flat calm
Panatlantic
Sun 30 Dec 2007 18:32
|
hello everyone
well its the afternoon on day 26 (i think), at the
moment there is absolutely no wind and very little swell. the temperature must
easily be in the thirties so niall and i are both frying! i almost miss the cold
and wet winter of bristol!
for the last couple of days niall and i have really
stepped it up and as a result have recorded the highest mileage of all of the
pairs (according to the race organisers), its hard work especially in the heat
but seems to be paying off so we will keep it up as much as possible. we are
still waiting for the trade winds to come and give us a push, its very
frustrating as we were hoping to see the benefits before now, however the
forecast looks quite promising for a couple of days time.
my blogs must seem a little boring compared to
miguel's, i am genuinely concerned for his mental state at the moment. he will
be there happily rowing along and the suddenly burst out laughing, exclaiming
'ive got a brilliant idea for my next blog' which usually means an elephant on a
tricycle or invisible friend. NORMAL GUY! my rowing sessions are normally spent
thinking about my girlfriend, antigua or magners!
whilst i remember our podcasts are now available
online, if you go to original bristol's website they can be found under john
turner. we continue to speak to him every morning at 10.25am.
during one of my evening sessions i was fortunate
enough to be joined by a whale alongside, it was pitch black and at first i
could hear it blowing and then i could smell something different in the air. i
turned my head torch on and looked to the side just in time to see the whale
emerge from the water and dive back down again, i caught one more glimpse and
then it was gone. it is things like that which make me feel so fortunate to be
out here, the whale was easily bigger than our boat and was within 10 metres of
us, plus we are 1000 miles from land. how many people can say that they have
experienced that!
the nights continue to entertain as our minds play
tricks on us, i have managed to fall asleep whilst at the oars, only to wake up
and have 10 minutes of the shift left (result!), niall continues to wake up at
random intervals convinvinced its his turn to row, im not going to tell him next
time and enjoy the extra rest! overall it is getting easier, we have even found
a decent selection on the mp3 player to help pass the time.
we both look forward to the finish, by our
reckoning we should be about half way through by now in terms of days at sea,
the second half is always quicker especially when the trades finally show up. so
before long this whole adventure will be over and it will back to normal life.
for that reason we are determined to enjoy the time that we have left and make
the most of it.
well im afraid i dont really have anything strange
or funny to write about today, in my next blog i will be writing about bristol
zoo and the cameroon wildlife aid fund so look out for that on new years day.
after that i promise il take some of nialls 'special pills' and go a bit
nuts!
as i wont be in touch before, have a fantastic new
year! you'll hear from me again in 2008.
all the best
james
|