17 Dec, 05 – 19:50
Latitude: 25° 39′ N
Longitude: 24° 32′ W
Miles from La Gomera: see http://www.atlanticrowingrace.com
Miles to Antigua: 2083
Miles in last 24 hours: 9
I awoke this morning to the sound of silence. No roaring wind, no crashing waves, no rain hammering on the cabin roof. Could it be real? I opened the hatch and peered out. Oh happy day.
I’d gone to bed last night in a thoroughly bad mood. Surely other ocean rowers had endured worse things than a couple of days of bad weather, so why was I not handling it with greater stoicism and fortitude? I was convinced I’d underestimated the scale of the challenge, or overestimated my ability to handle it. So I’d stomped off to my cabin (as much as one can stomp in a distance of 3 feet on a violently pitching deck), had cancelled all night shifts, and hoped that life would look better in the morning.
It looked as if my prayers had been answered. It has been a glorious day of rainbows, light breezes, and plentiful sunshine to power my solar panels. The watermaker was back in action this afternoon, and the jerrycans are now replenished. I had enough electricity to run the iPod for the first time in days. I was able to dry out clothes that had been draped damply around the cabin, making the walls stream with condensation. There has been the occasional downpour, but even those were quite welcome, cooling my skin and providing water for my sprouting chickpeas.
So all in all we were shipshape and bristol fashion, I put in a solid if unspectacular day’s rowing, and life seemed to be on the up and up.
Except that as of 5pm Sid the sea anchor is out partying again – seems to be a regular Saturday party night for him – while another big low blows over. Apparently it’s unlucky to get a big low in this part of the Atlantic at this time of year, and to get two in a week is unheard of. Once again the Atlantic Rowing Race fleet sits and waits.
Devil take the hindmost
Apparently I have overtaken two pairs, so am no longer coming last. But it’s a marathon, not a sprint, so anything could yet happen…
Wind: 3 kts for most of the day, now too windy for me to stick my head out the hatch to check the instruments in case I get a soaking
Weather: bit of everything
Sea state: flat calm most of the day, now rough
Hours rowing: 6