So with birthday celebrations all wrapped up we entered day 55 in good spirits with the next milestone of reaching the magic 1,000 miles to go mark well and truly in our sights. For some reason this was taking an eternity but much like reaching the ½ way mark these milestones bring with them jubilation on the one hand but also so much anticipation about reaching the next one that it seems to take an eternity to get there – it’s like mentally you’ve already got there yet there’s still such a long way to go, which then makes reaching that goal so much more difficult. Once again we need to heed the advice of the legend that is Sir Ranulph Fiennes who warned to celebrate each mile or footstep as being closer to your end goal rather than thinking about how many miles to go...mmm easier said than done when you have an overly excitable mind such as mind!
Today started with a bang as stronger NW winds swept in helping to push us along the Mauritian super highway. This was like old times, with reasonable swells allowing S.S.G’Pa to surf serenely down the faces of the waves and then gallop along at good pace in between sets. Once again we were able to clock up some good, if not spectacular mileage, although i had a tingle in the bones that ‘spectacular’ was just around the corner.
The night shift was a particularly excitable one especially for Pete and I who drove G’Pa in to his first ‘storm’ – i use this term only because the winds we experienced were 40+ knots plus which i’m told is the threshold for a storm. The reality was this was just a severe squall as it only lasted about 30 minutes but what a roller coaster 30 mins it was. One minute we were bombing along without a care in the world, me with DJ Raman and Pussy Cat Dolls blasting out and Pete with his French lessons in full swing and the next we were both clinging on to the side of the boat fearing G’Pa was in line for a bit of a dunking – scenes not dissimilar to when you see those racing yachts with all the crew leaning on one side to help keep it flat. Anyway it was strap yourself in stuff, head down and pray to the lord of your buttocks and whilst admittedly a little hair the reality was G’Pa handled t magnificently and was never in any danger – infact he came out with his head held high having clocked up a bit more mileage thanks to the break neck speed of the winds. Yet again another experience to log away and my thanks to the convertible condom for its role in the squall...all helping prevent further antagonism of the nappy rash.
Stage 2 of rationing started in earnest today as we followed up the b’fast cut backs with similar savings on the mid morning meal of pot noodles and soup – now having to eat one or the other to allow the meal packs to stretch that little bit further. When we started Matt and Clair (Turnbull), our nutritional advisor, had put nutrition plan together based on consuming approx 6-6,500 calories per day per person. This was based on the assumed energy needs of a day on the oars and up to now this had worked pretty well – it would after all take an ocean liner of food to stop the weight falling off me given the hyperactive state of my metabolism...although i was careful to let the boys know that this was evidence i was clearly the only one putting any effort in on the oars! Anyhow with the new cut backs our calorie consumption was reduced considerably but there were ways and means of supplementing this, such as with more of the protein powder (Endurox) and rehydration powder (Accelerade) and upping the content of things such as milk powder, mash powder etc – not necessarily a gourmet’s idea of ‘adding’ to one diet but we needed fat and energy and would do anything to keep these levels as high as possible.
So all in all a good and on the oars and an upbeat way to start what would be an important phase for us given our potential food issues. If we could get through the next 10-14 days unscathed with good mileage under the belt then we should be able to return to some kind of normality with the food and hopefully enter Mauritius with a waistline bigger than that of my 4 year old nephew...if nothing else today was a good start.
Other news was that we heard the Bexhill boys were commenting on the fact they were having a few dramas with their seats – i’m told they said they were starting to squeak sending alarm bells that they may be on their way out. Well right now we would give anything to have some squeaking seats as the only squeaking coming from our rowing set up is invariably from Tom and I as we hit yet another bump on the sea and another lunge on to the ever painful buttock region...although to be fair it’s more of a wail of pain than a squeak!
News re team positions has us losing yet more ground to the Pura Vida lot with Bexhill still way out in front. That said we have a very defined strategy and the race is far from over at this stage...whether that strategy will pay dividends remains to be seen but DO NOT lose faith just yet as i think there are a few more twists in this remarkable tale yet to come...

Well as far as important days go on the crossing this was right up there because it was Matt’s birthday. Many moons ago we had hoped, and had reason to believe given the crossing we were expecting, that we might be in Mauritius for the celebrations but as it is we’re still some 1,000 miles away! That said Father Bannigan had returned from his audience with Kin Neptune over night – whether it was mission accomplished or not remained to be seen but our spiritual leader was back and that of great comfort to us all. Surely this combined with the need to get G’Pa to the bar would be enough to ensure a change in the tide.
 Dawn broke in glorious sunshine and...wait for it...the weather had taken a change for the better. After 3 days of graft and patient toil it appeared we had finally reached the corner of the current where it swung in to a more north westerly direction. Coupled with this was that the wind had shifted around and was now offering a puff of breeze, all helping our cause – it wasn’t significant but anything was better than nothing.  So now the weather had turned it was time to pin the ears back – we had an appointment with some ladies up in front and right now we were running late...mmm it was time to do what i for one seem to spend most of my life doing...chase, stalk, harass, call it what you may but in short ‘get’ the ladies – it may take some time but with a bit of patience and perseverance anything was possible, especially on this ocean.
For Matt’s birthday we had arranged a 40+km sea safari trip on a row boat, something dreams are made of. Unlike most boat trips the difference with this one was that it was a real hands on experience allowing the lucky recipient to help drive the boat...infact a requirement was that each member of the charter had to do 12 hours on the oars as well as cook their own meals and, if necessary do some hand pumping...this was all part of gaining a better understanding of what it used to be like in days gone by before the advent of automatic desalinator machines.
Sadly we didn’t see any wildlife but i’m pretty sure Matt had a good day, although he tells us he has done it before...53 times infact – ungrateful little bugger. We stopped at around 11 ish so he could open presents and i think he thoroughly enjoyed having to dress up like a 3 year old...although the solitary candle without cake was potentially a bit harsh given our food dramas!
So for the first time in what seemed like an eternity we made some good, if not spectacular ground today and the spring in our step/arms had returned with interest. You could hear the strokes were now more aggressive, the tempo had picked up and the aches and pains that had so dogged our minds for the past few days had now taken a back seat with all the talk returning to Mauritius.
Concern over food however was still a hot topic and whilst rationing of the snack packs had started talk was now of having to extend this to the main meal packs...suddenly thoughts of me turning in to an oar were becoming all too real a prospect. On this note should i be worried that both Tom and Matt are listening to the audio book ‘Miracle in the Andes’, about the Uruguayan rugby team who crash in the Andes and end up eating each other? I on the other hand I am listening to some Chris Moyles podcasts where chocolate cake seems to be hot topic...if only he knew the pain he was inflicting. Anyhow as it was Matt’s B’day we all agreed to start phase two of rationing tomorrow.
What else? Ah yes we had a bizarre email today from the Nick Lisoire, 3rd mate aboard MV Sun Princess passenger ship on route from Mauritius to Freemantle. They are following our progress on  board apparently and there’s an outside chance we could meet -  so, simon if you are reading this then we would be seriously grateful if you could drop off a wee food parcel on your way through – oh and some sat rails, dry clothes and any other creature comforts you can bare to part with. FYI our longitude should be somewhere in the mid 75’s and latitude mid 22.

Making waves:
- As part of their sponsorship leverage plan Telecom (NZ) have recently launched free prostate checks for all Telecom male employees over the age of 50. Within the first few days they have already had nearly 50 men take up the offer and here’s hoping all others will follow suit.
- Dingo – it’s probably no longer appropriate to refer to my yellow latex suit as the ‘condom’ because sadly it has lost both the neck and sleeves and so is no longer either safe nor protects...infact its lost its immersion(ess)! That said i shall be getting the knife to it and converting it further in to a pair of waterproof pants...mmm very fetching and I might just go for the ¾ length look.
- Many congrats to Jon Kai Fleming on his recent marriage and Nicky Hubbard who i’m told popped down the aisle last week as well.
Here’s hoping this weather’s here to stay because i for one cannot dream about chocolate much longer. Until tomorrow folks and hope you’re all well and enjoying the dot watch, infuriating as it must be at times! Also apologies if the grammar and/or spelling of my blogs is deteriorating but my one finger typing has taken a bit of a blow as the dreaded ‘claw’ hand condition has robbed me of one of my typing digits rendering me an even more useless typist than i was anyway! Ho hum at least i will leave this boat with two qualifies fingers on my right hand...

Not a huge amount to report from today apart from more of the same. The current pretty much dictated where we went and the only issue was just how much speed we were willing to sacrifice in order to fight a slightly more aggressive line – on the one hand we could just pin our ears back, run with the current in the hope of making a faster exit or we could try and battle it in the hope of making forward progress.
As it happened we spent most of the day going due north – it just seemed to make more sense rather than expending huge amounts of energy fighting a westerly direction for the sake of what would probably be the odd mile at absolute best.
The one thing that would help us counter act the current was the wind which currently was also blowing on a north north easterly direction but a phone call to Al suggested this would be on the turn in the not too distant future...what that meant was anybody’s guess but it did at least give us some hope. So all in all a pretty uneventful day of plodding.
While we were out there bemoaning the currents and the winds something far more awful was happening further back as solo rower Simon Prior, after encountering problem after problem finally decided enough was enough and decided to call it a day. Hearing this kind of news makes you realise just how small some of our problems were and infact what good shape we were in.
We all felt pretty desperate for Simon having kept a close eye on his progress over the past 53 days – as much out of pure admiration and astonishment of how anyone could go through this journey on their own as anything else. The one thing that really makes this race very special is the common hope all teams share for each other, and a common ideal that whilst this is a race the most important thing is that everyone makes it safely across to the other side. Every time it leaves really sick feeling in your stomach – from a combination of knowing of just how much work and commitment is involved in getting to the start line to the unimaginable pain/hurt that must accompany the abrupt end to a campaign. All the teams and individuals we met taking part are very special, driven individuals and i hate to see their dreams shattered like this.
 Simon had shown so much grit and determination throughout this race and for a long time was merrily storming through the field holding 4th place (to be fair he was too close to us and kept us honest for a good few days!)...and he was a soloist! How anyone could even contemplate doing a challenge like this on their own is beyond me and i hope and pray he realises just what an amazing achievement this has been. It would appear he encountered a number of problems with the boat that seemingly just became too much to bear and when coupled with an injury left him little option other to terminate his challenge. Anyway like the other crews who have sadly seen their dream taken away from them we wish Simon all the best and i for one shall keep my eyes peeled on the Indian in 2011 because i don’t think this boy knows when to call it a day.
So the fleet is now down to 5 teams, 50% the number that started. Here’s hoping there are no more bulletins of this nature.

Today started with fresh hope, a new dawn had broken and this was the beginning of a new brighter chapter in our Indian Ocean crossing. We had been taught a valuable lesson that we simply could not achieve this without the one thing that had brought us all together in the first place, that strong sense of unity and combined passion, purpose and above all else support for one another– it’s s lonely existence out here where your mind can and will wreak havoc, so the importance of having the support of your crew mates cannot be understated.
Whilst the wind wasn’t yet helping us we had it back in our sails, the sparkle had returned to the eyes and the focus was back on the matters in hand...we had a race to win, or at least a crossing to complete.
The girls and the Bexhill team had made great progress over the past few days and would probably continue to do so whilst we were stuck in this current, but we could only do what the elements would allow us to do. We now knew we were stuck in what i guess what a kind of rip current which would take us East, then gradually ease to North Easterly direction before swinging around to a North Westerly and then should finally spit us out in a Mauritian bound Westerly direction. The reality was this would probably mean a good 3 days of effectively going nowhere, or at best treading the same distance away from the finish and at worst would actually push us backwards but there was a bizarre sense of relief in the team because at least we knew why we weren’t able to make progress in  forward direction – may sound odd taking comfort in this but there’s nothing more unnerving than complete ignorance and now we could at least prepare mentally for a tough 3 days or so. Sadly this didn’t mean the rowing would be any easier because we still had to go at the same intensity to ensure we got out of this current in the shortest possible time. Anyway for now it was time for patience in the hope we would get out of the woods quicker than anticipated and then get back to the race proper.
The one problem this did raise was the food shortage as another 3 days meant another 3 days of food. We were already at our absolute limit and needed to make cut backs anyway to ensure we would be able to get through any more storms or other such delays that may happen between now and the finish. With that in mind we now agreed to cut back on the snack packs to one every other day. For now we would continue with the rest of the food as per normal but we would have to keep a very close eye on this and our projected finish time to ensure we had some, however small that may be, food for each day. This signalled the start of yet another chapter for us and one which we hoped we would never have to experience but as with so many other things that have happened it was just another challenge and we had to adapt to it appropriately...and it was only for a few weeks after which we could eat to our hearts content for the rest of our lives.
So that’s about it for today, suffice to say we started off on the long and arduous slog to try and get ourselves out of this current which we had to cross in order to get to the next stage. Stay with us though folks because whilst the dot may not move very fast, or may even go backwards rest assured we are in control of the situation and just have to swallow this rather bitter pill in order for long term gain. With any luck there are favourable winds on the horizon which may even help us get out of this sooner rather than later. Fingers crossed.