Magical 3hr barrier broken

GEOMARINE have become the first crew to break the magical three-hour barrier for the Round Island Row.

Erratic and un-seasonal weather patterns have played havoc with the GRC's fixtures list over the last three years, so Saturday's Round Guernsey race turned out to be a real coup for GRC race organisers - it was the first to be rowed properly since 2009.

The problem for the decision makers - race secretary Robert Prigent and club captain Matt Toussaint - was the fog that came with the high-pressure ridge sitting over the English Channel.

In the event, as the sun rose higher, the fog receded to a respectable distance and out came the sun block, the hats and the camel backs as crews were given the go-ahead for the longest haul in the local rowing calendar - a 25- to 26-mile circumnavigation of Guernsey.

The Round Guernsey row is a major endurance event which makes big demands on the body's energy and water reserves. It is not for the faint-hearted.