Dictated by Roz and transcribed by her mother, Rita Savage.

Position: -05.97063S, 154.01878E

Spectra Watermaker in its Compartment

Today’s big news is that I have got my watermaker working again.  This is a huge relief.  Although I have now had ample experience of watermaker failure, it doesn’t get any easier. Once the watermaker goes I have a constant sense of being on a time limit, needing to reach my destination before my supplies run out, or else having to set aside a couple of hours a day to pump the manual watermaker.

And it deprives me of one of my favourite bits of the day, my bucket and sponge bath.  This happens after I finish rowing in the evening, after the sun has set. It feels so good to sponge the cool fresh water over my skin rinsing away the sweat, salt and suncream of the day

So today I made it a priority to get my water supply up and running again.  It took most of the morning. I tried a couple of other things before resigning myself to the fact that the feed pump was the source of the problem, and would have to be replaced. Ian Tuller had been on the phone to Spectra to identify a troubleshooting strategy (thank you Ian!). This was the third and final option, the last resort known between Ian and me as “Oh Shit” scenario.

The new feed pump was already set up as much as it could be to make it a plug and play operation, but it is never easy working inside a small compartment on the deck of a rolling boat, with hoses, wires and a heavy pump to manoeuvre into position.

It was a surprise and not a good one to find that the mounting plates of the pump were a different size from the old one so the bolt holes were in the wrong position. Getting the bolts in place was a nearly impossible task anyway as the heads of the bolts were in the next compartment over. So for me to hold the nut and turn the bolt was nigh on impossible. In the end I gave up and resorted to cable ties. Cable ties and duct tape, where would I be without them?

It was sweet music to my ears to hear the hum of a healthy feedpump after the anxiety-inducing erratic drone of its predecessor. I ran the watermaker long enough to replenish my depleted stocks relishing the sense of everything being shipshape once again.

Alas, that was the highlight of the day. It all went downhill once I started rowing. If yesterday’s course was a staircase today’s was a zigzag. I would slowly slog a feeble zig towards the south west, only for the current to send me on a speedy zag towards the south east. I crossed the line of longitude at 154 degrees east about seven (number indistinct in the voicemail) times today. I tried heading just due south to hasten my arrival in the more helpful current at 11 degrees. A testy little wind blew up unexpectedly from that direction, blocking it off as an option.

Stymied. I might as well have been on a rowing machine. Couldn’t  get south, couldn’t get west, and I didn’t want to go north or east.  As I write I am further away from Madang than I was at this time yesterday, and I was getting further still.

Sigh. Again. This too will pass , I remind myself.

Other Stuff:  Tonight I tried out the hot chocolate from Wilderness  Family Naturals. Fantastic! No transfats, unlike most hot chocolates.  A small consolation at the end of a trying day.

Only one big shift today compared with four yesterday.

I still owe you my confession, but today I wanted to share the good news about my watermaker. It will keep until tomorrow. Please don’t be cross with me, Joan.  It was a stupid thing rather than a bad thing. All will become clear.

Sorry Doug, still no glimpse of the crescent moon.  After a clear day the sun disappeared into a big dark cloud as it set.  I’ll keep looking.

Rita: Doug I did see the moon from my window here in Yorkshire, a very slim crescent, Saturday evening, not quite near the horizon. I discovered a couple of years ago that in midwinter the moon sets where the sun sets in midsummer.  As we are quite near to midsummer now, I was quite surprised to see it near where the sun was setting. I obviously don’t know all the facts. (We would never know from the chilly weather that midsummer is not far off.)

Looking forward to hearing about that confession  . . . . .

Grateful thanks for more information about contacts in Madang from Chris Bone, Aaron Hayes and David Lambourne.

Roz’s Ebay Store:

You can bid on an autographed picture of Roz Savage on her boat (The Brocade). Roz Savage is the sixth woman who has rowed solo 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, and aims to be the first to row all the way across the Pacific. This is the 3rd auction of the 5 autographed pictures that were available. The dimension of the picture is 8 1/2 by 11 inches. The 4th auction will  happen shortly before Roz reaches her final destination. The 5th auction will happen after Roz reaches land.  You can find the auction in the Roz Savage Items section or by following this link: http://stores.ebay.com/Roz-Savage-Ocean-Rower?_rdc=1

Sale! Reduction! The price of the Roz Savage Organic T-shirts has been slashed by 31%! Now selling at $19.99 each.

Solio Charger

Solio Classic Charger – find it under the Eco-Friendly Items.

Please remember the request from Blue Frontier Campaign to vote EVERY DAY for Roz and Margo: http://pep.si/9ZMuai
Also vote for our coalition partner Project Kaisei to help remove tons of floating plastic debris in our Ocean! Vote here: http://pep.si/alxXp

First, a quick brag:
Voted #3 in Top Ten Adventure Twitters by Outside Magazine – woohoo!

Now, on to the news…

The Brocade is now comfortably ensconced in her new home at Pacific Shipyards International on Pier 41. I had spent much of the last 8 months, almost ever since I landed in Hawaii, trying to find somewhere suitable to store her – with absolutely no luck. But like London buses, after none for ages, two come along at once…

Yesterday afternoon I was holding the fort in our “downtown office” at Waikiki Yacht Club while Nicole and Joel took the truck to tow Brocade from Pier 21 to Pier 41 so she could be repainted. Pier 21 was supposed to be for storage only, and we had already been pushing our luck by doing so much boatwork there. I had just received a rather terse note from the owner, asking me to move all my “crap” (his word) from the area around my boat. So painting there was definitely out of the question – and besides, the warehouse was so filthy that her pristine post-painting appearance would not have lasted for long. No point making her all pretty if she was just going to metaphorically roll in the mud. So as I Tweeted yesterday, a new location was urgently needed.

As I was catching up on my emails I came across a suggestion from Sindy Davis, blog reader, supporter, and now an in-person “real” friend as well, who suggested aircraft hangars. We had already tried a few such leads, but she sent me a link to Air Service Hawaii, which we hadn’t tried before. Not an immediate win, but a relatively short trail (only 4 phone calls) led me to Dan Espiritu, who immediately offered me space near Honolulu Airport at a huge discount.

My text to Nicole, celebrating the good news, crossed with a text from her saying that the guys at Pier 41, Pacific Boatyards, had welcomed the Brocade with open arms and offered her accommodation for as long as she needed – plus paint, under cover storage space, crane services, etc etc. This rather trumped the airport option, as the extra manpower and free paint would save us loads of $$$. Fantastic!

So now Joel is busy at work, prepping and painting the boat (see pictures), while Nicole and Conrad, local filmmaker and our new best friend, shoot footage of the works in progress. And I try to figure out if I have everything I need to sustain me for 100+ days at sea. Ocean rowing is almost unique amongst expeditions in that it is impossible to pop down to the corner store for anything that I have overlooked. I know of a crew of two guys who had to share a toothbrush the whole way across the Atlantic….

So here is my packing list so far – let me know if you see any omissions, but within reason, please. Every pound of weight is another pound I have to row across 2,600 miles of ocean!

Sawyers oars (4)
Rowing seat + spare wheels
Cushion pads and packtowel covers
Para anchor x 2
Leecloths for bunk
Manual bilge pump (in addition to fixed bilge pump)
Tripod mount
Handheld VHF radio x 2

Compass x 2
GPS x 3 (plus the one in my iPhone)
Toughbook PC x 2
Iridium satellite phone x 2
Tracking beacon
Aquapacs
iPod x 5
iPod headphones and waterproof bag
Pelicases
Spare batteries for everything
Inverter (US)
Pentax waterproof camera
Ricoh 500SE waterproof camera with geotagging

Foghorn
Axe (don’t ask – was required by Atlantic Rowing Race rules, and is now part of the furniture!)
Marine flares
EPIRB
Searchlight
Immersion suit
Liferaft
Lifejacket
Grab bag
Type-4 Coast Guard Approved Flotation Device

Vitamins, minerals, supplements
Nuts and seeds
Seeds for sprouting
Larabars
Freeze-dried food
Tinned fish

Pillows for bunk
Ocean Sleepwear sleeping bag
Silk inner sleeping bag
Pillowcase
Rowing shoes
Sun shades for hatches
Red ensign
Hawaiian flag

Charts
Scissors
Grease pencil (for marking up miles on whiteboard)
Sharpie
Pencils
Reading glasses & case
Log book
Knife and sharpening block

Knife, fork, spoon, teaspoon x 3
Mugs with lids
Water bottles
Seed sprouter
Measuring jug
Wooden spoons/spatulas
Hand pump for jerry cans x 2
Bungee cords
Assorted food storage jars
Jerry cans for water
Spare water bags for extra ballast
Thermos flask
Clips for sachets of food
Drybags for storing rubbish
Ziplock bags

Washing powder
Washing up liquid
Hospital-grade antibacterial cleanser
Funnel
Windproof lighter x 4
Matches
Brush and dustpan
Cloths and pot scourer
Bottle brush for water bottles
Clothespegs
Scrapers for scrubbing bottom of boat
Bedpan
Bucket x 3

Baseball caps
Fleece and long trousers for evening shift
T-shirts, shorts, sports bras
Rowing gloves
Anti-UV sunglasses & case

Cord (lots)
Headtorches
Sewing kit
Karabiners
Snorkelling mask
Waterproofs

Soap/shower gel
Moisturiser
Dental floss
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Alcohol/tea tree oil wipes
Cream to prevent chafing
Body lotion
Body scrubber/ chamois leather
Towel
Sun lotion by Green People

… and cuddly toys!

Grab Bag containing:
4 chocolate bars
4 small bottles water
Anti seasickness tablets
First aid kit
Fishing kit
Glucose sweets
Emergency rations
Grab bag
Knife
Lightsticks (6)
Personal EPIRB
Pocket strobe light
Red hand flares (2)
Signal mirror with whistle + float
Silva compass
Spare torch bulb
Thermal foil blanket
Tool kit
Waterproof torch
Foghorn
Handwarmers
Fishing line and weight
GPS

Toolkit comprising:
10″ mole grips
5 piece screwdriver set
6″ adjustable spanner
6″ pliers
Alum keys
Any specialised tools for equipment on board
combination spanners 94 – 10mm
glue
Hammer
junior hacksaw and blades
Stanley knife and blades
marine sealant
Amsoil Heavy Duty Metal Protector
epoxy repair kit
pack of metric drills
penetrating oil, WD40
reflective tape
self amalgamating tape
duct tape
small hand drill
set of metric drills
cable ties
Wet & Dry Sand Paper
Woodglue
Tape Measure
Alligator clamp, C-clamp
Leatherman
Electrical spares:
20 by 5mm 2 amp Fuses x 3
10mm nylon P clips x 4
10 amp fuse x 3
Twin pole plug ( cigar ) x 2
Nav light and bulb
Spare bulb for internal light
5 amp fuse x 3
Insulated Crimps x 5
Yellow Male Crimps x 6
20 by 5mm 1 amp Fuses x 3
Liquid Electrical Tape
20 by 5mm 3 amp Fuses x 3
20 by 5mm 5 amp Fuses x 3
Ties 3 sizes x 40
Mini Torch
Female Crimps x 4
Fuse wire 10m
spares for bilge pump
spares for watermaker
spares for steering system
spare seat
spare rowing gates
spare CO2 bottle for lifejacket
spare batteries
spare rudder pintles

First Aid kit:
Anti inflammatories
Dioralyte (for seasickness)
Ibuprofen gel
Micropore (tons!)
Painkillers
Seasickness patches
Biofreeze
Deep Heat
Ice packs
and a lot more besides – thanks to Expedition Doctor Aenor Sawyer!

Other stuff:

Happy Shiny Boat

Thanks to all who took part in a lively debate on Twitter and Facebook about what colour to repaint the Brocade. I took all these votes into consideration, but in the end had to come down on the conservative side and go with silver again because:

- it looks good with any colour sponsor stickers …
- it doesn’t get too hot to the touch
- if we have to do any creative editing with the video, using bits out of sequence, it will avoid having glaring continuity errors
- and, ultimately, I just couldn’t imagine her being any other colour!

But there will be little “accents” of colour (she says in her best camp-interior-designer voice) with sponsor logos, seat cushion (orange), and so on.

Pacific Paddler

I went paddling with the outrigger canoeists of the Waikiki Yacht Club last night – earning ourselves a beer or three (and WHOSE idea was the tequila?!) in the yacht club bar last night. And paddling is meant to be good for your health?!

About to dash out of WYC to go do a live interview with Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central – catch it here!

San Francisco, California

Use 1: Atlantic Row Day 48 – my fourth and last oar broke. I wasn’t even halfway across the ocean. I was determined to maintain my unsupported status so rather than calling for replacements, I had to make do and mend using only what I had on board – a telescopic boathook and duct tape. I used the boathook as a splint, and bound the whole thing tightly in duct tape. I would row with these cumbersome, patched-up oars for the next 1500 miles. [Illustrated above: note stylish silver duct tape on oars on both sides of the boat.]

Use 2: Duct Tape Wallet – if you should happen to find yourself in need of a wallet, and for some reason you don’t have access to a wallet shop but you do have access to a duct tape shop, here’s what to do.

Part 3: Duct Tape Case for your iPod Nano – no problem!

Hard to imagine the need arising, but you never know. Duct tape and cable ties – surely the most versatile DIY kit ever.

Oar before the repair