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Thomas Cook survive Loch Ness SleepMonsters
Rob / 29.05.2003
The progress of the second and third placed teams towards the finish slowed dramatically during the night, but Thomas Cook have now finished the course. They walked across the line at 05.52, delighted to have finished their first ever multi-day race, taken second place and survived a traumatic night.“That was a horrible night,� said Warren Bates, “we were all over the place. Lisa and myself were in one boat and we both started falling asleep. We just couldn’t stay awake and were physically incapable of paddling. We were just flopping around and were in danger of capsizing the kayak.�
“We were going OK for a while but then the wind dropped, our umbrella broke as well, and after that we started to drift. At one point I said I had to get out and once we lashed the boats together and laid out across them to sleep.�
Lisa Godfrey said, “We’re glad that’s over but it was a fantastic course. We just had no idea what to expect and have never done anything like this before. By the end I was hallucinating, seeing giants and babies and animals that keep turning into other animals – it was bizarre.� All of them were in the same condition as they moved very slowly towards the finish. Nick Drew suddenly saw the Royal Family and so did everyone else, so they must have been there!
Once over the line they were quickly into the Race HQ cabin where it was warmer and looked at the big map of the whole course which covers the whole wall. “Look what we’ve done� said Lisa. Nicola MacLeod of The North Face even managed to get up to cheer them over the line and they compared notes looking at the map. Where they’d had their high points and low points, made mistakes or had good stages. Nick Gracie said, “I wish we’d done Liathach and The Five Sisters in daylight and better conditions and that we’d found that bothy you slept in.�
After looking at a few of the messages sent into them and where their friends out on the course were, they went off for a shower and a well deserved sleep, still a bit dazed.
OK Adventure Sport Renault are still on Loch Ness approaching the entrance to the Caledonian canal, but they too are moving very, very slowly. They are not expected to reach the finish until 9am at the earliest.See All Event Posts
