DAY 21 FROM ALEX It is our 21st day at sea... it is all starting to gel into one... a slave to the routine of 2 hours on and 2 hours off. I have reached a point where my body is beginning to accept what it is required to do and the pain and hurting is becoming a regular part of my 24 hours. Since my last blog, we have managed to gain a bit more momentum – we prayed for wind and did we get wind. However, this came at a cost as we faced big waves and rain resulting in us getting soaked through. Although we battled through it – morale was key and if the weather had persisted any longer – toys might have been thrown out the pram. I remember thinking to myself during one of these epic night shifts, waves crashing from each side, not knowing when you might be ejected from your rowing position ‘well Im already cold, wet and tired, what else could the Indian throw at me?!’ Weirdly, this brought about an strength by which all I wanted to do was fight back against the weather and inspired me to wake up and row my heart out... all 2 hour shifts come to an end... the next issue was how dry we could keep the cabins – but I believe Hamish may have already gone into some depth about that so I will spare you the details – a clean and dry mid region is crucial is all I am going to say... We have recently seen a bit of sun and quite pleasant rowing conditions – but also times when it feels like we are rowing through sludge taking huge toll on the body... unlike our first week at sea which seems like paradise now, our musto gear is never far away to protect from rain or heavy battering of waves... that said, we are cracking on and making the most of any good weather opportunities... we are expecting an easterly in a few days – which will be ideal... In terms of how I feel on board now as to at the beginning – I am much more content and wake up knowing where I am and that the weather could be knarly outside. In the early stages, I used to awake very disorientated and really have to think through what the hell was going on... being in the cabin can also make the weather sound 10x worse, as a wave slams into the side of the boat, you think holy shit, but in fact it has gone unnoticed by the boys on deck – not always though... We are all driven by the obvious drive that with every stroke we get closer to Mauritus. The further thought of our friends and family being there is also massive and is a highly spoken about topic on board. Angus and i miss good food... we talk about whilst on shift and have in fact planned our perfect 24 – 48 hours of meals when back on land... the food on board is very hit and miss – one of the issues with departing from Auz, meant we were limited – I eat after after every shift except one at 3am and yet i am never fully satisfied hence my day dream for proper food... That said – I think I am loosing weight. My calf muscles are close to non existent and my chest is certainly getting smaller... walking on land for the first time is going to be entertaining... Apologies for the waffle – I would usually be sleeping now! But I will sign off saying that my spirits are high 90% of the time and I still love rowing – in fact, one of my plans for when i am back in the UK is to train with a club, preferably in the Putney end of London.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 08:28:02 +0000
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