Wanted: Operations Manager For Rower Attempting Circumnavigation of Antarctica!

Looking for a new job? Are you tired of the day-to-day grind of your current occupation? Want to work closely with an outdoor adventurer and explorer? If you said yes to any of the above, then I just might have the gig for you. It seems that Ollie Hicks is gearing up for another attempt at rowing around Antarctica, and he is in need of a good operations manager. Who ever gets the role will have an important position to fill, taking care of a lot of Ollie's needs while he is out on the water once again.

The details of the position have been posted at EscapeTheCity.org and can be accessed by clicking here. The first thing you'll need to know is that you must be living in the UK to take on the job, which pays £20k a year. (That translates to about US $31,500 for those scoring at home.) The job description was posted on January 6th and there is a deadline of February 19th for those who are interested.

There are two things that I take away from this. 1) I really need to be in the UK so I can get a job like this one, and 2) It's good to hear that Ollie is planning his return to the water. For those who didn't follow his adventure last time, Hicks had planned to make the first rowing circumnavigation of Antarctica, and set out to do just that. After having some issues with the Australian government letting him depart from Tasmania, he quickly made a change of plans and set out from New Zealand instead. But, he ran into issues with the design of his boat that made progress nearly impossible in the challenging and cold waters of the Southern Ocean. Hopefully he has resolved those issues with the boat, which he lovingly dubbed the "Flying Carrot," and he'll have a real, legitimate chance of completing his expedition this time out. Either way, it won't be an easy one.

I'll posted updates on Ollie's progress as he gets closer to getting underway.

Virgin Global Row: Olly's On Land!

The details are still a bit sketchy, but it seems that Olly Hicks, the intrepid adventurer from the U.K. who set out to circumnavigate Antarctica in a row boat as part of the Virgin Global Row, finally made land fall in New Zealand a few days back. There has been no updates to his blog to indicate this, but looking at the Google Map on the front page of his site seems to indicate that his progress is now stopped with the boat reaching the southern edge of New Zealand.

Olly announced a few weeks back that he was abandoning his quest following weeks of toil at sea that saw him making much slower progress than he had originally expected. He blamed most of the issues on his boat, the Flying Carrot, saying that it didn't track well in the brutal winds of the Southern Ocean.

Despite the fact that Olly made it clear that he was done with the row, at least for now, he still had to reach dry land, and it has taken him an additional two weeks to do just that. His last blog post was two days ago, and it tells an awful tale of battling nasty weather conditions just to make it to shore. In the end, much to his chagrin, Olly had to be towed into Pegasus Harbour on Stewart Island.

For now, Olly will rest up, wait, and see what happens next. He hasn't ruled out making another attempt, but a boat redesign will be in order first. One thing is for certain, I'm sure we haven't heard the last of Olly.

Virgin Global Row Update: Olly Calls It Quits

Just starting to dig out on all the things that have been going on since I left, but I didn't notice that Olly Hicks, who was attempting to circumnavigate around Antarctica in a row boat has decided to abandon the attempt once he reaches New Zealand.

Olly made a post to his blog over at the Virgin Global Row website a few days back announcing the decision, which wasn't an easy one. Essentially it came down to the extremely slow progress he has seen since setting out 82 days ago. In that time, he has covered roughly 1600 nautical miles, but the distance to New Zealand is just 800nm. Considering the length of the journey ahead, Olly figures that it would take him 5 years to complete the row, far longer than he had expected or was prepared to commit.

The British adventurer blames his boat, dubbed the Flying Carrot, for the extremely slow going. He says that she tracks terribly in the wind, and anything over 20 knots in speed kills forward progress, even while using the oars. Considering the legendary winds of the Southern Ocean average more than that in speed, you can begin to see how frustrating this has been for Olly.

He now hopes to make landfall in NZ sometime in the next few weeks, and he says that the trip was not a total loss. He learned a lot and will take those lessons with him into his next endeavor, whatever that may be. Something tells me we haven't heard the last from Mr. Hicks however, and it won't be long before he's planning another expedition.

Get home safe Olly!

Ocean Rowing Updates: Olly Rows On, Sarah Back on Dry Land

A couple of quick updates today on the two major ongoing ocean rows that I've reported on recently.

First, the big news is about Sarah Outen, who is hoping to become the first woman to row solo across the Indian Ocean. She set off a week or so back from Fremantle, Australia with her sights firmly set on reaching Mauritius, and doing so in record time. She also hoped to become the youngest person to ever achieve the crossing as well.

According to her blog however, that quest will be delayed a bit. It seems that the electrical systems on Sarah's boat went out and she was forced to call for a tow back to land. But fear not, while the boat is being examined, Sarah says she'll restock her supplies, rest up, and prepare to head back out onto the water as soon as she can. She's not quite done yet.

Meanwhile, her fellow countryman, British adventurer Olly Hicks, continues his attempt to circumnavigate Antartica by row boat as part of the Virgin Global Row challenge. After a slow start, that included a week of basically standing still, Olly seems to really be in the groove now, and making solid progress as he rows south and east, to drop below New Zealand before heading out across the South Pacific.

Olly continues to update his daily blog as well, with insights into his day to day life aboard the Flying Carrot. In a recent post he laments the build up of barnacles on his beloved boat, saying they only serve to remind him of how slow he is moving, saying that at times he feels like "little better than drift wood with lights and music!" He's also endured some foggy days of late, which hasn't brightened his mood much, but he seems focused and intent on just taking things one day at a time, happy to be making positive miles.

If everything continues to go as planned, Olly should reach South Georgia around June, where he'll take a break from the water, wait out the winter, and then continue on his way. All told, the expedition is expected to take 18 months to complete.

Virgin Global Row Update: Rowing and Reading

Reading the latest updates from Olly Hicks on the Virgin Global Row website leads me to believe that the British adventurer has finally found his rhythm and gotten into a routine. He continues to make good progress, after struggling early on, and his tracking system shows that he is generally moving in a south easterly direction these days, far better than the backwards drift he was experiencing just days after he launched.

For those that haven't been following Olly, he is attempting to become the first person to circumnavigate Antarctica in a row boat. He plans to be at sea for approximately 18-22 months, with a couple of resupply stop overs mixed in as well. The planned route has him dropping south below the 50th degree, before proceeding east, crossing the South Pacific Ocean, round Cape Horn and through the Drake Passage, before heading towards South Georgia. If all goes according to plan, Olly will arrive there in June of this year, where he will take on supplies and wait out the winter before heading out once again.

In his latest blog posts, Olly talks about his long days behind the oars, some better than others. He mentions that he has seen only one ship so far on his journey, which is not unusual that far south, and he seems to be passing the time by reading a lot. I'm not sure how many books he brought along with him, but he's knocking them off at an alarming rate. In today's dispatch he notes that he completed three books today alone, and since I'm pretty sure Amazon doesn't have express delivery to the Southern Ocean, he might want to pace himself some.

It's good to see that Olly has fallen into a bit of a routine and is continuing to making progress. He'll need to stay focused and upbeat, as he's obviously got months of paddling ahead of him before a real break, but for now he seems content to go about his daily work and pass the hours while not rowing in any way that he can.

Virgin Global Row Update: Progress at Last!

It's been a couple of weeks since I checked in on Olly Hicks and his Virgin Global Row. At that time, he was struggling each day to just hold on to his position, and for a number of days in row, that's about all he could do. The young British adventurer was rowing for several hours each day, just to attempt to hold his ground against the savage winds and waters of the Southern Ocean.

Loading up the map on the Global Row website today though shows that he has indeed made solid progress over the past week or so. Olly has actually had a couple of calm days and has made the most of them, rowing with renewed vigor. He's now more than 40 days into his attempt to circumnavigate Antarctica by rowboat, with an estimated 450+ to go, and by his regular blog posts, I'd say he's still in good spirits, despite his early struggles. I can't say I'd feel the same way all things considered.

The entries in his blog tell of his daily struggles with things that seem hard to comprehend for those of us who have never attempted to row across an ocean. In one recent post he mentions the "cross seas" that send waves at him from different directions, making it nearly impossible to keep a rowing rhythm and requiring constant concentration to keep on course. He also talks about how his custom made rowboat, lovingly dubbed the Flying Carrot, will roll in the water, pulling the oars from his hands, and smacking him in the knees in the process.

Checkout the photo attached to this post to get an idea of the kind of seas that Olly is dealing with here. Now imagine facing that day in, and day out, alone for weeks at a time. Seems like a grim prospect, but Olly can look forward to making landfall for a short break from all of that in about six months time. Hang in there Olly we're pulling for you.

Virgin Global Row Update: Another Frustrating Week for Olly

Opening up the Virgin Global Row webpage is always a bit of a scary prospect. I click on the link and hold my breath until the Google map loads up displaying Olly's position and the path he has taken to get there. Early on, over the course of the first few days, that was a nice progressive line, showing him, and his row boat the Flying Carrot, making good progress through the Southern Ocean, starting off from Hobart in Tasmania. But a few days in, the high winds and crashing waves picked up, and Olly was simply rowing to try to not lose ground.

Checking the British adventurer's progress today, and it looks like it has, once again, been a very frustrating week for him. The weather continues to make headway difficult, and he has once again given ground, despite dropping the heaviest sea anchor he has onboard. The end result is that Olly has been in a virtual holding pattern for the past two weeks, while he waits for the winds to give way. Despite all that, he's holding on to his sense of humor. When it was suggested that he sacrifice a little of his whiskey supply to the sea gods in an attempt to appease them, he replied: "steady on methinks, things are'nt thhat bad yet! Perhaps peanuts - got loads of them...."

Today's update gives us a little insight into why he loves the sea so much. After rowing some, and making a bit of progress, he ran into the first signs of life he's seen in some time in form of a pod of killer whales swimming by. The giant mammals passed within 150 yards of the boat and gave a little spark to the day, which Olly suggests may have been a new personal record for negative mileage in one day. Hang in there mate!

For those who haven't been following the Global Row, it is the attempt by Olly Hicks to circumnavigate around Antarctica in the Southern Ocean. When he set out, Olly expected the trip to take roughly 500 days or so, but progress has been slow to say the least. The journey has never been successfully completed before, as there are few opportunities to rescue someone in the remote and treacherous waters below the 50th parallel.

Virgin Global Row Update: Slow Progress is Still Progress

Last week when I posted about the Virgin Global Row I noted that British adventurer Olly Hicks was mostly rowing in circles and working hard just to not lose ground. High winds and ocean currents were conspiring against him, and were continually pushing his rowboat, dubbed the Flying Carrot, backwards, even while the sea anchor was deployed.

This week it has been a bit better for Olly, who is attempting to become the first person to row around Antarctica. The high winds and ocean currents are still there, but they are not buffeting him about, and he's been able to make solid gains for the past few days. Yesterday he wrote that he had rowed hard to pass the 151º longitude point, only to have the wake up the next day back where he had started. He also indicated that he was flirting with the idea of using two sea anchors in hopes of halting his negative drift.

This morning, a new update says tells us that Olly is experiencing the best weather to far. The first few lines of the dispatch sum it up the best. They read as follows:

What bliss, barely a ripple the Carrot lies still on the water, the barometer is the highest its been so far and whilst we have had an E wind it has been very light since the mid afternoon. Life is so much easier not having to hang on all the time.

For now it seems, he is enjoying a bit of a lull before the next inevitable front moves through, bringing the high winds with it once again.

Hang in there Olly!

Virgin Global Row Update: Rowing To Stand Still

Last week I mentioned that the Virgin Global Row was finally underway with Olly Hicks setting out at long last from Tasmania on his attempt to row around Antarctica, a feat that no one has accomplished before. He's now been underway for about 12 days, and while it was a fairly smooth beginning to his adventure, it's gotten tougher in recently.

Olly is now sending dispatches from his boat, something he wasn't doing when I last posted on his story. You'll find the most recent messaes on the front page of the Virgin Global Row website, along with a Google Map synchronized with his GPS to show his progress. When I pulled it up earlier to see where he was at, I thought that something must have been malfunctioning, as it appeared as if he was traveling in small circles. Reading the dispatches from the past few days though, I now know what is going on.

It seems that very strong head winds have made it nearly impossible for the British Adventurer to make progress. Olly notes that earlier today he was "going backwards at quite literally a rate of knots" despite his best efforts to row forward, and even while attempting to drop anchor an effort to at least maintain his ground. As you can imagine, he's quite frustrated and exhausted at this point, but admitted that he felt better "fortified by a little supper, a wee Whisky".

After making solid progress in his first few days, it now seems that Olly is already struggling just to stay where he is at. I expect that he'll face many more days like this one, as the weather at 50º South is unpredictable at best, and almost always intense. The journey is expected to take him approximately 500 days to complete, and is especially dangerous due to the remote nature of the Southern Ocean. Hopefully there will be better days ahead for Olly and his boat.

Virgin Global Row is Underway!

I've mentioned the Virgin Global Row a couple of times in the past month, as British adventurer Olly Hicks prepared to make his epic solo, unassisted row around Antarctica. Unfortunately, he ran into a snag a few weeks back when New Zealand refused to allow him to set out from their shores for fear of him running into trouble and requiring a rescue in the dangerous waters of the Southern Ocean. Olly made a quick change of plans and headed for Tasmania for his launch.

It seems that at long last, the Global Row is officially underway with, the 24-year Hicks setting out from Hobart, Tasmania last Friday at 3 PM local time to start his incredibly demanding journey. Ahead of him is more than 15,000 miles of open sea, 500 days of isolation, 50 foot waves, and untold hours of rowing his boat, dubbed The Flying Carrot.

The Virgin Global Row website is now fully active, and you can chart Olly's progress on the front page. There is also a blog, that for now is strangely silent. You'll also find information on the sponsors, and Olly himself.

I want to personally wish Olly all the luck in the world. He's setting out on a very unique adventure. Rowing across an ocean is never a small feat, and requires incredible dedication and stamina. Rowing around the globe, at the 50º South mark, requires a lot of courage and desire as well. The Southern Ocean is a dangerous place, and where he'll be, it may be impossible to conduct a rescue operation. Yet he chose to go anyway, carrying an adventurous spirit with him. Godspeed Olly!