Race Directors Journal

Chris Usborne, race director of GBRow 2013 writes: Team Savoir Faire, the last boat in GB Row 2013 should finish the Race at the end of next week as current weather forecasts are favourable.

I spoke to Savoir Faire skipper Jason McKinlay at 09:30 this morning as his rowing partner, Josh Tarr, was on the oars making slow progress against both tide and light winds.

Jason said: “The weather was absolutely beautiful at 06:00 this morning, it’s currently overcast but warm, so good rowing conditions.

“We had a good four-hour row overnight, each rowing for the full two-hour stint planned. However after my stint the  southerly gusts picked up again and forced us to anchor”.  

During their rest time yesterday they cleaned the boat (cabin space) thoroughly and checked food supplies for the remainder of the journey, having plenty for the 4,000 calories a day they need for their remaining time on the oars.

They even caught some 3G signal recently and listened to commentary on the Murray/Verdasco match at Wimbledon.

Media savvy Jason then reflected: “Hope Kate has her baby early, Murray wins at Wimbledon, then with the Lions tour finished, we might get on Jonathan Ross.”

The sentence was finished with his impish giggle, showing a man totally and wholeheartedly in control of his destiny.

Jason revealed how he dealt with the long enforced periods at anchor, “thinking about the family a lot, can’t wait to see them at the finish and HMS PRESIDENT”

He added on the dynamic with rowing partner Josh: “We talk a lot, it’s good, we focus on not getting frustrated at being buffeted left and right 24/7 – it’s just continuous, but it’s mind over matter and neither of us will let it get to us.
“We’ve had to make plenty of decisions whilst on the challenge, many were not always easy to make, like going to anchor for 18 hours and more, or turning back to Arbroath to recover ground already completed. BUT we are happy they have all been correct – makes me feel good, and safe”

They’re on their way home! Jason McKinlay and Josh Tarr are back on the move and determined to make the most of the improving weather to reach the finish in London.

Savoir Faire left anchor at around 23.00 last night. Hugging the Northumberland coast to try and avoid the worst effects of the 13knot south-westerly wind, they had made around 12 miles in eight hours and are now pat Alnwick – around 25miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Josh and Jason wrote a blog yesterday, expressing their frustration at being cooped up in their tiny cabin yet again – this time for 18 hours.

Josh wrote: 23.00 We’re off!

Frustrating day yesterday but we made good use of it and we’re on our way earlier than we thought J…the fruit and nut disappeared, we’ve sorted out the last of our meals and have thoughts of home as we row…

It’s not over yet but the forecast looks good for now!

Game on! JT

Earlier Jason had written: Thursday was probably our toughest day yet, 18 hours inside a cabin together with little room…Rowing six hours is a dream at the moment. So bad that I went to air outside at the oars while we sorted our food out. When we start this time, he [weather] windows look good for a few days (at this stage). We won’t be hanging around. J

 

 

After a full day of rowing, Savoir Faire are at anchor again this morning on the Northumberland coast north of Craster, from where Jason McKinlay sent this latest dispatch to race HQ:

55 35.440N 01 38.988W. We had a good run from Fife Ness Point.  Dragging ourselves across the Firth of Forth to start with and continuing to make progress.  I remarked it was ‘like the old days’, which suggests we’ve been out here long enough to have them…

The day was kind and we made good progress from Dunbar, continuing past some beautiful scenery all the way into England…   My Scottish brother-in-law suggesting Berwick was a free state and neither England nor Scotland!  That wasn’t enough to prevent Josh from breaking out his celebratory Fruit & Nut and then sharing a piece of the oversized bar.

We’d managed to get past Holy Island, looking stunning from the sea as the sun set on the castle, and are currently anchored adjacent to Sunderland Point (due to increasing southerlies) not to be confused with ‘Sunderland’, which is a further 42 miles south.  Once we arrive there, we’ll have less than 300 miles to go.  Not far, in the scheme of things!

Savoir Faire have been  at sea for 12 hours, after leaving their anchor spot near St Andrews. After battling through the night in some of the worst sea conditions they have experienced in the entire race so far, they managed to cross the First of Forth.

Jason McKinlay and Josh Tarr are now off Dunbar, just 18 miles from the English border and 377miles to the race finish at Tower Bridge in London.

In a message to GBRow 2013 race HQ, Jason wrote: “We left Fife Ness point on the evening of the 2nd at 7:30 in bad weather to try and get ahead. 

“The sea state around the point was some of the worst we’ve seen as it tried to hold us in…  We pushed on the oars together until 11 realising we’d have to stay on for a much longer period than anticipated. 

“Josh went for an hour’s rest, I continued in the ‘soup’ and then I had a break at 12…  The seas calmed and we continued together again from Midnight until 02:30 when again we thought it beat to take breaks.  This time 90 minutes. 

“It’s now 06:30 and we’re across at Dunbar.  We’re going to carry on having breaks and one at the oars as we’d done for most the the race.  It’s slower but we can continue as long as the weather holds…”

Blog from Josh Tarr on Savoir Faire, at anchor near St Andrews on the Fife Ness, north of Edinburgh:

56 17.873N 02 36.568N That’s more like it 🙂 almost 7 hours on the oars together and made it to Fife Ness (16miles) by 0120. There’s a risky option to jump past Edinburgh but it’s not worth it, we need food and rest after that push.

The winds pick up through the morning dead against us, so we are better off until Wednesday morning (7am) where the wind is light and getting lighter towards 7pm, so we should be able to make reasonable progress.

 Once we’re across, we should be able to shelter from the south-westerlies allowing us to keep on truckin!

 It won’t be massively impressive distances each day but as long as we make the most of the opportunities we get then we’re happy. New goal, English waters for a bar of Fruit & Nut.

 Well done to the girls (Helen Symons and Sarah McKinlay) for the hours spent filming with BBC Coast recently!

 I’m dropping the phone falling asleep, so I’ll cut it short.

 Big love, JT x

 

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.