Team Heatwave back on dry land!

Manchester Airport’s adventurous duo, Team Heatwave, have successfully rowed across the Atlantic Ocean in 75 days. They rowed into Antigua Harbour on late afternoon Saturday 20^th March and are now back on dry land.

Manchester Airport is preparing to welcome home its two fire fighters, Dean Jagger and Neil Gyllenship – aka Team Heatwave – who are celebrating after completing their three-thousand-mile charity row.

The pair, who set off from La Gomera, Tenerife on 4^th January 2010; crossed the finish line at the Caribbean island of Antigua at the weekend in their boat, ‘The Spirit of MA’.

Neil Gyllenship said: “It’s probably the best thing I've ever done and in a nice way probably the worst thing I've ever done. It's something I am so proud that we've achieved and knowing that we have raised so much money for charity makes it all worthwhile.”

They have been rowing to raise money for Claire House Children’s Hospice, St Annes Hospice and children’s charity, Childflight.

Dean Jagger said: “We're finally back on dry land. It’s fantastic, but it was a weird feeling – my legs are still like jelly. You feel a bit like you’re drunk, but you’ve still got a clear head. It’s unbelievable. I can’t express how I am feeling. It’s been really tough and really hard, but all for great causes.”

The pair finished in tenth place out of 38 competitors – a gallant effort considering neither had ever rowed before, prior to entering the challenge. Updates on their progress over their 75 day adventure are available on their website: www.teamheatwave.co.uk

Blog Update – 11th March

The last few days has seen extremely difficult conditions with having strong southerly winds, basically, 15kts of winds coming at you side on, not only the winds but the waves as well. 

Despite this we were able to make progress, we consider ourselves lucky as most teams were on their para anchors.  We twinned up for most of the day, breaking for food and a short rest, our tactics paid off as we gained a place but more importantly made progress. 

We are now paying the price, our bums! and heels are roar, we ache all over but felt it was worth it.  Today we have a nice pleasant SE wind which is helping us along nicely.

Our footplate that broke is still holding up, looks like the repair will hold out!

We currently have 465 miles remaining, we are hoping to land in Antigua wee commencing 22^nd March.

On Monday we had a huge pod of dolphins pass us by, there were about 30 – 40 in the pod, a fantastic site to see, they didn't check us out just mozy'd on by.

Blog Update – 9th March

Over the weekend our steering footplate failed so we had to make a bodge repair on it during the night, the conditions were really good for rowing which was a pain, took us quite a while scrambling round in the dark, after a few hours we were back rowing again.

We have had several electrical problems:

• Compass light not working, having to navigate using the ribbons on the aerials and stars. 
• Cabin light not working, very annoying. 
• Batteries still playing up despite taking advise, we're just getting on with it and hoping it will carry us through.

Last night again the same steering footplate totally failed.  We only have one steering position unlike the other new Woodvale rowing boats so solely rely on the one that we have!  Through the night we worked on it, having to make some structural changes to make the repair more permanent.  Yet again putting us further behind!  All sorted now, should last the next 500 miles remaining.

Steering lines that have chaffed now have a back up in place, the spare steering line given to us was only a meter long, not fit for purpose!! 

We currently have 15kts of Southerly winds, not great, so Dean and I are twinning up a lot through the day to maintain progress, very hard going .  We are determined not to go on anchor again, so by twinning up this allows us more power making good head way.

We are both exhausted but are determined to get there as quickly as we can, our last big effort to take us across the finish line.

Happy Birthday Elliott!

March 1 update

As you know both Dean and I are firefighters at the airport, joining us in this year’s Atlantic crossing is another pairs firefighting team, Pendovey Swift.  Simon and Mike are also good friends of ours; we stayed with them during our lengthy period in La Gomera.  They are from mid and South Wales fire service.  We get on extremely well and keep in regular contact.  The banter between us is great as is with most firefighters.  Our goal along with theirs is to become the first pairs firefighting team to row across the Atlantic Ocean!

There now seems to be a race developing between the two-firefighting teams, although they were leading us in the early stages of the race, we soon caught them up and overtook them.  They then took the gamble of going south and it paid off for them, taking the lead, having done so ever since!  Over the last few weeks the distance between us grew to 97 miles, we were not going to be beaten by a couple of Welsh firefighters, the titles was ours! So we stepped it up a gear and reduced the lead to 40 miles, they are still further south of us, however, this time we are heading down towards them.  We aim to be on a par in a week to ten days or so, the real race I’m sure will be in the last week as we both scramble to gain the title of the first firefighters across!

Moods / Feelings:

Throughout our journey so far, Dean and I have been in good spirits, even during the difficult periods like 6 days in a storm, being on para anchor etc. Although these times are extremely frustrating and challenging, we seem to get through them ok.  We think this is down to our jobs as Firefighters.  We’ve maintained discipline on board, good house keeping, changing over on time and looking out for each other.  We regularly talk during the day about what it’s going to be like in Antigua and finishing this amazing adventure.

We’ve never been in this to race, our goal was to always cross as safely as possible, although saying this, we would like to beat the Welsh firefighters from Swansea, Mike and Simon (Pendovey Swift),

Toilets:

People often ask us about our toilet arrangements on board, so we thought we’d tell all!

To do a No.1 is straight forward enough for us blokes aboard Spirit of M.A, we simply fill a small ‘pee pot’ and then empty in to the ocean.  Wash hands and done with.

To do a No.2 on the other takes a little more skill, especially during rough seas. This will apply to both sexes!  We have a black bucket affectionately known as the ‘Poo bucket’ (our builders bucket).  Every morning at exactly the same time, Dean and I separately will go for the ‘Poo bucket’, sit down at the end of the boat, the other person in the mean time has stuck a towel round there head so not smelling any unpleasantness.  You then squat over the bucket and do your deed.  Once done, we use baby wipes, then lean over the side of the boat and the empty contents, drop some Dettol into the bucket and thoroughly wash out, especially as the bucket remains on the open deck.  Then it’s time to wash our hands and back on the oars, job done!

However, during a storm (remembering we were in one for 5 days a few weeks ago), we have to hold on, things liven up, there is always about an inch of water in the bucket to stop things sticking (sorry if that’s too much info), this tends to slop around which can be interesting, lets just say that you might not just be washing your hands!

Cooking:

Cooking is a pleasant necessity as we all like meal times.  Food on board is ok, some meals better than others.  Out here there is no menu, no supermarket just what we carefully chose back on dry land (or should have done). Dean and I foolishly read the meal contents of the packets rather than individually try them.  This was a massive mistake.  For instance, I thought freeze-dried Scrambled eggs would be a cracking breakfast, so, needless to say, we brought shed loads!  Once on board, cracking open one of these packs, famished with hunger, adding the necessary hot water, leaving it for a few minutes, what did we have?  The most disgusting pieces of what we can only describe as sponge.  All is not lost, being a couple of chunky Firefighters (not now may I hasten to add) we brought along more food than was actually required.  We do have a choice of Porridge, Muesli or Granola for breakfasts, these are great, especially when we add a broken up Yorkie bar to the hot porridge.

To cook food we simply use what is called a Jetboil, a fantastic piece of kit, which is a burner stove sat on top of a gas canister, click and go, takes about a minute to boil two cups of water.

Personal hygene:

 One of our favorite times of the day around 1600hrs, both Dean I take 20 minutes off from rowing jump in the water, back out lather up with shower gel then dive back in, once we’ve had a look round for sharks of course.  This means we’re nice and clean after sweating all day and have cooled down and re-energised afterwards. 

Laundry:

We’ve both only worn the same shorts and T-shirt for the whole duration so far. Before you make judgment, we wash our shorts and T-shirt every week.  Don’t forget we row naked so the clothes aren’t too bad.  It is such a nice feeling to put clean clothes on, especially after a wash.  We have to wash our pillowcases alot more because we are covered in sun cream everyday and the pillowcases can become crusty. 

House keeping:

We regularly clean the hull from marine build up, just an excuse to get in the water really.  Also tidy the two cabins and of course, maintain a nice clear and tidy deck.

Communication:

Our communication is done via our SAT phone, emailing and using our VHF radio.  Whenever we see a ship of whatever nature, we’re on them; we call them straight up via VHF Ch. 16 just to talk to someone different.  We email throughout the day, blog and keep in touch with our families and friends.  Every Monday we call our committee team at Manchester Airport and the fire station to keep them updated on our progress.  Every Wednesday we call BBC Radio Manchester where various schools and groups have been invited in to do a prerecorded interview with us, these are great as they keep our morale high.

Injuries / Mishaps:

Our major concern on board was always dealing with an injury or illness.  Although we are carrying a comprehensive medical kit (including prescription drugs) and the fact that both of us are Trauma trained, the thought of dealing with an incident with minimal equipment, being miles away from help and so isolated was daunting.  So our goal of being careful, tidy and disciplined was paramount.  But as with any journey or adventure things do happen. 

On the first day of the storm we had just deployed the para anchor when a huge wave crashed over the boat broadside on.  This caught us by surprise, I was thrown onto the oars, where I managed to stay, Dean however was thrown to the front of the boat, spinning in the air and landing awkwardly on his leg, as he landed, he hit his upper thigh on the seat rail.  I really thought he had broken his leg.  What a place to be with a broken leg, especially during a storm.  Although extremely painful and swollen it turned out that it wasn’t broken to our relief!  Both of us have fallen a number of times, it’s just what happens on these tiny boats, even though we’re holding on and harnessed on.  Getting splashed when cooking is a daily occurrence, though we are getting better at turning the Jetboil off in time.

Shifts on board:

Day shifts:  1 hour on, 1 hour off throughout the day, we start days at 0700hrs right through to 2300hrs.

Night shifts:  2 hours on, 2 hours off throughout the night between 2300hrs – 0700hrs.  We hate the nights as it is very hard being out on deck on your own. The stars are amazing out here I am that sad that I did try to count them once!

The noise the ocean makes at night is unbelievable, waves, wind, all sorts.  Then there’s this Tennis court I keep rowing past on my right hand side, what is that all about! There isn’t one in case anyone’s wondering…. Dean had an old wooden shack constantly on his right hand side.  I think they call this sleep deprivation.  So nights aren’t our favorite.

The Sun rising is amazing and special, and always makes you feel good no matter what.  Wherever you are, you see the sunrise and wow…  Sun sets are also amazing but you know the night shift are looming!

Happy Birthday Neil

Yes, it was Neil’s birthday on Friday, and what better way to spend it than rowing naked across the Atlantic?!

Here we’ve got an interview that the team did with Rock Radio last week, split into two parts:

Part one

Part two

And also a link to an interview the boys did with Key 103

Enjoy!

12th Feb update

Hello Everyone

Not much really been happening except, rowing!! He he

We have started phase 2 of our journey, the last 1800 miles straight into Antigua. We are now heading directly west. We have broken phase 2 down into three parts (3 x 2 week stages) as follows:

Stage 1. 30.n – 40.n (600 miles) 2nd Feb – 16th Feb.

Stage 2. 40.n – 50.n (600miles) 16th Feb – 2nd March

Stage 3. 50.n – 60.n (600miles) 2nd March – 16th March

This is a lot better for us to handle broken down like this, constantly looking at a reducing 1800 miles seems never ending. All our calculations are based on an average 24hr speed of 40 miles. Obviously all this depends on the weather and conditions. We are hoping to exceed this target of
course, fingers crossed.

Life on board is still very focused and positive, the goal now in our sights! We have both lost a lot of weight, it’s really noticeable now, the beards are bushing out and the little growth on top (for me anyway) we don’t like the beards but as we didn’t bring any razors, its tuff luck!

Went for a swim yesterday just to cool off and have a wash, will be doing the same today. No sightings of anything like whales or dolphins. We do get a visit from the odd bird fairly regularly but that has been it. No ships, nobody!!

Everyday really is the same, it’s baking hot here, and it’s like rowing in an oven. The seas are really calm with a slight ripple, no winds at the moment, although they are due to increase over the next couple of days from the east, which is great. We row a lot faster with an easterly wind pushing us along, it’s so much harder without any wind, like rowing through pea soup!

It’s been calm enough for us to have our music blasting out on the deck with no waves crashing over the ipod.

This morning was thick fog, which was quite spooky but is glorious sunshine now! We should reach the half waypoint this weekend they hope and we are doing roughly 50miles rowing a day and making great speed!

A few flying fish have landed on their boat which are really slimy when they pick them up to throw back in the water.

So spirits are high aboard S.of MA.

Your questions answered!

We sent all your messages from the blog onto the boys, and they were hugely pleased to receive them all, so keep them coming! We also asked them a load of questions, which they’ve answered here.

Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet donated, please click here to help support their charities.

Thanks for all the messages, how great is that!!

How hot is it: It’s around 25c, very hot when all you do is row!!

What are the swells/waves like: They have been huge, I have surfed all my life and never seen anything as big as these, if you can imagine a row of terraces, maybe slightly taller, coming at you and throwing you around, that just about sums it up!!

Any messages for family or colleagues: Thanks to everyone for all there continued support, absolutely overwhelming, thank you.

Have you seen any interesting birds/sealife: Dolphins, Pilot whales, have heard a grey whale during the night. We now have a tenant, a Mahi Mahi, a type of dorada, about 3″ long living under the boat, harmless thank god.

Have you cleaned your boat from the water: Yep, been in several times, although, when we had the bad weather last week, we were on our para anchor so stationary, all the small fish underneath cleaned all the marine life living on the hull, great.

How much sleep have you had: Sore subject, not a lot, worst part of the trip, the nights, we try and cat nap when we can.

Are you starting to chafe: Not many places that aren’t, backsides are pretty bad, under the arms and bad blisters on the hands. Coping ok though, you just get used to them.

How is it rowing naked: Great, no one around so off comes the kit!

Have you seen any of the other teams: Not seen any, but have been in touch via VHF radio and Sat phone.

Are you on course: Absolutely, we’re just plodding along nicely, using the conditions to our advantage, such as the easterly winds, which help us along.

Can you hear any noises: You wouldn’t believe what you think you can here, it’s an amazing place to be, especially at night, all sorts of weird things and noises going on!

Thursday's update

Well we are now in day 2 of phase 2! We have made great progress, we have set small goals and little milestones to keep us going, ultimately, Antigua being the goal! We now have less than 1800 miles to go, we really feel like we’re on the home stretch. Will be chuffed to bits when we have knocked off that 1000 mile marker.

Both been in the water today for a wash, so good to cool off and freshen up.

We have a tenant who lives under the boat. A 3′ Mahi mahi, it’s a type of Dorada, my dad tells me they are harmless (which it appears to be so far) and very good for eating. Although we have fishing equipment in case of an emergency, we wont be fishing otherwise.

All injuries and aches that were sustained last week are well and truly on the mend!

Food is going down ok, surprisingly, not eating as much as we thought we would. We have both lost a considerable amount of weight, which we’re thrilled with. We also both have beards, a first for us. Dean is the lucky one growing a full set of head hair, me on the other hand, the odd clump beginning to sprout nicely, unfortunately I didn’t bring a comb so can’t do a comb over!!

Nights are the hardest, obviously now in a routine; it’s still the worst part of the crossing. The best part for me is sunrise, there’s just something special about it and fantastic to watch as it pops up over the horizon.

We both get a buzz receiving emails from our families’ daily, a real source of comfort and a huge boost.

We are extremely lucky, as we both still feel really positive and upbeat about our challenge. It is so easy to get down and become negative, this would only ruin the crossing. We on the other hand talk regularly (no one else to) and make sure the other is both fine and feeling ok. We both maintain good discipline on board, comes with the nature of our jobs, being Firefighters.

We constantly talk about Antigua, what our first meal will be, shower, clean bed and a good nights kip!!

Catch up soon,

Kind regards

Neil & Dean, Team Heatwave

Team Heatwave update

Well we are still stuck in this storm on our para anchor, likely to be until Tuesday.

The problem is the winds are at 30kts and blowing from the west, the direction we want to be heading! We have been like this since last Wednesday morning. The good news is that we have drifted south 37 miles, which is a great help. We are hoping to get going again on Tuesday evening, fingers crossed.

We had a near miss on Friday, a wave hit us side on and threw us both across the boat, I managed to grab the oars but Dean was thrown to the back of the boat, twisting in the air and landing awkwardly on his upper thigh bone, I thought he had broken his leg, luckily he’s been ok, just severe bruising!

We now have company, in the way of a 3 foot Mahi Mahi, turquoise in colour, a beautiful creature. He/she lives underneath the hull for protection against large predators such as sharks! Only thing is it might attract the sharks. At least we’ve been able to watch him throughout the day. We’ve named him Nemo!!

Nothing else much happening really, just a little frustrated, as we’re not rowing, but at least we’re drifting in the right direction, the whole fleet by the way are on their para anchors too!