As I grab another baked bean sandwich and down a large coffee surrounded by my Labradors who snatch at the beans as they catapult into space I have this strange numbed aftershock feeling and question why do I feel so down?  The London to Paris Challenge/Race experience was fantastic and the REIVERS 12 crew were the perfect collection of guys in terms of humour, strength, fitness and gut non-fearing determination. The sponsorship and charity monies raised are staggering and still climbing and I am for one very proud of our achievement, overly thankful to our sponsors and supporters and over the moon for our selected charities.  So where is the hint of gloom coming from?

Having reached the pinnacle of fitness and race mentality the first broadside impact was the announcement at the breakfast briefing on Race Day that we may not cross the English Channel (or la Manche as the French prefer) due to apparent problems with the assumed French Authorities event approval.  This was temporarily brushed aside as we smiled for the cameras with CHASE patron and celebrity TV presenter Andrew Castle and reminded ourselves this was all for charity! 

The race start was explosive and well supported.  I knew from thereon our training would come in to play and give us a chance to do well.  The thought of not crossing the Channel was set aside as we targeted the leading crew and Ramsgate.  Our course was bold as we entered large swells and darkened skies to challenge the Gravesend crew whilst the Outloars were hugging the coastline in safer waters.  I will always remember Cox Colin warn us “prepare for wave and there is another coming and…………… OH MY GOD!!!! as he disappeared from my view in the tilted stroke seat position which resembled a scene from James Cameron’s  “Titanic.”

The second broadside was the organisers order to "abandon the race" on safety grounds as the weather and sea conditions rapidly deteriorated off Whitstable and Herne Bay and our cutter and safety boat resembled a vicious and unruly guillotine as we were tossed up and down during crew changeovers.  Five of the crew had gone down with seasickness, which threw our rotation schedule into turmoil although our thoughts were with the Gravesend crew who had capsized and thankfully survived a potential nightmare scenario. The arrival of hot thick Pizzas out at sea courtesy of the organiser’s life saving Rib was a sight for sore eyes and kept us warm in more ways than one!!  (First time I have witnessed pizza bags being used as survival blankets and body part warmers!!!)

The third broadside was the realisation at dawn on day 2 that the second and most salient leg for most of us was being abandoned due to high seas and that we would not be entering let alone crossing the Channel and that the likely restart would be Le Havre!!  The disappointment was further aggravated by the transfer by coach unceremoniously below the Channel via the Chunnel and being awarded third and last position on the first leg due to our floundering position in the roughest stretch of seawater. Its tough being competitive!!!

The eventual restart on day 4 at Le Havre Harbour was exhilarating as we calmly rowed alongside our opponents and support boats an hour before daybreak on the swollen sea to reach the race start line ……..a 106 statute mile third leg racecourse up the Seine to Amfreville.  As we prepared to do battle the angry Rib darted between us accentuating the adrenalin lift as we lined up for a rolling start.  The guy on the beach with night vision goggles would have been excused for believing France was under attack when the green light for GO GO!! was granted and we shouted BANZAI!!! place your bets now!!.  All that was missing was the attack flares!

The final broadside was the realisation that the trailing crew the Outloars would be starting 16 minutes ahead of us and 34 minutes ahead of the formidable Gravesend crew for the first two pursuit races each of approximately 25 statute miles long.  That meant we would have to row an average 38 seconds per statute mile faster than the Outloars to draw against them let alone beat them on the "sprint" sections. Gravesend’s challenge was even greater at a nonsensical  average of 81 seconds/mile.  This was eventually reduced to 22.5 secs /mile for us and 49 secs/mile for Gravesend by the Organisers. As it turned out our average row time for the whole event distance was 24.5 second per mile faster than the Outloars and we were 30 secs per mile slower than Gravesend which corroborates the controversy on the handicap calculations which were allegedly based on the third leg results from Le Havre to Amfreville where Outloars were curiously 37 secs/statute miles slower than us and 69 seconds slower per statute mile than Gravesend. Despite the added challenge we the REIVERS12 pushed hard on all sections without any moaning and groaning to the point of collapse!

There you are!!!! ….it is now out of my system!!!! with the full realisation and appreciation that what we the REIVERS12 achieved as a crew and for charity despite the setbacks was all in all mind blowing and great fun!.  Congratulations on a well deserved win Gravesend and no hard feelings Outloars……Until we meet again!…..(cue Viking Hornblowers!!!)

As for the REIVERS12 crew it was a great pleasure guys and in Jude style a large HOOO00ORAHHH!! (in no particular order).......to a fair and no nonsense from day one Captain Mike Hosie; Griz the engine and chief executioner; Treehouse John the go fast Jester; Jude Baby the fashion accessory and seducer at Bow; Colin the Cracken awakened;  "Can I have your concept II card please" Nick;   Tim & his perpetual list of missing kit; Dave the executive suite please" Bowden, Steve the Pizza seat man;  Larry the gallant Lamb (and secret Scotch Egg lover); Young Aaron "my wing man" complete with a trail of bread crumbs and last but by no means least Leigh our most loyal and top reserve!!

Before I conclude this summary I must not forget our dedicated safety boat crew on the GALLANT, namely Captain Mike, James and Toby who kept us afloat and in contention all the way despite huge hurdles set by King Canute and French riverside fishing parties and we Salute you guys BIGTIME!!!!.  I would also like to reinforce our thanks on behalf of the REIVERS12 for the added enthusiastic support given by the events official photographer Nickie Gould and the wit of her father Roger Gould who collectively kept us all smiling!!. There are many other names to read out but Ralph de Jong-Mellon deserves a mention as the enthusiastic instigator!!

Reaching Paris was a joy and the first sighting of the Eiffel Tower was for me the beginning of the end of a great adventure with the REIVERS12 that started in a champagne filled marquis at Henley Royal Regatta in July 2009 and ended with a bucket full of Stella in Paris May 2010!!.  What next???!!!

After all the training and all the organising the day of the race arrived rather too quickly. We met at St Katherine’s Dock at 06.00 to load the last remaining bits of kit and had a final briefing before rowing back towards Westminster Bridge for the start.

The bridge was busy with friends and families and it was a great send off.

The race stated at 09.00 and for the first 2 minutes we were in the lead! No doubt you can guess the rest!

After the first few hours rowing down the Thames, passing various landmarks such as the O2 Arena, the Thames Barrier and the Queen Elizabeth Bridge, the river changed into the estuary and became quite a bit rougher. The river banks disappeared into the distance making you realise just how small the cutters actually are.

We rowed further out into the estuary towards the North Sea and although we had expected things to be a little rough we had not expected to encounter sea conditions judged to be 5 to 6. As it got dark we took a course over the estuary sandbanks which
meant that as the wind increased our situation became more difficult.

Matters were made worse by a number of the crew suffering from sea sickness and at one stage we were down to only 7 of us fully fit. If you have not suffered from sea sickness it will be difficult to appreciate how debilitating it is – you are pretty much unable to do anything other than concentrate on keeping your lunch down!

With these conditions looking to worsen, at 20.00 and after 13 hours of rowing, the race safety officer abandoned the race and declared a survival situation.

Our cutter was determined to be in the most precarious position with the other crews having taken a route either side of the sandbanks and a line was attached to tow us to the nearest port.

Shortly after this the Gravesend team cutter was swamped and turned over, momentarily trapping their cox underneath with his life jacket having inflated (that is why rowers don’t wear life jackets Mum!).

This meant that the safety rib had to cut our line and leave us for a time in order to attend to the Gravesend crew who were by now in the water.

Once the Gravesend crew were rescued, a line was re-attached to our cutter although by now the sea conditions were too dangerous to allow a transfer from the cutter to the support boat and so the seven rowers had to sit in the cutter until towed into safety at Herne Bay by which time one of the crew was on the verge of hypothermia.



Once in Herne Bay all three teams were accounted for and medically assessed, and we were transferred to Ramsgate where the next morning the cutters were repaired ready for the Channel crossing.

Unfortunately because of a continuing deterioration in the sea conditions it was too dangerous to make the Channel crossing and the race was reconvened to start again from the French coast.

To give you an idea of the Channel conditions, our support boats took 19 hours to make the crossing and were on the limit of what they could cope with. We would have had no chance!

At this point I have to pay tribute to the support and safety boats who between them calmly and efficiently managed a difficult situation.

It was only after the event, when we were having a beer with them in Paris, that we were given a full appreciation of the difficulties that we had been in. They might look like they more than enjoy a good night out, but when we needed them, they were first rate.

The Seine section of the race provided very different conditions to those experienced off Herne Bay and although the river conditions were better, the three crews still had to contend with the commercial barges and other large vessels that use the Seine as a transport route.

Some of the barges are massive and are pushed from behind, so it is difficult to understand how they can see anything ahead of them. Fortunately our support boat kept us away from anything too large although the wash from the barges brought back memories of the North Sea!

Starting at La Havre at 01.30, the first stage of the Seine was completed more quickly than expected in 17 hours with a row through Rouen to Amfreville.

On the way to Amfreville a friend from Paris had arranged to meet us and deliver some liquid sustenance and so it was, that as we passed under Pont de Tankerville, Fred Bobo was (only just) seen jumping and waiving from the river bank.

We had wondered whether he would be on the bridge and attempt to lower things down to us but it would have taken a rope about 100m long to achieve that. Instead our support boat captain, Captain Biscuit (so called because he lives on ginger nuts) despatched the safety rib across to Fred and 3 bottles of Calvados were delivered, one for each of the 3 teams.

Arriving at Amfreville it became clear why this is an endurance race. The support boat has 2 sleeping quarters (one for guests and one for the crew).


The guest’s cabin would normally take 2 people. We had 4 people squeezed into the bunk; 2 of the team slept on the galley floor; 3 slept in the living quarter’s cabin; and the other 3 slept outside under the open cover on the deck.

This, on the coldest night in May that France has had for over 70 years. Enduring such sleeping arrangements was not part of the plan!

Whilst talking about living arrangements you might be interested to know that we survived on dehydrated expedition foods – basically the same brown food that had different names on the outside of the packs.

You would open a bag, pour in boiling water, wait for 5 minutes and then enjoy! Enjoy being possibly not the right word. The porridge was cooked the same way and to be honest I ended up eating that for the week as I could not manage the potato hot-pot or spaghetti bolognese after the first few meals.

Outside of that we existed on handfuls of nuts, chocolate, biscuits, dry fruit, pepperami’s, scotch eggs and anything else full of carbs and devoid of any other nutritional value.

From Amfreville, the flow of the river is controlled by a series of locks which allowed the race format to change to a series of handicapped pursuit stages. The pursuit stages were run over the 2 days…… and nights, with non-stop racing apart from short opportunities for a rest as the race flotilla manoeuvred through the locks.

The locks are massive and it was amazing to see the fully laden barges negotiate entry with inches to spare on either side. Our support boats would then be squeezed into whatever space remained before gallons of water raised us to the next level.

The “competitive” nature of some of the teams began to develop with the announcement of the handicaps for the pursuit section. One team had previously attempted to use the abandonment of the race on the Sunday night to gain an advantage on the grounds that they had made it to a port under their own steam.

The fact that they had been ordered to take the safer and shorter in-shore route and that there was a serious problem with the other 2 teams seemed to have been overlooked.

When the handicaps were announced they seemed generous in some regard and there were murmurings about this being the reason that one of the teams had been so slow on the leg that was used to measure and set the handicaps.

This did become a little bit of a problem and took on a greater importance than perhaps it should, probably because people were becoming tiered and grumpy but were still keen to compete and do well.

Despite the handicap issue this section of the race took in some of the best views of the countryside seen both during the day and at night as the race continued to the outskirts of Paris.

The pursuit races meant that as we always started in the middle between the Outloars and the Gravesend teams we were blowing a gasket to catch up the Outloars at the same time as blowing our other gasket to keep ahead of Gravesend.

Gravesend are excellent rowers and had the technique that we had not managed to develop in the short time that we had to train together.

They were relentless in their pursuit of us and we would constantly be scanning the horizon to see the white flash of their blades as they powered towards us. However, they only managed to overtake us once, on the longest pursuit section, where they also overtook the Outloars. Shortly behind Gravesend, we also overtook the Outloars in the one really exciting finish.

I have to say that if you thought rowing for 24 hours seems hard, the fact that you are racing towards and away from another team at a rate normally reserved for Boat Race crews, eyes bulging and your lungs bursting, have a go at a pursuit race over 15 miles!

Despite our moaning about the handicap we came a creditable second in the pursuit race and no-one can complain about us not competing!

Arriving in the outskirts of Paris on Friday night after 6 days racing, the crews rested overnight in preparation for the final short sprint into Paris.

Starting at 07.00 the three crews raced into central Paris to be met by a large crowd of well-wishers, families and friends standing on Pont d’Lena under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

It was great to see so many people and once we had come through the bridge and seen the other crews finish we managed to get to the bank and meet people. It was quite emotional.

The final stage was won by Gravesend Rowing Club who also won the overall London to Paris race in a rowing time of 53 hours. We were second overall in a time of 55 hours, some 2 hours ahead of the third team, The Outloars from Richmond.

After we said a quick hello we got back into the cutter and the support boat and had the Seine all to ourselves through the centre of Paris until we were met by the French River Police who were practicing swimming round the Ile de la Cite.

We had taken the South channel rather than the North Channel around Notre Dame but it is by far and away the best view and not for the first time did Captain Biscuit know what he was doing!

Anyway, once the police had checked our papers and it was explained where we had come from, we were allowed to pass and enter the Paris Marina where we had to unload the boat and get ourselves sorted.

An awards dinner was held in Paris later that day where the Reivers were given the “Endeavour” award, the citation being for sea-craft (surviving the first day!) and competiveness.

What made it all the more special was the cheer that we received from our competition which was by far and away the biggest of the evening.

Although bitterly disappointed not to have crossed the channel (guess what Helen?), which was part of our objective, there are times when you have to accept that the elements are just not going to allow you. We cannot change these conditions, only adapt.

Our challenge was to get to Herne Bay on the Sunday night and in the light of that everything else became a bonus.

But we have also achieved our other objective which was to raise the most money for charity and although we are still receiving donations it looks as if we will raise in excess of £70,000 for our two charities, Chase Children’s Hospice and Children with Leukaemia.

Thank you all for your generosity and your support - without that it we would not have achieved half of what we have.

Mike

The pursuits took as through from Thursday morning to Friday night and were a series of handicapped races. In effect, us blowing a gasket to catch

the Outloars at the same time as blowing another gasket trying to keep ahead of the Gravesend crew.

Unfortunately the handicaps were based on the 24 hour leg from Le Harve to Amfreville where we beat the Outloars by some margin so the handicap

prooved a challenge, but we gave it our all and came second in the pursuits (I think - subject to official confirmation). In any event on each leg of

the pursuit we made progress against the Outloars  and tried to hold the Gravesend lead on the overall race.

The final leg on Saturday (sorry I have to admit I am writing this from my bed on Sunday morning!) we had great fun.

Started at 7.00 and arrived at the Eiffel tower just over an hour later to be met by friends and families on the bridge. Quite a crowd! I was coxing, so

able to see everything and everyone shouting and waiving as we came towards the finish.

We came second overall with Gravesend Rowing Club coming a well deserved first.

After we had said hello to families and friends at Pont d'Lena we had a fantastic row through the centre of Paris taking in the sights and sounds of the city from a new perspective.

Rowing past Notre Dame we took a wrong turn and ended up being stopped by the French  river police on a rib who checked our papers!. Once they

understood what we were doing (or had done) we were waived on our way. A fairly typical reaction from everyone we have seen in France who have

been a little suprised as we arrive or row past!

Finally, arriving at Paris Marina we hauled the cutter from the water and cleared the support boat ready for a couple of quiet beers followed by quite

a few noisy ones!

Thanks again for all your support. I look forward to telling you more when I see you.

Mike

(from my bed somewhere in Paris!)

We had to row for an hour just to get to the start because we had to get through the shipping lanes. One I will chalk down to being an "interesting experience" as I was coxing.

The race took us from La Harve down towards Tankarville where Fred Bobo was waiting on the bank to see us through. With a lot of jumping and waving we spotted him and despatched a safety rib to collect some sustainance. Thank you Fred - a warm welcome to France indeed!

The rest of the journey took as through Rouen which meant we had to row past massive ships and barges that use the Siene as a main transport route.

After Rouen (which was quite industrial) we got into the nicer straight although if we were not rowing we were either eating or sleeping which meant we probably missed a lot of it.

We finished at Amfreville lock at around 21.00 having rowed 125 miles.

The interesting thing was then to find a place to sleep on a boat kitted out for 4 people. There were the 12 of us plus the 3 support boat crew! Don't ask, but we now know why this is an endurance event!

Crew on (thanks Fred!) good spirits, sorry - in good spirits!

A couple of flashpoints extinguished with typical "boys" humour; a few sore backs and the biggest blisters you will ever see!

We now go to the pursuit sprints (is that the right word for a 25 miles stage?)  between the remaining locks to Paris.

Thanks for your all your support!

Mike 

Conditions were good, no wind, flat waters, but big cargos going up and down from Rouen to deal with.

Taken at around 8:15, Location is 100m south of Tancarville Bridge

Gravesend are ahead of the pack by 500m

Taken at around 8:15, Location is 100m south of Tancarville Bridge

Reivers behind Gravesend in second place

Taken at around 8:15, Location is 100m south of Tancarville Bridge

The Outloars are in third place

On Monday 10th May Mike sent us this message:

It's very difficult! Waves were too much. One boat capsized (not us) and we had to be towed into a harbour. Lots of sea sickness and near

hypothermia! Not a great start.

Waiting to see what happens re crossing!

Mike 

The most recent up-date from the Reivers12, Tuesday 11th May:

Spent Monday recovering and repairing the boats but lost time so had to coach to France. We will row down the French coast.

Channel was not an option as waves were 3m last night (anyone seen a Perfect Storm?). Even the local Ramsgate boat people have stayed in port..

However, our support boats left at 10.00 Last night and are expected to meet us at 4.00/5.00 this afternoon in Fecamp.

If we start from Fecamp we will have to get to Le Harve as cliffs prevent any other option - no port between the two.. Other problem is that so much sea sickness means we only have 7 people who can cope with the sea.

Fecomb to Le Harve may have some of us in the rowing boat for 7 hours!

Otherwise we are all in good spirits!

Next update - hopefully from Le Harve!

Mike

Only two more days before Race Start and the adrenalin is starting to kick in big time!!!..

It is of course  a charity event and the more we make the better so keep donating as we row Old Father Thames,  the English Channel and the Seine.  It is also a challenging competition and we want to WIN!!!...... So look out Gravesend/Medway RC and The Outloars for the race of a lifetime!!!.....  We are the REIVERS12!

For those who have or are are about to support our charities...we salute you!

 ..........For those who are about to row against us we also salute you!! 

To follow the race and find out where we are and what position we are in etc., tune in to the organisers web site :-

www.london2parisrowing.com

PS If there was background music to this blog it would be the sound of  a 1000 Viking hornblowers!!! 

Contrary to popular belief, Gluteus Maximus was not played by Russell Crowe in Gladiator, but is the name of the largest of the three gluteal muscles in our bottoms. It makes up a large portion of the shape and appearance of the buttocks; pronounced “But-ocks” (by Forrest Gump). Basically this muscle group covers most of the human rear end.

Now with the obvious exception of our youngest team member, the Reivers12 have all undoubtedly learnt the importance of arse-covering in our daily routines, both at home and at work. Arse-covering is an essential pre-condition to survival on planet Earth; arguably ever since we dropped from the trees as the first Homo sapiens fending off the odd sabre-toothed tiger or even worse the missus if we didn’t come back with food. The term is highly relevant to today where the acronym CYA or Cover Your Arse describes professional and organizational practices that serve to protect themselves from legal and administrative penalties, criticism, or other punitive measures; our politicians display this skill with alarming ease. There are even flowcharts for this.

However, apart from all being very good at making excuses (sic) arse-covering, the Reivers12 have found a new meaning to the term CYA. Your arse is somewhat unsurprisingly one of the most vulnerable areas of the body when endurance rowing, such that if you don’t have a comfortable seat, the pain is undeniable and indeed debilitating in terms of rowing technique and being mobile thereafter!

The Reivers12 began their endurance sea training down at Hayling Island at the start of the year in the cold dark months of January; participating every weekend to date in sessions ranging in length from 2hr rotations in an 8hr outing up to a 36hr trial with a couple of longer 4hr in the boat sessions thrown into this endurance training for good measure. Now we are not all built the same way, but, almost everyone has had to deal with the problem of an uncomfortable posterior. In certain cases this was attributable to the dehydrated rations but in the main from the hard fixed wooden seats on which we will spend most of the race week from 9^th-15^th May. The efforts to reduce this problem have resulted in the trialling of a wide variety of household and other novel protection devices including:

Furry hot water bottles

Pet bedding (highly absorbent)

Self inflating camping pillows

Latex cushioned single, double and even treble layering

The universally painful Concept 2 gym rower latex “cushioned” seat

Horse Numnahs (pad that goes under the saddle)

An assortment of gel pads 

Sheepskin rugs cut up and referred to as “Larrys”

Compressed Foam (from Lidl)

Granny’s old tartan foot warmer

There have been others but we have now all learned one thing – unless you want a painful and numb bum you’ve got to get protection and CYA. Despite all our efforts to cover our arse in style and comfort we all expect to suffer some degree of discomfort during the race therefore there will be some very interesting walks to watch when we all emerge onto the streets of Paris.

It has been suggested that an immediate post-race competition ala Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks be held upon disembarking for all crew members; crawlers will be instantly disqualified!  

I recall thinking I must be crazy as I sat in the old rowing boat for the first time and rowed up and down the familiar Richmond stretch of the Thames at a snails pace with a bunch of complete strangers as my rowing colleagues at Twickenham Rowing club glided past with racing finesse.  After a couple of runs they were showered and drinking in the bar..... but not us as we we continued to trundle up and down the river from lock to lock in the August Sun!! 

I recall querying how on earth were we going to make it accross the English Channel in six days in this heavy old boat with pencil thin blades and fixed seat paddling.

I recall not mentioning my involvement with the London To Paris Rowing Challenge to my Twickenham RC colleagues when I returned to row in their Veterans eight on Wednesday evenings as I was conning myself into turning up for weekend training with the Reivers not knowing if I would fit in or be selected let alone handle the event.

However I recall becoming hooked with the challenge aided by the contagious enthusiasm of the instigators, Ralph de-jong-Mellon and Mike Hosie and the camaraderie that developed with them and Treehouse John, Griz, Ian, Tim and Nick. This was inevitably heightened by the life threatening experience of our collision with the catamaran ferry under the watchful London Eye last September 2009.  This however also marked the departure from the Reivers of Ralph and Ian for personal reasons together with a number of other members.  This left only six in the team who were bonded by the accident (affectionately referred to as the HARDCORE thereafter).

I recall briefly accepting this was the end of the challenge ironically just when Twickenham Rowing Club found out about my venture courtesy of the Press and the London Eye ferry collision but a meeting between the surviving six a few days after the accident (including Griz with his badly gashed and swollen leg) made it clear our commitment was bigger than ever. The recruitment phase was actioned in October 2009 with alot of vigour as Griz recuperated and the rest got back to work on the river.

I recall helping with the difficult selection of the recruits in November and December 2009 who were a mixture of non or experienced rowers with different ages, backgrounds, fitness levels and personalities. The resultant squad including reserves has turned out to be a great success in terms of rowing performance and team bonding.

I recall a lot of collective fun and hard work as we trained on land, sea and river through the Winter and into Spring and love the banter that perpetually exchanges between team individuals.

I am sure I will recall a great adventure and hopefully a REIVERS12 WIN when this is all over  although I have just realised I am back to where i was thinking when this all started.....  

Am I really CRAZY?!!!.......Watch this space!