Day 42 - Exactly 6 Weeks
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Exactly
6 weeks ago today we were on the start line in La Gomera – it has gone very
quickly for me and I feel very privileged to be out here. Most importantly is
that Rich and I haven’t had any major arguments and are still mates working
towards the same goal.
Word
of warning to you all – don’t try and stuff three quarters of a Terry’s
chocolate orange into your mouth in one as it is very hard to breath and takes
about 15 minutes to chew through! I got excited when I saw my Sunday treat
yesterday, Sadly
there wasn’t a FedEx Valentines air drop for us both yesterday although we both
did speak to our girlfriends which was really good. I’ve
just read the match report from the game yesterday and it seems we scraped
through against the Italians. The Grand Slam is still on though!
A
quick snapshot of the last 48 hours onboard HMS Red
Arrow…. Days
at Sea:
42 Last
48 Hours:
Saturday afternoon we were becalmed and after rowing in treacle for 8
hours and covering 5 miles we decided to put the para anchor out at 8pm . A
nights rest for both of us in the cabin and we were back on the oars at 10am as
the weather had changed. We did some boat stuff for an hour on Sunday and since
then we’re been back to the same old shift system. Other
Boats:
Nothing again and we’ve recently passed a few boats in the race and it
would be nice to actually see them and have some friendly banter with them as
you pass. What’s
been happening? An
update from the last couple of days………………… 1.
Not
your typical Sunday If
I was at home yesterday I would have woken up next to Laura, had a nice
breakfast, watched Match of the Day, skimmed through the Sunday Times, rang mum
up to find out what time she was cooking the roast for and watched England play
Italy before fallen asleep on the sofa. My day at sea was slightly different;
-
I
woke up next to a smelly sleep talking ginger man wearing just briefs! When both
of us are in the cabin we are literally shoulder to shoulder and when one moves
the other one normally wakes. Saying that, we did get our heads down on Saturday
night for 6 or 7 hours which was the most amount of sleep we’ve had in one hit
in about a fortnight. -
My
breakfast was a rice pudding expedition meal and the only way I have found to
make them palatable is to add large amounts of chocolate – this time I
sacrificed my Boost bar and mixed it all up. -
We
then gave ourselves an hour (30 minutes of each of our shifts) to do some other
boat maintenance in the early afternoon. I cleaned the hull again although there
nothing really there this time. It was lovely to get in the water and I then had
my weekly full body wash and felt like a new man afterwards. I was then on
rubbish duty and had to condense all our rubbish, bag it, duct tape it and
squeeze it into the most forward compartment in the bow. Rich was on lifeguard
duty for me when I was in the water and then sorted out his food
compartments.
2.
Movie
Night was back Having
one night in the cabin did mean that movie night was back. This time it was
Shawshank Redemption and although it is my favourite film I hadn’t watched it
for years. Rich was asleep 10 minutes into it – standard! It was just as good
this time and I knew what was coming. I love the quote, “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of
things and no good thing ever dies” - BRILLIANT! If you are reading this and
have never watched the film – shame on you and go to Blockbuster now, do not
pass go, do not collect £200 but just watch this ASAP and if you don’t like it
seek immediate medical attention. 3.
Quiz
Update We
had another quick game yesterday and I was victorious. Barnes 9 Points, Hume 4
Points. You’re probably expecting to hear it was 10 questions each – it was 20
questions each so I really shouldn’t be bragging! Looking
forward to;
A
few personal messages from me…………. Lin
Diaby -
Congratulations
and perhaps a mother and son/daughter crossing in the future???? I can sell you
a good boat if you need one???
Woking
Round Table – Thanks
to everyone from table for their emails. We really appreciate your support and
looking forward to coming down to the Wheatsheaf upon our return to show you the
5000 photos! Reynolds
-
Spot on with the position texts – top work. Sara
Hollingshead -
What an unexpected but inspiring letter and I love the way you wrote it
in small text and printed it out on tiny paper. Very thoughtful and thank you
very much. I hope the bump is doing well and I’m expecting a future Vandal
second row fundraising legend! Debbie
Pritchard -
Congrats
on the birth of your baby (not sure if you’ve a boy or girl) and it sounds like
it was the same day as Lisa in LA. No doubt it will play for West Avon
county! The
row must go on – Antigua here we come. Barnesy |