Posted: Apr 15, 2009 07:00 am EST
(TheOceans.net) Day 80 Olly dispatched “sad news”. He has decided to abandon his row around Antarctica. The lone rower reported that his progress was too slow; he was still approx. 160 nm in a straight line from New Zealand. “Thus our mileage made good is miserable and would work out if I was to carry on regardless in completion of the end goal in about 5 years.”

Here goes his report:

Weeks deliberation and consultation

“Day 80 'tis a rough old cruise indeed...I was sitting on a pile of ropes and drogues on deck looking at the moon and contemplating life and the wondrous solitude of the seas when the sea made itself known in the more physical sense of a wave over the boat and me...”

“After many weeks deliberation and consultation on various elements of the journey so far it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that we will be suspending the Global Row in New Zealand.”

Incredibly poor progress

“There are numerous reasons behind this bitterly disappointing decision. The main reason is our incredibly poor progress, simple arithmetic shows that in 80 days I have covered approx 1600 nautical miles, the straight-line distance from Tas-NZ is only 800 miles, and I am still approx 160nm from NZ.

“Thus our mileage made good is miserable and would works out if I was to carry on regardless in completion of the end goal in about 5 years...”

Problems with the boat

“In large this poor progress is down to problems with the boat. She does not like to go downwind of her own accord or indeed once the wind gets above 20 knots not even under oars.”

“Since the average wind speeds in the Southern Ocean are 20-30 kts this is obviously something of a problem. The boat is also incredibly heavy about 2 tonnes and on a calm day I can make only about 1.4 kts average, which is very slow.”

“We had anticipated making about 1000 nm a month as per my Atlantic boat but evidently this has not been borne out.”

Drift ice and ice bergs

“Another fact taken into consideration was that this is the worst year on record for drift ice coming out of the Ross Sea. With Icebergs over 5km long reported in the region.”

“This is obviously a great problem to me being solo and thus oft asleep as well as not manoeuvrable enough to avoid these larger icebergs.”

“We are also now very apparently moving into winter and it is not recommend to winter in the Deep South in any vessel - let alone a wee red rowing boat.”

Back to the drawing board

“So in short it would be belligerence and folly to continue regardless into the Deep South in our current state. Thus I am making for NZ where we will have a beer and then go back to the drawing board. We will look at modifying the boat; consider increasing the crew, etc. All options will be looked at in order to try and complete the Global Row.”

“The main criteria is being able to go fast enough to cross half the Southern Ocean in 6 months - i.e., the summer. So, sorry to be the bearer of bad news but the decision has been made.”

Oliver (Olly) Hicks, 27, departed from Tasmania in January 2009 in an attempt to row around Antarctica. He anticipates that it will take him some 18-22 months for the whole voyage around Antarctica. Olly will be at sea all the time, except for the planned over-wintering and resupply on South Georgia around June 2009, all weather depending.

The Brit plans to circumnavigate Antarctica at roughly 55 degrees south. From there he will drop south to pass below New Zealand's South Island before heading east across the South Pacific Ocean towards Cape Horn. There he aims to pass through the Drake Passage, at around 58 degrees south, before making course for South Georgia.

Olly will aim to stay in the circumpolar current (the ocean current that travels all the way around Antarctica) at roughly 50 degrees south. It is known that the Southern Ocean is the most inhospitable ocean in the world as there is no landmass to prevent the seas building.

Previously Olly rowed solo Eastbound across the North Atlantic, from New York to the Isles of Scilly, completing this voyage in 124 days. He also cycled 1609 kilometres, the full length of the UK, from Lands End to John O’Groats; ran the Marathon Des Sables in the Sahara; and participated in the Yukon Canoe race (canoeing 700 kilometres: the longest canoe race in the world)

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