Press Office

GBRow 2013 race winners and new Guinness World Record holders, the Islanders, have posted a message of thanks to everyone who supported them every inch of the way through their epic journey of 26days 09hours and 09minutes:

“We would just like to say thank you. Thank you for all your messages, support, encouragement and enthusiasm. After only a few hours back on dry land we came to realise it really wasn’t just the four of us in that little boat.

“It was every single person checking the yellow brick tracker day and night. Calculating distance and speed, scanning the weather reports, ringing major shipping ports so we wouldn’t be run down and, of course, donating to our charity.” Josh Taylor, Alan Morgan, James Plumley and Gavin Sheehan.

 

One month into GBRow 2013 and Jason McKinlay and Josh Tarr in Savoir Faire, the only team still racing, are again at anchor in the harbour at Arbroath after a frustrating day battling head winds yesterday and then having to retreat back to Arbroath.

In a message to race HQ, Jason McKinlay says: “We are certainly better for trying that yesterday but need to take stock this morning and make the correct decisions.

“There are gales forecast and windows are short and not that sweet. Not sure what we’ve down to deserve this but at the end of the day we are still in it and even though the record looks dubious, we’ll get through this event somehow, sometime…sorry for the hold up.”

Blog just in from Jason McKinlay and Josh Tarr on Savoir Faire at anchor 3.5miles offshore from Carnoustie, north of Dundee – 402miles from the finish at Tower Bridge:

56 29.777N 02 34.884W   We’re both catching up on some rest…We’d like it to be better news. We’re doing our best to keep everything really positive and continue to think that way.

This morning, doubling up on the oars for 4 hours to make three miles gave us hope believe it or not. Against 25+ mph of wind, we’ll take that…

We’re now sitting ducks anchored until 34-pm. What anyone’s charts say, or forecasts, don’t believe them…We’ll try again as soon as we are able…

Savoir Faire, the last boat still racing in GBRow 2013 – the world’s toughest rowing race – is safely at anchor inside Arbroath Harbour, with strong winds forecast for the next two days.

Jason McKinlay and Josh Tarr made just 15miles in nine hours today in difficult conditions – so difficult in fact that the local lifeboat paid them a visit off Montrose because they thought the pair, from Salcombe in Devon were in trouble!

Here is a blog Jason and Josh filed from the boat during the day – four weeks exactly since the race began at Tower Bridge in London:

“Pushing on from Montrose towards Edinburgh. We made a little more progress than expected yesterday by doubling up, so we’ll do it again today. Solo for the opening sessions of the morning, then ‘hopefully’ against the tide we’ll be able to stay on the oars together until AT least we reach Fife Ness point.

If we make it that far today we’ll be delighted.  From then on, well who knows really? We’re told Saturday evening, Sunday and Monday could be written off… Onwards.

 Scratch that! Here’s what actually happened…Mammoth day. All amazing. Both on the oars since 3.30am, and just stopped now (12.30) because of strong winds. 15.1miles in nine hours…if you crawled on your hands and knees you’d go further…but it is windy!! Goodnight (afternoon)

 We’ll push on against the wind with two on the oars when we can. We managed eight hours together today and the wind won that battle…”

It is now exactly four weeks since the start of GBRow 2013. Today is also the start of the Tour de France.

There’s no doubt about it, GBRow is the Tour de France of rowing. With one record already smashed in this race, our focus is now on Savoir Faire, the only boat left still racing, four weeks after the race fleet of six boats left Tower Bridge on Satruday June 1.

Josh Tarr and Jason McKinlay, from Salcombe, Devon, could set a new world record for a pair rowing non-stop around the British mainland. The question is how many more days will it take them to reach London?

This morning they are between Montrose and Arbroath, north of Dundee, still going at 2knots after battling headwinds all night.

In their latest dispatch from the boat, Jason and Josh write: “Food for thought…We rowed together from 13.30 after a visit from the local RNLI who thought we might be in trouble…

“We stopped at 20.30 when the tide turned against us. Now it’s time to think about food and hydration, before we double up on the oars again at 1 in the morning to make as much prograess as we can before the serious winds against us hit…

Hopefully, we’ll make it to Arbroath to hide until our next window. We are tired but in great spirit.”

Josh Tarr and Jason McKinlay in Savoir Faire – hoping set a new world record for a pair rowing around Britain – have set off again after almost a day at anchor, south of Aberdeen. They were trapped there by high winds.

In the last hour they have moved off the anchor and are trying to fight their way down the Aberdeenshire coast. They are now past Stonehaven, with less than 420miles to the finish.

The pair, from Salcombe in Devon, posted the following blog this afternoon:

Ok. Looks like our biggest challenge yet. Although we’ve passed all the major pinch points, rowed roughly 1300 miles (3/4) and are on the home stretch, the weather has turned unfavourable for at least 7 days. We’ve rowed the majority of this solo, allowing us to row 24 hours a day trying to be as efficient as possible but it looks like we need a change of tactics. 

 We’re going to try and row entire tidal windows with both of us on the oars, some of the winds forecast will not even allow us to do that but where possible we will push as hard as we can. The idea is that the boat trim will be more efficient against the wind (bow down) and the extra power should make better use of the small windows of opportunity. It seems to be our only option aside from staying on anchor for at least a week.. No thanks 🙂 

We have to leave the idea of 39 days for now, it’s impossible to tell what we’ll be able to achieve each day at this stage. The wind forecast is fairly accurate for 5 days but it does vary so we’ll constantly be looking for weather windows that allow us to claw small chunks from the remaining 420 miles..

 Initially feeling quite down at the prospect but looking forward I’m positive we’re making the right moves and hopefully that will pay off!