Well, after every low there comes a high, and Atlantic highs are really high!
A tumble dryer is a much better deal than a concrete mixer after all(Diolch Rowan ;0)
As we waited for Kilcullen, safety vessel, in the far distance we noticed two very large dolphins. Even at that distance they looked amazing. They didn't indulge us much though, just circled the boat to check us out, before disappearing out of sight. It was enough to brighten up the mood slightly anyhow.
Kilcullen came with their Irish humour and wit! Over the radio they talked me through how to fix the VHF aerial. We were down to a range of 1.5 miles (normally anything between 8 and 12 miles depending on waves) so we were very close to Captain French on New Year's Eve!! I've never used so many tools in my life (thank god for duck tape!) and I was very proud to see my new aerial standing up tall with a good range of 6 - 8miles!
Shortly after Kilcullen's departure we were in awe after a pod of at least 10 dolphins came to visit us. They swam within 10 m of the boat. They moved so graciously and effortless - it was truly amazing, and uplifting. It was like the two we saw this morning had gone to get their mates and said "Hey guys, you got to come and see this! There's two girls in a rowing boat - looking pathetic as they try to move through the waves. Let's go and show them how it's done!!" Their visit left us on a high, and the following day the sun started shining on us again.
We were slowly able to power up our things, and if continues again today we might even have enough water for our first shower of 2008! (Yes, we know, it's disgusting!). So, all be it painfully slow, we can at least report that we are moving in the right direction!
Final thought of the day:"Duck tape is like the force. It has a dark side, a light side, and it holds the universe together.
Microsites and External Links
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Monday, 7 January 2008
Sun = Power
The girls are conserving their lap top and sat phone energy as they wait for the sun to come back out and charge their solar power. It has been 5 days without sun now. This has also caused problems with the tracking beacon which should be resolved with a visit from the support boat.
Keep the messages coming as they stroke towards the half way mark!
As time goes on, the dreams of home, particularly home cooked food, is a hot topic! Herdip has put in quite an order for her ‘first meal’ to Bindi. I think she'll have to start cooking now as Herdip's hollow legs will need filling.
Keep the messages coming as they stroke towards the half way mark!
As time goes on, the dreams of home, particularly home cooked food, is a hot topic! Herdip has put in quite an order for her ‘first meal’ to Bindi. I think she'll have to start cooking now as Herdip's hollow legs will need filling.
Sunday, 6 January 2008
Just when we thought it couldn't get any harder . . . .
. . . . it did!
We found ourselves battling with south easterly winds. We battled for as long as we could to maintain our position, but after one large freak wave, crashing us beam on and leaving us with more adrenaline than a girl could ever need, we decided to put the para anchor out.
The weather pushed us back up north in 8 hours, what it had taken us 30+ hours to row. It is the most gut wrenching feeling ever, especially as you have no control what so ever over it.
Another freak wave caused panic as it nearly caused Karen & Duncan (our resident plastic ducks) to be washed over board. Luckily Duncan found safety in the toilet bucket (best place for him really) and Karen, with the aid of her buoyancy aids was found bobbing in the gully.
We were cooped up in the cabin yet again, like sardines being thrown around in a kwik save trolley, and this time it was even worse. Due the clouds we've had consistently for the past 5 - 6 days we had no solar power left, so no light to read, no charge on ipods for music or laptop for emails. Sat phone had to be switched off most of the time too. On a scale of 1 - 10 we felt minus 5!
Some messages from home were as always a boost to morale, some making us smile while some just reminded us of how detached we had placed ourselves from "normality". Yesterday, we thought would bring a change of mind set after Kilcullen the safety vessel called to say it was on our way to see us (tracking beacon down again). We gazed at the horizon patiently all day waiting to catch a first glimpse of them, and as the day went on we convinced ourselves that every crashing wave was the white of their sails. At 6pm and still nothing, we called them "Oh sorry girls, we went to see another female pairs crew instead!" "oh" So there we were stood up in the Atlantic even. The other girls must have better bikinis is all we can think . . . .
So as we finish our 5th week at sea, we start another day with strong easterly stopping all our efforts from going south. Talk of trade winds below 18 degrees North is like salt in a wound. But always a silver lining, at least the sun is back with us today ... and there's talk that Kilcullen might come visit us (if they are brave enough!)
We found ourselves battling with south easterly winds. We battled for as long as we could to maintain our position, but after one large freak wave, crashing us beam on and leaving us with more adrenaline than a girl could ever need, we decided to put the para anchor out.
The weather pushed us back up north in 8 hours, what it had taken us 30+ hours to row. It is the most gut wrenching feeling ever, especially as you have no control what so ever over it.
Another freak wave caused panic as it nearly caused Karen & Duncan (our resident plastic ducks) to be washed over board. Luckily Duncan found safety in the toilet bucket (best place for him really) and Karen, with the aid of her buoyancy aids was found bobbing in the gully.
We were cooped up in the cabin yet again, like sardines being thrown around in a kwik save trolley, and this time it was even worse. Due the clouds we've had consistently for the past 5 - 6 days we had no solar power left, so no light to read, no charge on ipods for music or laptop for emails. Sat phone had to be switched off most of the time too. On a scale of 1 - 10 we felt minus 5!
Some messages from home were as always a boost to morale, some making us smile while some just reminded us of how detached we had placed ourselves from "normality". Yesterday, we thought would bring a change of mind set after Kilcullen the safety vessel called to say it was on our way to see us (tracking beacon down again). We gazed at the horizon patiently all day waiting to catch a first glimpse of them, and as the day went on we convinced ourselves that every crashing wave was the white of their sails. At 6pm and still nothing, we called them "Oh sorry girls, we went to see another female pairs crew instead!" "oh" So there we were stood up in the Atlantic even. The other girls must have better bikinis is all we can think . . . .
So as we finish our 5th week at sea, we start another day with strong easterly stopping all our efforts from going south. Talk of trade winds below 18 degrees North is like salt in a wound. But always a silver lining, at least the sun is back with us today ... and there's talk that Kilcullen might come visit us (if they are brave enough!)
Friday, 4 January 2008
Riding the waves as daily rituals develop on DreamMaker
I’m back. Russia was an amazing holiday but boy did I miss my attachment to the Woodvale site!
Picture here of girls on Christmas day as taken by the support boat.
As of 1pm today the girls have rowed 1048 nautical miles – they have done well to close the gap between Atlantic Jacks who had taken great pride in passing the girls a few days ago. Although not in for a competition such gleeful statements by others only serves as motivation for our two tough cookies!
Here’s what they had to report today ……
”I'm in PA mode today, and typing as Dips shouts from the oars, so hear goes ...
Lets start with the weather - the weather has picked up and we have strong easterly winds, which is taking us in the right direction! However the waves are ENORMOUS . . . . . if only you could see our faces when we go over them!
Last night we tried to row, but as the moon has gone, the nights are VERY dark again. Not being able to see the waves coming (but boy do we hear them) makes it very difficult, so we rested a bit, letting the waves take us (generally) in the right direction. We felt like we were in a tumble dryer at one point! Big thanks to Dream Maker for keeping us safe!
It poured it down with rain as well, so both of us have been constantly wet for the last 24 - 36 hours. At least the decks are clean now - Dream Maker has never looked so shiny!
So that's the weather. Thought you'd like to hear about some general rituals that we’ve developed over the last month!
Firstly, we decided that cutlery washing was no longer needed! Whether this is down to poor resources, or complete laziness I'll let you decide. Instead we lick our spoons clean post meal, and if Elin has eaten a meat based meal a double-lick is required to maintain Herdip’s vegetarian diet.
Secondly, as rations are getting very low (coffee and hot chocolate already gone) we now manage to recycle one tea bag between the two of us for 2 - 3 days! Our taste buds have definitely changed over the last few weeks.
Thirdly, for amusement factor and to pass the time, our daily snack bags containing fruit gums and pastilles, gives us hours of pleasure in trying to see which one of us can suck them for longest - with no chewing! Thank god for TV adverts to inspire us!
Thank you, as always to you all for your continued messages of support. Lesley from CLIMB - thank you in particular, your support, and that of individual families, certainly means a lot and keeps us CLIMBing over those big waves!
Amy - Lou - please check spelling, typing on a moving target is not soeasy either!!
Let us know all the gossip from home when you can!"
Thursday, 3 January 2008
2 January 2008
Well, as of 12pm today we have been at sea a month! We can hardly believe it! To our great satisfaction, at 21 minutes past midnight we also managed to get under 20 degrees North (a feat that we had been struggling with since Boxing Day!) and we are now very closely embarking on the 1000 mile mark! All in all, a positive start to 2008!
Other thoughts as we reflect back on a month at sea:
A second can last eternity, but a day goes by in a flash.
Eating to live is not half as much fun as living to eat.
Sleep deprivation distorts EVERYTHING!
Lying in the cabin without a bra requires a health and safety assessment (either that or duck tape)!
A topic that is widely discussed on board, with a great level of interest is our bowel movement. According to Herdip, bowl movements,like the weather is a British topic of conversation, at which time sheprides herself on being Indian. Conversation is therefore strictly professional. Herdip's specialist gastro skills allows each movement to be assessed and scored. The impact of diet (peanuts, sweetcorn, curry) is widely analysed and the varying impact of the different makes of food (Norweigan or British) compared. Just to explain, the rehydrated food, if not prepared to soup like consistency, with lots of water, hits our stomachs and continues to absorb water - making us very, very constipated!
Just to put it in context, our 3 meter deck serves as a kitchen, dining room, shower room and toilet - giving the rower a prime viewing position whether she wants it or not!!Other facts that amuse us, is that when Herdip holds the oars, her thumband index finger overlap by about 1cm. When I hold the oars there is agap of around 0.5 cm between my thumb and index finger, which wouldexplain why my shins and Herdip's thumbs hurt! Her knuckles also do drag along the deck when she walks ...
Highlight of the day for me is counting out all the ginger (ok, orange) men in the Haribo supermix pack. Desperate times does call for desperate measures!
Our international "fan group" continues to grow, with 5 more countrieson the list Canada (the Bains family, Herdip's older sis & family sending love & support) Uganda (hope you're having a fab time in the African bush Sprecks, I will come with you next time!) Russia (hope you had a great holiday and welcomed the new year in style Amy Lou) Norway (bienevue familie de Mass!) Netherlands (Jack and Corry my Spanish beer drinking companions) with a new member in NZ (hope all is well with u and bump Abs!).
So that's it for today, I hope that those of you returning to work today don't find it too painful!
Other thoughts as we reflect back on a month at sea:
A second can last eternity, but a day goes by in a flash.
Eating to live is not half as much fun as living to eat.
Sleep deprivation distorts EVERYTHING!
Lying in the cabin without a bra requires a health and safety assessment (either that or duck tape)!
A topic that is widely discussed on board, with a great level of interest is our bowel movement. According to Herdip, bowl movements,like the weather is a British topic of conversation, at which time sheprides herself on being Indian. Conversation is therefore strictly professional. Herdip's specialist gastro skills allows each movement to be assessed and scored. The impact of diet (peanuts, sweetcorn, curry) is widely analysed and the varying impact of the different makes of food (Norweigan or British) compared. Just to explain, the rehydrated food, if not prepared to soup like consistency, with lots of water, hits our stomachs and continues to absorb water - making us very, very constipated!
Just to put it in context, our 3 meter deck serves as a kitchen, dining room, shower room and toilet - giving the rower a prime viewing position whether she wants it or not!!Other facts that amuse us, is that when Herdip holds the oars, her thumband index finger overlap by about 1cm. When I hold the oars there is agap of around 0.5 cm between my thumb and index finger, which wouldexplain why my shins and Herdip's thumbs hurt! Her knuckles also do drag along the deck when she walks ...
Highlight of the day for me is counting out all the ginger (ok, orange) men in the Haribo supermix pack. Desperate times does call for desperate measures!
Our international "fan group" continues to grow, with 5 more countrieson the list Canada (the Bains family, Herdip's older sis & family sending love & support) Uganda (hope you're having a fab time in the African bush Sprecks, I will come with you next time!) Russia (hope you had a great holiday and welcomed the new year in style Amy Lou) Norway (bienevue familie de Mass!) Netherlands (Jack and Corry my Spanish beer drinking companions) with a new member in NZ (hope all is well with u and bump Abs!).
So that's it for today, I hope that those of you returning to work today don't find it too painful!
Tuesday, 1 January 2008
Happy New Year!
Hi everyone, firstly we would like to apologize for no recent update, our blog editor decided to go to Russia for a holiday, I mean what are we paying her to do!!!
So recent events. We have had lots of flying fish flinging themselves at us most evenings. Elin got the worst of it, it must have been after school flying lessons that night. She got a real smacker in the face, full on. I personally can't stand the things and on the first few occasions stood there screaming like a girlie until Elin got rid of them, they jump and flap every where and trying to get a hold of them whilst alive is so hard. I now just leave them until the end of my shift to pick them up, so the flying fish are better off flinging themselves at Elin if they want some chance of survival. We also reckon 99% of them are brain damaged after bouncing off the boat on a regular basis.
The New Year, well never a dull moment for Elin and I. Elin was rowing and after a while said "Herdip do you think that light over there is a ship?" After having a quick look I was like oh yes Elin its a real big one and it seems to be heading right for us! We got onto the VHF, both
handheld and the fixed because unfortunately the aerial snapped off a few days ago and were not quite sure if the fixed VHF sent a signal. So in our wisdom we tested it out with our handheld, it seemed to work but no response from the rather big vessel approaching us. We
then started to say silly things on the VHF and I sort of used some French if you catch my drift about the size of this thing when a man's voice said I can hear you. He must have heard Elin and I prating around in our attempt to get their attention. Anyway, we had a chat they were
on another bearing to us, we think they were French due to the accent and I think they were heading to France, Elin just wondered if he sounded good looking!!!
Well we would like to wish all our followers a fantastic New Year, hope you all got drunk on our behalf, we had tea and chocolate which Elin had been salivating over all day, I'm surprised she hadn't eaten it.
Happy New Year, may all your dreams come true.
So recent events. We have had lots of flying fish flinging themselves at us most evenings. Elin got the worst of it, it must have been after school flying lessons that night. She got a real smacker in the face, full on. I personally can't stand the things and on the first few occasions stood there screaming like a girlie until Elin got rid of them, they jump and flap every where and trying to get a hold of them whilst alive is so hard. I now just leave them until the end of my shift to pick them up, so the flying fish are better off flinging themselves at Elin if they want some chance of survival. We also reckon 99% of them are brain damaged after bouncing off the boat on a regular basis.
The New Year, well never a dull moment for Elin and I. Elin was rowing and after a while said "Herdip do you think that light over there is a ship?" After having a quick look I was like oh yes Elin its a real big one and it seems to be heading right for us! We got onto the VHF, both
handheld and the fixed because unfortunately the aerial snapped off a few days ago and were not quite sure if the fixed VHF sent a signal. So in our wisdom we tested it out with our handheld, it seemed to work but no response from the rather big vessel approaching us. We
then started to say silly things on the VHF and I sort of used some French if you catch my drift about the size of this thing when a man's voice said I can hear you. He must have heard Elin and I prating around in our attempt to get their attention. Anyway, we had a chat they were
on another bearing to us, we think they were French due to the accent and I think they were heading to France, Elin just wondered if he sounded good looking!!!
Well we would like to wish all our followers a fantastic New Year, hope you all got drunk on our behalf, we had tea and chocolate which Elin had been salivating over all day, I'm surprised she hadn't eaten it.
Happy New Year, may all your dreams come true.
Christmas Day
Well, Christmas day arrived, with many squalls, which meant that both of us were drenched twice over before daylight. With all the cloud we sadly missed seeing Santa fly over head, and unfortunately he didn't feel the need to stop by ...
When morning came we opened our gifts and cards. I had a Welsh radio interview to distract me for a while. We then had numerous phone calls with family and friends, with floods of tears to follow.
Herdip drew a Christmas tree, holly and snowman in the cabin to get us in the mood!
Unexpectedly we then had a call from Kilcullen - support vessel - they were on their way to see us and wanted our position.Unfortunately our tracking beacon hadn't been working since 6am!! That would mean that our ever growing "fan-club" would not be able to follow the blue dot move across the PC, and for us, that they wouldn't be able to track us easily in the case of an emergency.
So wearing our musto deck shoes, bikinis, Christmas hats (thanks Bindi)and snowmen an Christmas tree earrings (thanks Gles) we were ready and excited for our Christmas visitors.
When you've been devoid of seeing other people for over 3 weeks, the excitement of having visitors is phenomenal! As the swells and waves were big and choppy, they had some difficulty finding us, and as our VHF radio didn't seem to be picking up, it was very frustrating seeing the sail, and not being able to shout "WE'RE OVER HERE"!
Christmas wishes etc and photos done it was down to the task of fixing the beacon which included getting into the cabin for clear instructions over radio ... out on to deck to track leads ... back in to cabin for radio check ... back on deck tolook under gunell ... then battery ... back into cabin to open electrics ... radio for info ... change fuse ... back to deckto point under binoculars that yes we were talking about the same piece of equipment (!!!!) ... and then finally a radiocheck to confirm that it was working!! (All this while trying to keep Dream Maker on the right bearing to avoid beinghit sideways on by the ever increasing waves!) Hooray - blue dot moving restored!
And as Kilcullen waved off into the distance, all smiles with their binoculars and extra zoom cameras we realised that maybe our outfits were not the most appropriate for the job at hand with 3 men (spending Christmas alone on a boat) starring at you!! Ah well, at least most of the day had now flown by without leaving too much time to gather thought!
So the rest of the day was spent rowing & resting as per usual, before we treated ourselves to tea and one of M&Ss finest Christmas cake. I exchanged my icing for Herdip's marzipan, the moon was beautiful and bright, and she even let me sing a few Christmas carols.I was full of joyous Christmas spirit as the day came to an end, as I sat on deck, thinking of my warm snug sleeping bag, waiting for a late running Herdip to take over rowing! I prided myself in my good will spirit for not hurrying her along (as usual) ... when ... SPLASH ... a massive wave came from no where and soaked me right through... HERDIP!!!
Today however our minds were fixed purely on the rowing, and we were getting very frustrated by our slow progress over the last 36 - 48 hours. Easterly winds had been stopping our efforts to get south to 20 degrees, and despite good swells we were just not going over 2 knots. Many people message us telling us to check our hull is clean, but as the swell had been, ad still was choppy, neither of us fancied a dip down under to check! frustration meant I had to bite the bullet and go for it though! Armed with mask, snorkel and scraper I looked like a true professional! I would have taken a photo but I was otherwise naked, which kind of distracted from the overall look! The bottom of the boat was COVERED in barnacles! little monster legs sticking out everywhere! So I scraped, and scraped, only stopping now and again to cough my lungs out when I swallowed a gallon of sea water! And whether it is psychological or not, we're certainly moving faster and easier now!
Following a "team talk" we also decided to abandon our previously set 20N30W way point, try to make the most of these easterly and head straight for Antigua!!!! 1886 miles to go!!!!!!!!! So I better get rowing ...
Cheers
When morning came we opened our gifts and cards. I had a Welsh radio interview to distract me for a while. We then had numerous phone calls with family and friends, with floods of tears to follow.
Herdip drew a Christmas tree, holly and snowman in the cabin to get us in the mood!
Unexpectedly we then had a call from Kilcullen - support vessel - they were on their way to see us and wanted our position.Unfortunately our tracking beacon hadn't been working since 6am!! That would mean that our ever growing "fan-club" would not be able to follow the blue dot move across the PC, and for us, that they wouldn't be able to track us easily in the case of an emergency.
So wearing our musto deck shoes, bikinis, Christmas hats (thanks Bindi)and snowmen an Christmas tree earrings (thanks Gles) we were ready and excited for our Christmas visitors.
When you've been devoid of seeing other people for over 3 weeks, the excitement of having visitors is phenomenal! As the swells and waves were big and choppy, they had some difficulty finding us, and as our VHF radio didn't seem to be picking up, it was very frustrating seeing the sail, and not being able to shout "WE'RE OVER HERE"!
Christmas wishes etc and photos done it was down to the task of fixing the beacon which included getting into the cabin for clear instructions over radio ... out on to deck to track leads ... back in to cabin for radio check ... back on deck tolook under gunell ... then battery ... back into cabin to open electrics ... radio for info ... change fuse ... back to deckto point under binoculars that yes we were talking about the same piece of equipment (!!!!) ... and then finally a radiocheck to confirm that it was working!! (All this while trying to keep Dream Maker on the right bearing to avoid beinghit sideways on by the ever increasing waves!) Hooray - blue dot moving restored!
And as Kilcullen waved off into the distance, all smiles with their binoculars and extra zoom cameras we realised that maybe our outfits were not the most appropriate for the job at hand with 3 men (spending Christmas alone on a boat) starring at you!! Ah well, at least most of the day had now flown by without leaving too much time to gather thought!
So the rest of the day was spent rowing & resting as per usual, before we treated ourselves to tea and one of M&Ss finest Christmas cake. I exchanged my icing for Herdip's marzipan, the moon was beautiful and bright, and she even let me sing a few Christmas carols.I was full of joyous Christmas spirit as the day came to an end, as I sat on deck, thinking of my warm snug sleeping bag, waiting for a late running Herdip to take over rowing! I prided myself in my good will spirit for not hurrying her along (as usual) ... when ... SPLASH ... a massive wave came from no where and soaked me right through... HERDIP!!!
Today however our minds were fixed purely on the rowing, and we were getting very frustrated by our slow progress over the last 36 - 48 hours. Easterly winds had been stopping our efforts to get south to 20 degrees, and despite good swells we were just not going over 2 knots. Many people message us telling us to check our hull is clean, but as the swell had been, ad still was choppy, neither of us fancied a dip down under to check! frustration meant I had to bite the bullet and go for it though! Armed with mask, snorkel and scraper I looked like a true professional! I would have taken a photo but I was otherwise naked, which kind of distracted from the overall look! The bottom of the boat was COVERED in barnacles! little monster legs sticking out everywhere! So I scraped, and scraped, only stopping now and again to cough my lungs out when I swallowed a gallon of sea water! And whether it is psychological or not, we're certainly moving faster and easier now!
Following a "team talk" we also decided to abandon our previously set 20N30W way point, try to make the most of these easterly and head straight for Antigua!!!! 1886 miles to go!!!!!!!!! So I better get rowing ...
Cheers
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
