It's hard to explain what it feels like to have finished the race or to describe what we went through to get there, especially in the final 18 hours (more to come on this later). What I can say is that we have left Texas with memories that will last forever, new friends with whom we have shared something truly unique and a rather strange desire to go back and do it all again...

They did it!!!!!!

THEY DID IT!!!!!!!

And within the hundred hour deadline (by the skin of their teeth might i just add)

The team are absolutely and utterly ecstatic and Charlie and Sophie are feeding some very hungry boys now! It was a nail baiting finish and the team started the bay crossing with 3 other teams, including a race veteran and they put in a super human effort to paddle across the bay to victory, with Charlie, Sophie and lots of other supporters screaming their hearts out from the shore.

More details and a full update later but CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! And on behalf of the Camels thank you so so much everyone for your support, messages and thoughts, it made a HUGE difference.

Time for lots and lots of bubbles!!!! (and perhaps some sleep, a shower and a huge amount of food!

Last checkpoint completed, 6 hour dash to the finish line

The team have put in a huge effort and past the last checkpoint at mile 244 and Charlie and Sophie have just seen them at mile 252, Taylors Bridge - the last public access point. The team now just have to cross the bay to reach the finish line, however it's now a nail biting race against time for the Camels to cross the finish line before the 100 hour mark, in about 6 hours time.

The strong winds are making the bay difficult to cross and previous teams have taken anywhere between 3 - 13 hours and the teams have 6 hours left to do it in. There are three teams paddling with the Camels together through the bay, all desperate to finish before the time deadline. One of the teams has crossed the bay many times, which is fantastic for the boys and they are all motivating each other and pushing each other faster and faster.

It's going to come down to the wire, so keep your fingers, toes and everything crossed, however regardless JM, James, Simon, Sophie and Charlie have all done the most amazing job and are a true inspiration to the rest of us!

Come on Camels, everyone is rooting for you!

Checkpoint 10: 10 down, 1 more checkpoint to go!

In the words of a very excited Charlie "Yippee"!! The team paddled into checkpoint 10 this evening, marking the second last checkpoint and the completion of 227 miles, with only 33 more miles to go and only one more checkpoint with the dreaded time deadlines before the home stretch! The paddling fraternity had heard whispers that one of our boys had dropped out, so Charlie and Sophie were really excited to see the intrepid trio paddling in earnest into the checkpoint wondering what the fuss was about.

The guys managed to have a bit of a sleep and can taste the home stretch, making it easier to focus on their goal. Both the local supporters, fellow competitors and media LOVE the fact the team are English and came from the UAE and that we've come so far. The amount of support is just astounding! Charlie did another television interview for News 8 (coverage to follow) so that inquisitive viewers could be kept up to date on how well the camels are going. She's a little concerned how articulate she was after 1 hours sleep in 38 hours but I'm sure the viewers will love it!

The next and final checkpoint is at 244 miles, Saltwater Barrier and the girls drove to the next checkpoint to have a sleep but the appearance of a huge snake and loads of mozzies resulted in a small change of plan and the girls have been invited to the home of a local support crew where they are hoping to catch up on a few hours sleep, before seeing the guys at a viewing spot in between the checkpoints.

Although the team are so close, the next stretch has a number of challenges including the largest log jam the race has seen - a mile long jam which means the Camels will have to carry the boat around the river for a mile straight, plus the numerous other jams competitors have warned the team about. The next section also features the aptly named "Alligator Lake".

After the boys reach the next checkpoint however they have all the important bay crossing, which represents the final run home. This year the bay crossing has taken anywhere from 3-13 hours to complete, as heavy winds make this a huge challenge, so fingers crossed for light winds to allow the team to finish.

Taken from the words of a support message sent to the team "Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream....merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream (or it will be when it's over)". And another tip from the same support message that the boys should be remembering on this leg "See you later Alligator"!

Come on Camels!

Checkpoint 9: 200 miles down, 60 to go!!

The guys are in fantastic spirits and have just left checkpoint 9 with the 200 mile mark now behind them and one less deadline to meet. 73 hours into the race, the team have 27 hours (just over 1 full day and night) left to complete the race.

The boys are ecstatic as are Charlie and Sophie and the whole team have only goal in sight -the finish line at Seadrift. The next checkpoint will be in 27 kilometres time and the team have 13 hours in which to do this. That will be the second last checkpoint before Saltbarrier, the last checkpoint at 244 miles, 26 miles before the finish line. There are now 53 boats left in the race and for the next section, the team have agreed to paddle alongside a solo competitor who is a race veteran, and knows the river well having competed in the race many times.

The next section is filled with a lot of log jams which will mean quite a bit of portaging, however the boys are determined to finish and are on the homeward stretch. JM and Sophie have both had their flights changed so that the team can all have a well earned sleep (and perhaps just the odd Texas beverage or ten and a huge dinner together on the Wednesday night). The team are so close, they can smell the finish and whilst it may be close in terms of time deadlines, the camels are determined to make it!

Come on guys, you're so close now, you can do it!

Almost at checkpoint 8....187 miles in, 73 miles to go

Just a very quick post, Charlie and Sophie just saw the boys at a section of the river called "The Nursery", which is 187 miles in. During the past few hours, the team have traversed some heavy rapids through the night and the light is just beginning to come up now which should help.

The boys are in much better spirits and really determined and pushing to get through before the time deadline. The girls are also feeling good (as good as can be expected anyway!) and will next meet the team at checkpoint 8, the 200 mile mark.

The team have now been paddling for about 69 hours and are doing a fantastic job! Lots of people at different checkpoints are keeping an eager eye on the Camel's progress and everyone is rooting for them to finish. Come on Camels, only 73 miles left, you can do it!

A note from Charlie and Sophie (from the riverbank)

Update so far! Charlie and I are waiting for the Camels at Mile 178, Thomaston Bridge between Cuero and Victoria. Its about 9pm and we expect them in approx. 2 hours. We can only give them water and an ice sock, a big sock stuffed with ice, which are proving a huge hit in the paddling fraternity.

Their spirits are good, the canoe is holding up brilliantly and they smell simply horrid. No injuries just a few aches and pains which handfuls of ibruprofen is handling well. Their lovely Camel uniforms are gradually disintegrating, Simon and James are still in theirs but are a muddy brown whilst JM is sporting a lovely muscle shirt.

It has been a tougher race than normal as the water level has been at an all time low so this exposes more log jams and sand/gravel bars which they have to portage over and/or around, this has really proved more difficult than they envisaged. Conditions now are good, open river with little debris but a strong headwind which is coming up from the Gulf, this is challenging for all teams. Sadly we were hoping for current but there is none to help them on this leg. Best advice for them is to try and get in the lee of the shore if possible and keep the bow down.

James has gone past his Nemesis leg from the previous race and he was dead chuffed to reach that point. We have foisted water on them like crazy almost to the point of bullying as staying hydrated is so key, obvious I know but easy to try and keep the weight down in the boat. Yesterday we had a fierce culling of all extraneous items, camera, some tools, clothing (more of which was JM's which he apparently needed! James was not popular), all in an effort to give them more water.

On the support side of things Charlie and I are having a blast, everyone involved with the Texas Water Safari be they officials or participants have been wonderful. As I write this we are sitting on the river bank in the middle of the most breathtaking country with about 25 of us all laughing and joking, sipping a Jameson on ice from quite the loveliest Texan with guess what on the radio?..........Country Music!!!! Woo hoo! There is such a sense of camaraderie and a diverse mix of people, quite a unique experience. The only downfall is the sheer quantity of Deet and citronella we have inhaled but ne'er a mozzie in sight! Fire ants are another question. Had a whopping case of heat rash today which starts with a massively swollen bottom lip (think Angelina Jolie but minus the top one) and a delightful armpit rash. Dead attractive. Charlie, being Daughter of Barbara, has medicine for all occasions so a good dose of Claritin aided by the whisky is doing wonders.

We have got our system down to a fine art now; stock with gallon jugs of water, copious amounts of ice and small bottles of water, drive to the checkpoints and hurry up and wait. When they arrive we scoot down to the river bank full of info about the coming leg and motivational speeches which I suspect irritate them no end. Charlie is Comms control and statistician whilst I drive,navigate and truck housekeeper, it seems to work perfectly. The truck is a tricked out black Ford Expedition SUV, aka The Pimpmobile. Its also serves as our bedroom, quite comfy really although it has one of the Camels shorts in it and is a little odiferous. Walmart is the store of choice, in fact it seems to be the only store, spent a littke too much time in there today and left with matching outfits, photo to come. We figured it might be good for morale. Well typing on a Blackberry is wearing but will update more soon.Go Camels!Sophie and Charlie

Checkpoint 7: Hallucinations and Heat

Whilst the camels are used to the heat having completed their training in over 50 degree heat in Abu Dhabi, the sheer strength and physical exhaustion the race takes on competitors is something you simply can't train for. Charlie met the team at checkpoint 7 (145 miles into the race, 58 hours into it) and they were pretty tired and had been experiencing hallucinations due to the immense heat (which is averaging about 36 degrees) and exhaustion, thinking that there was another person in the boat with them. Competitors in previous years had warned of this as the race its takes toll on competitors physical and mental strength and the abnormally high heat this year has not helped when competitors are in the full sun for 3 or 4 days straight.

Charlie was fantastic and made sure the boys had a rest in the shade, drank lots of cold water and had some food. This obviously did the trick as she has kept a close on them and has just seen them over halfway to the next checkpoint, all looking and sounding much happier and they have increased their speed also.

Amazingly some teams have started making their way into seadrift and finishing the race, a fantastic achievement given this years race conditions. Most of the early finishers are local race veterans and all are interested in the Camels progress.

You can still donate online to help the team achieve their fundraising targets by logging onto www.justgiving.co.uk/abudhabicamels


Come on Camels, stick in there, not much longer now!

Checkpoint 6 completed - almost half way now!

The team have done an absolutely amazing job and checked into station 6 about 20 minutes ago, outperforming expected times and even beating Charlie and her cousin in the support vehicle to the checkpoint! This station is located at the 123 mile mark and marks the "almost half way point" of the race and means the team have completed one of the largest single journeys.

The team are in excellent spirits and decidedly determined; James especially is overjoyed as it means he has passed the mark where he collapsed had to pull out in 2007. Charlie was able to check into a hotel with her cousin Sophie for a few hours and the girls headed straight for the pool, a shower and well deserved nap before meeting up with the boys.

The boys had a harder night with the boat flipping during the night and a life jacket being lost which was rather scary shall we say, however at this checkpoint Charlie was able to purchase a new life jacket for the team (with a penalty of a 15 minute time delay, not that the team care). The boys managed to get a little bit of sleep and are in fantastic spirits and so excited to be at the halfway mark, almost 48 hours into the race.

They loved the messages from everyone so please keep them coming as this really made them smile and is so important in motivating them to go forward!

Full steam ahead!

Checkpoint 5: It's all about 1/3's

The camels paddled into checkpoint 5, the 83 mile mark and had a short break catching up with messages from back home that Charlie read out to them which made a huge difference to the boy's morale to know that people back home were thinking of them and following their progress.

This checkpoint means the team have completed 32% of the race, or almost a third down and two thirds to go. At this point there only 67 boats left in the race with over a third of the starters dropping out or being eliminated as they missed deadlines at checkpoints, but the camels are paddling strong (even with a suspected broken toe and bleeding nipple???)!

The next leg of the race is the longest between checkpoints, so the camels stocked up on lots of water, ditched "unnecessary supplies" and headed out into the wilderness of the San Marcos River fiercely determined and extremely positive. Charlie headed to a nearby hotel for a much needed shower and a quick power nap.

The team really do love to hear that people back home are thinking of them and interested and messages can be passed on at different checkpoints, therefore if you would like to tell them you're thinking of them please do post a comment to the bottom of this post and Charlie will pass the message on.

Roll on checkpoint 6, keep paddling boys!

The AD Camels Awe Austin: View our TV interview with News 8

There has been tremendous interest from spectators and competitors alike in the team from the UAE who have traversed continents to compete in "The World's Toughest Boat Race".

Check out yesterday's local news in Texas where News 8's Russell Wilde interviews the team : http://www.news8austin.com/shared/video/video_pop.asp?destlist=67333

60 miles in, 200 to go.....

24 hours in and the team are still going strong, despite 23 out of the 100 or so other teams having to drop out - a true testament to the difficulty competitors face this year. The President of the Texas Water Safari remarked at the pre-event race briefing teams "would get a run for their money as this was possibly the toughest race in the event's 45 year history".

The race started at 9am on a bright and sunny Texan day and as out of towners, we were given a position in the starting row of the 100 or so entrants. The first part of the race is renowned for being technically challenging, made even worse by the low river conditions this year. Whilst the bottom of the boat suffered a few scrapes, we were well prepared and negotiated the river and all of its "wildlife" including lots of deadly water moccasins, fire ants and an endless supply of turtles. A lot of time was spent out of the boat as well negotiating what seems like an endless number of log jams! The team gratefully met team captain Charlie and topped up their water supplies (not to mention spirits), passing through checkpoints 1 and 2 slightly behind their anticipated time due to the log jams but well within the allocated deadlines. Some painkillers the team are required to carry on their boat were required at checkpoint 2, however the boys are battling through and doing an amazing job.

The sheer strength needed to portage (carry the boat on the side of the river) isn't to be underestimated. When Charlie and her cousin attempted to lift the boat before the race, they were simply unable to lift, so how the boys are managing to carry it for hours at a time is sheer testament to their grit and determination.

The fearful adventurers continued paddling / portaging through the night as darkness encroached, encountering some huge log jams and loads of dangerous snakes along their way. This resulted in a small time delay to their anticipated arrival time however the weary paddlers had a sleep for an hour on the side of the riverbank and paddled into checkpoint 4 (60 mile mark) in excellent spirits at 5am this morning and have their sights set on the finish line.

The team have generated a huge amount of interest and supporters and fellow competitors keep coming up to the "media darlings" telling them they saw them on television and providing much needed support and enthusiasm. The team also managed to make two of the local papers yesterday (links to the stories below):
http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/breakingnews/local_story_164143001.html
http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=243213

Race times for each checkpoint are also updated at the Texas Water Safari website www.texaswatersafari.org/results

24 hours and 60 miles in, the race continues and more updates to follow! Wish us luck, think we're going to need it!

In addition to JM's post thought I'd add in some photos as well taken at the pre-race prep sessions. (above) Some interesting names for our competitors boats
Plaque at the start - we didn't need reminding of the toughness

Pic of the pensive team - framed by our Captain
Here she is, the honed, prepared and ready to go - the "Dauman cage" innovation can be seen in front of the rear seat!

Registration and Orientation

Final day before the start which meant official registration and orientation to the race. The Texas State University Aquarena was a hive of activity as teams from the 100 boats entered into the race were busy making final preparations and registering their boats with race officials. Boats varied in size from small15ft. solos to 40ft. six man canoes. James' obsessive compulsions this past week had paid off, or at least he seemed to be in good company. The level of detail which other entrants had gone to in preparing their canoes was astounding. There was an immense sense of pride amongst our team as onlookers complimented us on the "cleanliness" of our canoe, a term indicative of the high-level of space-efficiency and practicality that had gone into setting out all our kit within the vessel. The "Dauman bike bottle holder" was amongst the innovations to the sport that James could be credited with. 

Conversations with veterans and novices alike seemed to revolve around a common theme - water, or rather a distinct lack of it. As confirmed by race officials during the late afternoon official welcome and orientation speech, this year is decidedly looking to be the toughest in the race's history. Record breaking low-water levels, abnormally high ambient temperatures and log-jams of epic proportions had combined to make what race veterans and officials called "the worst conditions ever for the Texas Water Safari". Talk of low-water levels concentrating all obstacles (fallen trees, aligators and other potentially unpleasant river creatures) and portages stretching for over a mile did little to calm our pre-race nerves. We also felt that our participation in the race was being followed closely by some of the other racers, as well as by the officials and even the local TV news channel (James and JM made another TV appearance, this time on local TV Channel 8 - footage to follow), so it is with an immense sense of pride not to mention purpose, that we continue our adventure thousand of miles away from home, hoping to return victorious and in one piece.

We look forward to final, final preparations tonight back at the hotel, having left our canoe wrapped in selofane and almost fully kitted out, in the park next to the start line. We will enjoy a final carb-loading meal hosted by the hotel's owners, who have also been caught up in the buzz of a team from Abu Dhabi flying to Texas to endure the challenges and hardships of the toughest boat race in the world, in the toughest year of the race's history.

Preparing the canoe

No training today - spent most of the day getting the canoe ready for the race and buying last minute bits of kit. Dowker and JM found the holy grail of outdoor shops in Austin and nearly walked away with a selection of automatic rifles and other hunting paraphernalia, but resisted the temptation.

Tried out a military ration pack - quite possible the worst piece of chicken we have ever tasted! Having second thoughts about bringing one as "comfort food" for the race.

Tornado and flash flood alerts in in the area this evening - just another challenge for the Abu Dhabi Camels...

Massive logjam and other tips...

We learned a few interesting things today from the locals down here in Texas:

1. There is a logjam towards the end of the race that is 1 mile long. That'll be an interesting portage...

2. 10 years ago a woman had her rib broken and lung punctured

 by an alligator gar (see photo) jumping into her boat (they can apparently be as long as 4-5 feet and are attracted to the lights on the canoes at night). 

3.  When the water is low (as it is very much so now), the alligators towards the bottom of the river tend to spend a lot more time on the river banks, as there is no other water for them to hang out in. They also apparently are very docile in these conditions, so we can expect to paddle right past them without them doing any more than casting a wary glance in our direction (we hope!).

4. We're told that spiders could be more of a worry than alligators, but we're trying to ignore this new piece of information...

Training Day 2: 10 June 2009

Today we paddled from Rio Vista Park (near the start of the race) down to Spencer Canoes, a total of around 11 miles. We kept up a reasonable pace and improved our control around the faster bends. We put a pretty deep gash in the bottom of the boat, but it is still water-tight and Jack at Spencer Canoes is going to patch it up for us tonight. The word of the day was "portage", as there are quite a few spots where we either had to walk the boat through shallow water or carry it around dams and other obstacles (including Cottonseed Rapids, which doesn't seem to have any routes through it, especially for a relatively wide boat like ours). We're still very happy with the canoe and can't wait for the race to get started! 

On the nature front, we saw one water moccasin swimming alongside us, as well as a few fairly large spotted gars under the boat, some other random fish and a seemingly endless supply of turtles on every available inch of logs in the sunshine. 

We passed quite a few locals today floating down the river on rubber rings, looking very comfortable with their cold beers! All were very friendly and some wanted to know why we were wearing "hats from Saudi Arabia"!

 

Two days to go - feeling good!

Training Day 1: 9 June 2009

We picked up our canoe in the morning from the ever-helpful and laid back Jack down at Spencer Canoes, who had put in a rudder and a few other bits and pieces for us. Dowker had his first "moment" of the the trip when he saw the positioning of the middle seat (at the widest part of the boat) but all was forgotten as soon as we put the canoe in the river and started paddling: lightweight, streamlined, stable - we were very, very happy with the yellow We-no-nah Minnesota 3. Dowks and JM were also extremely pleased with their new carbon fibre ZRE race paddles,  each weighing about the same as a large watch!

We paddled about 6 miles just to get the hang of the canoe and, apart from hitting  a couple of logs and rocks in the faster moving water, had a very smooth run. We also had our first taste of Perpetuem, which will be our main source of nutrition during the race, and were pleasantly surprised. All in all, we came out of the river at Staples Dam feeling pretty good about our prospects for the race. 

Touchdown

We touched down in Houston on Monday afternoon, picked up our enourmous rental SUV and headed off to San Marcos. As we got close to town, we thought it would be interesting to take a quick look at the river from a small bridge. In hindsight, this might have been a mistake, as within 30 seconds, JM spotted our first water moccasin (the most venemous snake in North America) slithering along the bank below us. Still, we were encouraged to see a bit of water in the river and headed off to the B&B feeling a bit better about our prospects for the race. 

Providing some local interest

The Camels are now preparing to fly down to Texas to convene for some additional preparations prior to the race. Three going via London, one via Doha. Water levels are still looking low and with no storms predicted the Camels will have to draw on some of their namesake's overland ability to scale the "log jams". There is a lot of talk on the race forums of this year being a "Real Safari" and, I quote "a real test of the paddlers innards" - having said that this quote comes from the same forum which produced the comment below in response to the posting of the entry list (entry posted verbatim):

"Wotts with this team from DUBAI? Where is it located? Do they have rivers there? Can they bring one with them? Do they know how to paddle in mud? Inquiring minds want to know."

That was posted by rrat on the forum, hopefully we can look him up when we're there and point the Middle East out on a map!

Final yoga session tonight at Oriental Yoga in Dubai, besides some exercises provided to keep the Camels bendy during the race, its also next door to the Alabama Dental clinic, not far from Texas. Thanks Oriental for the help in preparing.

The Abu Dhabi Camels on TV!

We've had great support here in Abu Dhabi for what we're doing and have even made the local TV news...

Nerves setting in...

Well, with 10 days to go until the start of the race, we're starting to feel the nerves a bit, especially having seen some photos of the "prehistoric" log jams in the river at the moment (yes, the river is apparently under there somewhere!). It is going to be a tough first day before we get to more open water and can really push ahead, but we are confident that our fitness will carry us through. The water moccasins and fire ants might have other ideas though... 

The feedback we have from on the ground in Texas is that the water levels are lower than people have seen for at least 10 years, so we'll apparently be in and out of the canoe quite a bit (in addition to portaging around the log jams). Still, this should be second nature for us, having got stuck quite a few times in the Abu Dhabi mangroves.

We've made great progress on the fundraising side of things and are on track to exceed our targets for both the Red Crescent and The Calvert Trust. Thank you to all who have donated so far!