Firstly an update from the crews – the Toby Wallace crew are due to reach the halfway mark mid-afternoon today which they are very excited about.  They had a really large marlin following them all day yesterday as they had lots of fish around the boat so that provided them with some entertainment for the day!  They also had an incredibly clear night were they saw LOTS of shooting stars which was awesome.

The OysterShack crew are just clearing customs in port in Brazil and are getting on flights this afternoon – they have a few days travelling ahead of them before they get home but at least they are on safely on dry land now!

And finally, we have had some fantastic news of the Toby Wallace school which has been built in Malawi, in southeast Africa.  Toby Wallace was passionate about the role of education in breaking the cycle of poverty and inspired, encouraged and changed the pathway for so many children during his short life and now thousands more children will have the opportunity of an education because of a direct result of his fundraising.  The village of Ndimbule in Malawi now have increased access to education for generations to come, increasing literacy rates and having long term benefits for the community by breaking the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education.

The Chikubwa School broke ground on 6 July 2014 and was completed on 17 September 2014 after ten weeks.  Students began attending their new school on 29 September 2014. And the Friends of Toby Wallace have funded a second school that will be built in 2015.

Great news!!

The Toby Wallace have managed a decent 75nm today and are nearing the halfway mark (which is 1300nm) with 1583nm to go at 2200hrs today.  The crew are doing well and keeping cheerful – and they still have a bucket!! Lots of rowing and not much else to report from them….

In the meantime, the OysterShack crew aboard the bulk carrier to Brazil are making new friends – there are about 20 crew onboard and the crew have been well fed, resting and recovering.  They’ve also watched too many rip-off DVDs and Kevin has been indulging the crew with some karaoke last night – even though the big karaoke night is supposed to be Saturday night!  So that’s something for them to look forward to tomorrow…..

Matt has been going a bit stir crazy without exercising but with one treadmill in the onboard gym, it’s too difficult for him to use as he keeps falling off it as it’s too rough with the movement of the boat!!  Mads is feeling much much better and the medication he has been taking seems to be doing its job.  All in all, despite their current situation they are all well and keeping each other cheerful.

They are very grateful for all the messages of support they have received and they are now just looking forward to making land and then getting home!

We’ve heard from both Skippers this morning and today is already a better day!!  The Toby Wallace crew are on the move again and rowing – the head wind has dropped and they are making progress which is great news.

Paul Williams of the OysterShack crew has called in with an update.  The crew have been recovering from their ordeal onboard the Santa Paula and are feeling well rested.  They are now having the new experience of all the crew sitting down to meals around a table – a bit different from being on the rowing boat!!  Mads is feeling better and being in dry conditions seem to be helping his sores and we are hopeful that the healing process has begun along with the antibiotics kicking in.  They are all looking forward to getting back to dry land which is going to be in about five days and then they will all be flying home at the earliest opportunity.

Noel Watkins onboard the Toby Wallace has said today that “tough times make for great pub stories” and certainly the OysterShack crew can confidently have some stories to tell!

Jez Webb wanted to let Ilfracombe Gig Club know that he is “embracing the pain and loving every minute of it”.  He also hopes that the off season training is going well!  However what Jez is not telling (information which has been kindly provided by his crew mates!) is that he has successfully broken TWO buckets whilst going to the toilet and that the Toby Wallace now have only ONE BUCKET LEFT!! They are taking bets to see how long it takes Jez to break the final one…..

John Farndale went for a swim yesterday whilst they were stopped and Noel kindly provided the background “Jaws” theme tune for him and finally Roland onboard the Toby Wallace has not just learnt to row but his DIY skills are really…..something!  Whilst they were on para-anchor yesterday, Roly decided to put up a shelf in the back cabin – yes, a shelf!!  Unfortunately he could only find a 1 inch screw and as a result there is now a screw sticking out of the side of the back cabin!!  They’ve had to seal it so they have been joking that there are some holes now in the boat that weren’t there before they left…….Skipper Simon was keen that Roly’s wife Dawn was aware of these new found skills.  At least they have been keeping busy and they’ve also been keeping their humour.

Go Toby Wallace – get a move on now to Barbados!!

Day 14 – 8th December 2014:

OysterShack spent the day dealing with wind against them again so whilst they went under the 2000nm mark before 10am that morning, they added miles again and were holding position on a drogue.  Toby Wallace being more south managed to avoid this adverse weather and pulled a tough 64nm in 24 hours.  Toby Wallace had a distance to finish of 1,775nm at 2200hrs on Day 14.

Also in conjunction with MRCC Falmouth Coastguard on 8th December, it was decided that an infection that Mads Fabricius had on sores on his legs were not improving with antibiotics and it was in his best interests to take him off the boat to receive better medical treatment before it got worse.

Bulk carrier Santa Paula received a call from the Coastguard to assist and in the early hours of 9th December 2014 they reached OysterShack. Sadly whilst trying to take Mads off the boat, OysterShack was damaged and it was deemed unsafe for the remaining crew to continue. All crew members – Paul Williams, Matt Inglesby, Christophe Legeais, Kevin Doyle and Mads Fabricius – were taken off the boat and are safe and well onboard the vessel Santa Paula. Skipper Paul called in just before 0300hrs to confirm the news. They are headed for Brazil and due to arrive there later this week.

We are at day 12 and a half on the Atlantic, and Jez Webb onboard Toby Wallace has asked for a special message to be relayed to Calmore Infants & Junior School:

“These skies are amazing, especially how the moon shines across the sky at night.  Looking forward to seeing you all when I get back!”  from Maddy and Sullivans Dad.

Jez visited the school before setting off to Gran Canaria and met with the children to tell them about his journey.  He took in some Expedition Foods and they tried out the Sweet & Sour Chicken and the Shepherds Pie – they all agreed they preferred the Sweet & Sour!!  The children asked lots of questions including “what happens if you sink, and then get a hole in the life raft and then the patch comes off?!!” and asked whether they would see sharks…..which we now know that they did earlier this week, a 6 foot long one!

The children also stood in the shape of the Toby Wallace to get an idea of how big the boat was and the children stood outside the boat shape circled them pretending to be sharks or rowers!!  Pictured to the right is Jez with teacher Miss Ball and his son Sullivan.

It’s great to have so many school children following their progress and Jez can’t wait to get back to tell them all about his rowing adventure.  Don’t forget too that he is also using the row to raise money for the North Devon Hospice and you can donate to Jeremy here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AtlanticRow2014.

Toby Wallace had a great day today with 81nm covered and nearly under the 2,000nm mark to Barbados!  They should go under this tomorrow which is great……OysterShack are fairing well too with 68nm covered today and 2215nm to the finish.

Yesterday evening OysterShack reported seeing dolphins around their boat, and then this morning Toby Wallace reported seeing dolphins when they did change over from their four hour watch at 0200hrs today….which perked the crews up no end!

Remember Phil McCorry and Dan Renner who the Toby Wallace and OysterShack crews rowed out with when they left Gran Canaria on 10th November 2014 – well they have been at sea now for 3 weeks and 3 days and have 1431nm to go to Barbados –http://atlanticchallenge14.org/tracking/.  We have been following their progress closely and now that the weather has improved for the crews, the CHASE IS ON!! They have been gaining on them for the past four days and are closing the gap….today Toby Wallace are 684nm from them and OysterShack are 820nm.  As the 32 day speed record has slipped away, it is an added incentive for the crews to chase down Phil and Dan – so watch this space!

Lots of aches, pains and the usual sores going on but everyone is digging deep and news from home always helps them to push on.  Stephen and Christophe are both pleased to hear that their rowing club in Shrewsbury, Shropshire has raised enough money to buy a new boat!  And Matt Inglesby was incredibly happy to hear the news that Kerry Greenfield has finally got her hands on her REWALK machine today (see photo below).  Matt raised a lot of money for Kerry on his first Atlantic row in February this year, and once again was fundraising for her on this row so it’s great news that the target has been met.

Kerry said: “THE FUNDRAISING IS DONE!! I HAVE MY REWALK!!! I went to see it today and use it again. It went really well, I had a good few walks and even had a little stroll outside on my new bionic limbs!! It will be next year before I bring it home as I have to do some training when I’m ready and it will be a lot of hard work at physio. But I loved it, it felt so nice to be up standing and walking. Thanks everyone for all of your hard work to get it for me. I’ll never forget all of the extraordinary kindness and generosity you all showed, it was great getting to share all of this with everyone and I hope in the future when I’m stronger on ReWalk we can use it to help raise funds for others who need equipment and support. I’ve been very lucky to have you all. Thank you x”

Matt was less thrilled to hear that Everton drew 1-1 with Hull yesterday though!

Congratulations to Kerry and don’t forget to everyone else that if you haven’t donated yet, many of the crew members from both boats are fundraising for their own individual causes so have a look at their profiles (by clicking here) and give generously….it’s a huge incentive for the rowers to know that they are putting in the hard work to benefit others.

Both boats have reported in today and all is well – they are pleased to be making progress!  The Toby Wallace have covered 83nm today and OysterShack have done 62nm.

The Toby Wallace reported overcast conditions with not much wind making rowing hard work but everyone onboard is working well together.  And there was a shark spotted this morning!!  It was about 6 ft in length and was swimming about 12 ft from the boat, with a black mark on the end of its fin……it certainly gave them something to talk about for 5 minutes!

Meanwhile, OysterShack are doing okay apart from the usual aches and pains – they have had sunshine today in contrast, but no sharks!  And they are deliberately taking their course west according to skipper Paul.

Another day done – come on guys!

Well, the last seven days have been very eventful but thankfully, both boats are now rowing in the right direction and making meaningful progress towards Barbados!

Both boats battled (literally!) some incredible headwinds in stormy conditions, in a weather system which was strong and lasted longer than anyone had anticipated – which came as the crew were getting their sea legs and dealing with their sea sickness after leaving port.  They managed to hold position by replying their para-anchors and drogues, although OysterShack faired slightly worse as their wind generator blew away and Kevin broke an oar!!

Another interesting thing with OysterShack is that Mads onboard had an unavoidable 3 hour exam for his Psychology studies last Wednesday 26th – the other crew rallied round and rowed a bit extra so Mads could take the time off to write his paper and then submit it!  Pretty incredible environment to do an exam – fingers crossed for a good result for him.

Toby Wallace had a tough weekend, which resulted in Oliver being airlifted by helicopter back to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria on Sunday 30th.  He was given a check up at hospital and is now safely back in the UK with his family and feeling well.  We have been reliably informed that John onboard managed to get footage of the helicopter rescue on his GoPro so that will be good for the film he is doing about the trip!! But now Toby Wallace are a crew of six.

OysterShack crew member Kevin had a bad day today….he’s already broken an oar (don’t worry they have spares!) but this afternoon he lost one of the toilet buckets over the side!!!  They have three per boat so there are still two left, but there has been lots of ribbing from the rest of the crew!

So day 7 has seen a turn in progress with the wind turning back in the right direction for them, albeit light conditions.  But the weather forecast is looking good for the upcoming week so let’s hope that both boats can make some great progress…..

Toby Wallace at the end of day 7 has 2,309nm to go and OysterShack has 2,408nm to go – so Toby Wallace are 99nm ahead of OysterShack but it’s all still to play for and as we’ve seen, a lot can happen in just a week!!

All the messages on the website and facebook have been fantastic for the crew, particularly when they were having some long and tough days, and it always lifts spirits so thanks to all the support and encouragement so far – week one done!

As we all have seen, the Toby Wallace and OysterShack crews have been taking a battering since Wednesday night but are now in a position where they are able to make progress and are fighting back with the oars.

However in the past few days, Oliver Waite onboard the Toby Wallace has been having some issues with his asthma and today it was decided to remove him from the boat. He was airlifted from the boat by helicopter this afternoon at 1620hrs GMT and is being taken to the Canaries for a medical check-up before flying home to family in the UK. His family have been informed. At no time was there any danger and this was not an emergency situation – it was in the best interests of Oliver’s welfare.

With thanks to HM Coastguard in Falmouth and the Spanish authorities in the Canaries for their professionalism and assistance in this matter.

Back Rowing

Now the crew of 6 onboard the Toby Walllace have begun rowing again and skipper, Simon Chalk, has said “we are sorry to lose Ollie and wish him well, but now back to rowing.  We are going to row our socks off to Barbados!”

OysterShack have been driven a little bit more south than the Toby Wallace and suffered somewhat worse in the storms – Kevin managed to break an oar, and the wind generator “blew away”! Don’t worry, they have the most updated Solbian solar panels on the boat which is more than sufficient for power onboard. Skipper Paul Williams reported that they have full batteries and are now back rowing and trying to catch up with the Toby Wallace. When the OysterShack crew learnt that the Toby Wallace were down to a crew of six now, the comment was…….”Alrighty, game on” !!

The weather is looking favourable for the coming week so let the dual commence once again!

Both the crews had a cracking start to their rows yesterday on day 1 with Toby Wallace gaining an advantage with 96nm covered in the first 24 hours!  OysterShack still had a great day with 72nm covered although they had been driven south overnight so were making up ground yesterday during the day in a more westerly direction.

Despite the sea sickness onboard both the boats, they were pushing hard and everyone was happy to be on their way.  The weather is changing for them in the next two days, which may drive both boats more south until the weekend.  They are hoping to keep up their mileages towards Barbados as best they can in the meantime.

We were fortunate to be sent some more photos of when the boats left port on Monday night from one of the gathered crowd, which are below – with thanks to Bernd Kretzschmar.

The next 24 hour poll will be put up tonight just after 10pm with the mileages for day 2.

Please note – due to limited internet access on Thursday night to be able to upload data, the figures for day 3 will not be put up until Friday along with day 4 figures.  However you will still be able to see the figures at the Ocean Rowing Society page which is also tracking them: http://oceanrowing.com/Toby_Wallace/comparative_charts.htm

Photos of Toby Wallace & OysterShack leaving Puerto De Mogan: