Historical Blog Archive

Can't believe you're nearly there - such an amazing achievement and so very proud of both of you. Who would have believed all those years ago in the early days of Forest Boys that this would be happening now!! What stars and inspirations you both are. Can feel the excitement of all of you who are in/on your way/about to go to Mauritius, wish we could all be there too. What a party its going to be! Give the boys a huge hug and look forward to you all coming home. Come on you men, it's in the bag!! Sue & Geoff xx

Our eyes are on the edge of the horizon, as you can imagine, where the rolling Oceans meets the Reef ; can only just hear the powerful roar as it hits and disappears again. We are getting very excited ~ a few more days then something we have been waiting for for sooooo long. As soon as we greet them i promise everyone we will give them your messages. Just keep sending them and thank you for all your support over the last few months. This is sooooo powerful ~ masses of love to all. xtina and nigel

Guy I've checked. You will definitely be the first man with a baboon's bum to row the Indian Ocean. Congratulations.

Lads, a news update on the Woodvale site confirms that last week's epic row is a RECORD for the greatest Distance To Finish in any 7 days for any boat in this race!! FF's DTF for 19th - 26th July was a staggering 449nm. An average daily DTF of 64nm! This beats the record held by the 8-man Aud Eamus of 442nm set in May. http://www.indianoceanrowingrace09.com/news/article/57/ferkins-establish-best-7-day-dtf-mileage We all thought it looked good but that is amazing! Well done the pair of you - not long now and you'll be able to see land. Keep hunting those records! Rx

"On these sands and in the clefts of the rocks, in the depths of the sea, in the creaking of the pines, you'll spy secret footprints and catch far-off voices from the homecoming celebration." - Homer. You will not see us but all your loyal dot followers will be there in spirit on the beach, counting each stroke of the oars until you safely reach the shore. Let's put out the flags. You're nearly home. With love Jill and David Holmes

Haha, thinking of you sitting on a beach in Mauritius with beers in hand, it's not that easy to feel sympathetic about your long flight ;) Enjoy your time out there!

Guy and Andrew, not far to go now, you have done so well, just amazing...keep at it....a a nice warm shower, a comfortable bed, lots of cold beers...you both deserve it. Bet you cant wait!!! Well done to you both. We are looking forward to seeing you and hearing all the stories when you are back. Trudy and Martyn....

They deserve to slow down a bit - after all they hold the record for the best DTF (distance to finish) over 7 days of 449nm - better than Aud Eamus at a mere 442nm. They also share the best 24 hour DTF with Pura Vida. The welcoming party should have another lager or two to celebrate.

Xtina , Nigel and co.....so pleased you have arrived in M safely!........I do hope the lager drinking isn't too taxing after the flight......no doubt Guy and Andy will soon be there joining you all, and hopefully, not too far behind will be Sarah. I'm not sure which she'll want first.......bath, beer, CHOCOLATE , G and T but maybe it will just be a HUG. SO excited for you all! HUGZ Helen ( Sarah's Mum)

Wow - the boys journey will soon (hopefully!!) be coming to an end with their safe arrival in Mauritius, struggling to find the words for once......!! Cannot believe this huge adventure will be over and also wondering how the hell i'm gonna spend all the time i'll have on my hands when there's no blogging, blob watching, nm maths, geography tests and thoughts of the boys to occupy me!!! Give it all you've got leg-ends and see you in Mauritius!!! For the last time..... ....Petit Out xx

Guy & Andrew, You must be so elated to be this close to accomplishing such a challenge! I'd imagine you have found energy you never thought you would have at this stage in the race given your eagerness to see land! You should both be so proud of yourselves for pushing through all those pain barriers - just a few more days to go - incredible! The well deserved celebration in Mauritious is nearly upon you. If it helps you, think of the videos that were made for you and in particular the one from my brother and I..... KEEP ON ROWING towards that sprint finish!!! Andre' Out.

Guy & Andrew, I've just started working with Tom and have only just heard about this massive adventure of yours. What a task to set yourselves! I just wanted to say that the support here for you is immense. Everyone's watching the site and keeping track of how you're doing. You're so close to the end now and you should both be so proud of yourselves. I'll keep watching the dot and keep an eye on here until you safely reach Mauritius. What an achievement! Not long to go now until it's party time! Kirsty

Well then boys - only a matter of days now. How bloody exciting! Back to (not so) sunny old England, Smith & Western, New Curry Centre, Beer, CD's, DVD's, running, the gym, Bar Vin, Shelleys, work, internet, TV, girls, friends, family, Rye, Man United...um - some to look forward to, some definately not on the to do list! Seriously boys - i dont know what else to day other than how proud Anna and I are of you, can't wait to see those beards and chat through everything you have been through. Safest last few days Craig x p.s. "Dutch girls must be punished for having big boobs. Now, you don't punish someone, Dutch or otherwise, for having big boobs" "If anything, they should be rewarded"

Just seen your progress on the site today and I think you should know you are going to have to turn right soon!!!...I am sure its all part of the plan...Great progress, keep at it, you are doing so well...see you soon and make sure the other guys dont close the gap...Guy and Andrew knowing you as I do, I am pretty sure that's your no 1 priority...Take care.. By the way I am a bit worried about Craig sending you kisses and all!!! What did you guys get up to in Asia??? Enjoy the beer and treats when you get there.. Martyn

Oh my god!!! how amazing have you both been!!!???? The end is in sight now and you will be rewarded for all the hard work and effort put into this challenge. I bet everyone waiting for you in Mauritius have constant churning stomaches as they eagerly await your safe arrival back on land. Enjoy your last few days at sea. and well done to you both. Make sure you pop into Bard when you get back to tell us all about it. lots of love wendy and ryan xxx

Under 100 to go now! - Row it home boys!

Not long now fellas - almost down to double digits... 100 days is a long time to spend at sea but soak up the feeling, the view, the atmosphere and the expanse of blue while you can. very soon you'll have Mauritius in sight and it'll be a final dash to land. btw, with SC posting a slightly better DTF over the last couple of 24hr, has anyone done the maths to see how much quicker than FF they would need to be to give the boys any cause for concern? R

At the midday update FF had 106 miles to go and SC had 160 miles. If FF continue to make the same DTF as they have in the last 24 hours (47.78nm) they should finish late Thursday afternoon somewhere around 5:00pm - at my best guess. To beat this SC will have to up their efforts to more than 72nm per day (about 3.12knots) - which is unlikely.

Thanks johnp - makes sense. Come on those Ferkins!

Wow !Here we are in the UK suffering the English Summer, whilst the Watts family are holidaying near the Indian Ocean , & as always are waiting for Guy to turn up! Seriously though ,I cannot believe that the race is nearly finished & know that several people (who I will not name) will be both immenselyproud & relieved at the same time! I do hope that johnp is correct , both Guy & Andy will certainly NOT allow their efforts to date to slow them down as it were. I am sorry not to be able to be at the arrival of FF but wish you all so much love & cannot wait to hear all when you return to the UK. And of course read the Book !!!! Rox xxx