News

With the retirement earlier on this week of Solo Rower, Simon Prior onboard Boat No. 3 ‘Old Mutual Endurance’, only five boats now remain in the Indian Ocean Rowing Race 2009, plus the out of class eight man speed crew onboard Boat No. 88 ‘Aud Eamus’.

Of the five remaining competing crews only two of them are Pairs team entries – Boat No. 6 ‘Flying Ferkins’ and Boat No. 9 ‘Southern Cross’, who battle it out in a sub race of their own.

As the youngest team in the race, Southern Cross crew members Jamie Facer-Childs (21) from Maidenhead and James Thysse (22) from Reading are aiming to complete the crossing and in doing so, to become the youngest people ever to row across the Indian Ocean.

As two people passionate about the environment, James and Jamie are supporting the International Environmental Charity, ‘Earthwatch’, which conducts invaluable scientific research worldwide with the aim of establishing solutions to pressing environmental matters that threaten our planet.  Jamie and James will be collecting ocean data during their crossing, which will be used by Earthwatch in their Oceans research campaign that specifically looks at marine wildlife and the overall health of our Oceans.

James and Jamie’s boat, ‘Southern Cross’ is an original Woodvale Pairs class boat made from laser cut, marine plywood.  To date, this design of boat has crossed oceans more than any other and remains the most successful design so far.

Despite their young age, James and Jamie have dealt with all the obstacles during the crossing they have faced with great maturity and courage.  Last month, their boat capsized in heavy swell – a frightening experience for anyone, whether a seasoned ocean rower or otherwise.  When the boat righted, they assessed any damage and loss of equipment, composed themselves and tided the deck before returning to the oars and the job at hand.

As with all the competing boats, weather has played a crucial part in the ability of Southern Cross to make progress towards Mauritius and the all important finish line.  Having been forced to spend more days than they would have liked on the para anchor, Jamie and James now start to look at rationing supplies, as food and stores start to run low.

Despite all these challenges, James and Jamie still have their eyes firmly on the goal, the finish at Mauritius and vow to succeed in their challenge against all the odds.

To read James and Jamie’s latest audio blog from the Indian Ocean, please go to http://www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk/leisure/article-11442-indian-ocean-rowers-blog-2-from-the-open-seas/.

For the latest positions of all the teams taking part in the Indian Ocean Rowing Race 2009, please go to the Progress Page on this site.