive 46 miles. This crew has a strong rowing background. They have both rowed in the UK Boatrace for Cambridge University - under the guidance of the great NZ rowing coach the late Harry Mahon - and are one of the crews we picked would be competitive.

'We have been buffeted by 12 foot seas from the north-west,' said Kevin, 'It's pretty uncomfortable, the waves are steep and hitting us side on but we are making reasonable progress.' The last thing Kevin said on his Tech Rentals phone was, 'The biggest problem is going to the toilet in the unstable conditions.' I didn't ask him to elaborate.

Rob Hamill
www.holidayshoppe.co.nz/tranzatlantic

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Tucka Time 26.10.03

Pringle fig sandwiches rule the day on board Holiday Shoppe Challenge (www.holidayshoppe.co.nz/tranzatlantic). "They are a bit of a favourite at the moment," said Kevin Biggar, "I wrap two Pringles chips around a fig. My appetite is huge so this is a small but tasty part of the diet." Another treat described as a "taste sensation" is condensed milk which is saved for special occasions. The guys are consuming 8,000 calories a day including high fat energy bars made by Fonterra, light weight freeze dri (sponsored by Serco-SPEL) and general supplies including chocolate, pasta meals, nuts and fruit (sponsored by Victoria Park New World.)

Rob Hamill
26.10.03

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Big Weather 30.10.03

The guys have had plenty of weather in the last day. Low cloud with wind gusting 25 to 30 knots from the east accompanied by big seas is pushing the Holiday Shoppe Challenge boat towards the finish in Barbados. Added to that an element of precipitation and all they need now is thunder and hail to complete the weather potential. "We had the most incredible down pore," said Kevin on his Tech Rentals phone, "It was torrential."

One potential area of concern is that if the cloud cover remains for too long it could put pressure the power stores produced from the BP solar cells. The electricity is used to make water and run essential equipment like the tracking beacon, the active echo radar reflector (a warning system that tells each vessel that another is in the vicinity) and the Navman GPS (Global Positioning System). If the cloud cover doesn't lift then a # 8 wire job might be necessary. One alert follower of the Holiday Shoppe web site (www.holidayshoppe.co.nz/tranzatlantic) has suggested rigging up a copper aerial to attract the nearest lightening or perhaps fish up an electric eel or two. "There's a fare bit of hot air and wind here on board the boat," said Jamie Fitzgerald, "If necessary we could put that to good use."

Rob Hamill
30.10.03h

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