Blog/Diary

Two days ago we set off from the parachute anchor in 12th place determined to establish our old shift patterns. It didn’t take long before the old niggles and pains kicked back in. After a good old slog we managed to claw back to 9th place and seemed to be going along quite nicely. Unfortunately over the past 18 hrs both wind and swell have been absent with a flat calm sea, and residual current in a north easterly direction, making progress difficult and slow. Frustrating and boring in equal measure, but our spirits are high and when the weather changes we are ready to bounce back.

We’re back in business. After 6 days sat going backwards the weather has turned and we are finally on the way to Antigua, the hunt is on! (again) and it feels good to get back on the oars. It felt like Odysseus didn’t even have the crap we’ve had to put up with over the past week. We can add a Giant turtle, Marlin and yellow fin Tuna to the list of  our aquatic groupies. Thus far all wildlife has been of the goodie variety, and we’re wondering what fate has in store for us in the way of baddies. Thanks for all your comments keep them coming- hopefully not too long to the finishing line now.

Oh dear, 4 days on the parachute anchor and were’re beginning to look (and behave) like wild men in a cave. The wind died down slightly today so we had a crack at rowing,  however it wasn’t much use,  as soon as we pulled we drifted back again. We can’t wait for the weather to turn again so we can set our backs toward Antigua and start covering some miles.

There have been rumours of a storm brewing over the past few days and the initial stages of that storm are starting to be felt. Although it is very calm, the wind has changed to a south west head wind and the swell is constantly hitting our beam.  Very slow progress today, it has been like rowing through tar, eventhough we did overtake Vivaldi at quarter past four last night.  I hope the weather picks up again as the heat is unbearable without the wind. We’re just hunkering down, getting prepared for the storm at the moment. Thanks to all again for the support, it really keeps us going, love to the twaef for the messages, they are brilliant.

With a sea state more confused than Karl Pilkington talking about evolution, it has been a frustrating 24hrs. Although we have still managed to cover some good ground, the next few boats are only 10 miles or so away and we are closing in fast . There is a potentially big storm on the horizon but we are fairly confident that, if we play it right, we can gain some serious miles on the fleet- it’s going to hurt though.

Thanks to Frank Miller from Tenby for the chocolate, (Abbots Choice) it’s really keeping us going through the evening shifts and maintaining morale at night. Everyone from the Robin Hood crew, the messages of support getting through are brilliant, and they are really driving us on!