We started as a four and ended as a three. In fact the journey can be described as a series of disasters!

* It was the worst weather in the Atlantic for 200yrs, including 2 tropical storms and a hurricane.
* We almost capsized.
* Our rudder broke off the back of the boat.
* Huge waves broke 3 oars.
* Our watermaker stopped working and we lived on rainwater we caught in bowls and buckets for a week.
* Jo got off the boat so we were disqualified.
* January was one great big grey cloud with torrential rain flooding hatches and damaging food. We lived on 3 dehyrdated meals and a square of chocolate whilst rowing 16hrs a day!
* And finally....WE WERE ATTACKED BY A SHARK!!

We made it across alive, out of 26 boats 19 capsized and 6 didn't come back up again. Nobody died.

Wow what a journey. I'll blog the diary entries of our journey so you can read all about our exploits.

Thanks for following,

Kipper xx

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Ok now I´m scared! We´re off tomorrow morning at 11am and I have to say I´m a tad nervous.

But hey it´s going to be fun...right!

Much love to all our supporters, our family and friends, to all who are waiting for their own loved ones to get to the other side.

Maybe I´ll be able to update the blog whilst I´m out there, I´m on the case. If not check out the dispatches on the official Rowgirls site...

www.rowgirls.com

Signing off and heading off

Kipper x

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Cool or What!

Taking part in the first Gomera Cup, a 5 mile sprint just off the island. Sue and Sally are rowing, Jo´s on the bow and Claire is steering in the stern.

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The race has been postponed and if we´re weren´t nervous enough we now have to wait three more days before we can leave. I don´t mind really especially when this was heading our way!....

(We´re the 21 on the right hand side)

Obviously being an experienced ocean rower I could have made the best of the conditions, surfed down the waves, made miles on the other teams but some of the bigger lads in the race decided it would scare them just a little bit too much; so we´ve had to hold up here until the calmer weather comes. And this is what´s predicted for Wednesday...

Claire´os, Sue´os, Jo´os and I(´os) are pooterling around Gomera with the other teams, carb loading up at the local pizzeria. Never let it be said that the Rowgirls miss an opportunity to add to their ever growing fat reserves (although we are slightly anxious that the predicted winds are pretty fast, so we could make a really quick time across the ocean. It may not give us enough time to lose the extra added fat. It´s time at sea that ensures the Ocean Rowing Diet works!)

So aside from a quick 5 mile sprint out to sea yesterday we´ve been coiled like a Slinky ready to head off down a staircase. The kinetic energy is mounting!

Will definately try to get another blog in before we go, but check out some photos on www.flickr.com/photos/rowgirls .

Oh and by the way I got James Cracknell in our cabin! But that´s another story (possibly to sell to the Sun!)

Byeee

Kiss & Tell Kipper

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My Mother would be proud, my luminescent white legs are out in a lovely pair of shorts and getting slightly less white by the day. Yippeee it´s scorchio in Gomera and we´re loving it! The boat is here safe and sound, we´re booked into a little apartmentos and my spanish is coming on a treat. I´m adding "os" to the end of every word and it seems to be working!

It´s taken the last week to finish tinkering, we´ve only got the oar stantions left to add but otherwise Shelterbox is fit to rock and roll. The watermaker is fantastic, Farley the Elephant is strapped on (I think you can see him in the photos from the last trip...visit www.flickr/photos/rowgirls) and the fluffly pink seats are the envy of the race.

As you can imagine the other teams are all fit and ready to go and we´ve been carefully drilling holes in the bottom of their boats. The Guernsey Milkers collared me for calling them the Guernsey Milkers (I blamed it on the boyfriend, I said he´d coined the phrase, which is kind of true!)

To give you a bit of a picture there are 26 boats so plenty of us around. I´m sure our combined drinking habits keeps the Blue Marlin in business for the rest of the year! It´s party night every night, then down to the pontoons to drill and screw. I´m exhausted!

Blog Prob

I did promise I´d write my blog whilst I´m away, but Houston we´re having a problem! We can´t get emails out from the boat at the moment so my meanderings will be limited to the daily dispatches which is slightly unfortunate, but hey what can you do?

Red in all the wrong places,

Kipper! x

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Just a quickie to say ARRRRGHHHH!! We're off tomorrow and we've packed enough for a trip to the moon!

I'll be updating the blog throughout the trip so please stay tuned. Next time I talk to you I'll have sunned myself on the beaches of Gomera looking out across the watery horizon.

Speak to you then.

Kipper

xxx

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The 10 items you'll need:

1. A Peg

2. Access to the tin-ternet

3. A calm & happy disposition

4. Willing fingers

5. Knowledge of popular soaps

6. A 'ready to use' list of encouraging messages

7. A reservation at a curry house

8. A passable singing voice

9. A big mouth

and finally...

10. A favourite Rowgirl!

What To Do Now

Well you've gather the stuff above, but what do you do with it!

The Peg - This is the most important peice of kit a 'Team Rowgirl' could possibly possess. It will become a sacrifice to the God's of the Weather. If the wind is going in completely the wrong direction and try as we might we can't make any headway, then the call will come through for 'The Great Peg Sacrifice'.
You'll need to find a body of water (ponds/lakes/puddles, even washing machines will do)and on the time and date specified in the dispatch you'll need to jetison your peg into the water. Premature tossing will jeopardise the effectiveness of the ceremony.

Tin-ternet - The source of all race, Rowgirl and weather information. You can log in everyday to find out how we're getting on. It's really clever like that!

Great sites include:

www.atlanticrowingrace.com (we'll be the pink dot streaking out infront of the others!)

www.theyr.net - a very cool weather site. Go to the top scroll box and select 'S-N-Atlantic', then, just above the map in the 'Challenge' scroll down box pick 'west', 'centre' or 'east'. Have a play and see what you can discover. If it looks like a storm is coming please tell my Mum!

A Calm & Happy Disposition - Yep after seasickness and rowing none stop for a month we're going to be grumpy enough for all of you, so if you want to get in touch please say nice happy things. Oh and don't worry, we'll be ok! There's nothing worse than being on a rowing boat and most people at home thinking you're going to die!

Willing Fingers - Ready to tip tap away a really cool email for us to read to each other on the boat.
A couple of rules....(sorry to be boring!)
* Please email girls@rowgirls.com
* Don't send as htmls or add attachments. (They are whoppers to download)
* Not too long or too short.
* No song lyrics. (This makes me giggle! It's very lovely when someone says "I heard this song and thought of you!!" but unfortunately however relievent the lyrics are it's unlikely we'll read through the whole of Rod Stewart's 'We Are Sailing!' or any other sea related shanties! (Am I being mean?! Sorry I don't want to undermine your creative juices, I'm just being practical, it's a good quality for a Rowgirl!)

Knowledge of popular soaps - Always nice to know what's going on in the Square or down the Street. Although it's like going to a party you don't want everyone bring the same pudding, so perhaps you could let us know what's happing in the Simpsons!

Encouraging Messages -

Banned

Dig Deep
Row Hard
Row Together
Pain is only temporary
Pain is just weakness leaving the body
etc etc!

Perfectly Exceptable

Have fun
Have a cup of tea
Get those Guernsey Milkers (hehe!!)
Stay friends
etc etc

Curry - Yep we'll want one when we get back!

Singing Voice - to bellow out Christmas carols on Christmas day. We'll be doing a repertoire of popular favourites, so if you head into your back garden and sing load enough you never know the wind may carry it across the ocean and we'll hear it and sing with you.

Big Mouth - to tell everyone you know that we're out there doing our best. Get your mates on the site and then you can give them a ring and say "Wow, did you see that on the Rowgirls site yesterday?" (Obviously we'll have to send back interesting enough dispatches for you to get that over excitied, but you know what I mean!)

Rowgirl - Yep I wouldn't encourage favouritism but it's like choosing Jason from Take That, or Heidi for the Sugababes. Sometimes you just like the look of a particular individual. So to prepare you for the Rowgirls homecoming I'm giving you a selection of banners to print off and blow up...

So there you go, all you need to become a rocking Rowgirl supporter!
Get banner making I say!

Kipper xx

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I've got two friends, we met at the London Marathon and they email me alot.

Meet Ava & Aarron...

They asked me loads of questions and I thought it would be great if you got to hear the answers to. Their Dad would only allow me to print their questions if I mentioned 'The Boro'. (Although I have absolutely no idea what that means! Any takers?)

The Big Quiz

1.Where are you going on the boat?

From La Gomera in the Canaries to Antigua in the Caribbean

2. When do you start your journey?

On the 27th November, it's very close so I'm feeling really nervous now!
Getting ready to pack my suncream, it's going to be nice being somewhere
sunny and having a Christmas at sea in the sunshine.

3. How long will it take you?

Crikey, we're not sure it could take 36 days it could take 4 months. It
depends how windy it is. The more wind the faster we can go.

4. How big is the boat?

It's about 7m long. It's bright pink and it has two cabins, one at each
end. They are about the size of a two man tent, you can't stand up in
them. In fact it's very difficult to stand up and walk anywhere on the
boat. So after a long time on the boat your leg muscles get up floppy
because you're not using them properly!

5. Will you see any whales, dolphins or even sharks?

I'm not sure, Mum and I saw whales and dolphins in the last trip but
they can be very shy. I hope we do because they are so amazing, gentle,
intelligent and HUGE! I know the other Rowgirls will be very excited if
they do see some.

6. What’s the first thing you are going to do in Antigua?

Wobble over to the passport office! Your legs go funny on a rowing boat
because you're not walking on them for a long time. Also we still have
to go through customs. Unless we've been attacked by pirates I'm sure
they won't be searching the boat for smuggled items.
I will want a curry and a shower and a good bed, I'm sure all of us will
wanted to spend time with our Mum's and Dad's.

7. My dad asks will you see any Spanish Man of war!!!

Are they jellyfish? We did see some jellyfish last time. I'll put a
picture on the website and maybe your Dad can tell me whether it was a
Man of War. I hope they are not around because I would like to swim in
the middle of the ocean.

8. What food will you take apart from chocolate?

More chocolate!! Actually we'll be taking porridge, rice, pasta, lots
of dehydrated dinners and my favourite chocolate mousse (I had that for
breakfast last time I went with my mum!

9. How do you get changed in the morning when there is big waves?

You have to lie on your back in the cabin and wiggle into all your
clothes. Sometimes when it's very wavy you have to look out the window
and then jump out when the waves are not hitting the side of the boat.
Sometimes you get soaked!

10. Will there be big waves and how big can the waves get?

The waves change sizes all the time. Sometimes it's a very calm and the
sea is so flat is looks unreal. Other times the waves are as big as a
house and very quick. But it isn't frightening because the boat is like
a cork, it bobs over the top of the waves. When you're inside the
cabin you can hear the waves coming towards you and they sound like
trains!

11. What scares you the most?

I'm not too frightened this time because I've done it before but I'm
sure the other girls are frightened of storms, falling overboard, being
poorly in the middle of the ocean, that sort of thing. It's natural to
be frightened though, it is a very scary and dangerous place, but we
have all the equipment we need to survive and lots of people are
watching to make sure we are ok.

12. How will you row in the dark when you can’t see?

When the moon is out it can be so light it's almost as bright as the
daytime. Your eyes adjust to the light and you get to feel the water beneath you. You can also feel the wind in your face so you know your
going in the right direction. It can get very lonely during the night
and very boring. I didn't like it on my last trip, you sit on your
rowing seat and slide backwards and forwards towards your bedroom door
for 3 hrs! It's torture when you are tired!

13. What will you miss the most?

Probably nice food, like curries! Also I'll miss my dog Pip and I think
he will miss me to. I will ask the girls what they will miss and they
can send you their answers to.

14. Will you swim at all with big fishees in the ocean?

I really wanted to but there were lots of jellyfish in the water last
time. Mum and I called them Stegosaurus Jellyfish because they looked
like the dinosaurs. They were actually Portuguese Man of War...very
poisonous. Maybe this time there won't be as many.

I don't know about you but I think they are the best questions yet!! Have you got any you'd like to ask? Well email us at girls@rowgirls.com, I'll post it if it's a good one!

Kipper x

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And so the nightmares begin!

Honestly from the front I look the picture of calm and tranquility but underneath the smooth, unfurrowed brow lies a brain content to torment me every night. We are not talking about going to school naked..or worse in your pyjamas, we're talking drowning, the boat sinking and us girls arguing as we 'glug, glug, glug' in the harbour.... all the other boats have disappeared and we don't even get to the start line 100 yrds away from the pontoon.

I remember a particularly vivid dream when I was preparing for the trip with Tommo. We actually had to row the boat through the British canal system, then pick it up and carry it through the streets of Cambridge, before walking through thick mud to catch everyone else up. Geography and logic went out of the window, by morning I was convinced we'd missed the start and we'd have to take a trip to the Grand Union.

It's Not All Bad!

My brain may be going into overdrive, but I not too worried now.. I've just been delivered my brand spanking new orange bailer aka 'The Scupper' aka 'Skipper Loo!'
Oooh! It's curves, it's convenient handle... all I need is a copy of the Daily Mail and I'll be in loo heaven!

Oh and Breaking News..!

We've had a fantastic launch party. Yep we dragged the boat through the back passages of London and managed to get her to Thames Rowing Club. With enough balloons to take my Dad to the moon we were joined by 120 party people; Ian Munday from Shelterbox broke the expen-seive cava a la Francais on the towing eye (as part of a cunning ploy not to leave a great big hole in the hull!) and the lovely lady vicar, Diane Rees, blessed our boat and all who rowed in her.

(For more pictures check out www.flickr.com/photos/rowgirls )

It was ace! Although I don't consider myself a Christian I thought the blessing was beautiful so for those who weren't able to join us, here it is...

Lord God, holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, bless and sanctify this boat and all who work, live, rest in her and support her in many different ways.

Gracious and merciful God we ask your blessing for the crew, Sue, Sally, Claire and Jo; for the support team ; for the work of Shelterbox and for the families and friends waiting at home.

Loving God, as your blessing rests upon this boat, and as it becomes 'home' to Sue, Sally, Claire and Jo, for several weeks, we pray for energy, strength, courage, health, friendship, hope, skill, determination, reliable equipment, safety, love, persistance, creativity solving problems, joy, direction, peace, patience, success, commitment, humour and a sense of respect and wonder at the vastness and beauty of the sea with its infinite variety of moods.

Unto God's gracious mercy and protection we commit you.
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The Lord Lift his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen

Amen
Kipper x

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So you fancy seeing some photos? Well all you have to do is click here... easy peasy!

www.flickr.com/photos/rowgirls

Let us know what you think,

Kipper

10 stone and still working on it!

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As you know we're not off on a trans-Atlantic jolly! We're out there to raise a substantial amount of money for our chosen chari-dee!

If your not sure what they do, and many people do get them mixed up with Shelter, who provide help for homeless people in the UK, then you should have a butchers at:

www.shelterbox.org

The idea is so simple you'll wish you came up with it.

All they do is put a tent in a box with some sleeping bags, multi -fuel stove, utensils, rope, an axe, a wind up radio and other useful stuff and send it out to people who desperately need it.

This year two huge disasters has had the team, based in Helston, Cornwall, run off their feet. The Tsunami and of course Hurricane Katrina. The need for boxes is constant and any money sent to the charity pays for a box, nothing else! You know where your money is going AND you get a box number whenever you donate. They cost £490 each so you can buy a whole one or part of one. The team track the box and can tell you exactly where it went and who it helped... how cool!

So go on, you know you want it! Give us some of your hard earned cash. Lets help extreme campers all over the world, just imagine what it would be like to loose everything.. if that box turned up wouldn't you think someone out there was thinking about you. It really is dignity in a box.

You can send dosh directly to Shelterbox (just mention our name when you do it.. it makes us look good!) OR nip to our Justgiving site:

www.justgiving.co.uk/rowgirls

Heart felt thanks from all the Rowgirls in advance,

Kipper xx

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We're been given some fantastic headliners in the past but I think all us girlies agree that 'Coxless Phwoarssss' in the News of the World has definately been the best one!

We won't be mentioning anything about The Daily Sport though...

er-hum

Just thought I'd let you know!

Kipper x

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On my last trip I heaved on an extra 2 stone... sounds grim but when you have Christmas before the start of the race it's very easy to get trifled up! Amazingly both Mum and I lost 2 1/2 stone. We were super slim when we stepped off the boat in Barbados.

So yes, it's that time again and the Rowgirls need no encouragement to pile on some extra pounds. I 'm pleased to annouce that I've popped on a couple of extra kilos already, as Skipper I feel I should lead by example. In fact I didn't bat an eyelid when I tucked into my second roast dinner of the day last weekend!

The thinking is that it's easier to carry fat than food. We need to consume 6000 calories a day and that's a awful lot of chocolate! On the last trip quite a lot of the grim high calorie dehydrated food went overboard so we created our own yummy recipes....

Cress Con Carne - Chilli with boat grown cress.
Crash - Cress with Mash
Sally's Rice - Rice delicately flavoured with curry powder, a chicken stock cube and 6 sultanas.
Chocolat Moooose - Chocolate Mouse!

The month of nausea and vomiting did a world of good for my figure! But we're going to have to get the food right this time. Why Mum and I took Soya Vegetable Risotto I do not know! All I dreamed about was a proper curry and a can of pineapple chunks.

Here's to good food, Christmas dinner at sea and coming back slim.

Off to trough,

Kipper x

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Just so you know, the picture of the bums, they are not ours! Ours are far more toned, honed and unpuckered...and you'd never see a Rowgirl in leopard skin, soooo not our colours!

Glad we've got that sorted!

Kipper x

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Boys, Bouys & Boats
Jo's been hanging out at 'Camp Rowgirl' for nearly three weeks now and she's made it a home from home. The rest of us have been down to see her, helping out with the boat and being treated to camp gourmet like we've never tasted before. It's amazing what the girl can cook up on her mini stove and it's not just cocktail sausages in baked beans!

So although the tent's small and the loo facilities basic it's been excellent training for our 'extreme camping' adventure.

So the schedule has been:

* Jo's bladder wakes us up at 6.59am

* Jo puts kettle on.

* Breakfast, then off to Shelterbox to say "Hi" and pick up any post.

* Quick drive to Falmouth Marina

* Chat up various men to help us sort out the boat.

* Stick, glue, paint & screw all day until....

* ..it's too dark to work.

* Round to the bar for a quick drink.

* Back to Camp Rowgirl for dinner.

It's been extremely sunny, the rigging on the boats in the marina gently tickles in the background and the view over the hills from the campsite is stunning...... basically it's been hell!!

Bums

Yep we've sold out! A press agency is popping along to see us to take some photos of naked rowers. Obviously we'll let you know if they do computer enhance any particular assets or remove clothing 'post picture'. Either way none of us are particularly looking forward to getting our bellies and bums out but it seems it's the only way to get ocean rowers in the press these days. We did think about capsizing and having a dramatic rescue costing thousands of pounds...

Off to get naked,

Speak soon,

Kipper x

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Sponsors are a funny breed, often it's thought that they are companies who come aboard a project like ours just to get as much publicity for themselves as possible. In fact many of our sponsors are individuals who have believed in us enough to go that extra mile. They've collared their boss and tried to convince people in their business to support us (some, quite frankly, couldn't care less if a group of girls were sky diving from the moon let alone rowing an ocean!).

Well are sponsors are angels and without them we wouldn't be able to live our dreams. A bit gushy but I think I'm allowed.

So, if you can, please take a little bit of time to check out the links and see who are our angels are.

www.shelterbox.org - Our fantastic charity.

www.sundogeyewear.co.uk - Oh look at our lovely sunglasses!!

www.neways.co.uk - Good on the inside as well as the outside (Nutrional products)

www.easirider.com - And "Oh yes !! What an easy ride!" I discovered this sheepskin company on my last trip and they handmade our seat covers. My Mum and I were in bottom heaven! They've helped us again and designed our cabin cushions to. The seats are fluffy pink!

www.davidlloydleisure.co.uk - Keeps Jo fit in Reading

www.fitnessfirst.com - Keeps Claire's curves in Dunstable

www.northampton.gov.uk - Trilogy - Helps me get muscley in Northampton.

r_davighi@hotmail.com / 07909 631037 - For the best personal trainer in Northamptonshire call Raphael.

www.cdrltd.co.uk Corporate Development Ltd - Cooks the books for us!

www.mjsecurity.co.uk - Believed in us even when we didn't have a boat! Will also sort out your home security...ace!

www.bbc.co.uk/northamptonshire - BBC Radio Northampton - What can I say? Tune in 104.2/103.6 and maybe you can hear me shoe horning myself into as many programmes as possible!

www.ge.com - Ever heard of a Black Belt in Marketing? Well that's Sue's job and she works for these guys!

www.aldwyck.org.uk - Keeps Claire busy during the day and lets her off when she needs to do Rowgirls business, which is quite often at the moment.

KWS Marketing - 01604 491144 - Redesigning our brochure so we can approach some cool sponsors.

www.erevena.com - They've sponsored us to!

A2 Rigging - 01736 711661 / 07785 710364 - Mel Sharpe and the boys are glueing, screwing, drilling and fitting our outboard motor as we speak!

Ian Furniss Boat Building - 01326 311766 - Also helping us to put the boat together in Falmouth.

IBS - Inflatable Boat Services - 01326 313800 - Nope not irritable bowel syndrome, they are helping us with all our safety equipment.

Jones Wholesale Cash & Carry - From toothpaste to toilet roll, everything you need for extreme camping and more!

www.gillmarine.com - Oh there's something about sallopettes! mmmmmm!

www.name-your-own-rose.com - David Watkins the BBC RN green welly guy loves the idea of four lovely ladies on a rosey pink boat 'sweaty and straining' (those were his words!!) He gave us some cash!

www.AQuarterOf.co.uk - Oooh I came up with a really cool idea - collecting 20p's in a Smarties tube. So I got on the case and found this brilliant site. They supply sweets like flying saucers, black jacks and stuff like that. They also gave us 100 packets of Smarties....which reminds me, if you have a packet send it back it's worth £14 to Shelterbox!!

As for individual sponsors, Rotary, our friends and family....well that's another blog to come!

Thanks for everything guys...

Kipper x

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Time Trails at Torquay tested the tentatious team to the limits at the weekend, and we had a fantastic time! Loads of ocean rowers turned up to race across Torbay, although to be honest it was just a great opportunity to get the boat out on the sea. As for the times, well it's like comparing Linford Christie to Paula Radcliffe; they were a complete load of old rubbish but hey the competative boys seemed to enjoy it!

Talking about boys there seems to be some gossip about a new scheme called 'Date a Rowgirl'. Well as skipper I can safely say we're all up for offers, it will cost you though...we're still a little short in the sponsorship department so free dinners certainly wouldn't go amiss!

Oh and we'd love to thank Jo who joined us in the boat for the day, we're going to try and convince her to be a reserve rower. But being as mad as a bucket of frogs I don't think she'll need much persuading.

There she is on the left hand side...say hello!!

Aren't we a lovely lot! The gorgeous Rowgirl Sue spent the weekend at her best friends wedding... we missed her and she didn't even bring back some sugared almonds!

A Spot of DIY

It's like a episode of 'Extreme Make Over', it's going to be painful and uncomfortable but over the next three or four weeks the pink boat is going to be transformed from the humble caterpillar she currently is to the beautiful butterfly she's set to become! Yes, she's with some very sexy lads from A2 Rigging in Falmouth...Hello Boys!... and the Rowgirls are taking it in turns to camp out and help fix the runners, glue on the gubbins (like the compass, eletrical kit, GPS that sort of thing) and antifoul the hull. It's exciting stuff and I'm packed and ready with sleeping bag in hand to spend my week with the boat. Will let you know how we get on. The boat will in bandages for a while, hiding until the launch sometime in September!

Yippeee.
Speak soon

Kipper

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The money raised on the day may not have been brilliant (the grand total of £1.40!) but our spirits could not be damped. On Sunday we joined several Northampton Rotary Clubs to compete in their annual dragon boat race. Myself, Claire and Sue (who'd been throwing up all morning) were commandeered into the all girls crew 'Prefekts Heleven' and donning our gym slips, freckles and bunches we got absolutely soaked through to the skin! The weather could only be described as bloody awful!

We only won one race but we didn't come last, so what more could you ask for? A bit of money for the pot, a bag of chips, a bit of gentle exercise on the river dressed up as a school girl and a good reason to jump in the shower for at least half an hour! A Sunday well spent.

The Big Fit Out

The boat goes down to Falmouth next weekend for a three week fit out. The shell of the boat will be suped up ready for the big row; solar panels will be added, oars stanchions fitted, electrics sorted and our out board motor attached. It's exciting stuff especially as we'll all be spending a week with the boat and kipping in a Shelterbox tent. A bit of a busman’s holiday but extremely useful when finding out exactly which screw goes where.

Also join us on Saturday 30th July at Torquay; we're racing across the bay with several ocean rowing boats who are competing this November. And on Sunday we'll be setting up in Events Square in Falmouth shaking buckets and yakking about the project.

Lots to sort out over the next few weeks then!

Speak soon,

Sally x x

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Yes! We've been out in the boat. An all night row along the river Thames, between Reading and Henley. We'd packed for a week with more chocolate treats than a corner shop. I don't know what we thought we'd be tackling but our Mums would have be proud, we weren't going to starve!

Sue, Jo and Claire hit the Reading Town Regatta during the day, talking to all who'd listen. They raised several hundred pounds and plopped the boat in the water for a row past. Exciting stuff and photo's to follow.

I joined them for a chili con carne and off down the river we went. 6 locks, 12 hrs, several bars of chocolate and a quick pee in a bucket and we pulled the boat out at Reading Rowing Club exhausted but happy we didn't fall out with each other throughout the night.

More overnight / test rows are planned but if you want to see us come along to Northampton on Sunday 24th July. We're taking part in some Dragonboat racing down at Midsummer Meadow, on the River Nene. Dressed as St Trinian school girls we'll be pitching a tent and raising money for Shelterbox.

New Girl!

We've somehow persuaded another strange and crazy woman to join our team! Carol Alexander will be training alongside the team as our reserve rower. It's a difficult position, putting in all the hard work, supporting the team and going to the start of the race and not actually going across. Basically if Carol is in the boat then one of us has had an accident or is having a baby!

Will tell you more soon...

Kipper x

Comments

It's a difficult decision and one every Rowgirl should take very seriously!

8th June 2005

To use a watery analogy we've been in a bit of a flat calm recently. Ocean rowing boats don't move very quickly when the water is still, but it gives you time to restock and chuck stuff over the side. So we've been re-evaluating, seeing where we're at before the weather changes and the water and winds move too quickly to keep up with ourselves.

So as the breeze picks up, and it seems to be going in the right direction, we're preparing ourselves for a barrage of weekends with the boat out on the water, raising money, talking to people and generally wondering around in knee length white socks.(It's a rowing thing...!)

So dates to come see us and the Pink Torpedo in June:

11th June - Reading Amateur Rowing Regatta
18th June - Womens Henley

Fancy popping along, would love to meet you and you can find out about the merits of scupper plates and chili con carne!

Kipper x

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June 2005:

Yes this is my online version of the Rowgirls newsletter 'Dig Deep, Row Hard!' It will be my own personal ramblings on the goings on of the Rowgirls, a team of four girls who plan to row the Atlantic in a 30ft pink rowing boat.

Can you believe it? Yes we're going to launch ourselves off into the deep blue yonder on November 27th. We'll be throwing ourselves from La Gomera and hopefully arriving 3000 miles and 36 days later in Antigua, beating the current world record!

We're trying to raise £49,000 for a fabulous charity called Shelterbox and you can check them out on www.shelterbox.org

All our info is neatly stored on our website www.rowgirls.com so check it out for more facts and figures (and I'm not just talking about us in our bikinis) on the Atlantic Rowing Race. But essentially this blog will be my personal thoughts on the preparations, humiliations and other 'ations' related to rowing the ocean for the second time!

Let me know what you think,

S x

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