Well, after 2 years planning, 7 weeks in La Gomera and 75 days at sea it's all over and what a time we have had!

Whilst this was no doubt the most physically, mentally and emotionally challenging thing any of us has ever done I think I can speak for the whole team when I say that it was also the most amazing, life changing and fun thing we have ever done.

The common thing we all keep mentioning is how much we laughed even in the face of awful, soul destroying conditions. We also found something to smile about and we all feel really fortunate that we shared such an unusual experience.

Of course, it wouldn't have been possible without the help of some extra special people who ensured that we had a safe and problem free crossing.

Whilst there were numerous people involved and we will thank them all individually now we are back we would especially like to thank the following:-

Mic (Kileys dad) - boat renovator, fund raiser, blogger

Rich (Kileys boyfriend) - Electrician and weather reporter

Mike Etienne - boat artiste extraordinnaire

Mark Dempsey - website

Lou (Jo's girlfriend) - daily progress updates

Phil - Watermaker

Anne, Pat and Mal (the mums), Marc and Michael - food packers, paint strippers and Anne for her blogs

Cheryl - For lending us her house for 4 months

Annie Queree, Loz, Rico, Tess, Martin and Adrian Willis and everyone else who sent such inspirational and sometimes hilarious messages that kept us going through all the tough times

If anyone has been missed out please put that down to the fact that 11 weeks at sea can do strange things to a girls brain!

We're all back at work now and Sarah and I especially are finding normal life hard to settle back in to. People said it would be a life changer but I don't think we realised how much until now. Until we all decide what comes next I think Jo is going to enjoy some well deserved time with Lou, Karen is going to focus on her rugby and climbing, Sarah is working on putting back on the weight she lost and pumping those pins back up and I will be going for surgery to have my coccyx removed...ouch!

After that...who knows............

The crew of Dominion Mission Atlantic crossed the finishing line just after 7pm local time, to an enthusiastic welcome, from a large group of families, friends, other crews already here, and onlookers. The girls are all well and healthy, and have been told that they looked to be the fittest crew to have arrived so far. After the official weigh-in, they were treated to their first meal ashore of burger and chips for Karen, Kiley and Jo, and spaghetti on toast for Sarah. The girls will spend a day emptying the boat and getting her ready for shipping home, and also greeting other crews arriving in the next few days.

We were able to have a quick telephone conversation with the waterbabes today. They very much appreciate all the messages of encouragement that we are still passing on by text. The crew are still in very high spirits and now pushing hard for the finish. As I write they are still rowing hard against the Southerly wind, as they need to stay at their current latitude in order to get past Cape Shirley and cross the finishing line. However, strong Easterly winds are forecast for later today and the next few days, which will assist the girls with the final 100nm towards the finish. They are expected to arrive here in Antigua on Sunday.

Karen’s parents have now met up with Jo’s family. Richard, Kileys boyfriend and Kate, her best friend have also arrived on the island, and Sarah’s mum and brother are due to arrive on Friday. The crew will also be welcomed in by the families and friends of other crews, who have been very supportive of each other.

The crew has also been sent best wishes by Ben Fogle, who rowed the race in 2005 with James Cracknell. He and his wife Marina have been on holiday on the island but they will have gone hone by the time the girls arrive.

We are unable to contact the girls directly now. As previously explained they have no spare minutes left on the satphone to receive emails or make calls via the server. However, the race organisers have spoken to them recently and they are still in good spirits.

They have made good progress over the last four days, averaging 44nm per day, but have now slowed and covered only six miles in the last six hours. This was expected because of the wind direction which is now from the South, however the forecast is for the wind to swing round to the East, late tomorrow, which will aid the girls on their last lap. They currently (7pm on the 16th) have 175nm to row. We are expecting them to arrive this weekend, tired but elated.

We arrived in English Harbour just in time for the arrival celebration for the crew of Patience, and with families and supporters of other crews we also went down to the dock yesterday evening to for the arrival of HCL Workforce 1 complete with pyrotechnics, horns and cheers.

The weather is uncomfortably hot in Antigua, and we now understand why the girls have struggled to row in the extreme heat of the day.

We are continuing to pass your messages of support to the girls by text, we know the girls appreciate them especially after 70 days hard work. Unfortunately these are limited to 160 characters per message so we split them up, use abbreviations and sometimes even text speak (whatever that is – I am old after all!). We can send as many as we want but it would be really useful if you could paragraph your messages with no more than 160 characters per paragraph. Thanks.

Apologies for the delay in uploading this blog. Due to communication problems with the laptop, this blog that was written by the crew on 6th March was not received until yesterday, so the progress report is slightly out of date. This message was received by satphone and recorded onto tape, unfortunately we have been unable to decipher some of the message. The crew have averaged about 35 miles per day since 6th March, and their ETA is still around 21st March.

Please keep the messages of encouragement coming, we know the girls love receiving them and they help to keep their spirits up. Your messages are being forwarded to the Satphone as text messages, as we cannot email them.

The crew now has about 345 miles to go.

“500 miles to go [at 6th March]

We are now….. and should be on …….. [Unable to decipher the recording]

The last couple of days have been really hard but we are being really positive, and forecast easterly winds should speed us up. In effort to keep morale up, we are planning a crew sports day on board. Events will include fastest round the deck, fastest into and out of the water, and the filming of the Atlantic Waterbabes fitness video. The things that we’ll do to fill up time out here!

Unfortunately this will be the last message live from us as our laptop connection is having problems again. However we will keep you updated on the Blog via messages to our families.

We would like to thank you all for the messages of support and encouragement, next stop Antigua….”.

As we have recently received emails asking about the amount of food the crew has left, I thought that this would be an ideal time to explain what rations are needed for crews making an Atlantic crossing.

The girls are not yet running seriously short of food, as unless there are further delays due to weather conditions, they have enough to last until their anticipated arrival date in the third week of March. Based on their current estimated arrival date, they have planned to eat their full daily allowance for 75 days, and then cut their daily intake if necessary, depending on their ETA, to make the remaining food last longer.

Race rules specify that each crew must take sufficient food on board for 90 days. Because of the amount of energy they are expending with each girl rowing two hours on two hours off around the clock, in each 24-hour period they need to consume at least 3 main meals and 2 deserts each, plus lots of calorie laden snacks between meals.

In order to save time, gas, weight and space on the boat, 80% of the main meals on board are of the dehydrated ‘just add water’ variety. These dehydrated meals, (although most varieties are considered unappetising and have the consistency of porridge), are properly nutritionally balanced pre-prepared ‘expedition’ type foods, not ‘noodle’ type snacks full of empty calories.

The remaining 20% of the main meals are ‘wet’ foods of the ‘boil in the bag’ expedition variety that do not need fresh water added. A percentage of ‘wet’ ready to eat meals are mandatory under the race rules, in case the water maker fails. These ready to eat wet meals can also be eaten cold (yuk) if the weather is too bad to use the Jetboil cooker or if the Jetboil and the small spare cooker both fail. The girls also have 50 chemical food heater bags on board, which can be used with the wet food sachets to allow them an occasional hot meal if severe weather conditions prevent them from using the Jetboil.

In addition to the main meals, each pair of rowers has a daily ‘goody bag’ to share. These contain a mixture of snacks, treats and drinks. Hot chocolate, soup, instant tea, pepperoni, biscuits, fruit and nuts, flapjacks, chewing gum and lots and lots of assorted chocolate bars. They also took some dried pasta and tinned fruit for the occasional treat.

The daily ration allowed for each girl totals around 7,000 calories. Despite this high calorie intake, the girls were warned to expect possible weight loss of between 1½ –2 stones each before they arrive in Antigua. There are pictures on the gallery page showing the daily goody bags being packed and heat sealed, and the resultant food mountain ready to be stowed in the boat.

The crew has an emergency fishing line on board, but they won’t try fishing unless they really need to, as preparing and cooking fish would be awkward with the limited space and cooking equipment they have on board (One single burner Jetboil, one smaller spare, and one pan). All the expedition meals can be eaten straight from the bag with just a spoon.

They are also reluctant to risk catching any of the fishy friends who have accompanied the boat most of the way across the Atlantic (see previous blogs). However several of the other crews have successfully caught and eaten Tuna and Dorado to supplement their rations and give them a taste of fresh food.

The boat also carries 150 litres of fresh bottled water, which is packed in the bottom of the boat as ballast and is important to the self-righting of the boat in the event of a capsize. Because the bottled water is carried as ballast, it should not be opened, and only used as an emergency fresh water supply if the water desalinator fails. The bottles must then refilled with seawater to maintain the self-righting capability of the boat. If any of the fresh water ballast is used, penalties may be added to the total race time, and could affect the final race result.

Accepting any supplies or help means disqualification from the race, but as a last resort crews can request assistance from one of the support boats, (which could take up to four days to reach them depending on their relative positions at sea).

Anne

In the last couple of weeks we have been aiming to move our way up the race rankings. Rather than focus too much on the actual distance left to travel, we have been aiming for the crew ahead of us all the time and one by one picking them off. As all of us have been competitive rowers, it was hard not to let that side of us take over, but we have now worked our way up from 20th to 14th and we are closing in on the next group of 4 boats ahead of us which are all within 50nm. Going for individual targets and pushing hard has gradually reduced our distance to the finish and we are now only 690nm away from the promised land. You have no idea how it feels to be within a couple of weeks of the finish. Its amazing but frustrating as it can’t come soon enough.

The first boat, solo rower Charlie Pitcher, has now finished and we are so pleased for him. We were moored next to him in La Gomera harbour for six weeks waiting for the start of the race and we became friends. The guy is fearless and we hope he's living it up in Antigua as he should be. He will have gone home by the time we get there and we won’t get to congratulate him in person, so WELL DONE CHARLIE!

We have just passed 50 00 00W which is a major milestone for us. Next stop Antigua!!

Kiley reports it is official, the craziness has settled in for good. After over 2 months at sea in a small (and getting smaller by the day) rowing boat we are all going slightly mad/delirious/hysterical. According to all recorded data we were to reach a certain point in the trip weeks ago, where we would be pushed along by the trade winds and currents and start flying towards Antigua and the shade, showers, fresh food that we are all craving. Unfortunately for us this is not to be and we are faced with a long and slow slog towards the finish line. Considering the 35+ degree heat, this had lead us to find interesting ways to relieve the boredom. Sarah and I have created an alter ego for ourselves.

Lady Sarah Loony Tunes and Baroness Kiley Barking Mad have been joining us out on deck during the worst heat of the day much to the amusement of Karen and Jo. They can quite often be heard chatting to each other in their awfully posh voices. We have also given each other nicknames based on the last few weeks’ activities. Due to my inability to walk across the deck in a remotely straight and steady line and my ability to talk to flying fish and computers (see previous blogs) I am now called Bambi or the Fish Whisperer, Sarah is Autohelm due to her impeccable foot steering skills, Jo is Trawlerman Wayne because of her love for her yellow waterproofs and Karen has yet to be given one but we're working on it, although her powerful legs have been christened 'the twins' and are getting most of the credit if we get good mileage in any day.

Its also amazing the things you will find to talk about - mostly we discuss what it will be like to finish but we can’t discuss that all of the time. We play 'guess who', 'guess the movie', 'guess the landmark', A-Z of just about any subject matter we can think of; our favourite one so far being the A-Z of expletives! Sarah and I recently heard Karen and Jo discussing how another team had several times talked about what their favourite vegetable was! Quite funny they thought, although this was closely followed by Jo asking, “So, Karen, what IS your favourite vegetable?”

I think its time for us to come home now!

I find myself during this trip reflecting on how lucky I am. In terms of the trip the generosity and support of our main sponsor Dominion has been overwhelming. In addition sponsors such as The Little Cotton Caravan Park, The Dart Marina Hotel and Spa, and Trish Thomas Jewellery, Hilary Bastone and the general public support from my home town, Dartmouth (despite having lived away for several years) is outstanding. Its thanks to these people that I have had this amazing experience and the chance to raise the profile of our UK based charity Bombay Duck (www.bombayduck.org).

Whilst rowing South past Africa a continent associated with poverty in the early stages of our challenge I reflected on how lucky we are to come from a culture where opportunities such as this exist. Having adapted to living the simple life, returning to our culture and the daily pressures of work and finances creep into my mind. The constant battle between quality of life including time with loved ones and these factors find me wondering why we let work and money determine our life paths and our daily/weekly/monthly routines.

A thought to leave you with. If wealth were equally distributed amongst all mankind would we be happier people living a better quality of life? Answers on a postcard to: Mission Atlantic, The Atlantic Ocean (somewhere between La Gomera and Antigua). I suggest pigeon post as the best form of communication.

Jo XX

[Note from support team – To our knowledge no crews have spotted any pigeons at sea to date. A Frigate Bird or an Albatross might be a better alternative.]

As you've all probably gathered by now, the weather this year has been slightly more challenging than most. The first three days and nights back at the start bought with them some of the worst weather we have experienced throughout this entire trip. What a way to start the race and what a shock to the system! We pushed on hard those first three days (and nights) battling against the huge swells, being thrown off our rowing seats across the deck, splitting oars, dealing with sores and adjusting to the new sleeping/rowing regime. Not once did we consider putting out the para-anchor to rest, and little did we know that whilst we were battling away the majority of the fleet had been beaten by the awful conditions and chosen to put out their anchors.

We all kept our chins up and soldiered on, and only when we started talking about how we were feeling did we feel a sense of relief.....we realised that we were all feeling exactly the same. To admit to each other that we had all dreamt up scenarios (such as broken bones and recurring back injuries) which involved us being rescued by the support yacht and being unable to finish this gruelling race, bought with it a sense of relief and a moment which bought us more together as a united team. If we stuck together (through hell and high water) we would get through it.

So, we have each other on this tiny boat and we're also lucky enough to have you guys that are reading this blog right now. Many of you have posted messages of encouragement, emailed us things to laugh (and cry) about, lifted us up when we've been down and frustrated, constantly watched the progress of our little dot and reminded us daily why we are putting ourselves through this challenge. It's these words of inspiration and encouragement that make it that little bit easier to drag yourself out of the cabin on a scorching day when the sun is as hot as 40 degrees, there is no wind and you have to sit at the oars for another exhausting shift.....it's these words that bring us closer to home. Thank you each and every one of you!

Well, we have each other and we have you all, but what else drives us to keep going? For some of us it's the excitement of seeing our friends and families on the finish line. It may be that this challenge has been so tough that the harder we row now the sooner it will be over.

Karen ~ Apart from friends and family I am mostly looking forward to some fresh food! For a few weeks now I've been craving fruit sorbet – those fresh fruity tastes in an ice-cold desert, perhaps with fresh fruit or melon on the side. We don't have any way to cool food or water on board so sorbet, ice cream and chilled drinks will be a real treat! I'm also looking forward to the challenge of standing on solid ground! The question has been asked as to what spurs us on to completing the race.

Jo ~ For me the key factor is the knowledge that my family will be in Antigua until March 19th. This gives me a target to aim for and at present is looking like a realistic one. Secondly I am missing my girlfriend Lou. Emails and written hugs just don't cut it. We definitely have to have a duvet day when I get back, just chilling together and chatting about random stuff and catching up. Throughout the trip I have had random food smells in the middle of the night. These have ranged from spit roasted chicken (like you get at the supermarket) to the smell of eggs frying (all healthy as you can see). The ability to cook something beyond the realms of ‘just add water’ will be awesome. Having been at sea for so long simply the thought of land is enough to keep me pushing onwards.

Kiley ~ Obviously I have missed my partner Rich, my children, Erin and Connor and my family and friends, and oh yes, my cats Leo, Lola and Coco! Apart from that I haven’t missed 'things' at all. I haven’t had any food cravings except for the can of chilled coke that Rich will have waiting for me on the finish line. I think my perspective on this has been different from the others due to the very tragic and sudden loss of my younger brother and friend James, just 3 weeks before the start of the race. If I had to say, the one thing that I have missed is the chance to grieve properly for my little bro who I think about and miss every day.

Sarah ~ For me ...it's fresh papaya with lime juice, spaghetti hoops on toast, Thai red curry, any cheese you can think of (obsessed with food? me?), a power shower, a comfy bed with fresh sheets and to be able to sleep for longer than an hour at a time...In a strange way I'm looking forward to getting back to work (don't expect too much out of me for the first few days...I can only just about stand, let alone overtake porters in the corridors with my trolley!!)...I've missed all you hospital guys more than you know!! Oh and of course seeing my amazing mum and my brother waiting for me on the finish line.... now that thought drives me on. xx.

Having been put on hold for almost a week due to variable light winds,it's Race On again. It's been a testing time for many, with all crews having to cope with forty degree heat, light winds, wrong winds, and making little progress toward the finish. Southerly and Northerly winds have shuffled parts of the fleet like a pack of cards leaving crews with neighbours they have not seen for weeks.

Most importantly the girls have come out of this shuffle to find themselves having moved up to fourteenth place and now with a cooling 10 knot breeze on their tail.

The forecast for the week ahead should help them move another 300nm towards Antigua. Although they covered a mere 16nm towards the finish, they also made a superb effort in moving South some 30nm in anticipation of the forecast Easterlies.

This message was received recently before the Easterlies returned.

”The last few days of this week have been horrendous and pushed moral to an all time low, although we have managed to pick each other up when needed and now the weather is improving we have cheered up a lot. It’s the heat that gets to us most, but there is now a nice breeze, and although it is going the wrong way, North East, we are pushing through it and making 1-1.5knots SW. I believe some crews are still either going the wrong way or staying on para-anchor”

“We have enough food for another 25 days, but the situation is good as we had saved most of the 'wet meals' (thats the good stuff), just in case of emergencies/watermaker failure. That means we are now happily munching our way through it all....yummy!”

“Life out here is physically tiring, emotionally draining and it tests your powers of endurance and determination to the limit. In some ways this isn't as hard (ie physically) as we thought it would be but the hard part is the lack of control over the weather. We have been about 3.5 weeks from the finish for the last 2 weeks and due to the dropping daily average we are STILL 3 weeks from the finish! Kiley has been missing the kids, Richard, family and friends, her home, carpets, clean bedding, cold drinks, and space. Other than that she is ok and enjoying the experience for what it is. Every day we manage to have a lot of laughs and there have been very few tears.”

They also laughed over the fact that Sarah and Kiley have started listening to Will Young, wearing Tilley hats and even using sun block. (Something they previously shunned as hardened sun worshipers). Jo and Karen have started wearing bikinis, working on their tan lines and comparing tans.

[Support team can’t wait to see a photo of the whole crew in Bikinis, but I bet we never will.] Maybe someone will bribe them with a donation to their chosen Charities.

Dominion Mission Atlantic and other crews nearby have been trapped in another adverse weather system for the past ten days. They have now been able to pick up the pace and made better progress in the last 24 hours as the weather front that halted progress again has moved East. The crew was at one point becalmed in still water, and although this should have given them good conditions for rowing, they were unable to make much forward progress as the wind was constantly changing direction from North to South, and blowing them at right angles to their Westerly goal. However they managed to avoid being forced backwards and have been able to climb up to 14th position, but the distance they actually rowed far exceeded the distance made good towards the finish. The forecast is favourable at least for now, but the race organiser has said that this is overall the slowest crossing in the history of the race, due to the adverse weather conditions.

We have received two low resolution photographs from the boat, taken of the girls at sunset. These are the first photographs we have received from them while at sea. All four of them look happy but weatherbeaten, and although they have been wearing hats during the heat of the day, it is clear that they have all caught the sun on the lower half their faces! The photos have been passed to the webmaster and will be posted shortly.

We would also like to pass on our congratulations to Charlie Pitcher (solo rower) who was the first to finish in his lightweight prototype boat, JJ Insure and go. Charlie has broken the UK record for a solo crossing by almost a week. After seeing Charlie in La Gomera launch his amazing lightweight boat into the water unassisted, the girls did say he would be one to watch...

So, this is how it is.....the Ocean says NO! We try to push further south to

pick up better weather and we slog away all night. Then in the morning we

get big rolling swell with wind behind us.....pushing us back North! We slog

away for 24 hours just to end up doing a zig zag and ending up only 17nm

closer to the finish. Where are these lovely trade winds that are meant to

be pushing us speedily towards Antigua? My new theory is that they don't

exist. They are a cunning rumour perpetrated by the Americans to encourage

us Brits to come visit them...and its working! So if you have any info on or

indeed have found the elusive trade winds please return to Kiley, Sarah, Karen and Jo at N17.24.04 W046.01.89 along with a pair of missing Nike Airs and 4 sets of marbles!

Another of the previously delayed email messages now received from the crew:-

Kiley and Sarah witness a spectacular sunset.

What a day! Sarah and I were treated today to the most spectacular sunset ever. I'd heard that they would be amazing out here but thus far I had seen nothing that had blown me away compared to others I had seen around the world. This day however was different. The sea had been dead calm all day and we had a very frustrating and slow day at the oars. As the sun was starting to set and we were settling in for our first night shift the sea went completely flat calm like glass and the sky turned the lightest shade of blue you can imagine, which matched the sea blending up into a silvery lilac. As time passed the sea and the lower part of the sky gradually changed to the lilac colour and the higher sky changed to pale blue.

All this time the glass sea was shimmering with a kind of metallic glaze. As if this wasn't all enough, just as the sky darkened we notice that our blades were stirring up phosphorescence which we haven't seen in weeks and which stayed with us all night. We were also joined by our companions, the five Dorado fish called Doris, Daisy, Erin, Connor and Arthur (named after Arthur Dent in ‘Hitchikers’ as we had banged him on the head with an oar by mistake a few weeks ago!) What a truly lovely night we had from start to finish!!

Bliss.

Now the email is working again, we have received further details of the previous Party weekend and the visit from Ocean Planet:-

Saturday is P Party day –(Pasta and Peaches), but this time with a difference - with a "Superheroes" theme. After a few really slow days with light winds and making little ground, Saturday afternoon finally saw conditions improve so none of the crew wanted to stop rowing at the time planned for our P party and we decided to have only the pasta on Saturday night, saving the peaches and dressing up for the next day which was Valentines day.

Around 11pm on Saturday night a sailing boat in the distance popped up on our GPS system and told us it was Ocean Planet - one of the Woodvale support yachts. What perfect timing, we thought, the boys from Ocean Planet have come to visit us for Valentines day, bringing messages and gifts from our secret admirers!

After tracking us from a distance through the night they finally pulled alongside around 9 in the morning on Valentines Day. They had been warned that we'd be "dressed for the occasion" but also assured that we would be wearing clothes! They surely couldn't have expected what they saw though - a whole team of Superheroes, complete with capes, headbands and pants-pulled-over-trousers! What a sight we must have been!

We were able to catch up with news from the rest of the fleet before Ocean Planet headed off on their way. It was brilliant to catch up with Tony and Peter and see some different smiling faces and left us feeling cheerful for the rest of the day. We were actually able to make some progress and the boat was feeling quite light so, come the evening, we were happy to take a little time out to complete the party weekend. The tinned peaches were gorgeous, fresh and juicy and a lovely change from the other foods we've been eating. We also had a bottle of sparkling wine given to us for such an occasion and we decided Valentines day would be the perfect opportunity to enjoy it. Mixed with peach juice.... mmmmm.....beautiful!

This was also the night that we made our sacrifices to Neptune in accordance with tradition. We had two items to give to him, both carefully considered. The first was a flag. The second sacrifice had been with Kiley a lot longer - too long in her opinion, and was part of a standing joke with her dad Mic. It was an electronic game with the worlds’ most annoying bleep, and Kiley had previously kept trying to dispose of it. But each time she was unsuccessful as Mic had found and rescued it, ready to turn up again at some unexpected time. The most recent ‘find’ was while unpacking food for the day from one of the deck lockers....... well, Mic did say in La Gomera "at least I won't have a chance to get it back when she throws it overboard this time!" So he knew what its fate would be!

We're fairly sure that Neptune will enjoy playing with his new toy, but are concerned that he may now be too preoccupied to generate the waves that we need to speed us on our way to Antigua.

. MISSING - ‘TRADEWINDS’

. If the above is found please return to Mid-Atlantic as soon as possible

. REWARD

. 4 Atlantic Waterbabes in Antigua before 2011

. FOUND

. Alter Ego’s

. Super Hero’s

. Pirates

. Castaways

. (Ocean Planet Crew)

. The ability to describe one’s bowel movements with precision

. The Mission Atlantic Trim Circuit

. (watch this space for more info and the launch of the fitness DVD)

. The A-Z game ‘All manner of expletives’

. And much much more….

We would like to report that all is going very very well here on the boat. We are working well together as a team, with only the tiniest of niggles every now and then which only last seconds. After five weeks at sea we're all still holding it together but its getting tougher now due to the heat, hence the one hour shifts during the day. We are suffering from aching joints...something we were never warned about! At the start of each new shift we have to 'will' our fingers to de-claw so we can row! Muscles are fine but joint pain is bad for all of us in knees, fingers, elbows and ankles.

Sarah and Kiley experienced a squall a couple of nights ago. The sea was suddenly calm, followed by torrential wind and rain. This only lasted about five minutes but it was amazing. One of our best moments so far, except for the beautiful sunset last night. We are pleased with our progress to date, and have decided to keep focusing on one boat at a time and pick them off one by one. This has worked so far as we have moved up from 21st to 16th.

The French look as if they are going to beat pretty much everyone except Charlie (solo rower in the non-standard boat). The French girls are hardcore endurance athletes and a really nice bunch so they deserve it....good on them. We are still aiming to beat the Guernsey girls’ time from 2005 though!

Conditions have been against us again recently, but now the weather has moderated again we are aiming to increase our daily distances to make up the ground we have lost. We're doing one hour shifts during the day and not pushing to hard in the 35 degree heat, then going for it at night when its cooler. So, we are feeling the aches and pains, but other than that we are all well and emotionally strong, although we will possibly break down at the finish through sheer relief that its over!

Email contact has been restored!! When the connection from the lapbook to the satphone failed, Dave Brooke’s mum suggested using spray deodorant, as the alcohol in it cleans salt residue from the contacts. This fix worked for Dave, one of the solo rowers, however it turned out all four girls had only taken roll-on deodorant, and no other alcohol based spray could be found on board. Eventually with the assistance of WD40, a cotton bud, a swiss army gadget and perseverance, Kiley managed to get the connection with the satphone working again (more or less, it’s a bit temperamental). Kiley is now known as the computer whisperer, and also as the fish whisperer, but that’s another story.

The girls had a visit from the support yacht Ocean Planet early yesterday morning, which was good timing, because they had chosen to have a “Superheroes day” and had dressed up as superheroes with pants over trousers, capes, sweat bands and everything. They got extremely hot as the temperature is very high and yesterday there was no wind at all. They didn’t say how long they were able to tolerate wearing the costumes before stripping off again! They also made some ritual sacrifices to Neptune.

They are still rowing ok, but the weather has not been very helpful, and they needed the para anchor out again for a few hours overnight. When they can row, it’s a slog because the trade winds that are meant to produce a fast swell and push them along are just not there. They are finding the heat hardest to cope with. Even Kiley and Sarah, the sun worshippers, are suffering. Everyone has assorted aches and pains, although Jo’s knees are improving, and she is now rowing at half stroke. They are unable to stand up as their legs are weak, and ankle and knee joints seize up quickly when they stop rowing, so they have to crawl about on all fours. Some remedial physio. may be needed when they get back.

Despite the lack of sleep and assorted aches and pains, moral is high, they are enjoying themselves and making the most of the experience.

Oh….,The fish whisperer. Just a little worrying this! Flying fish regularly make suicidal flying landings onto the deck. So as one would expect, there is the usual girly screaming and jumping around as the girls desperately try to avoid them, and then try to evict the flapping but harmless little creatures. Kiley opted for a different approach with one of these scared, inoffensive things. Crawling after it on all fours she talked it into submission, calmed it down and returned it to the sea, earning the reputation of fish whisperer..... next challenge....a Shark maybe?

Jo goes Bottoms Up

The time had arrived for a little bottom attention (the bottom of the boat, not ours). So we stuck out our sea anchor and declared a four-hour maintenance slot. B:ack to the bottom. I find myself sat on the edge of the boat looking down into the abyss and thinking about Bruce from Finding Nemo: “Fish are friends, not food”. As I lower myself into the water I am thinking the last time I had fish was …….OMG two hours ago I had tuna with my brown biscuit, but never mind, I am in the water. The anti-foul paint below the waterline has held up well and the only barnacles lay just about the water line and on the rudder. A friendly fish followed me along eating the barnacles as they came away from the boat. At one point I came up for air, put my head back down and found I was nose to nose with him, apparently I was slacking. The opportunity - to have a quick wash before climbing back aboard. The good news - no Bruce.

The Night Shift

You would think that after weeks at sea the body clock would be used to waking every two hours to row a two hour shift before turning in for another two hours rest. The answer is yes and no! The daytime shift passes in a blink of an eye as the time spent not rowing is taken up with daytime chores, eating, relaxing and of course concentrating on evening out those tan lines. The night time shift however is a whole different ball game. Coming from a girl whose favourite place is her bed and can easily sleep for 9-10 hours a night, I was dreading the night shift. If the sea is calm, the winds are blowing in your face and the sky is free from cloud and lit up by the moon and stars it is truly wonderful, and can almost send you into a meditative state.

When you know the weather is okay outside it is not so much of a chore waking from your power nap to get dressed and out on deck every two hours. Our sleeping quarters aka the sweat pit is certainly not soundproof. The sound of every wave crashing on deck and the wind howling is, if anything, magnified. When you step outside you never know what conditions you will find. If conditions are bad we have outfits for every occasion. So when it is rough and waves are crashing over you, believe me looking like an extra from Britain’s Deadliest Catch is not a problem. The main problem we face on the dreaded night shift is falling asleep on the job. How we missed those tankers I will never know. Thank goodness for Sea-me, AIS and GPS!

The first couple of shifts are quite easy, and we fight the tiredness by playing games to stimulate our exhausted selves. By the third shift the silence kicks in. You think you have closed your eyes for a second only to be woken by your partner because you are sleep talking…..oh dear! Your eyes play tricks on you, your ears play tricks on you and you talk to yourself out loud. Jo currently holds the record for sleeping 1½ hours during a 2 hour shift. Sometimes these shifts fly by and other times you sit at the oars constantly checking the time and waiting for the little cabin light to go on…....a sign that we will be relieved of our duties and back in bed in 10 minutes….yippee!

To combat the tiredness we have allowed ourselves to play music on our worst shift. We can be heard singing along to all sorts at 4:00am. The Sound of Music is a particular favourite. By 8:00am the torture is over, the next session bringing with it another amazing sunrise and one less night shift to survive.

The crew of Dominion Mission Atlantic will shortly reach the halfway point, and spirits are extremely high on board. To celebrate when they pass this point the girls are planning to hold a ‘Pee Party’ (pasta and peaches). They are making the most of the experience and enjoying the crossing. If they can continue at their current average speed, they expect to arrive in Antigua around the 9th March. Hopefully the second half of the trip will be quicker than the first half, however, the weather cannot be relied on, and conditions may change. Watch this space.

Because of the extreme heat, the girls have changed their rowing pattern to one hour on, one hour off for eight hours during the day. They packed what seemed like a lot of sun cream, both bought and donated, and think they will have just enough to last them to the finish.

The crew have all experienced physical discomfort to every part of their anatomy, and had the bruises and blisters they expected. However, they have so far escaped the serious blistering to their hands that some other crews have struggled with. More of a problem could be ‘claw hands’ that develop from gripping the oars twelve hours a day. You will probably recognise the feeling from carrying something like a very heavy suitcase for a while, and then being unable straighten your fingers to let go of the handle when you put it down!

All four of the waterbabes recently took a dip in the ocean and went swimming with accompanying fish. Kiley briefly overcame her dislike of deep water and the threat of sharks, and took the plunge, but decided to get straight back out again. Karen also decided that she is not as confident a swimmer in deep water as she had thought and she made good use of a boat fender as a buoyancy aid for her turn in the water. They have been accompanied on their journey by large blue/greenish fish several feet long, which keep swimming around the oars. They wonder if these are Dorado. They also have tiny black and white stripy fish swimming under the boat. Still no whale sightings to date.

The girls had previously rowed through a huge pod of at least several hundred dolphins around them as far as they could see in all directions, but they were recently accompanied by another pod of about 20 dolphins that were a lot bigger and much slower than the previous pod. Karen described them as very big, had ‘square heads’, were very slow moving, and that they jumped completely out of the water. Can anyone tell them what breed of dolphins these may be? Answers using the contact tab on this website please.

The crew recently had a visit from an unknown yacht with a large spinnaker, (not one of the support yachts, which they have not seen at all). The yacht came extremely close, just outside hailing distance, but would not acknowledge their attempt to make contact by radio. They think the yacht must have picked them up on AIS and come over to see what sort of vessel they were. Not very friendly, they could at least have said hello.

The girls have asked us to apologise that they are unable to update their social websites, but they have some video footage, and they will put some of this up on You Tube when they get back.

Ever since we took on this ocean rowing challenge we have known that we would change as people. The hard work involved getting to the start line, and living life with only bare essentials on the high seas where every emotion good and bad is magnified. Learning to live together in such a small space and work at all times as a team - how could this not change us? However we could never have expected to change into nursery school children.

So many landlubbers day-to-day actions are hard to complete on a rolling sea and regressing to the technique of a three year old caused many problems. For example:

Drinking

Almost all drinks are from bottles, this makes it much easier not to spill and you don’t have to drink it all in one go.

Eating

No silver dinner service for us, all meals on board can be eaten with just a spoon.

Sleeping

It has been four long weeks since we have had the luxury of sleeping through an entire night. Instead we wake up after two hours wanting more food and drink.

Walking (crawling is the new walking)

Toddlers really know what they are doing with this one - much more stable to crawl on all fours and if you get it wrong, its not too far to fall. Walking is a feat most unachievable on our little boat.

Dressing

We are not quite at the stage where we are unable to dress ourselves yet but the long waterproof trousers are almost to impossible to get on or off by yourself.

Nappy Rash

Probably the point that proves it more than others is the daily routine of Sudacrem and talcum powder.

Who wants to be a grown up anyway?

So we have now travelled hundreds of miles and have become accustomed to life at sea. Here are some of the stats of our journey so far:

0 cases of sea sickness

½ tub of Vaseline

1 sea turtle

1 stealth tanker near miss

1 pod of 100’s of dolphins

1 knock to the head

1 tub of talcum powder

2 oar repairs

2 damaged knees

3 tubs of Sudacrem

3 distant tankers

4 broken oars

7.2 knots - highest speed reached by single rower

8 claw hands in development

8 flying fish on deck - one in Kiley’s eye

9.4 knots - highest speed reached by two rowers

100’s of barnacles scraped of the bottom of the boat

388 rowing shifts completed in 34 days

Multiple pimples on bottoms

Multiple muscle pains and minor bruises

The waterbabes have been unable to row west for the past five days. They have not had the huge swells that some of the other crews have suffered. However, the wind and waves are going against their direction of travel and in such conditions they have been unable to row and have been forced to put out their sea anchor; this stops them drifting too far backwards. Followers of their blue dot will see from their progress on atlanticrowingrace09.com that they have been pushed Northeast and just done a small loop. Because of their earlier decision to row further south before heading west they have fared better than most of the crews to the north, who are suffering more from the effects of the storm.

During their enforced period of idleness the crew have celebrated Sarah's birthday which was on Friday. On Sunday they decided to celebrate a belated Christmas on board, as they had saved their Christmas pre-packed goodies to open at sea. Other crews had delayed Christmas for a month and most celebrated Christmas on board on 25th January, but the girls decided to keep their Christmas afloat for an occasion when they were unable to row.

Their Christmas box includes a battery operated string of Christmas lights, Christmas pudding and cake, chocolate goodies, four tubs of bubbles to blow (as if they hadn't seen enough bubbles lately), and also four keyrings with self inflating balloons to keep them afloat if dropped in water. (Also totally useless on the boat as anything that goes overboard is lost forever and the boat has no locks!). However hopefully they will raise a smile.

The crew have been under the boat to clean barnacles and weed off the bottom. This is necessary to prevent drag which would make rowing harder and slow them down. This was a job previously allocated to Jo as the best swimmer on board, but we don't know at the moment if Jo was able to get in the water herself because of her knee. We do know it wasn't Kiley (see previous blog of 17th Jan)!

Moral is still high on board. The crew are disappointed that to date they still have not seen a whale, and have seen no other wildlife at all recently. Fortunately they have also seen no further large ships. They have asked us to pass on our thanks for the messages left on both websites.

The following message from Kiley was received by her dad in Jersey before the storm while they were still rowing.

" Re our physical state...lots of bruises, mostly on chins from out of control oars! Sore/rashy bums for three of us but not unbearable. The worse pain comes from the pressure of sitting for 12 hours a day. Me the worse I think. Jo is managing to fixed seat row quite happily, as her knees are still sore. We feel a bit grimey most of the time as it is so hot in the cabin during the day and we get very sweaty! Rough seas at the moment and the odd huge wave is deluging the boat but mostly on Karen and Jo's watch... Sarah and I are turning into wave riders extraordinaire! We were tempted to take a bit of time out last night as the sea was so unpredictable but we resisted and just threw out a small drogue to stabilise the stern and stop it swinging out of position on the big waves. Long and very wet night with more to come I think! "

The crew have said that all is going well on the boat. They had been able to row in pairs again, with Jo using her arms and back only. However, the weather has changed again and they have been progressing with one rowing and one steering. Heavy sea conditions make it too hard to control the boat with foot steering while rowing. They have continued to move south but have now turned west and have picked up the first of the trade winds. They are keeping fingers crossed that they will catch the faster winds and current soon, and be able to start making up time.

The crew have been in some really big swells and strong winds recently, they say this is scary but fun, and have been laughing a lot. They are getting a bit fed up with eating the same dehydrated meals again and again, and apparently it's doing bad things to their digestions....!! So far there have been no complaints about sunburn or blisters - but perhaps they are just not letting on.

Temperatures in the cabin can get extremely high but they like rowing at night which is very nice as long as there are not too many clouds: it's even better still when the moon is out.

Not many updates have been received from the crew. We have just received a Satphone text from the boat to say that the lapbook which was working intermittently is not working at all now, and they cannot send or receive emails. This means that we will not be able to pass on messages to the boat until the problem is resolved. However, please keep sending your messages of support, and we will pass on your encouragement briefly by text, and in full as soon as possible. Hopefully the problem can be fixed, but if not, all the messages will be passed on to the girls when they arrive in Antigua.

The waterbabes are now expecting a few days of really bad weather, but hopefully they are far enough south to avoid the worst of the storm.

The support crew

Kiley sent the following update:- Early this morning Sarah and Jo discovered a new and sneaky adversary to ocean rowers in the form of what can only be described as the stealth tanker: despite the thing being the size of about 2 football pitches it managed to creep up along side them unnoticed in broad day light! The first Karen and I knew about it was when we heard expletives coming from the deck. It was so close we could read the name on it 'Saga' and yes it was! Having become accustomed to being on watch for tankers at night this was the first time one had been sighted during the day and within 1km of us which was a bit unnerving. Luckily the captain of the other vessel WAS watching around him and had clearly taken evasive action to avoid this teeny little rowing boat. Thanks Saga Captain, much appreciated!!

In the last few days we have seen a turtle, dolphins, flying fish and now had a close encounter with a tanker. Still no whales or sharks, although the sharks I could do without as they are not my favourite thing. I have a particular fear of sharks and deep water (mostly due to the presence of the afore mentioned menaces) although for any friends or family who have been reading our blogs please note that I do not fear all things related to ocean rowing and am perfectly happy as long as I remain ON the water and not IN it!

[Please note that the Blogs for 15th and 16th have also been uploaded today - sorry for the delay.)

Jo has not been able to row for the past 5 days, due to the recurrence of an old knee injury. We hope that resting the knee for a few more days will enable her to carry on without pain. If you are following the progress site (atlanticrowingrace09.com) you will see the crew heading further south to try to gain from stronger trade winds and Atlantic currents.

We have had the first brief telephone call from the boat after some difficulty in getting connected. Satellite calls from the boat need to be kept to a minimum due to the limited solar power available and the high cost of making satellite phone calls. It is for this reason that we have been collecting all your messages left on this web site (use the contact button at the top) and forwarding them to the boat every few days, so the girls have been receiving these. Due to limited communications resources they are not able to reply to these individually, so they have asked us to thank everybody for all the messages received to date, these are most encouraging and the crew is being motivated by all the interest and support they are receiving.

It has also been brought to our notice that messages left on the message board on the race progress website are not being passed to the boats, and the girls are not able to access the internet to see these. We have copied and forwarded all the messages received on this site, and will continue to forward these every few days until they reach the finish.

The Atlantic WaterBabes would like to thank their main sponsors, Dominion, for offering further financial support to reduce the additional costs that the Waterbabes have faced due to the four week delay to the race start.

The entire rowing fleet was stranded in port for an additional four weeks due to unusually poor weather in the Atlantic. This four week delay has caused significant extra cost and is likely to require additional unpaid leave to be taken by some of the crew members. This further support from Dominion is very gratefully received.

... finally taking a break from the chaos that is ocean rowing to update you on my personal insight into this crazy world we are currently living in.

How to describe the last 11 days? Where to start! Every day has been different and full and exciting and weird all at once. I just still can’t get over the fact that we are finally here and we are actually doing this and doing a not so bad job of it in the process. The first couple of days were pretty eye opening with rough seas battering throughout our first night at sea. Other teams were blown East and some put out their para anchors but us hardy ladies battled on through, unaware of what was going on around us and assuming we should just keep moving. What a long and wet night!! Sarah and I were de-seated twice and by the 3rd time I had perfected the body roll to the floor as soon as a wave even looked like it might slam me. Survival instincts are well intact.

Now we have had some time to get used to being out here the big seas don't seem so big and life on board has become the norm now for us. Routines have developed and we have found a way to turn this tiny ocean rowing boat in to a perfectly formed floating home for 4. When you take into account the 12 hours rowing, 6 hours sleeping, 2 hours preparing and eating food and few hours chores that need to be done each day there is not much time left so life out here never has chance to get boring. It still surprises me how much there is to do to maintain order in such a small place but we all agree that it is key to getting us to the finish line healthy and sane. Sarah and I have developed a strange habit of tidying and rearranging the sleeping cabin almost daily...our mums would be so proud. Last night I was covered head to toe in water proofs, I had my head out of the stern cabin hatch this morning facing 15ft waves whilst working on gearing the foot steering system then was sprawled across the deck in my bikini this afternoon eating rehydrated mush. It’s a strange world I am living in right now, that’s for sure.

Just about to start my first night shift now so to sum it up and to reassure all of you that know me. I'm loving it out here, its all I hoped it would be and the tan's coming along very nicely!

It has occurred to us that rowing the Atlantic is much like visiting the fun fair. The gentle movement of the boat as she moves up and down the swells much like the Carousel. Running over ‘Spirit of Montinaro’ approximately five times in the last few days (according to GPS), and playing dodgems also with the nightly cargo ships. As of yet no fireworks from us (we're far to on top of things for that) but we did see one white flare go off last night. [Note from support team – several crews have so far reported setting off white flares to make sure ships knew they were close.]

There are no real wildlife updates (unless you count the crew members). Our resident stalker Peter the bird is popping in frequently and circling the boat to check we are ok and yesterday we saw a gull. Karen saw one flying fish but we are suspicious as by this time we had all had various dream like hallucinations. [Another note from support team, the crew of Explore had a flying fish aboard so Karen was probably not hallucinating.]

Everyone is getting very tired and life is hard. Through all this there are still funny moments. Kiley had adopted an excellent sun tanning position whilst steering and has just been dumped on. Today is Kiley's unofficial birthday, so the Atlantic has just given its gift. We are going to treat ourselves to selected dried mush to mark the occasion. The joys of ocean rowing!!

Hi everyone

Dominion Mission Atlantic finally crossed the start line at 1330 on 4th January and at time of writing have spent around 4 days at sea. We received an e-mail from the boat this morning. (8th Jan).

“All going ok at the moment but can’t write blog as need an eye on the horizon, tad too queasy!

The ocean is big, and dark at night. Stars are very useful for navigation even without a sextant.

Kiley and Sarah have been thrown off their seats by waves 3 times!

We have also seen 3 dolphins - they were amazing.

We've been around in a couple of circles.

The toilet seat is not holding up all that well have had to make a few small repairs or adjustments to kit already, including damage to some oars.

Not very much space to sleep once everyone is in cabin!

It was nearly game over when Karen accidentally nearly knocked the EPIRB [Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) overboard - if rescuers had come out to get us we'd have had no choice but to go home.”

The crew have asked us to pass on their thanks for the good luck messages. Just in case you weren’t aware, you can track their progress at http://www.atlanticrowingrace09.com/progress/ and we have found the news page on the same site quite useful as it gives an overall picture of the race and explains the terms used (Day 1).

So, despite our expectations, the race hasn't been postponed again and we are actually going to be leaving tomorrow. The race is scheduled to start at 1330 and finish at........ well, we'll have to see about that!

Our final preparations are done, the batteries for everything have been charged, the boat is packed and we're ready to go. It's a clear evening as we write tonight so it's likely to be a nice day to get away tomorrow. Today was spent doing those little jobs that creep up unexpectedly and scream 'oh my god why haven't you done this'. You'd have thought having been here for just over six weeks that all these little things would be completed but alas a woman's work is never done.

Due to forecast storms expected to hit the North Atlantic in around 10 days time we have adjusted our course to head South. We'll think about going West once we are confident that we will miss the ends of the storms as they pass. So we are hitting the baked beans hard this evening in order to aid us as much as is possible (within the race rules) to get south. Should we catch the storm it may be a few washing machine days in the cabin before we get back on the oars and back to blogging you all. Watch this space.

This will be the last blog that we post from land – the next time we speak to you it will be from the Ocean! It may be a couple of days before we settle into our routine and develop enough sea legs to be able to message you again. In the meantime, thank you to everyone for your support, we hope you enjoy the stories from our trip.

MONDAY 4TH JANUARY 2010 IS RACE DAY.

We’ve been reluctant to share this news with our supporters up to now because we’ve had so many planned start dates but it’s been four days since the 4th was announced and it’s remained the same. The race organisers have taken our passports to customs, the support yachts are buying their final supplies so we’re starting to believe that it might be true and in less than 48 hours we’ll finally be on our way to Antigua!

As you might expect, this is taking a little bit of getting our heads around. It’s been six weeks now since we first arrived in La Gomera and, although we took the first two weeks to prepare and have had little jobs to do since then, we’ve had to spend the majority of the time learning to relax. The boat has become home and our neighbours in the marina have become friends. Leaving is going to feel very strange.

We spent today rechecking our equipment, adjusting our route to suit the strange weather conditions of this year and packing the last of the food that we bought today into the boat. This has helped us to focus our minds on the job in hand. Tomorrow we’ll get out some of the equipment, such as the Para-anchor, refresh our memories on how to use it all, and then we’ll be set to go.

Although the weather has more or less come around to the wind and wave directions that we need we know that we’re likely to hit unfavourable winds at some point in the second day. However, as this is the first reasonable weather window that there has been since we arrived the fleet are keen to get going - Please keep your fingers crossed that nothing unforeseen happens in the next day or two and hopefully our next message to you will be that we are about to leave!

Happy New Year!

We spent most of today being peaceful - sleeping in a bit late or reading a book.

Happy New Year to all our supporters !

Well, finally New Years Eve, a date that we were never planning to see from San Sebastian, arrived. We have always been told that the celebrations in the town are brilliant with fireworks and dancing in the square for many hours, so there was only one thing to do – join in with the locals and find out if the rumours were true!

However, there is quite a lot of day to fill before the New Year celebrations start at 23.55 and Karen and Jo were excited to be asked by the neighbours, Robert and Caroline, if they’d like to go out sailing. Both jumping at the chance to experience a faster moving boat on the water they arrived promptly at the allotted hour with swimming gear and enthusiasm. The swimming gear wasn’t required but the enthusiasm came in very useful as there were fenders to take in, “bits of string” to pull (I’m sure they’ve got a more technical name) and steering to be done.

Reaching the stunning speed of 6.5 knots sailing into the wind and with the boat running along on its side was a superb experience. More than once Karen’s clumsy nature showed through and she nearly tripped over her feet, the boat, anything, to fall headfirst into the water. Meanwhile, calm and collected, Jo took the whole experience in her stride. Even once we were in the shelter of the island and dropped to 3ish knots we realised how fast this would have felt in our little rowing boat!

Unfortunately Kiley and Sarah were unable to join them as their accommodation had been double booked and they were kicked out so spent the morning finding somewhere else to stay. They were lucky too though, as they are now staying with the two fireman’s crews – could have been worse!

The celebrations in the town are as good as we’d been told. At 23.50 the town square was empty but it took only a few minutes for the entire plaza to become full of people. We’d been told that the Gomeran tradition is to eat 12 grapes on the 12 strokes of midnight to secure good luck for the following year. Fully armed with the required fruits, Jo and Karen attempted the challenge. However, having consumed a little more red wine than is strictly a good idea with dinner they didn’t wait until the chimes began, instead trying to eat them in time with the bells playing their tune. Needless to say, this was impossible, so fits of hysterics took over instead. They did manage to eat some in time with the chimes but ran out of grapes after chime 8 due to the previous error. Hopefully this won’t be a bad omen for the rest of the year – it’s the thought that counts, right?

A superb band played in the square for the next 7 hours.

We’d be lying to say that we’d seen it right through to the end, but we did spend some time in the square dancing, chatting and drinking until we were tired enough to sleep through the noise.

None of us saw much of the first day of 2010.......

On Christmas morning a suggestion was made that we take an afternoon stroll up the side of the seemingly sheer cliff to the statue of Jesus. Being in high Christmas spirit (without the addition of alcohol) we accepted the challenge thinking it would be a great way to work off our dinner. As the meet time came and passed we found ourselves stuck in the Blue Marlin enjoying the company and admittedly the beer, so arranged for the venture to take place at 9.30 on Boxing Day. With the challenge laid down we all retired to get our rest for the following day. As Boxing Day dawned Karen, Jo, Robert, Caroline and a bunch of rowing refugees set off up the hill. From his viewpoint over the town we were able to see the whole of San Sebastian and some of the other rowers heading out to train. The views were so stunning that pictures and words can’t even come close to explaining the beauty.

In order to preserve Sarah’s sanity and allow a good night of sleep a visit was made to the best used shop in town -the Chinese Bizarre. Having already made purchases including broom handles (for our shanty town) two Christmas trees (one blew away in a storm) and a whole range of other random products we thought the purchase of a net curtain wouldn’t seem out of place. After some handy work from Karen net curtains were fashioned for each cabin allowing the three of us a night without fear of being eaten alive. All this handy work took place under the secrecy of the tarp whilst Sarah and Jo were cooking. Upon being summoned to the Stern Cabin Sarah was more than pleasantly surprised and declared that Karen had given her the best Christmas present ever. Jo has come to the conclusion that Sarah is easily pleased.

We hope that all our families, sponsors and supporters enjoyed Christmas and Boxing Days and are enjoying their traditional cold snowy winter!

Christmas morning saw the first blue skies for a couple of days here in La Gomera and first thoughts on waking were “woohoo, we can get the washing dry! – hang on..... it’s Christmas Day!”

After opening our presents and cards from home we had cornflakes and doughnuts for breakfast (well, it was Christmas) we ambled around for a bit and headed to the beach for a game of Volleyball to help digest some Christmas Eve dinner before our actual Christmas dinner! The Blue Marlin, a bar full of memorabilia from many Atlantic rowing and sailing crossings, and the usual haunt for rowers, put on a Christmas dinner for rowers and support crew. None of us had ever eaten prawn and chicken paella for Christmas dinner before. Dinner was supported with goodies, such as mince pies brought back by those that had been home in the preceding week. By 4pm we were thrown out by the owner whom due to their own Christmas celebrations hadn’t been to bed since the previous day. So with the promise that the pub would re-open at 7pm we headed back to the beach for round two of the volleyball. Having established this wasn’t her strong point Karen made good use of the time phoning home and Jo had her traditional siesta. This left Sarah to hold the fort and after four epic hours of hardcore volleyball she retired to the cabin where she tried to sleep. Unknown to Sarah the local mosquitos were on the hunt for their Christmas treat, launching a night long assault on the stern cabin. Needless to say Sarah didn’t sleep much.

We have always known that rowing across the Atlantic would bring us many challenges, some that we could prepare for and some that we couldn’t. We had never expected to still be in La Gomera for Christmas, but we have a Christmas tree and Santa hats and are trying to feel as Christmassy as possible.

Ole invited everyone who remained over Christmas up to the Parador hotel for dinner on Christmas Eve, a full seven course dinner which was a challenge in itself. We have been eating well and healthily camped on our boat thanks to a generous donation from the Queensgate crew of 2004, but never more than one course at a time and certainly not the delicious rich foods offered by the Parador (Sarah does a fine Sautéed potato though!). Not only was the food delicious but it was also accompanied by lovely Champagne and fine wines, accompanied by some necessary water!

We’d like to thank Ole for Christmas dinner and also the other gifts and support he’s given us while we’ve been here.

Karen also decided to attend midnight mass with our neighbours Robert and Caroline. This was a slightly strange event as we’d expected that most Spanish families would attend after their Christmas Eve dinners. Instead, we made up a third of the congregation right up until the service started and even then there were only around 30 of us, including the choir. Instead of being able to hide at the back and join in carols with everyone else we were quite exposed and it was clear that we didn’t fully understand what was going on! By the time the service finished it was officially Christmas day, which meant that we could start eating the mince pies, brandy butter and port. A lovely evening all round!

This morning the Atlantic Waterbabes awoke following their worst night of sleep yet. As Jo has been finding the bow cabin a little cramped we decided to try to sleep with all three of us in the Stern. We laid down last night to check that, top to tail, we all fit, although not exactly spacious and with Jo tucked in beneath the electrics cabinet. However, during the night the cabin shrank, perhaps due to the rain, and we found that there was no longer enough space for three people. In the early hours of the morning Jo escaped back to the bow cabin having decided that some space is better than none.

The main task for today was to rebuild the tarpaulin. The strong winds and heavy rains, combined with having to undo and redo one side each time we went in and out, left the previous attempt a little sad and saggy. Instead of a tarpaulin over all of the deck we decided just to cover half so that we could fix it permanently and not need to keep making adjustments.

Once of the things that’s been great about living in the harbour is how everyone helps everyone out. Sure enough as soon as they could see what we were doing, Robert and Caroline appeared with more rope, spare broomsticks and, of course, cups of tea. The man from the yacht on the other side of us appeared with semi-circular poles from an old boat canopy – perfect for making the cover that we wanted. A few hours passed and now we have a much improved conservatory with far more headroom than the original “ridge pole” design. The entrance is no longer over the en-suite toilet and we don’t have to undo anything to get in or out. Result!

We have also been lent the use of the living space in a large Schooner while the owner is away, another act of kindness that meant we were able to spend the evening standing up to cook, rather than crouching on a pontoon, and then sitting down at an actual table to eat dinner and play cards.

This morning Jo was up at 7am monitoring the GPS with all electronic equipment on the lookout for Vivaldi (the French boat) which should have been returning with her other crew members. After what seemed like an agonising wait they popped up on the screen and were soon contacted to let them know the kettle was going on. After a much needed shower, cup of tea and plate of chips Karen and Sarah retired to the cabin where they slept until way into the afternoon. Realising that her team mates were dead to the world Jo spent the morning reading before going on a little ramble up the hillside past the Parador Hotel and on up to the top of the hillside. From here views could be seen right across to Tenerife and out to the Atlantic Ocean. Also from this vantage point the severity of the approaching storm could be seen and felt with winds gusting up through the valley.

The boys from the other crews have run out of things to do and need new ways to amuse themselves. They have come up with the plan of creating a set of “Top Trumps” cards for all the boats in the fleet. This involves visiting every boat in turn and scoring them out of 100 in five categories – Solar panel wattage, stereo performance, aesthetics, comfort and “coolness”. We are not allowed to know the final scores until the committee have visited every boat, but we’re fairly sure we’ve done particularly well in the stereo and comfort categories due to the fantastic electrics and speaker system designed and built by Richard and being the only crew to have fitted sheets in the cabin, thanks to Anne, Karens Mum.

On return to the Marina, Jo found that infact Karen and Sarah, despite earlier appearances, were alive. We visited the Chinese Bazaar for a new Christmas tree as our last one was carried off in a storm and hasn’t as of yet been found. Today was, at one point, the proposed start date. It’s a good thing that we didn’t start on this date as the wind was blowing in the wrong direction and the sea state was generally rubbish!

Following a very nice pasta dish made up of left overs from our apartment and fridge bucket Jo went into town to an orchestra concert at the main church. Having been to one church and found herself listening to slightly off key music Jo soon realised she was in the wrong place and hastily made a retreat following the music until she found the right place. It was well worth the effort as the string section of the orchestra played a fantastic mix of music with an accompanying singer adding harmonies that were out of this world. Then the rain began.....

With most of the teams now away for Christmas the Waterbabes have been improving their Anglo-French connections with Sarah and Karen taking part in a 24 hour training row with two of our French competitors Lawrence and another Lawrence. With the other two away rowing it gave Jo the chance to experience the luxury facilities of the stern cabin. Having been wedged into the bow cabin to have so much space was amazing and for the first time in ages she woke up able to stretch out and without a stiff back. Whilst the girls were hard at it slogging away against the harsh swell and conditions Jo had the opportunity to go sailing with our Marina neighbours Robert and Caroline. Having never sailed before this was an awesome experience which left Jo wondering if sailing the Atlantic might be more exciting than rowing. Whilst out sailing Jo popped by to say Hi to the girls who by this stage had been rowing for 6 hours and looked in high spirits. Whilst Karen and Sarah experienced night rowing and the angst that comes with being able to see lights when sat on the top of a swell and not when at the bottom of that swell, wondering whether it’s a boat heading towards you or away, Jo had a relaxing evening reading and catching up on emails before crashing early.

Karen and Sarah enjoyed the night rowing experience. Well, not enjoyed exactly because it was hard work and kinda scary, but really glad to have the opportunity to experience what life on board is going to be like for a full 24 hour period. There are many aspects that we knew would be problematic, such as salt grains growing in clothing once it’s been splashed with sea water, that we now know the feeling of. It was also very interesting to compare our boat with another and we’ve concluded that ours is far more comfortable!

Today was another chilled and relaxed day for the Waterbabes. We made further improvements to our shanty town boat by raising the ceiling level. Domestic chores were completed such as washing taking the opportunity to dry clothes in the sun, and small outstanding boat maintenance was carried out. This afternoon we indulged in a little exercise purchasing a new blue and white friend Wilson the Volleyball and making use of the Volleyball court on the beach. After much hilarity at our utter uselessness and from fear of injury and swollen wrists we retired for dinner with our neighbours Robert and Caroline. After a lovely curry dinner we attended the local theatre where the school choir and town choir put on a fantastic Christmas service before the local orchestra took to the stage and wowed us with their abilities. The highlight of the service has to have been the young school children singing Silent Night in three languages (English being one of them). It was a thoroughly enjoyable event and brought the Christmas feeling to the crew who had written it off expecting to be at sea.

For those of you who are interested in having a look at the weather yourselves, two good websites are (sorry I don't know how to make them into links)

www.passageweather.com

www.magicseaweed.com

Following the storm last night we have made a few improvements to our tent canopy - the addition of some broomsticks has raised the internal height and we've folded the tarp so it can't collect so much water.

Tonight we are going to treat ourselves to pizza as we've already eaten dehydrated meals for lunch to day and so we think we deserve a treat.

Although most of Wednesday was spent on the beach, reading and relaxing, we did take some time to rig up a makeshift shelter over the deck space to try to keep the insides of the cabins dry if the rain came again.

This turned out to be time very well spent as last night saw one of the biggest thunderstorms of our lives. The therapeutic gentle rain quickly turned into something stronger, battering the boats in the harbour. It wasn't long before lightening started to illuminate the sky while the rains continued to fall.

The unfortunate thing about being in the Great Outdoors during a rainstorm is the effect it usually has on the bladder and sure enough, before long, the occupants of the stern cabin needed to "go".

We haven't been able to use the bucket in the harbour until now in case people walk past or the CCTV spots us. Our new boat-tent means that we can no longer be seen from outside and a long walk to the loo isn't necessary, just as well in this rain! However, the tarpaulin had shifted slightly so the middle of the night saw the occupants of the stern cabin crawling about on the deck trying to reset the tarp without drenching themselves in the accumulated water. Mission accomplished they were just about to crawl back into the cabin when a quiet voice was heard from the bow. "Guys, I'm stuck".

The tarp had slipped at the bow end and opening the cabin door would get it caught. Somehow, though, Jo managed to slide out from the cabin, make her way along the deck and reach the bucket just in time!

Typical that on the first day of proper rain (turns out the forecast storm wasn't a myth after all) the Dominion Atlantic WaterBabes are moving house again.

The further delay in start date (the new race start date has now been confirmed as the 29th December) means that the WaterBabes have come to the end of their second apartments booking and had to move out. We have decided that for the three of us remaining here the best option has been to move onto the boat - with one person sleeping in the bow cabin there is room for all three of us and, apart from being cheaper than a new apartment, means that we get to experience life on board and develop some daily routines.

It's quite difficult to keep the inside of the cabins dry when moving in during the rain, so we had to wait until it lightened in the afternoon before moving in properly - although we know that everything in the cabin will get wet once we're at sea we're trying to keep things dry for the time being. Removing some of the equipment stored in the bow cabin onto the deck means that Jo can now sleep in there, although there is little room for food storage as all the food lockers are already filled with .... food.

Fortunatly, Caroline and Robert, who live on the yacht moored next to us, are extremely warm and welcoming people so our first day of "living on the boat" comprised mostly of "dumping our stuff, a few rounds of cards in our cabin and a cuppa tea on the boat next door....." We have been promised that if the weather looks good next week we'll be able to go out sailing, which will be a lot of fun and break up the monotany of La Gomera. If it stops raining we're also planning to go for some walks too.

Our other money saving tactic for the next couple of weeks is to eat some of the spare dehydrated rations that we brought with us. Lets just say that they'll probably be edible at sea.... if we're hungry enough!

It's difficult to believe that it's nearly Christmas because, although the decorations are up here in San Sebastian, the weather is still mild and pleasant. While the storm that is keeping us in port rages away mid-Atlantic, we’re sat here wondering what all the fuss is about?

Yesterday, however, was the first opportunity this year to don our Santa hats and admit that Christmas is nearly here. Sadly, Kiley was called home due to family matters the day before, which means that only the three of us currently in La Gomera were able to enjoy the Christmas dinner and party thrown for crews and supporters yesterday.

Being stranded in port is frustrating so Ollie, a Dutchman from the pairs crew Boogie Woogie, threw a Christmas bash up at the Parador – the poshest hotel on the island with a beautiful view over the harbour and the sea. We were treated to easily the nicest food we’ve had since arriving on the island, plenty of champagne, wine and beer and music from a traditional Spanish band to accompany the meal. We would like to thank Ollie for hosting such an enjoyable evening and for doing everything he can to help out the whole fleet while we’re still here – even purchasing some bikes so that we can keep our fitness levels up.

The lastest news regarding the weather is that the next good weather window probably won’t come until Christmas time so, instead of staying on “amber alert” and not being sure when we’ll leave, it’s possible that the start date will be officially rescheduled for after Christmas. That hasn’t been confirmed yet though, so in the meantime we’re making preparations to move out of our apartment and into the boat. Finally we’ll experience living on board, even if we cannot yet make any progress towards Antigua.

Morale was low in the Waterbabes camp today after hearing of further delays. We needed a break from taking a break and decided that the boat was going to be abandoned in favour of the sofa. Blankets, pillows and duvets were collected from all the bedrooms and made their way to the lounge where they were to stay for the rest of the day.

Lucky enough to have a dvd player with a small selection of approximately 6 Spanish films and one free from the Daily Mail (thank you Daily Mail !! ) we decided on a day of back to back movies.....that is if it didn't take us half an hour to find our way out of the start menu and get rid of the Spanish subtitles. At least if we're here even longer watching movies in Spanish will be a great way to improve our command of the local language. Not sure how well it would go down in the local cafe if all we can do is recite sentences from 'The Wedding Planner' ??We had managed to rescue a tin of Roses yesterday from our excess rations after deciding that it would be too extravagant to take these and a tin of Quality Street on our adventure.

Duvets + dvd's + Roses = pretty good day !!

Exhausting as it was we managed to work out a relay system to travel from the lounge to the kitchen on tea-making runs and to heat up the odd packet of super noodles to keep our strength up.

The morning started off with yet another team meeting about the weather. All the experts agree that, in summary, it's not good.

We understand that the weather systems this year are very unusual and are a combination of warmer than normal seas and the lack of a high pressure area over the Azures. This high pressure usually forces bad weather systems north, away from the Canary Islands. Without this high pressure system the bad weather is continuing towards us and it would be foolhardy to set out directly into a fierce storm - the Spanish port authorities won't allow us to leave anyway.

The weather is an unpredictable thing and it's usually difficult to predict anything more than 3 days in the future with any degree of certainty. However, between the forecasters employed by Woodvale and others in contact with various teams, all these top names agree that it will be impossible for the fleet to leave port before Friday (18th) and more likely Sunday (20th) due to the hurricane currently travelling across the Atlantic. By the middle of next week we'll be able to get an idea of what's developing after that and we're keeping our fingers crossed that there will be good news.

Some rowers from other crews have decided to go home for a couple of days and return once it's clear that the weather is improving. However, that would be an expensive trip for us with the high cost of Christmas flights and the danger of missing the next weather window, so the Atlantic WaterBabes, with most of the rest of the fleet, have decided to sit tight.

Today we took a lovely trip on one of the support yachts with some of the other rowing crews where we enjoyed the sun while it’s still here and took the opportunity to go for a swim. As the weather begins to close in there will be fewer opportunities for us to be outside and the fleet is trying to come up with ideas for things to do to prevent us all from going crazy while we’re waiting….. any ideas, please let us know!

We were called to a crew meeting this morning and informed that now the flares have arrived (the lack of them was holding up the start of the race) there is a bad weather system coming in with forecast winds of up to 25knots. The race organisers are not allowed to let us leave when there are forecast winds of above 20 knots within the next few days, so now we have to sit tight until the bad weather passes.

It's expected to hit here on Friday and then pass over sometime over the weekend. Depending on how quickly it moves, we will then leave here possibly as early as Monday but more likely Tuesday or Wednesday.

Having been told this only this morning, with 25 hours to go before the race start and about to prepare the boat to leave, it's taken a bit of time to sink in that we'll now be here for another 5 or more days. In the mean time we are going to use the rest of the time as well as we can, but really we just want to get going now!

With the delayed race start the Waterbabes have been making valuable use of their time working on those all important base tans and quality testing the snorkel and flippers.

Sunday saw a chance for all freinds and family to witness the fleet racing around a 5 nautical mile course from the marina out and around the support yaghts Auroa and Ocean Planet. Having agreed that we should hang back from the start line to allow others to bang and crash into one another, some interesting manouvering techniques forced by others steering, and the conditions, saw us start at the head of the fleet. Sadly this did not last as the pairs (most rowing two up in smaller lighter boats than ours) came through. At this point our rowing heads kicked in and told us that they may wizz off but we would pick them off as they started to tire. As we approached the first turning point Auroa we started to overtake some of the pairs and singles and appeared to be pulling away from the mens four. At the close of the first circuit Karen switched with Sarah getting a fresh set of legs into the hot seat. We continued to push forwards and caught Dave Brooks (one of the Solo rowers). As we continued up the straight the mens four closed on us until inevitably with a little banter and some photo taking they passed us just before we turned Aurora for the last time. We continued to row strong but the fleet was too far spread to catch any more crews. We were happy for the chance to stretch our legs a bit having tapered our training leading up to the Atlantic Challenge and enjoyed getting in amongst the other crews for a bit of a race.

Over the next few days we will be making last minute alterations and packing. We may have to re-pack once we add our personal kit into the mix, as we inevitably need to take enough outfitts to last the duration of the race and for every occasion. This additional time also provides us with an opportunity to tour the island and get some extra sleep in while we still can. We are ready and raring to hit the high seas and can't wait for Wednesday when our epic challenge will enter its most crucial stage, the actual physical rowing.

The day started with a meeting called at the last minute by Woodvale, the race organisers. We have been aware since arrival that unfortuatly the flares that were shipped from the UK were refused by La Gomera customs and Woodvale have spent the last two weeks trying to source new flares.

The meeting this morning confirmed that it won't be possible to get the flares here before Tuesday and so the fleet will be unable to start the race before Wednesday. This means that we have an extra few days to prepare ourselves, but all the crews are ready to get going!

This afternoon we had the Crisis Operations meeting, where we learnt more detail about the course to take, what to do in an emergancy and met the crews of the support boats. Hopefully we won't need to see them too much once we're out there, but it's good that we've now met the voice at the end of the phone.

So, it's been a very mixed day with making positive moves towards being ready for the start but also confirming a three day delay to the start.

Today has been another busy day, with further adjustments made to the steering more general work on the boat.

Jo got an early start working on the watermaker as the instructions suggested that cleaning the filter would take 12 hours. Fortunatly, the instructions were very backly written and the Woodvale watermaker expert told us what we really needed to do, which cut it down to only 4! We managed to improve the output by a third, which will help to preserve our battery when we're at sea as it won't need to run so long. Jo also got the water quality tested, which was found to be very good.

We are nearing the point where there isn't any further work outstanding on the boat so we are able to spend more time socialising with other crews in the local pub.

Despite the wind picking up too much to take the boat out of the harbour today (yes, we know it will be worse out there, but we don't want to damage the boat on the rocks,) we have all had a very busy day.

Our new cooker arrived on Sunday so Mike Etienne and Jo have been working on fitting that to the gimble. Rich, Mic and Kiley have been making the changes to our rudder system while Sarah has been shopping for a few last minute items and fixing more storage in the Stern cabin. Now that we've been sent some instructions, Karen and her Dad have got the Sat phone working and got it talking to the internet, so we'll be able to keep updating the blog while we're away. During all this, Anne has been sewing nice soft seat pads to try to preserve our bottoms during the race!

This evening we're going to sit down with the Atlantic charts to finalise our route planning and make sure we fully understand them. I'm sure we'll all sleep well tonight!

We'd had a couple of ideas for Atlantic WaterBabes fancy dress - it had to bright, colourful, fun and involve the team. What else could we go as except..... Mission Atlantic!

The advantage of our resident artist towing the trailer to La Gomera for us is that, although it was our original idea, our fancy dress version is the genuine thing! We were a little self-concious walking to the pub dressed as a boat, complete with nav light, first aid kit, food and fully functioning (almost) rudder and raised a few eyebrows, but we did have a very colourful costume and a brilliant night!

For photographs of the last couple of days, take a look on the website or our facebook album http://www.facebook.com/album.phpaid=2352074&id=61215843&l=01e520aac2 (you don't have to be a facebook member)

So, big day today. 'Missy' had her first proper outing with us and it was lovely. Considering she is about 1.25 ton fully laden she was strangely easy to row although slightly less easy to turn! We only took her out for about 2 hours but it was great to spend some time out at sea and get a feel for how things are going to be for the next 2 months including trying out the bucket! Next outing is in a couple of days and an overnight session is planned for next week.

We've repainted the antifoul and packed everything into the boat - it was time for Mission Atlantic to be launched in the Atlantic waters on La Gomera Marina.

With the help of the 12 man crew we pushed the boat around to the launching area.

It was a tense time as she was lifted from her cradle and placed into the water - the lifting straps were a little narrow for a fours boat and we were concerned she might slip and fall.

Having placed our boat onto the water we looked around to see Charlie Pitcher wheeling his entire boat to the water by himself. With his superlight boat design he's able to just pick it up and walk with it and we were all impressed to see how easily it could be manouvered on the water too. We think he's one to watch.....

Back on Misison Atlantic we took a couple of stokes and immediatly realised a small design problem with our footplates but nothing that can't be fixed. Excited to see her tucked up in her new home, we headed away.

Another beautiful warm day in La Gomera and the Atlantic WaterBabes are finishing off the smaller jobs that need to be done while we're waiting to be told when our structural survey can be carried out. The Liferaft is fitted in place and the final coat of anti-foul paint is on. In a few hours we'll be heading out for dinner and a few beers with the other crews..... who said the life of an Ocean rower is a hard one?

With all the paperwork handed over and ticked off, the Atlantic WaterBabes were the first boat and crew to undergo scrutineering. With the exception of a few small details, we have passed and are allowed to go on the water as soon as a berth is available. In the words of our scrutineer "this is the best prepared boat I have ever seen at this stage", so all the hard preparation was worthwhile.

Despite sufferening a 3 hour delay in Jersey courtesy of Fly-MayBe, the Jersey girls met Jo in London on Thursday night and the crew, with supporter Erin, travelled out to Tenerife. It was lovely to see Mission Atlantic, and Mic and Mike, after their travels through Europe, and we were able to travel together to La Gomera.

The weather is sunny and warm, the scenery is beautiful and we were all very excited to see the Dolphins jumping out of the water behind the ferry to La Gomera. Having arrived here we are ready for a couple of days hard work getting the boat ready so we can get her in the water as soon as possible.

After weeks of preparation Kiley, Sarah and Karen finally left the island - the CTV footage can be found here:

http://www.channelonline.tv/channelonline_sportnews/displayarticle.asp?id=465398

We have been told that Mission Atlantic is safely aboard the ferry on her way from Cadiz to Tenerife, where she is due to arrive on Thursday 19th.

Meanwhile, back in at home, the crew have been picking up final bits of personal kit and putting our lives in order ready to fly out and join Mission Atlantic on Friday.

Saturday night was the farewell party for the Atlantic WaterBabes in Jersey. Thank you to everyone who came along and we hope you all had a great time, even those who were bribed into doing kareoke - all money for a good cause, of course!

Meanwhile, Mission Atlantic has arrived in Spain and been put into safe storage which Mic and Mike enjoy a well earned break sunbathing in the Algarve!

Less than 24 hours after leaving Jersey and with an event-free journey through France, Mic Trehorel called today to let us know that they have already arrived in Spain.

Apparently the weather there is far sunnier and warmer than here in Jersey and the boys should arrive in Cadiz before too long.

On Thursday the WaterBabes gathered in Jersey Harbour to wave goodbye to Mission Atlantic as she started her journey to the start of the race.

The CTV footage can be seen here: http://www.channelonline.tv/channelonline_jerseynews/displayarticle.asp?id=463479

Months of hard work have come together and the boat is ready to go. Everything has been boxed up into the boat or the van, the documents are sorted and the drivers are enthusiastic and ready to get away.

The last night of packing and preparing the boat was very calm and efficient, which shows how ready the WaterBabes are to get to the start line!

After months of hard work and lack of sleep our beautiful boat 'Missy' is now finished and ready to start her long journey to the start of the race in La Gomera.

Mike Etienne and Kiley's dad Mic Trehorel have kindly offered to tow her all the way to Cadiz in Spain then spend two days on a ferry across to the Canary Islands! Thanks guys and Bon Voyage!!!

Consuming the 6000 calories that we each need per day is going to be a challenge in itself. Almost half of our food will be dehydrated meals where we just have to add hot water, and the other half is various snacks including savoury biscuits, chocolate, boiled sweets and peperami. To keep things simple once we’re out on the ocean, all of these items needed to be bagged up and prepared into day sized packs. Karen, Kiley and Sarahs Mums and Sarah Aunt spent almost two days up in the boat shed lovingly packaging our food into watertight day-bags ready to be packed into the boat.

We’d like to thank Wilkinsons for arranging for their suppliers Cadbury, Bendicks, Percy Dalton, Lindt, Mars and Nestle to donate items for our food bags, the Co-op and Julian Graves for their contributions, and the Jersey Field Squadron for providing a significant number of our main meals. A big thank you also goes to the Ladies who shopped for the rest of the food and who bagged it up for us.

The Atlantic Waterbabes are very happy to have secured a Gold sponsor and are looking forward to announcing who it is very soon.

Watch this space......

Exciting things continue to happen in Jersey where Mission Atlantic is almost ready to leave the island on her trip to the Canary Islands and the start of our race.

The final work is being done on the boat, most of the food and supplies have arrived and it's now only 23 days until we also leave Jersey for the Canary Islands.

To mark this occasion, and as a chance to catch up with all our friends and supporters before we go, the Atlantic WaterBabes would like to invite you to join us at our farewell party. This will be held on 14th November at The Bar, St Helier Waterfront, from 7pm. Our fundraising raffle will be drawn at this event and there will be a band and DJ. If you don't already have one, you can get raffle tickets from any of us.

Please do come along and say hello if you are able to, we are looking forward to seeing you there.

Over the last week the girls from Mission Atlantic have been taking news of their adventures into local Jersey schools.

We took the opportunity to explain about the challenge of the race itself and the preparations to get to the start line. The pupils had plenty of questions about all aspects of the race including how we'll keep clean and shower, how we'll know where we are and where the toilet is. The older children were disgusted to hear that we'd just be using a bucket, whilst the primary school children thought it very funny.

We are encouraging these schools to follow our progress during the race and are hoping to be able to revisit the schools and talk about our adventures when we return.

This weekend saw the opportunity to head over to the UK and pick up the safety equipment and food that has been given to us by Resmar and other contacts in the UK. On Saturday afternoon Jo and Karen arrived back in Jersey with a car load of supplies while Sarah moved equipment into the new shed. Hours checking our safety supplies against the kit list followed and sorting ration packs followed with Karen and Sarah watching Jo get more frustrated every time she lost count again - how many sachets of sugar was that, Jo?

This weekend will be our first overnight trip on the boat, so we're hoping for a warm weekend! The final fit of the electrics and other detailed boat works will be happening on Sunday.

If you haven't already sponsored us, please considor sponsoring a piece of kit or becoming a "land crew" member and joining us on our trip!

Saturday 3rd October saw the official unveiling and launch of Mission Atlantic, or "Missy", our Atlantic rowing boat. Sponsors, family, friends and supporters enjoyed the hospitality laid on by the St Helier Yacht Club and took the first opportunity to inspect the boat that will become our home for many weeks as we attempt to become the fastest ladies four to row across the Atlantic.

There was an air of anticipation as the time to unveil the boat drew nearer. Many local people are aware of Artist Mike Etiennes works, including rooms at Jersey Hospice and a previous Atlantic rowing boat - what could Mike have possibly done on a canvas this large? The actual design, however, was a closely guarded secret with only the crew and close family having already seen it.

Commodore David Langlois welcomed the Atlantic WaterBabes and our guests to the Yacht Club, presented us with a club burgee and wished us well for our adventure. Jennifer McDonald, from one of our chosen charities Jersey Hospice Care, praised the courage and determination of the crew. Then it was time to reveal the boat - with the help of the blustery wind the covers were stripped and the new Mission Atlantic was seen by the crowd. Mission Atlantic is more spectacular than anyone could have imagined. Striking a perfect balance between feminine flowers and the down-to-earth clock and compass designs the bright rainbow colours and bubbles will be an amazing sight throughout the race. Everyone had the opportunity to ask the crew about the boat and the challenge and the crew had the chance to chat to Sarah Day, a member of the Guernsey Girls crew, the first ladies fours team to ever row the Atlantic and the original owners of our boat.

The Atlantic WaterBabes would like to thank David Langlois, Commodore of the St Helier Yacht Club, for providing the venue, buffet and drinks and Jenny Doyle for organising the launch event. We would also like to thank all our family and friends who have helped to prepare the boat and raise funds and all our sponsors for their support which is helping to make our adventure possible. We also appreciate the many hours put in by Mic and Richard working on the boat and the electronics - thank you Mic and Rich.

Our special thank you is reserved for Mike Etienne, who has transformed our boat into a stunning work of art, which we are sure will be by far the most beautiful boat on the water in the Atlantic Rowing Challenge.

Finally, after weeks of sanding, filling, sanding... our beautiful boat is finished. 'The Mike Etienne' has created the most amazing-looking boat we could have hoped for... THANKS MIKE!

Now we have to refit her ready for her launch party on the 3rd October. So it's back up to the shed for us. Watch this space for photos of our lovely boat 'Mission Atlantic'.

We had our first fund raising Band Night last Friday which went brilliantly. Kiley's brother Mark did a great job getting some of our best local live bands to take part free of charge in support of us and what we are doing. About 100 people turned up and partied 'til 1.00am. Karen, Sarah and Kiley did their best bouncer impressions and manned the door until about 11pm when the call of the bar became too much and they went and joined in with the fun.

We haven't had it counted yet but on top of raising some much needed cash for our trip we also raised about £150(ish) for Jersey Hospice which was a real bonus.

Thanks everyone for turning up and an especialy big thanks to the following people:

Banquet

The Mulburys

The Noise (especially Mark Dempsey for organising the whole thing!)

Pirate Video Station

Milo Bellamy (and Lauren)

DJ Will Harben

Steve Norman

Delta (www.delta-av.com)

Thelma and Graham @ Thelma's

Since arriving in Jersey, Mission Atlantic has been through a painful process of stripping out all her equipment, sanding her paint away and has been looking a little sad. Those days have now passed and this weekend saw the first stages of the new Mission Atlantic being reborn. With Jo over from the UK and all the Atlantic WaterBabes working together on the boat good progress was made and we have been able to paint the inside of the hatches and the cabins. This week will see the deck being repainted in preparation for painting her outside this coming weekend then, with the refitting of the metal work, she'll be able to emerge from the shed as a butterfly from a cocoon.

The Atlantic WaterBabes would like to thank CBRE for sponsoring their oars and have also agreed sponsorship with Ross-Gower Associates and LeRiche.com. The WaterBabes are also continuing with their fundraising efforts and this Friday sees the Band Night at the Town House. Details of further events will be posted on the website and facebook once they are confirmed.

The 30th of August saw the Atlantic WaterBabes meet in Southampton again for their final one day course, this time Sea Survival. Southampton Water Activities Centre, who also provided the first aid and two of the VHF radio courses, kindly provided the Sea Survival course to us free of charge.

The course started with a classroom session where the WaterBabes learnt about the elements of survival at sea. Some of the video clips of tankers being pounded by large waves really showed the power of the ocean and brought the challenge one step closer.

The pool session was a chance to fully understand what we'd learnt in the morning such as how to swim wearing a lifejacket, how to keep warm in a HUDDLE and how to turn the raft the right way up if it inflates upside down. We all plucked up the courage to jump into the pool from the high board and struggled to climb into the raft from the "sea", with our instructors simulating waves in the face with the aid of buckets of cold water.

Back into the classroom for a couple of hours to discuss the contents of the liferaft and then the course was over. Thank you to SWAC for an enjoyable day learning skills that we will hopefully never again have to use!

Saturday saw Jo and Karen back at the Southampton Water Activities Centre to do their VHF radio courses, a requirement for the race. With our passport photos at the ready and having revised the phonetic alphabet the night before (luckily we both knew most of it anyway) we turned up ready to go. With only five on the course we had a relaxed and enjoyable day learning about the equipment and the rules, sending each other messages and still managed to finish an hour early.

A licence is mandatory to be allowed to use a VHF radio so it's important that we all have them, although now that we've practiced sending our "Mayday" and "Pan-Pan" messages, we're hoping that we never need to again!

It's impossible to live in Jersey and not be aware of the annual Battle of Flowers parades taking place in St Helier! For those who aren't in Jersey, the two parades are showcases of spectacular floats decorated with flowers built by local groups each year, accompanied by music and a party atmosphere.

Not to be left out, we took the opportunity to showcase our Atlantic Rowing Boat to the public at both the afternoon and evening events. She looked beautiful covered in flowers and coloured lights and made a brilliant platform for watching the parade! We enjoyed explaining about our adventure and many of those passing were surprised by the scale of our challenge and wished us luck.

Now that the Battle of Flowers is over work on preparing her for painting can properly begin. The next two weeks will see us stripping out the equipment, cleaning, sanding and preparing ready for Mike Etienne to work his magic.

As well as preparing the boat we are still completing our mandatory training, raising funding and spending time in the gym.

Mission Atlantic, the Ocean rowing boat used by the Guernsey Girls four years ago, has been purchased by the Atlantic WaterBabes and arrived in Jersey on Monday, one day ahead of schedule.

With the local paper and television crew present Kiley, Sarah, Karen and friends welcomed the boat to the island. She is in very good condition after her last travels but requires a little work before we can launch her again so is safely tucked up in a shed on the island from which she will emerge, in a couple of weeks time, as good as new.

Meanwhile, Jo has been busy in the UK sourcing the rest of the equipment we need. The finishing touches are being put on the website which, when fully launched, will allow you to follow our progress and make donations directly.

All of the Atlantic WaterBabes are increasing their physical training schedules and the mandatory training is well underway. With only 130 days to go to the start of the race the Atlantic WaterBabes are working hard making preparations, are looking forward to the challenge they have set themselves, and thank you for your support.

The 3 of us from Jersey have now officially left for our big adventure...or at least we are trying to! After lots of farewells at the airport 2 hours ago we are still waiting to board our plane. We should be leaving in a couple of hours to meet Jo at Gatwick and we will be flying out to Tenerife tomorrow morning. After a very long drive and 2 days on a ferry we're sure that Mic and Mike will be pleased to see us arrive to meet them!

Having been put on hold for almost a week due to variable light winds, it's Race On again. It's been a really tough temperament testing time for many, with all crews having to cope with forty degree heat, light winds, wrong winds, and making little progress toward the finish. Southerly and Northerly winds have shuffled parts of the fleet like a pack of cards, leaving crews with neighbours they have not seen for weeks.

Most importantly the girls have come out of this shuffle to find themselves having moved up to fourteenth place and now with a cooling 10 knot breeze on their tail.

The forecast for the week ahead should help them move another 300nm towards Antigua. Although they covered a mere 16nm towards the finish they also made a superb effort in moving South some 30nm in anticipation of the forecast Easterlies.

This message from the boat was received before the Easterlies returned.

”The last few days of this week have been horrendous and pushed moral to an all time low, although we have managed to pick each other up when needed and now the weather is improving we have cheered up a lot. It’s the heat that gets to us most, but there is now a nice breeze, and although it is going the wrong way, North East, we are pushing through it and making 1-1.5knots SW. I believe some crews are still either going the wrong way or staying on para-anchor”

“We have enough food for another 25 days, but the situation is good as we had saved most of the 'wet meals' thats the good stuff, just in case of emergencies/watermaker failure. That means we are now happily munching our way through it all....yummy!”

“Life out here is physically tiring, emotionally draining and it tests your powers of endurance and determination to the limit. In some ways this isn't as hard (ie physically) as we thought it would be. The hard part is the lack of control over the weather. We have been about 3.5 weeks from the finish for the last 2 weeks and due to the dropping daily average we are STILL 3 weeks from the finish! Kiley has been missing the kids, Richard, family and friends, her home, carpets, clean bedding, cold drinks and space, but ok and enjoying the experience for what it is. Every day we manage to have a lot of laughs and there have been very few tears.”

On a more personal note there are more laughs over the fact that Sarah and Kiley have started listening to Will Young, wearing Tilley hats most of the time, and even using sun block. Jo and Karen have started working on their tan lines, wearing bikinis and comparing tans.

[Support team can’t wait to see a photo of the whole crew in Bikinis, but I bet we never will.] Maybe someone will bribe them with a donation to their chosen Charities.