Thomas Cremona and his international team of rowers have claimed a world rowing record by covering a distance of over 100 miles/160 kilometres for each 24-hour period over the past 10 consecutive days.
Twenty-two-year-old cancer survivor Thomas said the world record had been confirmed by the Ocean Rowing Society International, the official adjudicator of ocean rowing records for Guinness World Records. The previous record was established on 15 December 2007 when La Mondiale had completed nine consecutive days covering a distance of over 100 miles/160 kilometres for each 24-hour period.
"This record was certainly not easy for the team to attain. One factor that contributed to this wonderful achievement is doubtlessly the terrific team spirit on board. Rowing in unison; supportive of each other throughout the challenges that arise from day to day - we are a force to be reckoned with! Another success factor is the weather," Thomas wrote in his blog.
The team is approaching the half-way point in its row on the Sara G across the Atlantic from Morocco to Barbados, hoping to break the existing mid-Atlantic rowing record of 33 days 7 hours 30 minutes, also established by La Mondiale.
The half-way point will be reached tomorrow or on Saturday.
The team, however, is not just chasing the clock. Another two teams are also trying to break the record on the boats ‘Hallin Marine’ and ‘Big Blue.
Thomas admitted that he had some 'agonising hours' of sea sickness but his condition is now at tolerable levels.
The weather, he said, had delivered a diversity of choppy waters, currents in turmoil and amazing waves.
"Soon after we started this expedition, I thought the four-metre high waves were awesome, and they were! So then, how can I describe the seven-metre waves? Seeing is believing, and seeing that size of wave from an angle so close to the water is beyond anything imaginable. The raw power of those waves is immense. And struggling to row up those moving mountains is, to put it mildly, tiring and our speed suffers accordingly. But every ‘uphill’ has a ‘downhill’, and the thrill of accelerating up to 15 kmh / 8 knots on the ‘downhill’ compensates to some extent!
"We have also been assaulted by three rogue waves over a 24-hour period. These monsters just appear out of the blue! Literally! We were knocked down a couple of times, and one wave swamped the boat. We were shaken, but strapped in, we suffered no injuries, and no damage was caused to Sara G. A cautious approach pays huge dividends – safety first! Always!," he said.