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La Mondiale World Record Crew Blogs
World Record Atlantic Ocean Crossing East to West in 33 days, 7 hours, 30 minutes
Julian's Blog
07.12.07 | First Update
Hi everyone just a quick blog to start the ball rolling. Mike, Ray, Pete and I arrived Tuesday at Puerto de Mogan, we were the first of the crew to arrive. Leven was well pleased as it meant he didn’t have to row La Mondiale solo… The boat cleared customs Wed afternoon and we very lucky to get her lifted by a crane late that evening giving us a chance to clean her bottom ready for another coat of anti foul. Glad to say Charlie and PJ arrived late Weds evening and are now sleeping on board acting as our security guards until we leave. Thursday was spent painting the hull with the lads and sorting out the solar panels. Today we were at the boat at 8am so we can finish the hull once she was lifted off the cradle with crane. Unfortunately the hull has suffered a bit of damage on her travels with the cradle pads causing a indentation in two spots which means we have to lift her out on Sat and carry out some epoxy repairs. As our skipper mentions, if it was easy then everyone would be rowing the Atlantic. On Saturday the rest of the crew arrive which will be an excellent moment, probably ending up with a few cold ones, and on Sunday we are hoping to meet the Orca team which will be a historical event and make the row feel very real…..
Ok everyone thank for your interest and remember there is still a chance to win the Toyota on winatoyota.co.uk so please pass on the word and I will keep you all posted on events as they happen. Lum, well done for finding this page and I look forward to some TLC on Monday…
08.12.07 | Poor La Mondiale but great team effort
Well yesterday didn’t quite finish as we hoped. We managed to catch the crane driver for the last lift of the day but due to a bit of bad luck and the driver not watching what he was up to, he managed to drag our rudder along the car park, which not only left a 3m trial of fibre glass but bent the main steering rod… Anyway we have a brilliant chap called Mike Middleton from Sunshine Maritime who has been our greatest ally who took the rudder away to re-do the fibre glass, and another useful character called Peter and Ray manually straightened the rod using a door. Job done. Today has seen a lot of great team work with Peter and Ray working on the solar panel, Leven and Charlie repairing the hull, Stu has been filming and helping with food, Mike, Ollie, PJ and I have packed 310 bags of food, each bag having 6500 calories and having to last for 24 hours. We will end up with 500 bags lasting 40 days but the local Spar has run out of chocolate bars… so Ollie has gone to raid the next town called Puerto Rico for extra supplies.
Just a quick word about Oyster Shack who are a team of six also aiming to beat the record. Unfortunately one crew member was injured and they had to abort the attempt but the good news is we believe the crew member will be fit enough to restart on the 15th of Dec so we should have three boats all racing at the same time….
Well that's it for now. Will aim to do some blog tonight but Ollie has just called so going to nail the balance of the food. Thanks for the comments from everyone.
Onwards and Westwards
10.12.07 | La Mondiale is back in the Atlantic
Sorry for the lack of blog but Sat. evening turned out to be an all night drinking session celebrating not only a good day's work but the fact that all of the crew had arrived. Leven, Mike and I finished drinking at 6am….The net result was Sunday was a very painful day finishing the food. This morning we had La Mondiale lifted back into the water fully repaired and looking good. The rest of the day has involved various little tasks except Ray´s job which has been setting up the gearing on the oars. LamYai, Dad and Maureen arriving this evening and can´t wait to see them. Unfortunately due to the purchase of a new factory at Aylsham Lincoln had to cancel his trip out here but he might make it at the last minute to see us off on Saturday. The plan for the rest of the week is to hopefully finish the boat off tomorrow, sea trials on Weds. and depending on the result some deep sea fishing or scuba diving on Thursday. Friday will be packing the last of equipment on board La Mondiale and carry out final checks on personal equipment. On the big day we have the local Mayor and government officials coming to see us off with the American Team Orca, with a massive flare starting the race. On the health front Liam our ship doctor is looking after everyone and has been giving us some sound tips on looking after various bits of the body!!
We had a look at Oyster Shack website earlier and it looks like she is up and running again with a start date of around Dec 15th which shall make a exciting race!
Ok folks thats all for now, thank you for all the text messages and comments.
Cheers
Jules
12.12.07 | Team Orca
Yesterday we had the pleasure of meeting Team Orca. Had a long chat with Chris who, would you believe, used to work for Anglia TV back in the mid 70s. Chris mentioned that they are going to use manual water makers which has the advantage of saving 75 kg in weight but they have to spend at least one hour per day to make 3 litres of water, which sounds like a nightmare to me. The other interesting fact we were told is the guys will only be eating 3500 calories per day, again this all about saving weight but they will have a massive deficit 6000 calories per day…….They hope to be rowing at an average of 3.7 to 5.0 knots throughout the whole trip.
The early part of the evening was spent sharing a rum with Orca Captain Roy Finley and our Captain Leven with plenty of good humour and jostling. Then our team went to our favourite Italian for some serious carb loading. Both Mike and I have now put on an extra 5kg since we have been out here which seems strange having spent all year losing 7kg!!!
Finally today we hope to take out La Mondiale for a sea trial and to give Stu a chance to film some training footage which we believe will be used on World BBC and shown on the day we leave.
Ok folks more later best wishes to all
Jules
13.12.07 | Sahara Sandstorm
Well once again we had to put our plans on hold, this time due to the weather. Yesterday lunchtime the wind picked up to 40 plus knots from a southerly direction. The waiter in the Irish bar said we were due to get a sand storm from the Sahara and he was spot on, with the net result our sea trial was cancelled. The visibility dropped down to under a mile due to so much sand in the air and we even had some rain just for good measure. This morning the weather is a little bit calmer but the wind is still the wrong direction and the forecast is not looking so good, but I am sure Leven will go out to sea asap. Doctor Liam has been on a shopping mission and went to Ikea and purchased some luxury pillows, a shower and holders for communal toiletries which we hope will make life a little bit more comfortable.
Had a long chat with Ed Foss yesterday and I believe he will write another article with the view of printing it on Friday or Saturday. I have to say a massive thanks to Ed who has been a sterling supporter from the start and made a huge difference to our campaign.
Will keep you all posted as news breaks.
Cheers
Julian
14.12.07 | Last Night on Land for 30 Days ish…
Well the time is nearly here for the team to take on our epic journey and have a shot at the record books. The boat looks fabulous, the crew have worked bloody hard to make this happen on time. This afternoon we had a debrief from our Captain and the other officers which covered everything from bottom care to capsizing….On a serious note the key area is to look after the boat and to keep an eye on your rowing buddy. I have to say personally I can`t wait to crack on with the job and get to the other-side asap to see my family.
With regards to the Orca team we still hope they make the start line tomorrow but they have been held up by the officials in Las Palmas which meant the boat arrived this afternoon in Mogan at 1600hrs and still more paper work to be finalised Sat am. Fingers crossed for their team.
With regards to future blog the plan is to write up some thoughts on a regular basis and email them to Leven`s mum via the sat phone who will cut and paste as we go.
Thanks everyone for your support - when I am at a low point your comments will bring the extra strength to go on.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Birthday to all of you whilst I am away.
Cheers
Jules
18.12.07 | Onwards and westwards
sorry for no recent correspondence, just been concentrating on getting my head down on life on La Mondiale. settling in reasonably well. very pleased with performance with boat and crew. just need the weather to be a wee bit kinder. sending much love to my gorgeous supportive wife LamYai, and the lads will be thanking her soon when they sink their teeth into her fine thai beef biltong.
21.12.07 | Finger Crossed for the Trade Winds
Hi everyone and my beautiful wife LamYai. Sorry for the delay but I have spent all my efforts getting into the zone on board our magnificent boat La Mondiale. The hardest part of the trip was when we left on the 15th of Dec, the send off was excellent and very emotional but once land was out of sight I was fine. This is day six that I am writing this email and so far we still haven’t had the right weather to show our full potential but have had some impressive miles in the first two days, but unfortunately the last three days we sat on the sea anchor but just before we deployed the anchor six of us were rowing in 40 knot winds coming from the south west - what a boat! We have started rowing again, the sea has calmed to slight, the sun is out and we are heading on a 250 course to straight to home! Mike is doing lots more blog than me so do keep an eye out on his blog area. I will try every three or four days.
Finally just to say I am loving the experience and feeling strong mentally and physically.
Fingers crossed for the trade winds.
24.12.07
Well everyone, as you can see, we have finally reached the weather we had hoped for. The last three days we have completed back to back 100 plus miles on each day, the boat and crew have pulled together in an incredible fashion and it an honour to be on board. The days seem to become one massive blur of routine which are broken down into 40 mins shift patterns, sleeping, eating etc but somehow time is flying by. As it is Christmas Eve today one of the crew, PJ, has already unwrapped a present, a star and tinsel! It seems our Christmas present for the big day is going to be even better rowing conditions with wind speeds up to 40 knots from the east, perfect for us. We won’t be stopping at all tomorrow but will open all of the presents/cards when we have a break and I believe a wee dram of whisky at 1300 hrs gmt. Lum and Lincoln and Dad I will try and ring you via the sat phone to have a quick chat. Andrew and Claire got your email, thanks, great words. Tiny can’t wait to drink a chb and talk non stop about this great adventure. Say hi to everyone in the Alex for me. Merry Christmas to everyone from the high seas and check out Ollie’s and Mike’s regular blogs for updates. Onwards and westwards
Jules
28.12.07 | A Good Catch
Hi everyone sorry for the delay but life has been rather hectic here…..Today is the 28th of Dec and we have just completed our 7th day of 100 plus miles per day which we believe is a new record in the history of ocean rowing. This is despite light winds and a slight sea. Our boat is also getting lighter so combined with the stronger winds which are forecasted in the next few days we hope to crack the 116 mile record and set a new standard to beat. I hope you have also been watching the other two teams Orca and Oyster Shack who are also gunning for the record, it can’t get any more exciting. On a personal note I am still feeling very mentally strong with no doubts (sorry Lincoln, the letter marked to be opened in my hour of need I hope to open with you beside me at a bar in Barbados with an empty pint glass in my hand…..) physically my backside is taking a beating and has more spots than a leopard, I now have a beard (Lum I promise to shave on my arrival) and my hands are taking a beating by the continuous grip of the oar but hey that's life the of an ocean rower.
Yesterday was my birthday (41 years old with the mental age of 21). The lads made a big fuss of me and I received a cake plus lots of goodies and the big bonus they gave me a dog watch which meant no rowing for 6 hours so rather than sleeping I went fishing with a handline of the back of the boat and just like the movies I caught a 1m long Dorado which tasted bloody good!
Just few words to say the emails are coming through and make a big difference to all of us. James, tell Henry I haven’t rowed in the nude yet but we still have 20 days to go so will keep him posted. Ed great email and thanks for sharing that. Bro thanks for all of the cards and Dad the family pictures are pinned up on the wall in our cabin. Nena, I hope you ARE missing me and not giving your mum a hard time….
Lum all is well and each stroke at the oar is one closer to seeing you again…. can’t wait. Tiny please email me your home number so we can ring you on Jan 1st, Andy Bale great selection of music and Pete your cake will be devoured on Jan the 1st.
Ok Mike is nagging me, will post update in few days time
Cheers
Jules
PS yes Justin, very sober birthday but big party in 20 days ish time - look out at Barbados
05.01.08
Dear All
Sorry for the lack of blog but we have had power issues with water being the top priority. Thank you for all of the emails, they do make a difference especially on the graveyard shift which starts at 3 40am. Great to hear from our American friends who we met in Dublin. Hamish, come on pull your finger out and start training for a row around NZ and as the gauntlet has been laid! Life on board is very good at the moment, the World Record of 117 miles has raised the bar for the whole crew who are very hungry for the main Record and very keen for some cold beers ASAP. We still have a lot of work to do, around 1200 miles to go as of 5th of Jan the weather has taken turn for the worst, no wind and soaring sun which is great on a beach but an energy sapping condition whilst rowing. We hope to start hitting 100 miles a day on the 6th and hope to arrive around the 17th.
I am still rowing strong although lack of sleep makes the most simple of tasks seem to take forever!! Each evening we have been blasted by attacks from flying fish which are very slippery and smell! But causes lots of laughter as we dance around the deck trying to release them.
Lum not long now can’t wait to see you and the rest of the family.
Check out Liam Doc Hughes poem on Oli’s blog, it hits the spot!
Henry, Rob rowed naked last night for one shift but I think I will be keeping my white bits”"”
Mike, great to read my godson is on the case, love to all. Claire thanks for your email it all adds up. Annabelle remember you help made this happen as well and yes we managed a glass of port with cheese on new year's eve!
Lincoln call Debbie Tubby at Look East, she might add something about the trip.
Finally a belated happy new year to everyone and please keep an eye on Oli’s, Mike’s and PJ’s blog for more news. Mike and I share the forward cabin with PJ and Charlie and we have lots of schoolboy banter and pranks!!
Onwards and westwards
Jules |
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