Indian Ocean crossing by oar

British pair row into record books

Two British rowers have become the first pairs team to row across the Indian Ocean.

Guy Watts and Andrew Delaney, both 25, from Horsham, West Sussex, claimed a world first this week when they won the pairs class of the inaugural Woodvale Indian Ocean Rowing Race.

Guy and Andrew took 102 days, 13 hours and 40minutes to row over 3,200 nautical miles in their custom-built ocean rowing boat, “Flying Ferkins”. The pair set off from Geraldton, Western Australia on April 19th. They made it to the finish line in Mauritius on July 30th at 16.40GMT.

The boys had been locked in an exciting head-to-head battle with the only other pairs boat remaining in the competition, “Southern Cross”. They reached Mauritius some 55nm ahead of their competitors.

Over their three months at sea, Guy and Andrew rowed on a gruelling, two-hours-on, two-hours-off schedule. The Indian Ocean is notorious for its challenging conditions: of the original 10 boats in the race, including four pairs teams, five were forced to drop out due to injuries and technical problems.

The boys regularly faced strong winds and waves up to ten metres high. They also had  ocean wildlife to contend with - they were trailed by sharks and circled by a blue whale the size of a doubledecker bus.

On finishing the race, Guy said: “We are overwhelmed to finally be here. 102 days sea in the Indian Ocean, in a boat just 24ft long has certainly been one the most difficult things I have ever done. We are elated to be one of only five teams to succeed in this monumental challenge.” 

Andrew and Guy had been preparing for the race for two years. While Andrew previously rowed for the GB U23 squad and Leander Rowing Club, Guy, an endurance enthusiast, had no previous rowing experience.

The boys raised £76,000 to take part in the race. Any further profits raised from the row will go to Orchid, the only UK cancer charity dedicated to fighting male cancers.

To read more about the record breaking row see: www.indianoceanrace.com