The results:

We finished 130th out of the 1900 boats that entered; 49th in our class and the 10th out 27  J-109 crews, taking us just over 7 hours to complete. A really pleasing result.  It was an amazing experience and the weather conditions made it even more pleasurable as we racked up some impressive boat speed. For a full list and break down of results click here.

The final countdown has begun for the largest and most famous yacht race, the JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race which takes place tomorrow from Cowes. We will race the 50 nautical mile course around the Isle of Wight with a record entrance of 1900 boats.  We will be racing in the IRC Group 2 class as ‘J’nickit’ with the Jeez-Louise squad and will be preparing ourselves in Hamble this afternoon where the boat is currently moored.  

Sunday saw the second Indian Ocean Rowing Race 6 a-side football tournament held at the K2 leisure centre. 9 teams made the trip and the weather was certainly on our side this time! Please click on the diagram below for the final league standings.

After some cracking group games the tournament saw The Perfect Six vs Town Army and EVU play the best runner up of the groups; Bard FC move into the semi finals. The Perfect Six took Town Army into extra time with a goalless match. However, Town Army scoring three goals in quick succession to finish the game 4-1.

In the other semi final, EVU saw off Bard FC with two fine strikes in the second half to send them in to the final with a 2-0 victory. This left the final to be contested against EVU & Town Army. A heated first half ended goalless until early in the second half EVU opened the scoring followed quickly by another. Town Army started to look a little jaded after their semi final win and two late strikes from Ben Smith killed the game off and secured him the Golden Boot award. Final score EVU 4-0 Town Army.

Many thanks to everyone for all your support and helping the day run as smoothly as it did.

Last week we visited St Bart’s Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre and met some of the instrumental people devoted to the fight against male cancers.

We were shown around by Clinical researcher & senior lecturer Tom Powles, who gave up some of his time to show us the main departments that make up the research centre and explain how the money Orchid receives directly helps fund the centre’s studies. We also met Dan Berney who supervises the collection of cancer tissues from patients. His Histopathology programme has been a critical resource for all 3 laboratory research programmes.

The research teams are making good progress and producing some exciting results. Their work has resulted in better treatment as well as the potential for improving survival and a better quality of life for male cancer patients. We look forward to meeting up with Tom & Dan soon and we are both in awe of the dedication they have to their work. In the meantime we will try and raise as much money as we can for Orchid.

A couple of weeks back we competed in the Royal Escape Race (Brighton to Fecamp) with the Jeez-Louise squad. Unfortunately the wind wasn’t with use and after two hours in the race we worked out that our ETA at Fecamp was going to be 0800 hours the following morning so we bailed and took the boat over to Hamble ready for our next race. We have been sailing with squad over the past six months to get as much experience out on the sea as possible in order to be prepared for our Indian ocean rowing expedition and we have learnt a great deal from it. Below is a great photo from the Royal Escape Race.

Many thanks to Angus White the owner of Architectural Plants for his support of our Indian Ocean Rowing Challenge. His cheque was received the other week and has gone towards the payment of the boat.

Guy joined Orchid in their one mile walk over the Millenium Bridge, London on Thursday 22nd May. Over 300 people began the walk in Patanoster Square, St Pauls, with a mass celebrity following, including the legendary tennis player Pat Cash. After the walk Guy managed to grab the mic and mention our Indian ocean rowing race and the support we are giving to Orchid as part of our adventure – a great publicity stunt. It was a great opportunity to meet the founder of Orchid, Colin and see the progress he and the charity has made in the fight against male cancers. A St Barts Doctor was also there and invited both of us to see the work and research that Orchid carry out within the hospital. We will keep you updated on this trip.Thank to all those at Orchid for their support on the day.

A few weeks ago we put the de-cal stickers on the Audi, it took a couple of hours of concentration but think the end result is pretty damn good! (Shame about the car).