Final push as rowers home in on world record
Kate Richardson at the helm and two other crew members tackle the final stretch of their 3,000-mile row
PORTADOWN woman Kate Richardson can finally feel the hot Caribbean sun on her back as the Row for Freedom crew closes in on Barbados after six weeks on the open ocean.
The 22-year-old and her four colleagues have moved up to fifth place in the Atlantic Challenge and are in high spirits as they tackle the final stretch of an arduous 3,000-mile row.
By yesterday afternoon their 21-foot boat, Guardian, was within 250 nautical miles of the finish line at Port St Charles having remarkably gained speed again in spite of the crew’s exhausted state after nearly 40 days and nights spent at sea.
As our pictures from aboard the Guardian – sent back by satellite phone – suggest the crew have been experiencing stifling heat in recent days but, surrounded by brilliant blue seas, are making superb progress in their quest to set a new world record.
The race was won at the weekend by Box Number 8, which beat Englishman Andrew Brown’s boat by a mere 26 minutes after a six-week contest – but the Guardian’s real race has been against the clock.
They remain well on track to break the world record of 52 days for an unaided crossing by an all-female crew, which would be a sensational achievement given the difficulties experienced earlier in an expedition they are undertaking to raise awareness of human trafficking.
The Guardian left La Gomera in the Canary Islands on December 7 almost two days after the other 16 competing crafts following the withdrawal of experienced skipper Andrea Quigley.
Sea-sickness was a factor for some crew members throughout the first four weeks and, as well as having to battle 40-foot waves, Kate and her colleagues were faced with numerous complications caused by technical problems and equipment malfunctioning.
A broken auto-helm has meant manual steering for most of the expedition and only two of the three rowing positions can now be used due to the third sustaining damage beyond repair.
In any case, a crew member now needs to spend their shift hand-pumping sea-water to purify it after the electrical desalination machine gave up – but having one less pair of hands on the oars slowed down the Guardian’s progress, particularly as the boat became heavier to row thanks to taking on water through leaking hatches.
The leaks also ruined some of the food packages, leading to rationing, but the crew’s spirits have remained high and now they seem to have got their metaphorical “second wind” on the last lap of the marathon crossing.
Their increased rate in recent days is partly due to a drop in the wind the crew were rowing into but also, as Kate reveals via satellite phone, as a result of some internal competition between the intrepid rowers.
“Over the past few days we’ve been competing among ourselves as to which two-hour shift can notch up the most miles – and the best distance set so far was 5.8 nautical miles by myself and skipper Debbie Beadle, so we have the bragging rights at this stage.
“It’s really just a bit of fun aimed at driving us on to the finish line as quickly as possible, not only to break this record but because we’re really looking forward to getting to Barbados and seeing our families.
“We’re day-dreaming about what it will be like there and endlessly debating the smallest little things, like whether we’ll eat first or shower first when we reach dry land. This has become our hot top of conversation,” she says.
Kate’s progress can be followed through www.rowforfreedom.com or the official race website, www.taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com.
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
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