After losing a crewmember to illness / seasickness, and a remaining crewmate burning their hand, it seemed possible if not likely that Team ROWBOTS would have had all their major challenges for this event. Fate however, apparently deals in threes.
The more eagle eyed among those of you following the race tracker would have spotted Team ROWBOTS taking a somewhat circuitous route to Ibiza yesterday. It was clear that in the headwind conditions and after fighting hard for two days already the prospect of another two days on the oars in 30+ degree heat was one which the crew were not relishing the prospect of. In fact the crew were almost broken.
We’re really proud to say that after a bit of a conversation with the crew of the support yacht the crew have found the resolve to keep pushing on, and since that point have actually clawed back some miles on Team Jamison and make solid progress.
This crossing of the Mediterranean honours and raises awareness of the struggle and hardship that many cancer patients face, often on a daily basis. We couldn't be more inspired by the crew's drive and determination to keep going.
Team Jamison meanwhile have, by their own admission, had a “hell of a few days” and they found “last night arduous.....Everyone is a little battle worn but the sun has helped and we’re full of beans to get this job done.” Last night they could see the lights of Ibiza and at the moment have just 18nm between them and the northern tip of the island. However, the finish line of the race is in Santa Eulalia des Rui, which is on the southern side of the island and going around the eastern side of Ibiza adds an extra 10nm to their journey.
In the past though we’ve always noticed that the sight of land has led to crews increasing their speed and the last few miles along the southern edge of the island are somewhat of a sprint. We hope to be able to host Team Jamison’s arrival sometime late this afternoon and Team ROBOTS sometime tomorrow but as always nothing is certain until the crew are safely tied up to the dock.
We can’t wait to welcome our crews to Ibiza and look forward to hearing all the stories of their voyage.