Barcelona - Ibiza: Row to End HPV 2025

At 09:12am local time in Barcelona, 4 crews pushed away from shore to embark on the latest edition of the Row to End HPV, tackling the open waters of the Mediterranean between Barcelona and Ibiza.

Crews can expect light, sustained winds from the east, coupled with a temperature under 30 degrees and calm seas providing pleasant conditions for our rowers during the opening 24 hours of the race. Nonetheless, they will need to adapt and acclimatise to the primitive nature of life on board. Those who can do so quickest will do well during the initial phases of the race and beyond.

You can follow the boats via the GPS Tracker

IBIZA - BARCELONA

Day Two

After a thrilling first stint from Ibiza to the western shore of Mallorca the crews moored up and were offered the chance to go ashore by the support yacht who bussed the crews to the beach for a unexpected excursion. Some of the crews chose to take in the sites while others rented rooms to allow them to fully rest before the restart of the race. All too soon it was time to get back into the rowing boats and prepare to race once again.

The wind started to drop a little earlier than previously forecast and at 20:00 the crews lined up on the start line for the second leg of their trip to row to the mainland. To give the crews the best opportunity to row to the mainland without needing assistance and given the direction of the forecasted winds over the next two days, it was decided that that the finish location would be moved to San Carles de la Rapita, just to the west of Barcelona. After half a day of rowing the crews remain stubbornly close to one another with only a few miles separating the whole fleet. At the moment RHKYC Odyssey are leading with Team Five Guys & Team D’eauNuts neck-and-neck just behind them and Team Patience a short distance behind. However, it is clear that all these boats have the capacity to pull a win out of the bag and this is really turning into a thrilling event to be part of, both from those following on land, and for those participating on the water.

Day One

We’re always looking ahead and last week noticed that there was a high probability of the Mistral wind, which starts to blow across the racecourse on Thursday and remains in place for several days. Historically this wind builds rapidly and blows with severe ferocity, too hard for us to be able to ensure our crews’ safety. To ensure that we were still able to offer our crews a challenge worthy of this evenet we alerted the participants in the Ibiza to Barcelona event that we would be departing a day earlier than expected on Sunday morning and that they should be ready. As the weekend drew closer it became apparent that the crews would also face a short-lived challenge with strong easterly winds on Monday. However, these winds are very short-lived, lasting just a few hours before turning in a helpful direction for the crews. And so a plan was formed to consider these two weather based challenges. The support team constantly monitor the weather conditions and the forecast to ensure that we are making sound decisions based on the most recent data and we’re aware that the current plan may change,.

The crews will set off from Ibiza on Sunday morning and take advantage of strong south westerly winds to row to the north-western corner of Mallorca in stage one of the event. On arrival they will anchor in the lee of the island, protected from the strong easterly winds through Monday. As soon as these winds have reduced in intensity and clocked around slightly to come from the southeast, the crews will be released and continue their journey to mainland Spain. Whether the crews aim for Barcelona or San Carlos de la Rapita (an excellent marina about 85nm to the southwest of Barcelona) will depend on later weather forecasts.

After safety checks and final race briefings throughout Saturday, the crews crossed the start line between the two support yachts at 10:53 on Sunday 20^th July heading firstly around some of the rocks on the southern side of Ibiza and then out across the Mallorca Chanel towards Dragon Island. In the 12 years of the NOMAN race we have seen close races where two boats are very evenly matched but we’ve never seen a situation where four crews are so evenly matched despite differences in the number of crew and in the amount of experience onboard. We have those with previous rowing and ocean rowing experience and those with no rowing experience and yet the lead changed hands multiple times throughout the race. There were a few reports of mild sea sickness but with the waves and wind all acting on the boats in the same direction, the crews were able to remain focussed on one thing, rowing hard. By dawn on Monday 21^st July the crews were able to clearly see Mallorca ahead of them and just after 06:00 all the crews finished. The finish times between first and last crews crossing the line was a scarcely believable 11 minutes.

Team D'eauNuts: 19h 17m

Team RHKYC Odyssey: 19h 24m

Team Patience: 19h 26m

Team Five Guys: 19h 28m

Day Three

As Day 3 dawned the easterly winds reduced slightly to be replaced by more southerly winds which strengthened throughout the day. After continuing to battle into this for about 5 hours with both of them rowing flat out the pair came to the growing realisation that as a two person team, that they had no opportunity to rest without being pushed backwards and even with two of them on the oars the best course they were able to make was slow progress towards Valencia to the south west. After bravely battling the Mediterranean without respite, the crew decided to request a tow.

Further up the fleet the conditions were no less brutal and putting the crews of Team Lancashire and Team Exe At Sea under unrelenting pressure. We’ve heard tales from the boats of putting their strongest rowers onto the oars, pulling as hard as they can and only being able to claw out less than 1kt. Having previously enjoyed speeds where the associated predicted arrival times were sometime on Wednesday evening it was understandably disconcerting for the crews to see the forecast for their arrival slide to Thursday and then onto Friday despite working with furious unsustainable effort. Even adapting their course to attempt to take advantage of the wind shadow behind Ibiza wasn’t offering anywhere near enough support. Having battled so hard and with less than 30nm from the finish, Team Isabel requested assistance from the support yacht and accepted a tow.

Team All Relative were unaware that the other crews had accepted a tow, and their competitive spirit continued to flare as they pushed and pushed as the wind continued to thrust against them. However, eventually just 5.5nm away from the most northerly point of Ibiza, the crew requested assistance. At the support yachts arrived the other crews under tow applauded Team Exe at Sea in recognition of the effort and power expended to overcome the conditions. These three crews then continued around Ibiza’s rocky lee shore under tow and were released at the final waypoint giving them a few miles left to row. The reception on the dock for their arrival was exceptional and the levels of exhaustion were evident in the challenge that the crews demonstrated in getting out of the boats.

Things were no less challenging for the ladies of Team FAMM who had been battling a dual foe with sea sickness adding to the meteorological challenges. They pushed on hard for the whole day but eventually succumbed to the conditions and asked for a assistance. After a bit of a rest and having overcome the worst of the sea sickness they were then eager to take to the oars one final time, and as the sun rose on Thursday morning the crew was released on Ibiza’s eastern shore and took a moment to enjoy the beautiful sunrise before completing their row to the dock in Santa Eulalia des Riu.

Whilst all crews eventually received assistance it is clear to all crews and the race committee that the final race standings are as follows:

1 – Team Exe at Sea

2 – Team Lancashire

3 – Team FAMM

4 – Team Buoys to Men

Day Two

After their first night at sea the crews will be buoyed by the light returning to their world but no doubt apprehensive about the searing heat which accompanies it. The winds had died down a little overnight, but the returning sun also brought with it a freshening in the breeze and a slight clocking in its direction to come more from the east. The two boats at the front of the fleet took a small advantage as the wind at their more southerly position had a more northerly (helpful) component to it, coming as it did from the northeast. This contrasted with the wind direction experienced by Team FAMM and Team Buoys Two Men who were battling against a breeze which did everything it could to blow them west or even northwest at time and, of course and was intensifying.

The pairs team were finding the going particularly tough and attempting to row 18 hours and rest for six, each day was, as you can imagine, wearing them down. With the knowledge that the finish was still a long way away and that the conditions were not likely to improve significantly the duo of team Buoys Two Men decided to request a helping hand. Being towed allowed them the all-important opportunity to rest physically and mentally, something they had been unable to do at all in the last 33 hours. As the first two-person team to attempt the race, Andrew and Alex were pushing the boundaries of what is physically possible, but the sea and wind on this occasion, simply wouldn’t afford them the helping hand they needed, so the support yacht stepped in to gently assist for a few hours. At the time of writing at 2 days since the race start the crew have just been released from their tow about an hour ago.

Also finding the going tough were the ladies aboard Team FAMM. They had battled the conditions for longer even than the pair but also received a 12-hour tow to help them get further south and into a more favourable position for the remaining stretch to Ibiza. The team have also just been released from their tow and are back on the oars.

At the front it remains remarkably close with neither boat willing to give an inch. The boats remain locked in combat against the ocean with the distance between them stubbornly similar to yesterday with Team Exe At Sea fractionally ahead. With stronger headwinds forecast for the next 24 hours this is shaping up into a full-on challenge. Expect predicted arrival times to slide to the right as this headwind builds. Perhaps the crews will be able to use the wind shadow of the island to their advantage? Perhaps the wind will be lighter than forecast? The one thing we do know for certain is that all crews are doing their best, expending so much physical energy, sweat and tears to claw themselves ever closer to the white isle.

Team Exe At Sea 25.1nm to finish

Team Lancashire 29.6nm to finish

Team Buoys to Men 36.4nm* to finish

Team FAMM 37.5nm* to finish

*Crew received tow. Distance of the tow will be used in calculation of line honours after all crews have finished.

Day One

After months (and in some cases years) of preparation the our crews of the NOMAN race 2025 have started their challenge. The last couple of days had been spent making final adjustments and equipment checks and finally there was nothing left to do but push away from land and start the huge challenge of rowing the Mediterranean.

The winds were light and the sea was beautifully calm as the crews made their way between the superyachts moored at of Port Vell and out beyond the breakwater. At 09:12 the crews aligned at the start adjacent to the W hotel for a slightly delayed start. Initially the crews make their way towards waypoint 1 which is just over 25nm (nautical miles) away from the start to the South West. It lies away from the straight line route thus ensuring that the crews stay clear of many commercial shipping lanes which converge at Barcelona.

Team Exe at Sea took an early lead pushing forwards with their experienced Atlantic ocean rower, Neil, and the former professional rugby giant, Chris, taking the first shift. The 5 man Team Lancashire slipped into second place after taking a few minutes to find their feet. Remaining unflustered they continue to put Team Exe at Sea under pressure. The pair of Alex and Andrew jumped off the line showcasing their strong rowing pedigree and technique later settling down into third place, and the ladies aboard Team FAMM were only a tiny bit slower than the pair initially and stayed in touch with them until the entrance to the commercial port.

Safety is our key priority and as such Team FAMM were asked to stop rowing before crossing the entrance to the commercial port as there was a small risk of them impeding a large container ship on it's way into the port. This meant that the crew were forced to stop and held back from rowing for 30 minutes. The Race Committee made the decision this unforced delay would translate to a 1.5nm deficit and so Team FAMM were allowed to make the turn past the first waypoint by this distance. By the time they got to the turn team FAMM had clawed back the initial lead the pair had enjoyed, pushing past them and propelling them into 3rd place.

There have been a couple of reports of seasickness across the fleet but this morning it's great to hear that this has been short lived and it's clear that crews are now enjoying themselves. There is a report that the pair enjoyed a very leisurely brekkie this morning but frankly who can blame them. The work they are putting in to keep pace with the other crews is legendary and if you can't enjoy it, then what's the point?

The standings after 24 hours are:

1 Exe at Sea 84.2nm remaining

2 Lancashire 87.6nm remaining

3 FAMM 101nm remaining

4 Buoys Two Men 106.4nm remaining