Rob's Articles

ROB's ARTICLES

For copies of my book The Naked Rower (so-called because I can't cook) www.kineli.co.nz
If you have any questions I can be contacted on robh@telecomchallenge.co.nz

"We will do the race again only this time we will win!" That was the 'never say die' call made to the Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Challenge safety yacht by Belgium rower Bruno Lewuillon when greeted near the finish.

Looking more like victims of a second-world-war concentration camp than athletes finishing third in the longest and toughest rowing race in history, Bruno and Alain Lewuillon landed in Port St Charles, Barbados this morning. The Belgium rowers were technically proficient but looked weak and tired as their skeletal remains pulled at their oar handles.

The two men are both world class rowers. In 1992 Alain represented Belgium at the Olympics and that same year his brother Bruno rowed the lightweight double scull at the World Championships in Montreal. I only know this because Bruno told me at the start line. He remembered me because my rowing partner and I had knocked him out of the final that year.

Bruno and Alain had suffered from a poor diet - one thing they say they will get right next time - and extremely painful sores on their respective backsides. Their hands too were badly affected by a combination of damp and wear and tear causing the skin to lift away and pile up at the knuckle joints like logs in a dam.

The relief on their faces was palpable as they rose from their seats, attempted to straighten weary backs and stepped out of the boat, nearly falling over as they stood for the first time in 49 days on a solid and unmoving surface.

As I write the Belgian brothers eat paw paw and slurp fruit punch while just 15 miles away from Barbados our women Steph Brown and Jude Ellis still heave on the oars aboard Telecom Challenge Whangaroa. If they finish fourth and hold off the fast finishing Jersey crew comship.com it will be a brilliant effort.

In women's sport I find it difficult to compare their performance to any other sporting success our country has ever achieved. If anyone has any analogies to relate to a fourth placed women's crew racing 35 men's crews in one of the most physically demanding sports known, please let me know.

KIWI WOMEN ABOARD 'OLD FAITHFUL'

24/11/2001

Doubt many of you know this but the boat that the women are using is the same boat Phil Stubbs and I rowed in the inaugural Atlantic Rowing Challenge in 1997. It was a difficult decision to drag 'Kiwi Challenge' out of retirement. For obvious reasons there is a heap of sentimental value attached to the boat but the decision had to be made. If that decision had not been made then the women might not be on the water now.

The great news is that Kiwi Challenge - known in earlier times as KC - knows the way. And Steph and Jude have proven it is still a competitive boat. After a couple of years sitting on the DMW trailer being displayed at various shows, the boat was stripped back, re-painted and fitted with the best and lightest equipment available supplied by the likes of Fosters Marine, Navman, Weaver hatches, Elpro and Rocom. Countless painstaking hours later and the old Kiwi Challenge was reborn as 'Telecom Challenge Whangaroa' ready for the 2001 Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Challenge.

When the women arrive aboard KC it will be a nostalgic moment, much as it was seeing the men arrive last week. As I watched the guys working the oars I remembered the same scene four years earlier. I wondered what my rowing partner at that time, the late Phil Stubbs, would be thinking now. Probably the same as me I thought - immense pride and satisfaction to see the successful defense of the Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Challenge.

All fingers are crossed that the women maintain or better their current fourth position. At this stage it is looking likely for Sunday evening finish local time, Monday New Zealand time.

POSITIVE THINKING

There are all sorts of characters doing the Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Challenge. The precedent was set in 1997 when a mother and her son entered the inaugural race. Jan Meek was a 52 year old - she had her 53rd birthday at sea - 1.63m bundle of bubbling energy. Her son Dan was 23 years of age and not much taller than Mum. At one point Jan was asked what would happen if the race was cancelled. She flashed her winning smile and said, "We've got the boat. We've got the Atlantic, and we're going!" The two of them took 100 days to cross the 2700 nautical mile puddle. They called their boat Carpe Diem, which means 'Seize the Day'. Very appropriate don't you think!

The oldest competitor in this year's race is Englishman Tony Day coming in at 58 years of age. He is also perhaps the most inexperienced. In preparation for the Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Challenge Tony did not row a single stroke on the water. Instead he did a few ergs on the indoor rowing machine. The first time he rowed on the water was when he lined up for the start of the 2001 race.

Tony's rowing partner Ian Charteris attempted to do the race in 1997. Ian spent two years preparing for the event, but when it came to the race itself he lasted only three hours before abandoning the attempt. He and his rowing partner turned back and made for the harbour, packed up the boat and went home.

Ian is back, this time with Tony, and together they are rowing the Atlantic. Thus far they have used their phone twice only. The second time - four weeks since the start - was to call race sponsors Ward Evans. On that occasion and not knowing their position in the fleet Ian's first question was, "Are we winning?" He added, "We have not seen a boat since the start so we're presuming we are in front."

"Well, actually you are slightly off the pace," came the sheepish reply, "You're 1000 miles behind the Kiwi's."
The race sponsors representative, who wished to remain anonymous, said, "All I could hear on the other end of the phone was hysterical laughter." He continued, "They are fit, healthy individuals, determined to succeed and looking forward to seeing terra firma again sometime next year!"

We crowded aboard our host Thomas Herbert's 45 foot launch powered by two healthy sized Catepiller's. The air buzzed with anticipation as we motored out Port St Charles marina to joined Steve and Matt as they rowed the last few hours of a 2,700 mile epic.

For the people on board it was a very humbling experience when we spotted the tiny dot on the ocean waves. Everyone was in awe of what they were witnessing, two men rowing a 7m plywood boat across a huge expanse was for most incomprehensible.

For me it was a nostalgic moment. As I watched the guys working the oars I remembered the same scene four years earlier. I wondered what my rowing partner at that time, the late Phil Stubbs, would be thinking now. Probably the same as me I thought - immense pride and satisfaction to see the successful defense of the Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Challenge.

For Steve and Matt the reality of their unasaleable lead was driven home by the sight of the support vessel. "It was confirmation to us that it was actually happening," said Matt. "Nothing was ever confirmed until that time. From there all we had to do was row to the finish. Our boat speed at that time was the fastest we had gone for many days. We were rejuvinated."

"For the first time in 3000 miles Matt was getting in time," laughed Steve.

"That's rich coming from Westlake. Whenever a boat came within sight he finally did some work on the oars bringing it up to my average speed," responded Matt.

"The finish itself was more of a relief than anything," said Matt. "It was great to see the Kiwi supporters there with the '100% Pure New Zealand' banners out in force."

"Back on shore for the first time we weren't rushed - everything we had been doing for the last six weeks revolved around making the boat go faster. We could now relax, put our feet up and enjoy a drink.

Telecom Challenge Maui's main rivals Freedom Australia is due in later today. A support boat visited them yesterday. With no communications on board their first question was, "Where are the Kiwi's? Have they finished yet?" They were disappointed to hear our guys had won but happy to find out their second position seemed secure.

Meanwhile Telecom Challenge Whangaroa have less than 250 miles to go.
Less than 50 miles separate the women, Belguim and Jersey crews creating a real sense of excitement back on shore. This is going to be a ding dong battle right to the line.

There has been a lot of debate about the record and what time of the day team Telecom Challenge Maui needs to be into port by to beat it.

The record as I have always believed was 41 days 1 hour and 55 minutes. Both Phil Stubbs and I were told this at the finish of the 1997 race and had no reason to question otherwise. To us it didn't really matter if it took 100 days to row the Atlantic just so long as we won the race.

But it does matter now. Steve and Matt's chances of beating the record are in the balance. It looks like it will come down to a matter of hours and perhaps even minutes.

Teresa Evans from the Challenge Business (race organisers) informed that the record was in fact 41 days 2 hours 55 minutes. That is an hour longer than first thought. Imagine if that extra hour makes all the difference between the guys getting the record or not. It's so close it could come down to that.

So, taking that into consideration and the fact that the race start was delayed 15 minutes, the guys need to be in Barbados before 1.10am Sunday 18 November New Zealand time. For those interested that is 12.10 Saturday 17 November GMT.

Speaking to Jude on board Telecom Challenge Whangaroa this morning I could hear a distinct lift in her voice. She seemed very focused and determined to beat the Belgium crew. She asked lots of questions about their position and how fast both crews are going. "Both Steph and I are really looking forward to the finish. It's getting very exciting and we're rowing as hard as we can."

The boat speed of the two crews is almost identical. In the last 24 hours Telecom Challenge Whangaroa has rowed 58 miles and winBelgium 57 miles.

There is another threat to the women's position in the form of the Jersey crew Comship.com. These guys have made huge gains on the fleet in the last week and are now 5^th just over 20 miles behind Steph and Jude.

Telecom Challenge Maui 160 miles to go

Freedom Australia 329 miles to go

winBelguim 522 miles to go

Telecom Challenge Whangaroa 545 miles to go

Comship.com 566 miles to go

If you would like to read more about what the race history and what the competitors are currently having to contend with you can get a copy of The Naked Rower on www.kineli.co.nz

14.11.01 Greek Ship

Aboard Telecom Challenge Maui, Steve Westlake and Matt Goodman have rowed 63 miles in the last 24 hours. They have just 225 miles to go. To break the record of 41 days 1 hour 55 minutes they will need to average 73 miles a day for the next three days.

If they arrive in Port St Charles, Barbados before 11.55 Saturday night New Zealand time, they will have broken the record. With the weather forecast improving every day this target is still very realistic but it could go down to the wire.

It is amazing how the record charge has changed over the period of the race. It has become a race within a race. Early on the guys had great weather and even though fully laden with food were making excellent progress. By the half way mark they were four to five days ahead of record pace.

But in the last 10 to 12 days the weather has not been quite so favourable making the race for the record a fascinating duel between the weather Gods and mere mortals.

By contrast in the 1997 race Phil Stubbs and myself had lousy weather early on. At one stage we had to sit to a sea anchor -- which slowed our backwards drift -- unable to row for nearly three days.

In the later stages of the race the closer we got to Port St Charles, Barbados the better the weather became and consequently our daily mileage reflected that change.

And now it is all on. For what it's worth I will take my hat off to the guys if they do it. It is an honour to be leading this team. In fact seeing their performance makes me feel proud be a Kiwi.

Meanwhile, Telecom Challenge Whangaroa was met by a huge container ship over night. They tried to make contact on their VHF radio calling, "Big ship! Big ship! This is Telecom Challenge Whangaroa, do you read over?" They tried this several times with no response. As the ship drew nearer they were able to make out the ships name and tried again, "Christina! Christina! This is Telecom Challenge Whangaroa do you read over?"

A rich European accent responded, "Who's out there?" They must have been surprised to look down from their 100m long steel fortress to see a 7m plywood rowing boat crewed by "a couple of sheilas", as Steph would say.

"The ship was crewed by Greeks," said Jude. "They reckoned it was good to hear female voices at sea."

When I spoke to Jude last night she felt they were now making better progress. This has been confirmed with today's results showing they had rowed 61 miles in the last 24-hour period. At their current pace they will get to Port St Charles, Barbados in 10 days time.

I am not the only supporter to turn up early in Barbados. The Belgium's support team including a television crew beat me here by several days. We caught up yesterday, did an interview then got in contact with their crew via an Iridium phone they had handy. I spoke to Bruno Lewuillon on board winBelgium and asked how they were going. He said that they were feeling fine and that they hoped they might overtake our women in the next day or so. You could imagine my response.

Unfortunately that has proven to be exactly what has happened. In the last 24 hours the Belgium crew has taken a 12-mile lead over our women. This will be gut wrenching for Steph and Jude who have worked their respective butts off trying to hold off the men.

For more evidence - as John Campbell would say for TV3 News - look at the shifts both the Telecom Challenge crews are doing. There is someone on the oars 24 hours a day doing 2 hour shifts turn and turn about. Steph told me the other day the shifts are having a detrimental affect on her hands, causing the joints of her fingers to ache and swell to the point where she cannot make a fist. "But I can still wipe my butt and row so it can't be too bad," she said.

The Belgium crew made their gains even though they lost half an hour yesterday fixing their water maker - desalinates sea-water making it drinkable. This may be a bad time to mention this but Steve and I helped them with their water maker instillation back in Tenerife. They gave us some insulation to put inside our cabin to help keep the heat out. I accepted their gift by offering in return to help install their water maker knowing how important the installation is to the machine's efficiency and reliability. Bruno admitted on the phone that they would have had much more trouble with the water maker had we not helped.

When I spoke with Jude this morning she already knew they no longer held third spot. She said, "Even though there is some wind assistance we are struggling to get the boat going over 2 knots." Though disheartened she was philosophical. "We are still having a few laughs, still plugging along. We realise the Belgium's are out of our control. There is nothing we can do about them. All we can do is the best we can." She then added, "Besides the Belguim's may have gone too far south."

The closer the crews get to their destination the more accurate they must be with their navigation. The fat lady has yet to sing.

In Brief

1^st - Telecom Challenge Maui                - 346 miles to go.

2^nd - Freedom (Australia)                      - 523

3^rd - winBelgium                                  - 688

4^th - Telecom Challenge Whangaroa      - 700

Belgium's Sighted as Race Record under Threat

I am amazed with the way both Telecom Challenge crews are now establishing themselves as podium position contenders in the Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Challenge. But right on the heels of 3^rd placed Telecom Challenge 25 are the Belgium brothers Bruno and Alain Lewuillon. Speaking from the Rocom supplied phone Jude explained that so close are the crews that two days ago under the cover of darkness the women actually saw the mast light of their nearest foes.

In 1997 on board Kiwi Challenge Phil Stubbs and I did not see a single rowing crew after the second day. From there the crews fanned out for hundreds of miles across the Atlantic. The women displayed excellent tactical discipline and chose to leave their mast light off and not contact their opposition via VHF radio. No need to give the Belgium's any incentive to row harder. As Ovid said "A horse never runs so fast as when it has other horses to catch up and out pace."

On the other hand race leaders Freedom and Telecom Challenge 1 (Steve and Matt) would have no hope of seeing each other even though 27 miles separates each crew from their common destination, Barbados. The reason being our guys have taken a different route and are 76 miles further south than their opposition. I reckon this will be to the advantage to our crew as more consistent trade winds kick in and the equatorial current sweeps up from the south.

Both crews are well on the way to shattering the race record of 41 days 1 hour and 55 minutes we set in 1997. Now unable to be in the boat I desperately want Steve and Matt to meet our team focus of winning. But one of the main reasons we wanted to again compete in this race was not only to defend the title but also beat the record and, at this stage, the guys look to be doing it in style.

If you have any comments or questions feel free to contact me at the address below.

WHAT'S IN THE WATER IN WAIRARAPA?

New Zealand crews are coming first, second and third in the Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Challenge. That's right! One of the crew aboard second placed Australian boat Freedom is in fact a New Zealander born in Carterton.

Coincidentally Steve Westlake was born in Masterton and grew up in Castle Point while Matt Goodman spent 10 of his formative years in Masterton. It has gotta be something in the Wairarapa water.

I guess it was meant to be that I should not be aboard Telecom Challenge Maui. If I were we would not have been able to tell that little gemmie!

30.10.01 09.45am Jude just called. She is really unhappy with the weather patterns. They expected the trade winds of 10 to 20 knots from the northeast to be kicking in by now. They do have a 5 knot easterly but it is not strong enough to keep the waves moving in one direction.
"It's like being in a &%#@ washing machine out here!" Jude purred.

"Been talking to a few mates back home who said what we are doing is really special. A week ago we didn't think it was such a big deal but what we have been rowing the last few days I reckon it's special alright," Jude said with a laugh.

The good news is that over night they put another 3 nautical miles between them and the Belgium entry trailing them in fourth.

The not so good news is that a third oar was fractured last night. They managed to tape it up with duct tape but not sure if it will last. With five good oars remaining this should not a major problem.

The general frustration of being stuck in a small boat middle of nowhere is affecting both rowers at times. "At times we both feel like throwing something. When the oar fractured I felt like taking it out of the gate and smashing it properly!" said Jude. "Steph hurled a used gas canister overboard and gave her instant gratification. Luckily the cooker stayed on board!"

At the end of our conversation Jude commented, "I tell you what Rob, I've now got an even greater respect for what you and Phil did. I can't possibly imagine what it must have been like to have not been able to talk to the outside world."

FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD

Discussed the food situation with both crews yesterday. The general consensus is that Propel Bars rock! The Food Solutions (a subsidiary of Fonterra a world leader in dairy products) energy rich bar is being consumed while the athletes swing on the oars. We tested Propel Bar during training in New Zealand and indications at that time showed a significant increase in performance with an improved rate of recovery. Racing has confirmed our initial findings.

Steve reckoned, "They're huge!" I'm sure he meant that in the nicest possible way. He and Matt are consuming up to 12 calorie dense Propel Bars a day as well as umpteen thousand calories worth of Hubbards cereal, Mother Earth snack bars and Snickers Bars - yep this is a plug for the sponsors and they deserve every bit of exposure we can give them. After all they've been "huge" in their support for the team. Without them you wouldn't be sitting on the edge of your seat right now wondering if the guys will kick the Aussi's or weather the gals can hold off the Belgium crew.

A special mention has to be given to freeze dri, the ultra light food meals that you simply add water to, allow time to rehydrate, heat then eat. Serco supplied this product via Back Country Cuisine and is surprisingly tasty considering some metabolic systems have a great deal of trouble digesting the stuff. Steph Brown and I agree with the following slogan:
If you've had a bad day and the bottom's fallen out of your world,
Eat freeze dri and feel the world fall out of your bottom!

Meanwhile Jude's favourite meal is a combination of powdered potato, tuna and powdered cheese. Hmmm, freeze dri…

Dr Rachel Brown has been the brains behind keeping the crews food light yet increasing the calorie density. Some techniques include injecting oil into the freeze dri meals during production but we will have more from Rachel on that subject next week.

So instead of rowing to Barbados, Air New Zealand flew me there. I arrived last night and will wait here for the two Telecom Challenge boats. As I write the men's crew of Steve Westlake and Matt Goodman have less than 400 nautical miles to go. If they continue to average 75 nautical miles a day - as they have for the bulk of the race - I would expect to see them arrive in the Port St Charles, Barbados marina in five days time. If they do they will lob a day off the record 41 days 1 hour and 55 minutes (25 seconds!) set by Phil and I in 1997.

At their current pace they should do that.

One hundred and thirty miles further back are the Australians boat Freedom. Last week the Aussies sent a message to our guys via the safety vessel, "HMAS Kiwi Hunter is fully operational and coming to get you." Since then Steve and Matt have extended their lead by 100 miles!

In third place is Telecom Challenge Whangaroa, Kiwi gals Jude Ellis and Steph Brown. This is arguable the story of the race thus far. Our women are the only all-female entry in the 36 boat race. That says a lot about both the crew and the preparation and planning that went into the boats in that they are lighter and therefore faster.

The strategy of both Kiwi boats is to have someone rowing 24 hours a day doing 2 hour shifts turn and turn about. Steph told me the other day the shifts are having a detrimental affect on her hands, causing the joints of her fingers to ache and swell to the point where she cannot make a fist. "But I can still wipe my butt and row so it can't be too bad," she said.

The women are hotly pursued by the Belguim crew who have made big gains in the last 48 hours and are now only 5 miles back. They saw the Belgiums in the early hours of the morning a week or so back but the women chose to leave their mast light off and not contact their opposition via VHF radio. No need to give the Belgium's any incentive to row harder. As Ovid said "A horse never runs so fast as when it has other horses to catch up and out pace."

Right now I should be in a boat called Maui (aka Telecom Challenge 1) rowing across the Atlantic Ocean in the "World's Toughest Rowing Race", attempting to defend the title I won in 1997 with the late Phil Stubbs. The fact that I'm not is due solely to an incident that happened shortly before the start of the race in Teneriffe.

Since there seems to be some confusion about exactly what happened, I'd like to take this opportunity to set the record straight.

On the evening of Tuesday 25 September I had driven to the airport to pick up the other three rowers that make up the Telecom Challenge team of Jude Ellis, Steph Brown and my rowing partner Steve Westlake. Upon returning to the village of Los Gigantes where the race was due to start, I decided to show the team the marina where we hoped our boats would soon be berthed.

Having finished the tour and now close to midnight my wife Rachel directed the team to their accommodation while I went to shift the car. I stepped into the vehicle and looked up to see 20-30 meters directly in front of me a man in mid-swing with a right hook which connected to the face of a women. The woman reeled back from the blow nearly falling to the ground.

I leaped out of the vehicle and gave a bit of verbal while running to stop any further violence. Unfortunately the man matched my verbal lashing with some eloquence of his own. This should have been the end of the matter, but he appeared determined to do more damage and we ended up in the physical altercation. This had two consequences.

On the positive side, he appeared to lose all interest in hitting the woman again. I spoke to her and it turned out that she was okay (other than for the fact that it turned out that she was married to her assailant). She thanked me and I returned to my wife and friends. As I did so I was already feeling intense pain from the knuckle in my right hand.

I caught up with the others and told them what had happened and that I thought the finger was dislocated. Rachel is a physiotherapist so I asked if she could give the finger a yank. And she did. And it hurt! Rachel's hand slipped off my finger so I got Steve to have a harder swing on it. And he did. And it hurt some more! Sucker for punishment.

We decided to get an x-ray and discovered the bone and my dream was, for the moment at least, shattered. I learned that there was a break to my second metacarpal - the bone of the pointing finger that connects the knuckle to the wrist - in my right hand. For some days I hoped that it would come right and that I could somehow row the race anyway. That was not to be.

Having to pull out was one of the worst things that has ever happened to me. But the hurt was alleviated by the fact that I had put together a worthy defence of the title that Phil and I had won and that in Matt Goodman we had a stand-by rower who was capable of taking my place and going on to win with Steve; something which I am certain that they are going to do.

Watching the start was a bitter-sweet experience. Bitter because I wasn't out there, but sweet because of what we had achieved and what the two teams would achieve in the weeks ahead.

Would I intervene if I had the time over again?

For sure, in fact I would expect most red blooded males to do similar when confronted with a man beating up a woman. And besides intervening, for me at least, was more reflex than anything else, much like the knee jerk reaction to a well placed tap with a rubber mallet below the kneecap. However, I would act only to stop any further violence to the woman and avoid a physical confrontation with the attacker.

My role now as team leader of this campaign is to do all I can to ensure our two boats get across the Atlantic as fast as possible. I hope I will be forgiven for still thinking of it as "my race" even if I'm not out there.

As I write this the boats couldn't be in a better position. The men are neck and neck with the Australians but in the more favoured southerly position and the women are in third place. Incredible considering it is the only women's crew of 36 boats in the race. That says a lot about both the crew and the preparation and planning that went into the boats in that they are lighter and therefore faster.

Finally I would like to say a special thanks to our sponsors, friends and family for their unquestioned support during this difficult time. Also the moral support I have received from around the world and from my fellow New Zealanders has been astonishing and humbling. It makes me feel proud to call myself a Kiwi.