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Well we didnt quite make it and on a what was a very blustery day rowing against the tide and as difficult what seemed an 80 mile an hour hoolee, my final captains log will say "we sank"

As they said in Belfast "The Titanic was ok when it left us" and that is the case with the IRRV boat but in our post race inspection, the diagnosis of the sinking was put down to a punctured barrel and gave Mr Watson and Ms Cutler sitting above it a pretty uncomfortable ride. At one point, we were actually going backwards up the river despite all rowing forwards and having lost 3 men overboard into the River Avon at different times and despite attempts to lighten the weight by taking off Messrs Stewart, Traynor, Watson and the captain off, we were still sinking and fighting a losing battle. As such, in true British style we reboarded and despite our best efforts the raft went down and the captain was last to leave ship reappearing covered in mud. Mr Traynor lost a big toe nail in hauling the raft to safety so the team literally gave blood for the cause which with your help we have raised nearly £1000 and in spite of us not finishing we hopefully can increase on this figure if you still feel we deserved it. Needless to say if our luck had matched our effort and enthusiasm we would have finished but as they say "you learn more from failure than you do success" (horrible management cliche) and I am sure we will be back again with a six barrelled raft having learnt from the North Warwickshire raft that skippered by Steve Barber and rowed by all my revenues and benefits staff plus Justine from Bristows finished the 7 and a half hour race in a magnificent time of just over 5 hours in the most difficult conditions the race organisers have experienced in its 25 years.

They were truly magnificent as demonstrated by the pictures on a raft built by the depot and I am sure they are feeling the pain today but have the satisfaction of completing it.

Thanks to everyone's support on what was a brilliant day

If you still want to donate you can do, the NWBC team did it for the organisers sponsors the Princes Trust and they will be coming around work with a bucket later (emptied of any water out of the River Avon). If you haven't donated, please give whatever you can to what was a brilliant team effort

As for the IRRV team and its management team of the great and good in revenues and benefits, it was a case of "better to have tried and failed than not try at all" and donations can still be made via the following website to the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance if people want to support remotely

wHow can you support. Well are donation you can afford would be great to be made via this website. The air ambulance is a great cause as it services some of the busiest motorway networks in the UK across the Midlands

Please sponsor us (we need all the encouragement we can get)

Regards

Bob Trahern

IRRV National President