Carrot still flying

It is possible that you have heard of Oliver Hicks. I believe he has had a little bit of media coverage but not a lot. Yet he deserves to be better known because just now he is undertaking a venture so tough that I think he must be a little bit potty.

Hicks has embarked on a single-handed row, some 18,000 miles around Antarctica via the Southern Ocean. He didn't invite much publicity because he was afraid that state authorities might impound his boat, so risky is the venture. He couldn't get permission to embark from New Zealand so left from Tasmania instead. This time he didn't seek permission and none was given. He just set off.

That was in January and today he is 55 days in to a voyage that he believes will take him between 18 and 22 months, including a winter break in South Georgia, before he continues around the globe to his starting point.

He is blogging most days so you can follow his progress here at Virgin Global Row. His boat is called the "Flying Carrot." For practice he rowed the Atlantic two or three years ago so he knows what it's about. Good luck to him. He's going to need it.

Vendee ends, Volvo closes on Cape Horn

The Vendee Globe ended for another four years yesterday when Norbert Sedlacek finished in 11th place after 126 days at sea. A lot of thinking should go in to the keel designs for the next race. While the existing keels work well in maintaining boat speed, too many are being wrecked or damaged in collisions, putting skippers in jeopardy. I don't know the answer but I would have thought it would be possible to design a weighted, canting keel that is flared on its forward edge in order to deflect a collision.

In the meantime the leaders of the Volvo Ocean race are closing in on Cape Horn in heavy weather, experiencing true southern ocean conditions.