Pacific Revisited: Disaster Minus 6

Continuing my series of revisits to my Pacific blogs of 2007, the attempt that ultimately ended in humiliation and failure… why am I doing this to myself?! Here we are on Day 5, just 6 days away from disaster.

Day 5: Sid the Sea Anchor Makes His Debut

Ever since I set out I have been rowing against the wind – and ocean rowboats are not designed to do this. They are bulky and present a lot of wind resistance. But luckily the winds have been light so I have been able to make headway. But today the conditions started to get slightly more challenging. The wind was coming straight out of the south – the direction I am trying to go in order to get into the helpful tradewinds.

[Comment: of course I plan my routes to work WITH the prevailing wind, but “prevailing” only means that they are being helpful about 90% of the time. The rest of the time they could be blowing me sideways, or even backwards. And that’s when motivation gets a bit more challenging.]

As well as the wind getting stronger, the swells were also getting larger, making it difficult to get both oars in the water at the same time. It’s tougher – both mentally and physically – rowing across these lumps and bumps than on smooth water. I don’t mind rough conditions when they are carrying me in the right direction, but when they are against me I find it harder to maintain my zen calm and towards the end of the day was getting distinctly grumpy.

Eventually I’d had enough and decided to debut my new sea anchor, Sid the Second, made by Para Anchors of Australia. (Sid the First had to be given his liberty just 2 days from Antigua on my last row – see Part 3 of my Atlantic video). A sea anchor is a large parachute on a long rope that is attached to the bows of my boat, and stops me from being blown too far backwards. I’ve put Sid out to preserve those hard-won miles while I get some rest.

[The loss of Sid the Sea Anchor Mark 1 still fills me with shame. I had no choice – without the tripline I couldn’t collapse the anchor and it was dragging me away from Antigua, but I absolutely hate to think of Sid rolling around the oceans, possibly entangling wildlife and other pieces of flotsam and jetsam. Mea culpa!]

The old body is bearing up pretty well so far, with no evidence yet of the shoulder problems that plagued me on the Atlantic. The only physical damage so far is a nasty case of sunburn. I have been religiously applying my Green People sun cream every day – although despite my best contortions I have not managed to find a way to reach that awkward bit in the middle of my back – the one big downside to being a solo rower.

[Funny – I was raving about Green People sun cream just the other day, in conversation with Nick Rees. He and his crewmate Ed will be rowing the Atlantic this December in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Nick’s wife being a survivor. I highly recommended they use Green People’s sun lotion, as they’ll be absorbing gallons of the stuff (and/or washing it off into the ocean) and we don’t need any more non-organic lotions on our bodies or in our oceans.]

There was just one day that I left it late to apply the sun cream, and that was Day One – I was fooled by the fog cover that day into underestimating the strength of the sun. I know for sure that it happened then because that was the only day that I wore clothing, and the outline of a Y-back sports bra now indelibly imprinted on my back is a telltale clue. Everywhere but the Y, my poor red English skin is now erupting into very unattractive bubbles, that will shortly even more unattractively peel off in huge swaths. I look some kind of hideous warty monster. I hope to look more like a human, and less like the creature from the black lagoon, by the time I reach Hawaii.

[Attractive! :-]

P.S. Some good news – I have now officially crossed the Line of Death, aka the Line of Rainbows and Happiness (depending on your point of view or liking for dramatic hyperbole) and am now very unlikely to be swept ashore by winds or currents. I am past the point of no (involuntary) return.

[How wrong I was!]

Featured photo: TV presenter Phil Keoghan tries out the Brocade on San Francisco Bay before my 2007 departure.

Yesterday I went to Henley Royal Regatta to watch the rowing. Well, okay, to be strictly truthful I would have to say that I went to drink Pimm’s, natter with old friends, and occasionally glance over at the rowing. I had to miss far too many Henleys while I was mucking around on oceans, so I really appreciated being there. Even better, the sun shone!

Henley remains one of my favourite events in the English summer calendar – quintessentially English, done the way it has been done for over 150 years, and mobile phones banned from the Stewards’ Enclosure – how civilised! A big hello to all the friends we bumped into yesterday – thanks for making it such a memorable day, and good luck to all the crews who are still hoping to make it through to the finals on Sunday.