A UAE rowing team intends to spend Christmas in high spirits on the high seas as their epic 5,000km journey continues across the Atlantic Ocean.
Toby Gregory, James Raley, and Raimundo Tamagnini of the Arabian Ocean Rowing Team have battled fierce storms and crashing waves since embarking on their voyage on December 12.
The trio are on a 53-day mission to raise awareness about the dangers of marine pollution and will be full of festive cheer when the holiday arrives, despite the weather.
They set off from La Gomera, off the coast of Africa, in their small rowing boat and will finish their gruelling challenge at English Harbour in Antigua.
“We have been hit by storm after storm. We are dealing with bad weather and big waves. But we will be listening to Christmas songs while rowing,” Mr Gregory, 44, an ultra-endurance athlete from the UK, and the founder of the team, told The National.
“It's been a tough first few days but the team has pulled together well. The ocean has thrown everything it can at us and we are still going strong,” he said on a satellite call to Dubai.
His teammates are Raley, 43, a British Army veteran and adventure travel enthusiast, and Tamagnini, 48, a four-times Ironman and mountaineer from Portugal.
Having already spent more than a week in the sea, the team said they are delighted with the progress they are making.
“We achieved our first significant milestone last weekend by passing the first 500km mark,” said Mr Gregory.
“We are basically awake for 20 hours every day. It is taking a toll on our bodies but we are going strong.”
The team has been training for the adventure for nearly two years and is completely unsupported during the expedition. They are relying on desalinated seawater to drink, solar energy to power batteries and electronics, and they have only power bars and dried food to eat.
The team members are taking turns in rowing the boat that is just 8.1m long — that is shorter than two cars.
As part of their partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the team is also taking samples of ocean water from day one through to day 50.
“As conditions settle at the end of this week, we will use the plankton net to begin our trawl for microplastics as part of the work we are doing for the UNEP’s ‘Clean Seas’ initiative.
“Despite the stormy conditions, and being miles away from land, we have still recorded numerous instances of pollution — it is just awful,” he said.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
RACE CARD
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Turf) 1,800m
8.15pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
9.50pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
