It has certainly been far from easy for the crews in the Barcelona – Ibiza: Row to End HPV 2021. The weather has literally never been in their favour so far and although the crews have enjoyed periods of lighter winds the wind has never got with the program and actively assisted the teams.
Firstly, we should report that after a good night’s rest in a bed which doesn’t move and a lot of fluids to help him rehydrate, Mark has fully recovered and is cheering on the team from the shore. He plans to travel to Ibi
za today and looks forwards to welcoming the crew back to land in the next day or so.
Being down a team member already may not put team ROWBOTS at a disadvantage per se, as all crews now have four athletes onboard but it will have certainly discombobulated the crew. Their planned rest and row schedule has been forced to change and so they’re getting less rest than they were before (which was already less than they might like). Then around breakfast time we received an update from the crew that Leo had scalded his hand with boiling water from the stove. Thankfully with 2 fully qualified medics onboard they could hardly wish for a more well-prepared team and the injury thankfully hasn’t prevented Leo from continuing to row.
The crew continue to battle onwards and have actually started to claw back some of the lead which team Jamison had built up in the first 24 hours, but it’s clear that this effort is taking its toll. The crew are hot, tired and despite drinking and eating as much as they can the novelty of being on an ocean row boat is starting to wear thin. We hope that they are able to continue to demonstrate the incredible resilience they have shown so far.
For their part Team Jamison continue to press onwards with no reported problems. As this row is part of their preparation for an Atlantic passage in the future it’s inspiring to see their ability to knuckle down and keep pressing onwards to the white isle. We get the sense that some of the shine and novelty of the passage is starting to be eroded by the challenging conditions, but we know that this crew have what it takes to get to Ibiza and celebrate in style.