British crew leading the world’s toughest row

The World’s Toughest Row - Pacific 2024 race left Monterey Harbour on June 8 embarking on an epic 2800-mile journey towards Hawaii.

Nine crews from seven different countries chose different strategies in terms of direction. Some crews went straight south from the start, while others took a more northerly route.

The British crew ‘Salty Sappers’, who lead the race and include Devonian Joshua Warne, have experienced days where the sun has been shining, only to have it suddenly pour down with rain.

The crew have recently done another hull clean but found there wasn’t much there except for a couple of molluscs. As the wind is expected to drop in the coming days, the team have already incorporated three-up rowing routines to maintain speed.

In second place are the Australian pair ‘Liz and Lena’, who are really getting those miles in after some not-so-good days. There is a lot of experience on this boat, as Liz is a seafarer with more than half a million nautical miles under her belt.

In third place are the British crew ‘Wild Waves’. Jess and Charlotte on board Cosimo 2.0 have not given up on giving the crews above them a fight right to the end. However, the team also acknowledge that what they have already done is amazing and something to be proud of.

As the crews enter a second month on the Pacific, they are currently experiencing some very frustrating conditions, but more favourable weather is on its way. After some stable days of wind and wave direction and the winds continuing to drop until they build again.

Winds will then be from the North East but they will have turned and, especially for the lead boats, winds will be more from the East. There will be some minor fluctuations but wind direction for all crews is good with consistent speeds of 15-20 knots. This should make for a fast finish.

Currents remain a key factor in boat speed and just a few miles can make the difference between having a current with or against you. Current forecasting and modelling is far less accurate than wind. However, the general trend is for some East to West movement.

It is worth noting that there is one circulating current between the fleet and the finish that runs West to East and is approximately 50 miles wide North to South.

At present, some crews look to be unable to avoid it so we could see a day or two of very different speeds from some boats which in such a close race and so near the finish could be significant. Wave direction is generally good though the swell continues to be messy.

For Rowing Ocean 4 Women (USA) it was an eventful few days after the start for Kaitlyn and the two sisters Gabe and Megan on board their R45 boat Julie. After consulting with the Safety Officers throughout the night, the team has made the difficult but right decision to head back to land and withdraw from the race.