Conditions hamper North Sea rowers

Weather and seasickness is taking its toll on the rowing team which left Norway on Monday, bound for Orkney.

The boat is crewed by four Icelanders whose goal is to row unsupported from Norway to Iceland, via Scotland and the Faroe Islands, in 2013. Next year they then plan to continue on to Greenland and Canada.

Giving an update this morning, Thursday, support team member Ingrid Kuhlman, explained: “Yesterday it was raining the whole day so they were pretty wet and cold. One of the crew members has been seasick since they left port and it’s been a struggle for him to eat. Hopefully the winds and seas will ease a bit as they continue.”

She added: “They are halfway on their way to Orkney but might end up in Shetland with rising winds coming from the south-west.”

She added that because of the conditions the boat had only been making 1 to 2 knots, with the voyage to Kirkwall said to be 273 miles.