in the same boat

Panatlantic
Sat 12 Jan 2008 12:50
hi there everyone,
well the winds are blowing but progress is still frustratingly slow. we are determined to stay positive as we know we will get there albeit a little later than expected. contrary to nialls blog i am yet to have a full on break down, sure i get down at times but then im only human, niall doesnt get down but im yet to figure out what he is! my mood is affected by the weather but on the whole i am quite upbeat. for me the hardest thing is not knowing if il be home for england v wales. the longer we stay out here the bigger impact the experience will have on my future. im being made to wait when patience isnt my strong point, im in a routine where im very much random and im striving towards a very clear goal rather than dwindelling through life aimlessly as i was before. the experience has already changed me for the better and will continue to do so, it will change my outlook on life and certainly highlight the real priorities.
the next time i am stuck in terrible weather i shall laugh and think to myself 'it could be worse'.
 
well we are stuck in this crap weather along with two other boats - ocean summit (scott and neil), and mission atlantic (andy, justin, mark and nick). im not sure if you guys can read this or have it sent to you, but id thought id send you a message.
 
it was an absolute pleasure to meet you all, scott and neil on those very useful ocean navigation courses and the mission atlantic guys duringt our first sea trial, during which we raced and niall and i kicked ass but thats irrelevant now! im sure you are feeling as frustrated as we are but the most important thing is that we are still making ground towards our goal. this is a once in a lifetime adventure and the most important thing is to finish no matter how long it takes. id imagine that like niall and i you have planned this for months prior to the start and have now spent 6 weeks at sea, so for that reason a week or even 2 extra on the end shouldnt matter too much. in fact the longet it takes the sweeter that first beer will taste in antigua. there will be no way to describe the feeling when you finish and it will make all the hard times so worthwhile.
so my message to you guys is dig in, keep rowing, stay positive and you will get there! stay safe guys, il see you at the other side.
 
as i write this the wind is blowing strong and has been for about 5 days now, if it wasnt for the confused sea state im sure we would be making good progress so hopefully it will settle out soon. our speed for the last few hours is 1.9 knots per hour which given what we have been doing previously is pretty good. shortly il be going over the side to scrape the bottom of the boat in the hope we might gain a little more speed.
our predicted finish is now the first week of february but who knows, anything can happen! to put into perspective how unlucky we have been with the weather, the pairs record is just over 40 days which is tomorrow. come tomorrow we will have 1000 miles left and if we are lucky will be just under 3 weeks from the finish! it just goes to show that anything can happen when you decide to row an ocean, we have been lucky in that we have not endured hurricanes as they did in the last race so we are thankful for that.
 
the most important thing is that we will keep going until we get there, with 1000 miles to go it starts to look a lot closer. sure i will have good and bad days before the end but im fully prepared for that. my biggest frustration is still not being able to tell my girlfriend when il be back home but she continues to be amazing and so supportive. i guess the longer it takes the more special it will be when i see her next.
 
well thats me for today, my next blog is a little story i have to tell you as we have just met doras boyfriend and his brother. apparently they are pretty notorious in the atlantic and are know as the cray fish!
 
james