AN Islander who successfully completed a trans-Atlantic ocean row has hailed the progress of a four-woman crew from Jersey in moving within 1,000 nautical miles of repeating the feat.
The Intrepid 232 crew, made up of Julie Brady, Helene Monpetit, Rosemary Satchwell and Alison Smithurst, are one of 37 crews taking part in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge and have now been at sea for nearly five weeks, rowing almost 1,700 nautical miles.
Pete Wright, who took part in the 2022/23 edition of the race as part of the two-man Dragonfish crew with fellow Islander Steve Hayes, said that getting past the 1,000 miles to go mark would be a significant achievement.
He said: “It will be huge for them to get within 1,000 miles of finishing in Antigua.
“By the time you’ve been out there for so long, it’s a question of breaking it down into chunks and just focusing on each 100 miles.”
Mr Wright said he had been really impressed by the Intrepid crew’s response to recent poor weather, sacrificing sleep in order to have the maximum three rowers on the oars in order to keep moving.
“Some of the crews have just operated the para-anchor and ridden out the winds blowing across them, but the Intrepid crew have shown real toughness in continuing to tick off the miles,” he said.
“It won’t have been easy, but I’m sure they’ll have been missing loved ones and would rather keep moving towards the finish than drop anchor.”
It is hoped that winds will soon switch to a more favourable direction and help the crews towards Antigua. Leading crew HMS Oardacious were within 150 miles of the finish yesterday afternoon and are expected to complete the race tomorrow, while the back-markers are forecast to be rowing until mid-March.
The latest projected finish for Intrepid 232 – the figure refers to the combined ages of the four women – is 6 February. The rowers are seeking support from Islanders for the Grace Crocker Foundation and the Blue Marine Foundation. The team’s fundraising page can be found at gofundme.com/atlantic-ocean-rowing-challenge-2023.
