Atlantic rowers head through half-way

At the front of the pack is British sailor Charlie Pitcher who is not only ahead of the crews of pairs and fours, but also on track to break the solo record of 42 days. Pitcher says his advantage might come from his boat which is smaller and lighter than the other boats.

Pitcher is over 200 miles ahead of pairs boat Karukera (French duo Francois Lamy and Benolt Dusser) in second and over 1,000 miles ahead of the last boat, solo boat, Tess, rowed by Irish competitor Sean McGowan. McGowan hopes to be the first Irishman to complete the crossing and, despite his slow progress, he has vowed not to give up.

Separate from the main race and on track to break the crossing record is a crew of 12 rowers on the boat, Britannia III. The boat is crewed by rowers from Great Britain, Denmark and one America. They now have less than 400 miles to go. The crew aims to finish by 10 February and therefore beat the current record of 33 days, set in 2007, for the crossing.  To do this the crew will now divert to Bridgetown, Barbados as they will be able to take advantage of more favourable winds if they head this way.

The race started with 31 crews (including Britannia III) and so far one crew, a four person boat called Limited Intelligence, has pulled out. The boat retired five days after starting when one of the crew withdrew citing personal reasons.  The crew will continue to row to Antigua, but with three men on board.

Apart from battling high seas and temperamental weather conditions, food and water issues, calluses and sore bums, crew members have also reported tricks of the brain. Some have said they are mistaking their oars for ‘sea monsters’.

For more details: www.atlanticrowingrace09.com