Thursday, November 30, 2006

LaGmra Day 7 - CHECKLIST - Emergency & Distress 30 Nov, 06 - 22.14

The Bow Hatch has been reserved for
1. Primary & Secondary Para Anchor & Ropes
2. Survival Suit
3. Backup Iridium & C3 Communications Kit
4. Mooring ropes
5. Flares & Distress signals
6. Emergency grab bag
Tomorrows schedule covers VHF licencing and loading the center hatches.
** CHECK LIST - EMERGENCY GRAB BAG **
1 x inflatable life vest
1 x personal sea anchor
1 x mountain space blanket & radar reflector
1 x thermal midlayer
1 x diving knife
2x skyblazer aerial flairs
3 x Orion rockets
1 x MCA Solas hand flare
1 x flashlight
1 x strobe light
1 x day visual distress flag
1 x dried biscuts
1 x Katadyn Series 06 watermaker
** CHECK LIST - FLARES & DISTRESS SIGNALS **
(1) Red - Long range day and night distress +++
2 x Red MK 3 Para Rockets Pains Wessex
(30 miles / 40 secs @ 30,000 cp - means candles)
2 x MK 7 Hand Flares Pains Wessex
(60 secs @ 15,000 cp)
2 x Hand Flares MCA Solas App.
3 x Sky Blazer Aerial Flares
(2) Orange - Signalling (Aircraft) +++
2 x Orion Handheld (5 miles / 60 secs)
2 x XM Floatable (4 miles / 2 mins)
(3) White - Collision avoidance / Warning +++
2 x Ikaros handheld (60 sec @ 10,000 cp)
1 x Hand Held Pains Wessex (40 sec @ 10,000 cp)
(4) Guns +++
Orion 25 mm X 2
Orion 20 mm X 4
TODAYS PHOTOS -
1. Emergency Grab bag & survial kit split into
061130_grabbag
2. Flares & Distress Signals
061130_flares
3. Snapshot of the project plan, to give you an idea of how it has been planned over the past two years.
061130_projectplan

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

LaGmra Day 6 - Hull work complete, VHF licencing 29 Nov, 06 - 23.34

The weather has been holding up, as advertised by the OPC weather bureau, (http://www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/), with the 96 hr surface
forecast promising good North Easterly winds.
Most of the work has been completed on the hull, including
the painting. The weather here has been hot over the summer
resulting in the glue on the earlier stickers bonding with the
EPOXY and paint on the hull. The hull has now been sanded
and repainted and the coat of anti fouling applied.
Tomorrow should be the last day in dry docks. We are on
schedule for a 5th Dec Departure.
Hard to leave the business world behind. Most of last
night was spent role playing CFO in front of Excel. Managing cashflow, invoice payments, accounting, billing by contractors,
project plans etc. Other fun roles for now include webmaster, electrician, cameraman, nutritionist, news reporter and maintainence technician.
We've been using our VHF walkie talkies for internal communication around the island. Despite the number of ships around these waters, the traffic on the VHF channels including 16 is surprisingly un-busy compared to the waters around New York, where its often split to Channel 9.
Amongst other formalities, is the VHF licence and clearance
papers for the two on board radios. For those new to this list, a call sign is what is issued for the vessel along with its licence. The call sign is a unique identification for your vessel and is recognised world-wide.
Once issued, OFCOM registers it with the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva along with other
particulars of the ship station. This information is then made
available to all other administrations.
The boats call sign is MissOlive, same as the name. Why?
The boat was bought from Virgin Atlantic, and was rowed by
Oliver Hicks over the North Atlantic last year. Hence the
name. I haven't been very concerned about the name nor had
the time. As long as it’s easily understood in radio transmissions.
Must admit, we did briefly discuss changing the name to
something a bit more relevant. But there is sailor’s advice
and there is sailor’s superstition. As it goes, its bad luck to
change the name of a boat. And that was the end of that
discussion.
More cheerful marine superstitions for your enjoyment can be found here:
http://pacificoffshorerigging.com/nautical_superstitions.htm
All from the OR team are now on La Gomera. Kennith Crutchlow (Exec Director ORS), Tatiana, Pavel Rezvoy, Dimitry, Ted, Andreu Mateu (CEO of D&A), Stu Turnbull and Ed Baylis.
On average, the Atlantic is the saltiest of the world's major oceans; the salinity of the surface waters in the open ocean ranges from 33 to 37 parts per thousand (3.3 - 3.7%) by mass and varies with latitude and season.
The salinity will put a strain on the desalinator and hopefully the water maker will hold up for atleast 2000 miles off shore at which point I can safely switch to the 200 litres ballast reserves in case of failure.
That’s all for now!
cheers,
B
TODAYS PHOTOS -
1. 96 hr surface weather stats from OPC
061129_1A_96hr500bw
2. Hull work complete
061129_2painted
3. The critical and equally unlovable Onboard Katadyn desalinator & filteration system.
061129_katadyn

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

LaGmra Day 5 - Painting 28 Nov, 06 - 20.16

A short one today. Last 2 days of work left with the boat is scheduled to be in the water tommorow.
Schedule for tommorow:
Morning:
Painting & Stickering
Afternoon:
Applying antifouling paint on the hull and marine trials.
Time and tide permitting, marine trials.
The weather has been hot with little wind. For some reason, there were more tourists on the island today than I have seen over the past 6 months. Some travel guide somewhere (I suspect Lonely Planet) must have recommended a visit to La Gomera because its off the usual tourist trail. How ironic.
Today has been more work on sanding the hull. In the spirit of cross training, was my run to the top of the volcano on the island.
The cooker still remains an issue to be closed. Shipping a replacement from the US would take too long. I will have to put my trust in Russian engineering for now.
Victor Gavrishev & the team arrived yesterday. Andreu Mateu arrives later tonight. Kennith, Tatiana, Stuart Turnbull & Ed Baylis arrive tommorow.
Another long day tommorow.Thats all for now.
Over and out
B
TODAYS PHOTOS -
1. The rain forest in the crater of the volcano
061126_4forest
2. Overlooking the Atlantic from the top of the volcano
061126_5overlooking
3. Valley Gran Rey, the small fishing village on the other side of the island, 40 mins by boat from San Sebastian
061128_1viagranrey

Monday, November 27, 2006

LaGmra Day 4 - Hull & Epoxy 27 Nov, 06 - 20.26

Apparently 10 days ago, La Gomera was hit by a storm with
severe flooding on the island. The weather right now seems to be holding up quite well. Strong northerly winds with calm seas.
Here's hoping that it stays that way for the next 10 days,
giving me enough time to clear the island.
Ironically, I feel I will be much more relaxed once I have lost
sight of land. Right now, I feel a bit tense about getting out of
the islands.
There is something to be said about the people on the island.
My boat has been in the marina (which has public access) for
the past 6 months and not a single piece of equipment has gone a miss. Everything is just they way as I left it. That says a lot about how safe and trustworthy the people of the island are.
The welcome I got on my return has also been touching,
meeting a lot of the friends I made on the island over the three months I spent on the island earlier this year.
Thanks to everyone for the hospitality extended over the past
few months.
Today was more work on the hull and patching up a few
gashes with Epoxy resin. The solar panels and satellite
connectivity is working well and the rudder has been re-enforced.
I'm feeling a bit under the weather at the moment. Some of
the lead in the antifouling paint must have gotten into the
system.
I have also stopped long distance training for now, so I have
enough rest for the start. My training schedule has been
reduced to a few laps on the bay. I'm trying to put on as much
weight as possible before I leave, enjoying my last few meals
on land, cramming in 5 meals a day. My weight is about 110
kg right now.
One of the upsides, rowing the Atlantic is its an
open cheque to eat as much of anything as you like.
On the project plan for tomorrow is a formality of the VHF
radio licence test, painting the boat, returning the old Argos
beacons to France and re-snickering the boat. We are on
schedule for putting the boat in the water on Wednesday for
one final sea trial on Thursday.
Thanks for the messages everyone. I am getting tons of
emails a day. I can't reply to them all, but I do read each and
every one of them.
TODAYS PHOTOS -
1. Solar panels on the 6 ft hatch (my living space)
061127_2solarpanels
2. The rudder
061127_1rudder
3. A Typical Canarian meal of Stake, Chips, Rabbit meat and Mojo
061127_3meal

Sunday, November 26, 2006

LaGmra Day 3 - KBO 26 Nov, 06 - 23.10

Work on sanding hull continues. The antifouling paint has
worked swimmingly well. The paint has lead, which deters
barnacles growing on the underside of the boat. Considering
that it has been in the water for 6 months, it is in good shape.
Tomorrow, repainting starts. All systems are ship shape.
The issue of gas canisters need to be resolved. Argos
beacons arrive on Wed.
The village has been really quite today, the only sound that to
be heard is a motorcycle going past and the occasional dog
barking. Even the water fountain in the village shuts down on
Sundays.
Our work goes on.
TODAYS PHOTOS -
1. Scrubbing the growth off the hull
061126_1scrub
2. San Sebastian Village
061126_2village
3. Natural sea water pool. A great idea, but impossible to
swim in with the waves breaking over the side very
time there is a day in the week
061126_3seapool

Saturday, November 25, 2006

LaGmra Day 2 - Dry Docks 25 Nov, 06 - 20.43

It’s been a long day. The better part of the morning was spent
scrubbing the hull and removing the stickers that have faded
due to exposure to the sun. The rest of the day as spent
prioritizing the equipment to be taken.
The gas cooker and canisters have suffered from salt corrosion since April and will have to be replaced. The original gas cooker was custom built, fitted on a gimbal to enable it to stay horizontal regardless of which way the boat rolled.
Finding a replacement in time will be a problem.
Kennith Crutchlow and Tatiana Rezvoy are due to arrive with the Argos beacons on Wednesday and we should be good to go by Friday.
Looking forward to leaving,
thats all for now,
B
TODAYS PHOTOS -
1. Faded stickers due to the exposure to the sun
061125_2stickers
2. A little growth on the underside of the hull.
061125_1hull
3. Fred Olsen Ferry across to La Gomera. It claims to be the
fastest ferry in the world, with massive 20,000 Horse Power
diesel engines. I assume this is the closest you get to a sense of urgency in the Canary Islands.
061125_5fredolsen

Friday, November 24, 2006

LaGmra Day 1 24 Nov, 06 - 22.15

First task in the morning, going over the project plan with
Pavel. The boat is currently in dry docks on the marina.
On the to-do list for the next few days
1. servicing the water maker (onboard desalinator)
2. electricity & solar panels
3. antifouling on the hull
4. re-painting and re-stickering the boat
5. food rations check
6. equipment check
7. GPS, Satellite phones check, radar reflector
8. Quick once over on the EPIRB, Survival suit, Flairs
9. VHF radio licence
10. Rowing positions
La Gomera is the second smallest of the 6 Canary Islands. Alternatively the 5 biggest. As you like it. It howver the most diverse. The beach is black volcanic ash, a product of the extinct volcano at the center of the island, which is now home to a rain forest in its crater.
TODAYS PHOTOS -
1. Marina La Gomera
061124_1marina
2. A few classic 100 yr old boats currently moored there,
waiting to make the annual journey across the Atlantic,
Morocco or the Cape Verde Islands.
061124_2marina 
061124_4marina

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Madrid - Tenerife 23 Nov, 06 - 21.35

The flight from Madrid to Tenerife is around 2 and half hours,
excluding the 1 hour delay.
With a project such as this, there is so much to do, its not often you get the time to consider the magnitude of the challenge. Flying over the Atlantic, there is nothing but blue sea below for miles around. Looking down knowing that I will be trying to cross that soon in a 23 ft boat,
seems like watching a car crash in slow motion
The trade mark feature of Tenerife, Mt El Tiede, the worlds
tallest volcano at over 3000 meters high popped to the left of
the plane, just before we touched down at Tenerife North
Airport, Puerto De La Cruz.
Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands, the others being
Lanzarote, Fuerte Ventura, Gran Canaria (the capital), Las
Palmas, La Gomera and El Hierro.
While its geographically closer to Africa (just about 40 miles
across the water from Lanzarote to Senegal), it is a part of
Spain. The reason being, I assume, it would be of considerable strategic interest if Spain were ever to go to war with the Western Sahara.
These days however, it has become a gateway to the EU for refugees from Africa, who make the risky journey across the strait in small over
crowded fishing boats looking for a better future.
On arrival, the impression is that Tenerife just
discovered capitalism last week. What remains of a beautiful islands is largely a construction site with a volcano in the middle, reduced to little more than a cake decoration.
Going by the tourist brocures, the place to be seen at right now is the large Aquapark resort and 500+ room hotel.
I have not yet figured out why anyone would build an Aquapark on an island. An indoor ski resort, like in Dubai, would have been the more logical thing to do.
We you drive down from the North of Tenerife Gran Canaria is visible
across the water which disappears as La Gomera appears towards the South. Another 45 mins on the 6.15 ferry to the final destination,
completes exactly 12 hrs of travel time from Madrid to La Gomera.
Pavel Rezvoy has been on the island since yesterday. The rest of the evening was spent discussing the project plan and the to-do list for the next few days.
TODAYS PHOTOS -
1. View of the Atlantic from above
061123_1atlantic
2. El Tiede as seen by air approaching Tenerife
061123_2eltiede
3. Tenerife as seen from the air
061123_2tenerifeair

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Madrid Day 4 22 Nov, 06 - 22:23

This is a short one. The equipment has been delivered to Spainair for air freight to Tenerife tommorow.
The transition from Swedish to Spanish has been finally made. It is indeed a minefield of J pronounced as a Y and H, O as E, Y as a J, V as a B, E as an A... and list goes on..
The brain has been debugged and should be clear sailing from now on.
We leave for Tenerife tommorow. More tommorow.
B
TODAYS PHOTOS -
1. Streets around Tribunal
061122_1tribunal
2. Playing basketball for a change
061120_5madrid_bball
3. Madrid by night
061120_6madrid_night

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Madrid Day 3 21 Nov, 06 - 9.24

We got the rest of the equipment today from Iridium Systems
and FNAC. All set to go and looking forward to La Gomera.
Now what are the chances of turning up in a city and finding out that some one you met with briefly 4 years ago, lived 200 yards away from your apartment?
After finishing our days work, it was a pleasant surprise to meet John Perring, who happened to be working across the floor from me at Reliance Infocomm on the branding and retail design for WebWorld.
He now runs a design company and a wine yard in Madrid and by the looks of his apartment, he is very good at what he does, along with
being the best guide to all the Tapas bars around Tribunal.
Tribunal is best described as the SOHO of Madrid, lots of art
shops and great Tapas bars, about 10 mins walk from the
center. Worth a peek next time you are in Madrid.
Our tour of Tapas bars ended at 5.00 am topped of by fried eggs, blood sausage and wine from Johns own wine yard.
A side note for the tecchie people like me reading this, earlier in the day I found something I had been searching for over the past 2 years. A wireless 2.5" network hard disk with an FTP and Access Point built in. Perfect home file sharing network. Just what the doctor ordered. Check it out on www.conceptronic.net
TODAYS PHOTOS -
1. My morning run down Grand Via
061121_1mad_grandvia
2. An old Tapas bar around Tribunal. Johns recommendation.
061121_6tapas
3. Dinner with John & Pablo et al.
061121_7john

Monday, November 20, 2006

Madrid Day 2 20 Nov, 06 - 16:14

I’m usually quite confident of my navigation skills - thats until I
got lost in Madrid during my morning jog and ended up in the
Chinese part of the city, with Chinese supermarkets and Levis
for $5. They even had an Interflora shop selling plastic flowers to
complete the realistic Beijing experience. This is not the kind of
place you could possibly find on purpose.
In my defence however, I was listening to my ipod while running, so
wasn’t paying much attention to the city as I ran thru it. To their credit, it was worth every bit of the detour just to hear them speak Spanish with a Chinese accent.
We were due to pick up our equipment at 2.00 pm from Iridium Systems, so the better part of the morning was spent jogging around in a circle from Tribunal, down Grand Via past the Templo de Debold (a 16th century Egyptian sun temple) and Palacio (the Royal
Palace, which seems more like a low budget version of the
Winter Palace in St. Petersburg), Embajadores and back to
Sol (the Piccadilly circus of Madrid). Far more scenic
run than the average session at the gym.
We turned up to collect the equipment, only to find out that only
half had arrived today and we would have to wait for the rest to
be cleared tomorrow. Customs bureaucracy at its finest. On the way back, we managed to pick up a game of street basketball, near
Embajadores, making a refreshing change from rowing.
TODAYS PHOTOS -
1. Templo de Debold
061120_1madrid_templo
2. Chinatown
061120_4madrid_china
3. The Royal Palace 
061120_3madrid_palace

Madrid Day 1 19 Nov, 06 - 21.24

We arrived in Madrid this afternoon, dragging 40 kilos of luggage including 22 kilos of Protein powder. A last few bits of equipment to pick up before I meet with Pavel Rezvoy in La Gomera. We have found its far quicker and easier to carry things into the Canary Island via air than getting it shipped across by a freight company. The customs at the Canary Islands combined with their tendency for extra long siestas in the islands make getting anything shipped across a nightmare. While Stockholm city seems to be planned by someone with a ruler and a pencil, Madrid city seems to have been put together by a 5 year old with a box of crayons. Its chaotic, colourful and its got a great buzz to it.
Tenerife and La Gomera the day after.
The Contact 3. system, used to maintain this blog via satellite phone, is working swimmingly well, thanks to the team at Exploretech.
To recieve an email alert as soon as a new updated is posted, click on the link below.
http://www.humanedgetech.com/expedition/bhavik/newsletter/index.php
TODAYS PHOTOS -
1. Gran Via, Madrid
061121_2mad_grandvia
2. Apartment Block
061120_2madrid_penth
3. Gran Via South
061120_madrid

Oslo - Madrid 19 Nov, 06 - 08.10

1000 swedish crowns for a flight from Stockholm to Oslo. 500 Swedish crowns for a taxi to the airport. Living in the Nordics can be such fun.
A brief visit to Oslo today for some work and an evening flight to Madrid. Oslo, situated by Oslo Fjord is one of the nicest cities in Europe, though not the cheapest. Its rather entertaining to watch the Norwegians travelling across the border for cheaper shopping in 'Sweden'. Almost like going from McDonalds to Burger King in search of a healthy meal
TODAYS PHOTO - Oslo Fjord
061119_osloffjord

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Ulfsunda Slott - Good bye Stockholm 18 Nov, 06 - 15.30

My last night in Stockholm for what will be the next 4 months. So far, on schedule. A close friends birthday at Ulfsunda Castle and then straight to the airport for Oslo. Ulfsunda Castle is about 20 minutes outside stockholm city near Bromma. The Castle was built during the years 1644 -1647 by one of the premier Swedish generals during the 30 year war; Lennart Torstensson.
TODAYS PHOTO - Ulfsunda Slott

061118_ulfsunda

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Canary Current 12 Nov, 06 - 3:24

By this time, the trade winds have begun to settle in quite well and Nov 28 has been forcasted as the best possible time to leave. We expect cold weather for the first few weeks, due to the cold water Canary current. At this time of the year however, we expect also the currents to be at their peak strength, which should make for a faster crossing. Seems like a few cold days at sea will have to be the trade off.
The Canary Current flows along the African coast from north to south between 30°N and 10°N and offshore to 20°W. Like other eastern boundary currents, it is wide (1000 km) and slow (10-30 cm s-1), and it flows year-round towards the equator. Its surface waters are relatively cool because as it travels south it entrains upwelled water from the coast (Mittelstaedt 1991). On average, the current is about 500 m deep (Wooster et al. 1976) and flows at a speed of 10-15 cm s-1 (Zhou et al. 2000). The Canary Island Archipelago reaches depths of more than 3000 m and thus forms an obstacle to the flow of the Canary Current (Barton et al. 2000).
The Canary Current system contains coastal upwelling, filaments, and eddies (Johnson and Stevens 2000). Eddies with length scales of 100 to 300 km form along the coastal boundary of the current. The eddy kinetic energy values for the Canary Current are less than 100 cm2 s2.
A branch of the Azores Current joins the Canary Current along the continental slope between the Madeira Plateau and the Canary Islands.
Its core velocity can be more than 75 cm s-1 as it passes through the Canary archipelago. It moves parallel to the coastline up to 20°N, forming cyclonic gyres on the shelf along the way. When the current reaches the area of 15°N, it begins to flow west under the influence of the Equatorial Countercurrent. Although the two currents flow in the same direction, they do so at different speeds; this causes two anti-cyclonic gyres to form at the border between them. In spring the Canary Current weakens along with the trade winds, while the Equatorial Countercurrent strengthens. An anti-cyclonic gyre forms to the west of the current. The summer brings about further weakening of the trade winds, and this reduces the water inflow from the north. The Canary Current weakens further and spreads outward from the coast. The cyclonic gyres on the shelf weaken or disappear completely. The Equatorial Countercurrent, on the other hand, is at its peak and shifts north, separating the Canary Current from the coast. During autumn the Canary Current is at its weakest, but some of its characteristics are very similar to those during winter. The current passes through the Canary archipelago, the influence of the Equatorial Countercurrent is the same as in winter, and the strong cyclonic gyres form once again.
From RSMAS, Miami, Edu.
TODAYS PHOTO - The Canary Current
061111_canarycurrent

Saturday, November 11, 2006

On Schedule 11 Nov, 06 - 12:55

So far we are on schedule. I will be joined by the land team, Kennith Crutchlow, Tatiana Rezvoy and Graham Walters on the 28th of November. Pavel Rezvoy will be meeting me on the 22nd in La Gomera for a few last minute checks on the watermaker and electrics.
Thanks again to Fredrik, Bernhard, Anders and the rest of the team at PowerBar in Germany, our official suppliers of sports nutrition.
Based on Rune's experience and my calculations, the protein requirements will be 250 gms per day, based on rowing in 12-14 hours a day. Thats a half kg pack of protein every 2 days for 90 days. Hope the kidneys keep up.
More soon.
B
TODAYS PHOTO - Protein being packed.

PowerBar Fitmaxx

061110_fitmaxxprotein

Tuesday, November 7, 2006

Waiting for Argos 07 Nov, 06 - 16:14

Its been a long summer for all of us. The last four months have been spent back again in Sweden training while we wait for the hurricane season to end. The average routine consisting 15 km cycling, followed by rowing 10,000 meters and weights.
Unfortunately, the Argos satellite tracking beacons has not been as healthy as me. It has to be returned to CLS in France to replaced by new ones due to weak batteries. The rechargable battries on the beacons have a shelf life of about 90 days after which they need to be replaced. Argos beacon has a distress signal, which will act as a backup to the EPIRB, which is an emergency beacon, an essential piece of the life saving equipment on board. The Argos beacon will transmit my daily position and distance travelled, which can be seen on the progress map in the "latest positions" part of the website.
In the meantime, Pavel Rezvoy is expected to be La Gomera on the 21st followed by the land team from ORS HQ in London on the 27th. Launch date is set for 28th of Nov.
TODAYS PHOTO:
1. The State of my hand, after rowing an 20,000 meters in the gym. Fortunately, present loss of feeling in my hands is keeping the pain away.
2. Summer in Stockholm

061107_myhand
061107_stockholm2

Monday, November 6, 2006

New Schedule Update 06 Nov, 06 - 16:14

Welcome back!
We are currently awaiting the delivery of Argos tracking beacons from CLS in France. The schedule for next week is
Oct 29 - Tolouse / Paris - changed schedule
Nov 10 - London - Barcelona - Tenerife
Nov 12 - La Gomera
Nov 28 - Departure
We will resume updating this website on a daily basis.
TODAYS PHOTO - Stureplan, Stockholm. Its back to 5 hrs of daylight again in the Nordics for the next 4 moths.
061107_stockholm