IOR 2009 Blog Archive

Guy's brother Tom has asked me to write something about Guy, our relationship with him and his precocious propensity for extreme physical exertion... Guy used to visit our nursery in Nuthurst with his parents Tina and Nigel and by the age of 16 had approached us for some holiday work on the nursery. Such a pleasant and fresh faced youth had to be given a chance but nothing had prepared us for the sheer gusto with which he threw himself into his work. Whether it was potting on plants, tidying the nursery, making observations about the business or just being incredibly friendly, everything was done with extra extra enthusiasm. Needless to say, everyone adored him and the question "Is Guy coming back this year?" was on many people's lips. He came and went through school holidays, gap years and university vacations but eventually, after his graduation from Bournemouth, tearful and final good-byes were made as Guy went off to start his 'proper job' in London. Final good-byes, my eye! He was back three weeks later mouthing oaths about how awful it had been in the city and demanding a permanent position at Architectural Plants. It took about a minute and a half to negotiate terms and conditions. I just said yes to everything. Guy's infectious enthusiasm and tendency to be highly productive was great but it was his interest and grasp of business that attracted me most. Often we used to meet up on the nursery and have our little philosophical chats about life, the universe and everything but there was one particular observation he made, aged about 18, that intrigued me. "Angus, maybe you could explain something to me. You seem to be incredibly well organised here and do everything well but almost every other job I've ever had has been at places that seem incredibly inefficient and badly organised. How come they manage to survive?" I answered him then and I'd answer him now : "Guy, I'm 40 years older than you and I haven't got the faintest idea". Only an exceptional young person would have noticed such a thing and would have asked such a question. The boy will go far. Back to extreme physical stuff. I fear that Guy and Andy's current predicament of being stuck in uncooperative currents in the middle of the Indian Ocean could be partly my fault. When he was working here full time after abandoning his first proper job in London and knowing that he 'quite liked going for runs and bike rides', I told him about a rather unlikely sponsorship deal I'd agreed with a chap called Stuart Turnbull. Stuart and his friend Ed Baylis, for reasons best known to themselves, wanted to buy a boat and row it from La Gomera in the Canaries to Antigua in the Caribbean and they needed some dosh to do it. Sponsorship is just another way of advertising one's company and we'd often been asked to sponsor under 14 football teams which I'd always rejected due to an absence of interest in football but two loonies who wanted to row across the Atlantic Ocean with 'Architectural Plants' plastered down one side of their little boat? Irresistible. Right up my street. But it was Guy's reaction to this news (that I thought might be of a mere, fleeting interest to him) that caught me out. His eyes became wider than I'd ever seen them before, there was a massive in-take of breath and all of you who know Guy can imagine his retort - "Oh God I'd absolutely LOVE to do something like that!". Oh no, what had I done? His poor parents! It seems that mad look in his eyes never left. That was in 2005. It wasn't long after that, that I was made aware of the fact that there were stirrings in the rowing department. Guy had even found a friend called Andy who apparently shared his ambition to do something balmy in a rowing boat. In the meantime, further evidence of Guy's desire to push himself to the edge came in the build-up to the Iron Man competition - preparations for which we were always kept closely abreast of - and an incident in Tuscany on a plant buying trip in 2006. It was just before Christmas and dark when we checked into our hotel in Montecatini Terme. We pointed out some of the sites including the original little medieval hill town - Montecatini Alto - that hovers over 1,000 ft above the spa town where we stayed. "Cor, I'd really like to run up there". "Don't be silly Guy - it's over a thousand feet up, pitch dark and pouring with rain. You'd never find your way up or down and you'd probably die anyway" we all said in a vain attempt to dissuade him. "Go and have a nice bath in your room and we'll all meet in the foyer for supper at 7.30". He was there in the foyer at 7.30 all right. A little pinker than usual but full of beans and bursting to tell us about scrabbling up and then down a mountain in the dark and wet and back to the hotel in time for tea and how much fun it was. We sat listening with our mouths open. At last, the penny had dropped. Guy's nuts. Then he did it again the following evening before supper. Took the road this time - a steep series of hairpins making a round trip to the village and back of about 12 miles. Before tea. You can imagine after reading this how I was going to react when the inevitable question came. I had no choice. "Angus..... we think we've found a boat and think we'd quite like to row it across the Indian Ocean through 40 ft waves and hurricane force winds. Can we have some money please?" Rarely have I handed over several thousand quid to anyone with such alacrity. I'd built up an enormous affection and admiration for Guy over the years and I hope I'd always encouraged him in his deranged enterprises. Did I really mean it when I tried to talk him out of running up to Montecatini Alto on a horrible wet night? Of course not - I'd have been bloody furious if he hadn't. Adventure, whether physical or mental must be encouraged and I'm very proud to have played a little bit in assisting these two in their's. To some lesser mortals, I might point out - "It doesn't all end in Mauritius you know". These two know that, so I wouldn't bother. Angus White, Owner Architectural Plants Ltd

Hey Guys, With under 300 miles to go Andy and I are in high spirits as we are starting to allow ourselves to think about how nice it will be seeing everyone on dry land.  It seems strange that our plans for this voyage began over 2 years ago and only now are we starting to realise just how far we have come.  We remain focused however and we do not intend to back off during these final few days, after all there is a World Record at stake! We are both very proud to have contributed towards the work of Orchid and their efforts in the fight against male cancers.  Our thanks go out to everyone who has sponsored us but remember its still not too late and you will find the link below sends you to our sponsorship pages.  We have realised that anything is possible and together we can all help improve the lives of others who are less fortunate than ourselves. I had a strange experience this morning which was a definite sign that we are approaching land.  Whilst rowing a strange white parrot like bird flew over head and it was really nice to see some exotic wildlife. As ever thanks to everyone, the hammer is down and we're coming home! Guy out. Click here to donate money for the fight against the spread of male cancers and support Orchid, the boys chosen charity. To follow our progress please go to the official Woodvale Challenge site.

Greetings dot-watchers! We were delighted to be asked to do a guest blog spot for Flying Ferkins. Earlier blogs have already told you a bit about the boat. It is a Phil Morrison design. Phil is a top notch sailing boat designer, as well as a top notch bloke. He has been responsible for a large proportion of the ocean rowing boats and Flying Ferkins is built to the design that he generously place in the public domain. The boat is a bit shorter than the original Chay Blyth plywood boats. It is 7.3metres long by 1.85metres beam and draws about 300mm. The rudder increases draft to 600mm and is quite the most vulnerable part of the boat when close to the shore. The rudder on Flying Ferkins is controlled by ropes connected to one of the foot plates of the forward rowing position. The all up weight of the boat can be up to a tonne when fully loaded - depending on the provisions. So you eat as well as row your way across the ocean. There is a cabin at each end - the aft cabin is just about long enough for Andrew & Guy to stretch out, even at their great heights. I suppose it is about the same size as a small 2 man tent. The forward cabin is much smaller and intended for stores, though I have heard reports of smaller rowers sleeping in it. The cabins are also key to the boat's self righting capabilities. When capsized the boat floats on the cabins, but unstably so that any movement will cause the boat to flip back the right way up. The project started for us in January last year when Andrew & Guy first contacted us by email. It really got going on the 9th February when the dynamic duo came down to the yard and against my better judgement I posed for some cheesy photographs with them in front of the mould, a set of drawings etc. While we were getting started on Flying Ferkins they saw quite a bit of 'Shackleton' the boat we were building at the time for Lorenzo - this 'ocean rowing boat' has an engine and sails as well as oars and is currently enjoying the Songefjord in Norway. They were able to resist the temptation of alternative means of propulsion - though I wonder how often they might have wished for them during this phenomenal row? While we will of course be very pleased when Guy & Andrew reach Mauritius, it will be a strange sensation not to have a dot to follow across the Indian Ocean after all this time! Charlie & the team at Rossiters out. Click here to donate money for the fight against the spread of male cancers and support Orchid, the boys chosen charity. To follow our progress please go to the official Woodvale Challenge site.

Well we have arrived - Tina, Nigel, Claire and John!!  The flight was good, it's a long way here and we could say we feel we've rowed it at the moment..........but unlike Guy and Andrew we have lagers in our hands and are starting to feel quite chilled!  It has absolutely chucked it down since John and I arrived this lunchtime but we now sit at the Yacht club watching a flat calm see feeling the suns efforts on our backs - it's warm and humid. It's quite a poignant site seeing Boats Nos 3, 5 and 13 bobbing around on the shoreline and really strange since we last saw them in Australia. We believe the boys have slowed down a bit today due to a change in the wind conditions but all is well on board and they are really looking forward to the end. Advanced welcoming party out. Click here to donate money for the fight against the spread of male cancers and support Orchid, the boys chosen charity. To follow our progress please go to the official Woodvale Challenge site.

Wow Andrew and Guy have been 100 days at sea! They have made some amazing progress over the last few days as can be clearly seen from the Woodvale news. Flying Ferkins managed a 449 distance from finish over the 7 days between 19th and 26th July. An average daily distance from finish of 64nm [wooohooo]. Conditions ok and boys remain in confident mood. Eating well and maintaining good sleep patterns. Andrew witnessed a smaller whale whilst rowing yesterday. The whale circled Flying Ferkins and then headed off towards Mauritius from the bow. Fantastic to receive the following message from Greg Searle MBE. Greg Searle is an Olympic gold medalist, winning the coxed pairs event at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. "To Guy and Andrew, Good luck with your race across the Indian Ocean. It sounds like an amazing challenge and something that will make you very proud if you can do it. I hope it goes well!" Greg Searle Distance made West: Monday 20th July 49nm Tuesday 21st 50nm Wednesday 22nd 65nm Thursday 23rd 66nm Friday 24th 70nm Saturday 25th 55nm Sunday 26th 50 nm Monday 27th 33nm Please keep those comments coming fellow blog friends. We have to beat our own record of 36 comments! Tom (flying to Mauritius today) out. Click here to donate money for the fight against the spread of male cancers and support Orchid, the boys chosen charity. To follow our progress please go to the official Woodvale Challenge site.

As the boys draw closer to their ultimate goal, I look back at our experience as Team MSS main sponsor and what it means to us. Guy and Andrew approached us by chance at IMPA shipping conference only in September last year, where MSS exhibit their trade of ship supplies to the marine industry. They were in desperate need of sponsorship for all the equipment for the Flying Ferkins. They saw that we supplied a lot of equipment to commercial shipping and by chance that sort of product crossed over to what they required. After some smooth talking from them to our director Ricki, she came back and told me about the project. At first it went in one ear and out of the other, that was that, but as I would later find out, Guy and Andrew are persistent buggers ! After telling them to send through a list and I’ll see what we could do, the guy’s sent through everything including the kitchen sink, but, because they were so infectious with their passion and commitment for the project, how could anyone really refuse ? So, Team MSS was born and I can honestly say that it has been one of the most valued and exciting events I have been involved in. Thankfully only some of the equipment has been used, why, because most of it is the safety items that the boys need to carry in case of any emergency, ensuring that they return safely! On the up side, knowing that we supplied things such as the Sat phone mean the boys can give us all the update which everyone has enjoyed so much. I have only known the guys for a short space of time compared to most of the other bloggers, but I’m sure we will be lifelong friends, hopefully finding another challenge for them to do in the future, as can anyone see them pen pushing for the next few years….I think not !!!!! Mike out. Click here to donate money for the fight against the spread of male cancers and support Orchid, the boys chosen charity. To follow our progress please go to the official Woodvale Challenge site.

Hello from Mauritius [yee haa], well what a day awaits us all.  Andrew and Guy continue to row Flying Ferkins towards the finish line.  Presently 30nm from the official Woodvale finish line they have reported they can see land.  Spirit on board is high and mood fantastic with the finish line in site. Bloggers keep those positive comments coming! John Plank, part of the team who created and maintain this website wrote to the Prime Minister recently to make him aware of the race and the charities that are supported by the rowers. This is his reply:

Claire, Tina, Nigel, John, Tom, Sarah, Gem, Dione & Mose out,

Click here to donate money for the fight against the spread of male cancers and support Orchid, the boys chosen charity.

To follow our progress please go to the official Woodvale Challenge site.

After an epic 102 day row we are ecstatic to tell you that Flying Ferkins - Andrew & Guy, have achieved the impossible and crossed the official Woodvale finish line at 16:40 GMT on Thursday July 30th 2009. Words can't describe how thrilled and delighted we all are that they have accomplished the 3,132nm across the Indian Ocean. More to follow once they reach dry land - this will be the first ever crossing land to land by a pair. Claire, Tina, Nigel, John, Tom, Gem, Sarah, Mose and Dione out.

WE MADE IT!  Wow, we are totally overwhelmed by the support we have had during the race it kept us going every stroke.  Walking is a bit tricky and both are a little lighter than when we started some 100+ days ago.  To get those World Records is the icing on the Angel Cake that was waiting for me at the finish! That was the toughest challenge we have ever attempted and to win is an indescribable feeling. We are having a well deserved beer here in Mauritius and will update you tomorrow when I stop tripping over my own feet! A big big thanks to Jem & Tim for their enduring commitment, time and passion to the project & especially for believing in us when we where at our lowest. You won us the race!Again a big thanks to everyone who has supported us and contributed to this blog. And finally a lot of respect to Southern Cross who pushed us all the way. Goodnight & thanks from Mauritius Andy

Go to our Gallery where you will see more photographs of the finish of our race!

Hello to everyone who has supported us during our epic adventure. Words can't describe how important all your encouragement and enthusiasm has been to get us through the last two and a half years - from early fundraising through to race completion. Mauritius has proved the ideal place for the end of our long journey. We have been joined by close friends and family and I am staying in a hotel with an all you can eat buffet, for those of you that know me, I don't think I need to say anymore!!! Therefore after 102 days at sea it has been hard to do anything else rowing related. However we are now back and my head is a little clearer so I wanted to take the time to  thank my personal bloggers; Greg 'Legend' Charman, Neil 'U2' Tutton and of course my brother Tom who has held it all together whilst I have been away. Tom's support has been unconditional and I was able to leave for Australia knowing that things were in safe hands. We wouldnt be in the position we are today without the help of Jeremy Christey and Timothy Howard. Their role in assisting us to safely cross the Indian Ocean and ultimately achieve 5 world records has been vital. Andrew and I consider them a fundamental part of the team. We also wish to thank all of our sponsors for their support - we could not have done it without you.  Looking forward to seeing you all back in the UK... I will be arriving at Heathrow on August 10th on flight BA0122 @ 18.40 for all those who wish to come to the airport. Guy out

After a successful and safe crossing of the Indian Ocean we felt it was important to explain the records that Team MSS have achieved. There had never been a successful Indian Ocean crossing by a pairs team before Flying Ferkins. We are now recognised as holders of the following world records; 1st Pairs team (assisted or otherwise) across the Indian Ocean 1st Pairs team (unassisted) to have crossed. The 1st Pairs team (unassisted) to have rowed land to land across the Indian Ocean Fastest pairs crossing and Fastest Pairs crossing land to land In addition to these world records we have also achieved a race fleet record 24 hour mileage of 72nm jointly with Pura Vida. Flying Ferkins also managed a 7 day record, rowing 449nm over the 7 days between 19th and 26th July. An average daily mileage of 64nm. Whilst future attempts to row the Indian Ocean by other pairs may break a number of these records, there is one record that will always be 'Flying Ferkins' and that is the land to land record. To listen to an interview with us aired on Mercury FM this morning go to mercuryfm website and click on local news... Team MSS Andrew and Guy Out

I will be arriving at Heathrow on August 10th on flight BA0122 @ 18.40, Terminal 5 for all those who wish to come to the airport. Guy out.