British travel to the Caribbean in recent months has been overshadowed by the rise in Air Passenger Duty. Last year, the British Government reclassified Caribbean travel, meaning that it now costs 50% more to travel to the islands than it did in 2009. Critics of the scheme note that a trip to Los Angeles, some 12 hours away, costs more than a trip to the far closer Caribbean. Whilst the UK Government takes its time on a U-turn, who do we beat these ridiculous rates? Well, if you dont mind the excruciating physical pain, you could always row there. Nowadays, it only takes as little as thirty one days after all.
A five person crew from Durham University, UK took the scenic route for Holidays in Barbados between the 6th of January and the 7th of February. 3,000 miles, 31 days, 23 hours and 31 minutes before landfall in Barbados, the crew set off from Tenerife. This easily beat the 33 day, seven hours and 30 minutes record that has stood for the last three years. The team managed the feat by rowing twenty four hours a day in shifts of three, with a maximum of two hours rest at any one time. Considering that the 40 foot multihull boat isnt even as wide as a bathtub, sleeping must have been incredibly tough no matter how much time they got for it.
If you were to take this crazy mode of transport for your Holidays in Jamaica, youd find it hard not to be put off by the various wear and tear that these intrepid rowers experienced. The rowers found themselves blistering up terrible, and they even began to reshape their seats to alleviate some of the pain. In conjunction with the heat closer the equator, the crew were required to strip to air their sores, something the one female crew member was hardly excited about. over the last month she went on to quip Ive seen enough male dangly bits to last me a lifetime. If getting to the Tropical Sky of the Caribbean is really going to cause me that much pain but boat, Id be content with the rate hike.
