News

After many days of soul searching, Simon Prior onboard Boat No. 3 ‘Old Mutual Endurance, has announced his decision to retire from the inaugural Indian Ocean Rowing Race 2009.

Simon, the last Solo entry participating in the race has endured more than 50 demanding days at sea, rowing 1,200 nautical miles of the total 3,132 nautical mile race route from Australia to Mauritius.  Each and every single mile proved to be a monumental challenge for Simon, as medical problems and equipment failures plagued him from the very outset.

Simon’s watermaker an essential piece of survival equipment that turns salty sea water into fresh drinking water had been a constant problem, requiring frequent attention at the expense of being able to make progress rowing.  Already suffering with some very painful salt sores, Simon was further hampered in his ability to put time in on the oars when he pulled a muscle in his shoulder.

Concerned by his lack of progress and anticipated time to complete the Race Simon felt he had little choice but to retire after his satellite telephone developed a charging fault, the steering lines controlling his rudder became damaged and to further compound his situation the weather forecast indicated he would be unable to make any progress over the coming week.

Simon comments: “Retiring from the Race has been the most difficult decision I have ever had to make.  I am bitterly disappointed to be in this situation but I thank everyone for the fantastic support and encouragement I have received, without which I certainly would not have made it as far as I did.”