MAURITIUS HERE WE COME

We will be leaving on Monday from Heathrow to fly to Mauritius. Arrival should be around 9.30am on 23rd which will be approx 5.30GMT. We are enhoping Helen will be arriving somewhere around 26th/27th June.

We had a call from her this morning and she seemed very down as the combination of wind and waves had been soaking the crew every 15 seconds for approx 2 days. With no dry clothes, cabin floor wet, the Indian Ocean is not a very nce place to be! Only 350nm to go and these last few miles are obviously going to be as tough and demanding as the previous 2,800 miles. All the crew are now calling on their last reserves of energy and it's only sheer determination and bloody mindedness that is keeping them going. They will fight to the end to achieve their ambition.

Helen told us this morning that they are now rowing 3 up again with 1 steering to try and get some rest and sleep to refresh them for the last few days push to the finish.

Please keep your messages coming through. Thank you to everyone who has given us cards, letters to take out to her.

Now that this extradordinary journey is nearly over please don't forget that Helen is trying to raise vital funds for Scope Short Breaks in Bury St Edmunds. It is a respite unit for children with cerebral palsy. Please visit www.justgiving.com/indianoceanrow to donate.

The next post will be from Mauritius where instead of dot watching we will be standing on the beach surveying the horizon waiting for that dot to turn into the welcome of No. 88 Audeamus.

Any comments about these blogs would be appreciated so that we know that people are reading them. Thank you and goodnight!