Six Weeks at Sea
Six weeks at sea have passed and hopefully I only have four weeks to go. I’m over half way and now heading west towards Antigua. For me, the hardest part of this journey is spending ten weeks completely and utterly on my own. Very very few people, even people doing major expeditions, actually spend ten weeks completely isolated. Sometimes I really welcome being alone and I would only want to do this solo, but sometimes I just want to see another human being and experience face to face contact. A week or so ago, I managed to meet up with another solo rower, Linda from Ocean Calling, who is taking part in the Atlantic Challenge race. When I was in radio range of her boat, I made contact with her on the AIS and then rowed five hours off course to reach her. I was able to get within twenty metres of her which gave me such a boost to see another human being. I threw her some sweets, had a quick chat and we parted with ‘See you in Antigua’. And just like that I was on my way again rowing away from what could be my last face to face human interaction until I reach Antigua. More people have been to space than have rowed across an ocean so it is bizarre and truly amazing that within thousands of miles of ocean, you can get within speaking distance of another solo rower on the same journey as you.
Six weeks of rowing is taking its toll on my back, hands and bottom. My hands have got blisters on them but they aren’t too bad. I can cope with those. It’s the strain on my back that is painful and the sores on my bottom. It’s a funny thing but you really miss the simple things you take for granted like sitting up in a chair. It’s something I am very much looking forward to. I also wake up sometimes and my fingers (the ones I have left) are curled around, very claw-like as if they are on the oars.
When I speak to my family, they often ask if I’m scared. In the first few days, riding down the 20/30ft waves at such speed was quite daunting and I wasn’t sure how the boat was going to cope. With time you become more confident and trust in the boat’s ability to ride the waves. I am not scared, but it’s frightening when the weather is strong if that makes any sense. When I first capsized early on in the journey that certainly was a hairy moment. The two most important rules on any ocean rowing boat are; always stay strapped on and never leave the cabin door open. That day I stupidly left the cabin door open when a freak wave hit. The boat half capsized and water started to fill the cabin. I ended up using a bucket to bail water out. I certainly won’t be making that mistake again. Everything became soaked and it took many days to dry things out again. I slept on a wet bed in wet clothes. It was far from ideal.
Before taking on this expedition, I read and was told that many people hallucinate, especially solo rowers, but I actually haven’t experienced this yet. However, the ocean is never quiet or still. The waves and the ocean are always making noise. I keep thinking I hear someone shouting ‘Hello hello hello’. As daft as that sounds, that is what I hear. It’s just the waves crashing into and over the boat. Hopefully I’ve not gone mad just yet.
Music, audio books and podcasts keep me entertained whilst rowing. I have 5000 songs downloaded which I listen to on shuffle when rowing at night. I don’t know what I am going to get next, which is quite good. Sometimes I go from Metallica to Mozart to Coldplay. You never know what’s coming. During the day, I mainly listen to audio books including one of my favourites; The Last Kingdom. I also enjoy listening to my favourite podcast; Desert Island Discs. I have about 100 of those downloaded.
Last week, I went into the water for the first time to clean the bottom of the boat which is full of tag along barnacles joining me for the ride. Barnacles can slow the boat down by half a knot, so it is well worth taking a dip in the vast ocean to scrub them off. It was very refreshing and lovely to cool off but at the same time my imagination couldn’t help taking over that there is three miles of water below me and I am the only human in the water for hundreds of hundreds of miles. I couldn't help but think about what creature was potentially swimming towards me.
I receive a daily update about the weather, where I am advised on which course is best to take to avoid the bad weather. I navigate using a marine satellite navigation system. Obviously all there is out here is ocean, so my navigation is all based on compass bearings. The auto-helm broke early on. I managed to fix it temporarily when the sea was calm enough to let me, but that didn’t last long. So for the majority of this journey, I have steered using my feet.
Sunsets still remain my favourite time of day. Rowing west into the sunset is a calm and peaceful part of the day. You have a lot of thinking time out here in the ocean. When I am rowing, I row for two hours and my mind just wanders into a rabbit hole and suddenly two hours have passed so quickly. One thing I can’t stop thinking about is my first meal in Antigua; an ice cold coca cola, a steak and a bottle of red wine.
At night, when it’s clear, it is unbelievable because I have never seen the sky so black. There is obviously no light pollution out here in the middle of the Atlantic. It is hard to replicate or explain how dark it is. It is really incredible. The sky is filled from horizon to horizon with billions of stars and the milky way is so clear. However, even though the night is beautiful, when it’s overcast and stormy it makes it extremely hard to row due to the uncertainty and mystery of what the ocean will throw at me next. The other night, I experienced bioluminescence for the first time on this journey. The oars and ocean around me were glowing.
Sleep deprivation comes and goes. Some nights I sleep like a log, but other nights I don't sleep much at all, maybe a couple of hours. I am sleeping below the water line and it’s never quiet. At times it is also very hot and there is no escape from it, even in the cabin.
There are many things I am looking forward to when I reach Antigua. I really can’t wait to have a shower. I am constantly damp and salty. I am really looking forward to being able to properly dry myself. My whole life is eat, sleep, row, repeat in a boat the size of two single beds placed end to end. I can’t wait for the freedom to go somewhere, the ability to move and walk around, to stand up straight, to sit on a chair and to be able to lie straight.
Having said all this, this challenge was never meant to be easy. It is definitely going to be worth it for the cause and I can’t thank everyone enough for their kind comments and support which my family informs me of everyday. Thank you for your donations, I am told the fundraising is up to £115,000 which is an incredible amount of money that is going to help many children and young adults.