Battered by fish and cruisin' for a convo as Jersey duo aim for Antigua

Tuesday 31 January 2023

Two islanders who are rowing across the Atlantic had a glimpse of how the other half live as a luxury cruise ship stopped alongside for a mid-ocean chat.

Peter Wright and Steve Hayes, who have spent the past 50 days at sea, described the encounter with the 116,000-tonne P&O cruise liner Ventura as a highlight of their 3,000-mile journey in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

This morning the duo on board their boat DragonFish were just 247 miles from the finish line in Antigua, with hopes that they may complete the challenge early next week.

Mr Hayes said that when Ventura originally appeared on the radar, the two boats made radio contact to check they weren't going to collide with each other, but that this had turned into a 45-minute conversation.

"They were honking their horn"

Speaking on social media, he said: "They actually altered their course to come alongside us, and although they were still a nautical mile away, they were honking their horn and relaying the information to passengers, which has brought some great interaction on social media and also some donations for our charity.

"Hopefully we may get to meet some of the crew when they come to the Channel Islands in the summer – we said we'd try to keep in touch as it was a real high-point of the trip."

While the 3,000 passengers on board Ventura are enjoying luxury cabins, cordon bleu cuisine and the liner's on-board swimming pool, the Jersey duo have been subsisting on dried food, snatching short bursts of sleep and using a bucket for their toilet requirements.

"A giant blue idiot blob of weather"

Tackling the challenge, in which DragonFish currently lies 33rd out of the 43 boats to have started the race, has been far from plain sailing: the duo have endured a series of technical difficulties involving their on-board equipment and also what was described on Facebook as "a giant blue idiot blob of weather".

Mr Wright's wife Rachel, who has been following the race from Jersey with the couple children Josh (16) and Layla (12) said that although the conditions had checked the pair's progress, they hoped to have better conditions for the final stretch.

"They've been so frustrated with the weather, and seem to have been finishing 'next week' for the last few weeks," she said. "The tracker for their finish time has been based on the progress they've been making, but we hope to get a clearer picture by Friday."

Battered by flying fish

A total of 27 crews had completed the race by yesterday morning, with another 16 still competing.

Mr Wright, a finance director at Prosperity 24/7, and Mr Hayes, general manager at the Somerville Hotel, have had to battle with flying fish and a series of technical hitches during their crossing, but appear to have retained their sense of humour according to some upbeat posts on their Facebook page.

The duo raised around £120,000 to take part in the event, with some of the money funding their boat, which cost £25,000.They are seeking to raise £50,000 for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and cancer charity Macmillan Jersey.

Donations can be made HERE.