Jul 24, 2023

Ibiza - Barcelona: Row to End HPV 2023

FOLLOW THE RACE VIA THE GPS TRACKER

Race Update Second Leg

Stage one of the race from Ibiza to Palma resulted in all crews receiving a short tow as the strong headwinds arrived and the crews' forward progress stalled. In order to calculate the times for the first stage we looked at the position of all crews at 06.30, before the first tow was offered but after the headwinds arrived and started to push (some) crews backwards.

By measuring the distance the crews had left to row, at this time, and using their average speed up until that point we have calculated what we could expect their finish time to have been if the headwinds hadn't stalled progress and stopped the party.

By using this method, the results of stage one are as follows.

Team End HPV

1 day 1 hour 33 minutes

Team Jamison - GS Gives

1 day 4 hours 9 minutes

Team Making Pictures

1 day 4 hours 33 minutes

Team Trafigura

1 day 5 hours 44 minutes

These times will be added to the times for stage two to provide a final race time.

Sadly, after arriving at Palma, Mark Potter spoke to Chris Martin the race director regarding his sea sickness which had continued to make him feel ill and struggle to swallow food and water hours after getting off the boat. As Mark put it "My body is telling me I can't do it. Guess rowing oceans in this much heat is not for me." Mark wishes his crew mates well and despite being reduced to three crewmembers is as positive and upbeat as ever.

This does somewhat put the cat amongst the pigeons as Team End HPV lead the field after stage 1.

This morning the crews arrived at the dock in fine spirits. Those expecting to see exhausted zombies would have been disappointed. It seems that crews had eaten their own bodyweight in snacks and pizza and then fallen asleep for the whole night, utterly exhausted.

It didn't take long for the crews to jump onboard the boats, take off some of the rubbish accumulated during the first day at sea and give things a general tidy up.

Just after 08.00 they slipped their morrings once again and took up their oars. The race start for stage 2 was at 09.25 just outside Palma harbour wall.

The crews got moving again with Team End HPV taking the early lead. Team Jamison - GS Gives in second and the last two crews with scarcely a mile between them. As the sun set the crews pressed on into the darkness with the support yachts keeping watch.

Follow along for all the latest updates and don't forget to check out the tracker which will show the crews progress for stage 2.

Race Update Day 1

While the NOMAN is an island: Race to end HPV aims to run between Ibiza and Barcelona, on occasion mother nature has other ideas. Even with the fastest crew onboard an ocean rowing boat will not be able to push into a headwind which is too strong. Unfortunately the forecast for Tuesday calls for headwinds which not only would prevent the crews from making progress but which also exceed our safety limits for maximum acceptable wind speeds on the race course. Added to this the winds on Wednesday are forecast to start coming from the east before clocking to the south during the day.

It is for these reasons that rather than head straight towards Barcelona, the crews set off on Monday and headed towards Mallorca. This 60nm trip will serve as an excellent first leg for the crews and put them in a much more favourable position to be able to make progress towards Barcelona, on Wednesday morning, after the adverse weather system has weakened and moved out of their way.

We focus on three things: adventure, safety and rowing and we will continue to deliver on these even if the course is slightly different to our initial targets.

This route certainly represents no less of a challenge for the crews, as the total distance to row is in fact longer than the direct (non-Mallorca) route but we believe that the crews will enjoy the sense of adventure which comes from visiting another new location. They will certainly welcome the chance to rest and recuperate on land before the longer second leg of the race which is expected to continue on Wednesday morning.

After the start horn was sounded at 09:12 local time Team End HPV took a decisive and rapid lead. Not to be outdone Team Jamison – GS Gives utilised the benefits of having five rowers onboard compared with the four athletes present in the other boats. Team Trafigura and Team making Pictures started slightly slower but were in a closely pitched battle against one another. The crews passed the eastern end of Ibiza and headed out into open water.

However, as dusk descended upon the horizon, the waves began to rise, testing the mettle of these courageous rowers. The relentless power of the ocean proved to be a formidable challenge, as dark waves crashed against their boats, pushing their physical and mental limits. But they refused to back down. The crews had not quite been able to make it to Palma before the winds strengthened and the waves rose and so they started on the toughest possible battle. Rowing hard but going backwards slowly.

Despite their valiant efforts, the conditions proved too much for all four teams and so they made the difficult decision to be towed into Palma. By 4pm today, all boats found refuge in the welcoming harbour, battered but unbowed.

Now, with their sights set on Barcelona, the teams regroup and prepare for the next leg of their incredible journey. They have faced adversity head-on and emerge with a renewed sense of determination. Their spirits remain unyielding, their camaraderie unbroken, although they are all really tired having not slept very much(if at all) in the last 24 hours.

With Barcelona and more favourable weather conditions on the horizon, the teams seek to recharge their batteries and recover as best they can in the sport period of time available to them. They now have a much better idea of what awaits them on Wednesday, Thursday and beyond which will require even more determination to step onboard the boats, knowing the true scale of what faces them.

The race committee will calculate a time for each crew based upon their distance to the finish at a time prior to when the first tow was started and this will become the crews’ stage time for the first part of the race. These will be circulated shortly.