When you read this I shall have completed almost two weeks of my Atlantic adventure. I left home and family on January 2^nd to The Canaries. I departed in the depths of winter after all our Christmas and New Year festivities and landed in the sunshine. I made my way straight to the ferry terminal to cross to La Gomera and get first site of my boat ready to set off on the voyage.

 

I was sorry to leave home, but quite excited to be getting close to the beginning of the end so to speak. This is what all the planning and preparation have been for and I was keen to get going.

 

I spent a busy few days making final adjustments and preparations to the boat prior to setting off and kept in contact with the local authorities to ensure my paperwork and everything were exactly what they wanted and was assured that everything was going ahead as quickly as possible. I made a few calls home to keep my family and friends up to date with my progress, all the time itching to set off.

 

So while I waited I tried rowing on the sea for the first time really, and what a surprise that was. A completely different experience to anything I had tried before. I found that with the swell I was not always managing to get the oars in the water with every stroke. I think I used most of the swear words I know during that time, cursing the boat, the sea, the oars, myself and anything else that came to mind! Still it was a useful experience, which gave me a taste of what was to come.

 

So there I was all set to go and just waiting for my final clearance from the Spanish authorities. It seemed that I might be able to set off a couple of days early at one time but no such luck. I waited another day and a bit more and then another day and another……… I was getting quite frustrated but eventually my clearance came through and I finally left the harbour to begin my great adventure on January 11^th.

 

Now here I am almost two weeks into my voyage and I am well into the day to day grind that will eventually bring me to the other side of the ocean. My rowing technique has improved and my progress has been really good on some days.

 

So what’s it like. It’s tough, although some of the things that did concern me before I set off have not turned into the problems I thought they might. I’ve got aches and pains everywhere, but nowhere is especially bad. Or it’s all so bad nowhere really stands out particularly! My back has been OK really and with the help of some little pink pills is holding up remarkably well.

 

I’ve developed some spectacular blisters on my hands and feet. In fact most parts of me that are in constant contact with the boat and oars seem to be blistered, but my hands and feet are the only parts I can see, which is just as well really! I’m glad I don’t have a mirror to investigate other parts that are pretty sore and just hope that as I progress they will improve.

 

You can see my daily progress on the home page at www.oceanrowing.com if you scroll down the page a bit and there will be a link to hear on my own website pretty soon.

 

If you look at the chart and table you’ll see that I’ve made good progress some days and moderate progress on others, the exceptions being the 20^th and 21^st as there was quite a storm. At one time during one of these days, when I was able to row a bit, I rowed flat out for four hours and went backwards!! So I suppose that the fact I made some progress on each of the days was a bonus in itself.

 

Much of the time during the storm I was locked in the cabin watching the waves grow and the rough seas covering the deck and washing right over the boat. Fortunately the boat never capsized or rolled over, but it reached some pretty steep angles at times. It was like a combined roller coaster and waltzer ride that went on for hours instead of minutes. Exhilarating, frightening and exciting all at the same time. But in the end I was very glad that things started to calm down. I’m most impressed with the boats ability to cope with the storm and it makes me feel very confident that we’ll complete this journey together.The design works just like we thought it would so well done everyone at Global Boatworks. I was a little concerned when my satellite phone rang one day and it was Jamie saying we’ve spotted a bit of a technical problem we think you should know about! Luckily it was just about the water purifier and not a don’t touch that big red button whatever you do moment.

 

 Anyway the storm passed eventually and now it’s back to making as much progress as I can. I’ve discovered that during the storm water got into my external GPS equipment, even though it’s supposed to be waterproof, and that isn’t working now. I hope it might dry out eventually and start working again, but I don’t really think it will. Luckily I have a backup inside so I won’t get lost.

 

I’m trying to get five or six hours sleep each day to let my body recover and must say I’ve managed that almost every day at some time. At the moment I feel like I’ve been hit be a truck, but I expect to recover a bit with some more settled weather and some better progress as the weather improves.

 

I’m just about to prepare my evening meal which today I think will be curry as a treat for surviving the storm and as I get ready to eat I can’t help thinking how I miss my family and friends really badly. There are other things that I’ve taken for granted that I miss too, a takeaway when you feel like it, beer, chips…….. I’d better pull myself together and get on with it or there won’t be a dry seat in the house!

 

If anyone feels like texting me you can on 00881631635007

It’s a satellite phone and can receive texts. I can’t reply unfortunately, but it would be nice to hear from anyone who wants to say hello.

 

Anyway here we go into the blue yonder. You can check my progress on solosprint.com and at oceanrowing.com. I’ll send another update in a few days so cheers until then.