Rowers within sight of world record

Thomas Cremona and the international crew of the Sara G will be on the home straight today, as they hope to row to Barbados late tonight or early tomorrow to possibly crush the previous transatlantic world rowing record.

The 22-year-old cancer survivor will have more than one feather in his cap by then, as he would also become the first Maltese person to row across the Atlantic.

“If they arrive between Monday evening and Tuesday morning, they would certainly beat the current record of La Mondiale which stands at 33 days, 7 hours and 30 minutes,” his father Alfred said.

However, the crew is not only racing against time for the record. Another boat, the Hallin Marine is also attempting to conquer the transatlantic title and is currently geographically ahead of Sara G.

This boat left from the Canary Islands which gave the crew a shorter distance to cover to Barbados than if they would have departed from Southern Morocco, Sara G’s take-off point. The Hallin Marine crew are expected to arrive in Barbados on Monday.

However, Sara G appears to have a marginal advantage in terms of crossing the Atlantic in overall record time and the battle for the world title should be close, Thomas’ father pointed out.

At 4 p.m. yesterday, Thomas’ boat was some 350 km away from Barbados. Weather conditions which could make or break the crossing were favourable yesterday and are forecast to remain so until the crew sets foot on land.

Earlier this week, there was a setback when the wind died down resulting in poor progress for a few days because of lack of assistance from wind and currents.

With temperatures soaring to around 40oC, the going is tough for the six men on board, however, the team spirit is reported to be very strong.

“We have the equipment, we have the determination, we have the teamwork – now we need the weather! If the weather favours us, we still have a chance at the record, and we will seize every opportunity to achieve our goal,” Thomas wrote on his blog on Thursday.

Echoing his son’s words, Mr Cremona, who speaks to his son regularly by satellite phone, said the team’s morale was excellent and rowing across the Atlantic had crystallised them into a cohesive, synchronised force.

“They are really pushing hard and determined to continue giving their total commitment until the end,” he said.

Thomas, he said, suffered continually with motion sickness for the first two weeks but has since recovered and has been feeling stronger over the past days than when they set off on January 5.

Thomas wrote online that life at sea was tough. “There are days when we struggle to stay on course as we encounter cross-currents or cross-winds. Other times, sea conditions are calm and we have to pull the boat through the ocean without assistance of a favourable current.”

All the while, their time on the Atlantic saw them through some unique experiences including dolphin, whale, tuna and flying-fish sightings, and a search-and-rescue plane checking them over in the earlier days of their row. An accountant by profession, Thomas survived Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia when only four years old. His Row4Cancer campaign aims to reach out and prove that there is life after cancer and also hopes to raise funds for Puttinu Cares.

The 22-year-old athlete wrote of his apprehension that the weather forecast told of winds in their favour but blowing at a testing 30 knots.

“Well, here we are, and we’ll just have to find a way to deal with that, and when we do, we’ll be fast approaching the shores of Barbados!” he concluded, typical of the survivor spirit he has become known for.