The first 12 hours onboard both boats were quite interesting – Toby Wallace managed an awesome 49nm distance covered with 2557nm DTF (distance to finish) and OysterShack took a more southerly route and covered 34nm with 2576nm DTF.

We’ve heard from both the boats today and given progress reports, weather information and messages from home –

OysterShack crew had a “fair amount” of sea sickness onboard last night, where only Skipper Paul Williams was fine….however he did get hit by the first flying fish of the trip to make up for it!!  They also saw a few sail boats (presumably part of the ARC 2014 which left from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria yesterday morning) and the sea sickness has subsided today.  They struggled to get through the acceleration zone around the island last night too which drove them more south than they would have liked but are now making good westerly progress once again, and everyone on the crew is in good spirits today!

Meanwhile the Toby Wallace crew are pleased with their first 12 hours progress and are going to continue pushing hard on the track they are on – the weather changes late tomorrow with more north content in it so they want to get as much west as possible in before then.  They haven’t avoided sea sickness either – only the Skipper Simon Chalk, Roland, Noel and Ollie have not been sick yet!! The rest of the crew are coping but not completely over it just yet….

Both crews are looking forward to seeing their 24 hour mileage tonight to give them a good measure on performance so far!

After their evening meals, both crews wandered down to the pontoon to say their goodbyes to one another.  Boarding their respective boats, the Toby Wallace and OysterShack crews had the obvious banter about who will be into Barbados first!  Once all the crew were onboard, they slowly made their way round to the harbour wall in Puerto de Mogan to touch the wall together; take the official leaving time (which was 2159hrs GMT) and set off.

They moved pretty fast away from the wall and there was lots of cheering from the crowd which had gathered to see them off – the last thing shouted was from Noel Watkins on the Toby Wallace who said “Thanks for the hospitality Mogan”……it’s been a while too long in port but here’s hoping for a safe and quick crossing for both boats!  The Toby Wallace boat had a slight advantage getting away but as they rounded the harbour wall towards the ocean, they were neck and neck – it’s going to be a VERY interesting dual!!

Let the dot watching begin…….

The Toby Wallace & OysterShack crews are now leaving on Monday 24th November 2014 at 2200hrs GMT.  The decision has been called in the past hour for reasons of safety.

The ARC 2014 Race which was due to be leaving Las Palmas, Gran Canaria this afternoon has postponed until tomorrow morning at 10.30am.  Over 100 sailing boats are taking part and whilst the ARC departure this afternoon would have meant the sailing fleet would have passed by the time our crews left this evening, due to their delay it would mean the whole sailing fleet passing our two rowing boats tomorrow.  The two skippers, Simon Chalk and Paul Williams, feel that in the interests of safety of both the crews and the boats, they are postponing the start for 24 hours.

Apologies to all but safety is the overriding priority.

Having spent a week longer than anticipated in port due to some unfavourable weather conditions, it is now confirmed that the Toby Wallace and OysterShack crews are leaving Gran Canaria to row the Atlantic tomorrow night – Sunday 23 November at 2200hrs GMT.

The boats are ready, the crews are ready and all is looking good for the foreseeable forecast.  Both crews have been getting in lots of rowing practice and will be spending the day tomorrow relaxing and catching up with family and friends by phone before heading off in the evening.

Leaving tomorrow with the record in mind means that they need to arrive before 1800hrs Barbados time on 25th December (Christmas Day!!) in order to break the 32 day speed record!!  What a great present that will be…..

So tonight (Saturday night) the crew are having a final meal together in Puerto de Mogan at Dennehys Irish Bar who are putting on a full Christmas dinner for them – as they may not get the chance in Barbados!

Attached is another video courtesy of John Farndale (Toby Wallace crew member) of what they have been up to this week:

The crews have been having a productive few days training on the water and both boats and crews are ready – we are just waiting for the best weather window to leave and this being reviewed several times a day.  Here’s some photos and videos for everyone back at home to see a taste of what the Toby Wallace and OysterShack crews have been up to!

The Toby Wallace and Oystershack crews are on standby to leave Puerto de Mogan. We are closely monitoring the weather systems to ensure a safe departure at the earliest possible time. Sadly this won’t be in the next few days but they will leave as soon as possible.

In the meantime they are doing plenty of on-water training of drills, safety procedures, life onboard and basically being as best prepared as possible for their Atlantic adventures to come!

Morning all – Another sunny day here in Puerto de Mogan……the Toby Wallace & OysterShack crews had a meeting last night and have decided to leave port on Thursday or Friday this week. They are having a few more days finishing jobs and spending some more “on-water” time before setting off in better weather conditions and with everyone being FULLY prepared! We will keep you all posted.

In the meantime, below are some photos from the past few days of the boats being launched; some rowing practice and then rowing out with Phil McCorry and Dan Renner of Bexhill, UK who set off yesterday afternoon on a pairs crossing of the Atlantic.  The crews have given them a head start but should catch them up!!

You can follow Phil and Dan’s row at http://atlanticchallenge14.org/tracking/ and start the dot watching early!!

Toby Wallace & OysterShack crew photos:

Phil McCorry & Dan Renner – Atlantic Pairs Crossing:

Toby Wallace & OysterShack Crew Shots:

Thanks to Hilary Bastone for these photographs of the Toby Wallace & OysterShack crews.

The crews of the Toby Wallace and OysterShack have been spending a lot of their time in the heat of the day getting through the job lists to prepare the boats and are in the final part of this before they go in the water hopefully later today.  Everyone is getting on very well and there seems to be lots of laughing, joking and camaraderie between the two crews already…….the competition is heating up literally!!

Also here are an independent pairs crossing with Phil McCorry (Indian ocean rower) and Dan Renner of Bexhill, UK who are setting off tomorrow from Puerto de Mogan to Barbados too.  The crews will be able to watch them leave before they experience it for themselves in the next few days!  You can see more about Phil and Dan’s crossing at their website http://atlanticchallenge14.org

Here’s some more photos of what the crews have been up to!

We are in Puerto de Mogan, Gran Canaria!!  This time, it’s been an epic journey just getting here – which clearly means it will be all smooth running from here on in!!  The boats and trailers left the UK on Thursday 23rd October and were due to arrive in Gran Canaria on 27th October, several days before the crew! However with a broken (and now repaired!) trailer axle – with thanks to De Graff trailers – and a poorly, unable to continue Range Rover in Northern Spain, combined with restrictive ferry crossing times from Spain to the Canaries, the boats arrived late on Sunday 2nd November.

Spanish customs also added to the mix meaning that whilst the crew arrived on Saturday 1st November and had several days of R&R in port, the boats weren’t finally clear of customs until Wednesday morning!

However all that is behind us, the crew have been enjoying some proper bonding time before their big adventure and the competition between the two boats is heating up!!  They are now on day two of prepping the boats on land before they are put in the water over the weekend and it seems everyone is enjoying “mucking in” and the job list is diminishing rapidly!  The boats have been packed and the final touches are being done before the serious business of rowing begins………

Toby Wallace is going out as a strong crew of 7 and OysterShack as a strong crew of 5 – it’s going to be a close competition to Barbados and everyone is talking a good talk at the moment!!

The message board is up and running (http://www.oceanusrowing.co.uk/atlantic-row-nov-2014/) so don’t forget to leave your encouragement and support for them all whilst in port and also while they are on the water!  The tracking will go live next week on the same page.  More news and photos to follow……….

Buy your “Row The Atlantic” t-shirts at the following link – http://teespring.com/oceanusrowing – be quick, you’ve only got 6 days to reserve yours!!

All the profits are being donated to the Toby Wallace charities.