Day 13 – Re-cap PART 1: 28 Feb to 07 Mar

13 Mar, 07 – 21.48    
22.1128N,24.0331W

For the benefit of those who have not been receiving updates for the past 2 weeks, here is a quick re-cap of the past 2 weeks.
I started my Fourth attempt to row across the Atlantic from La Restinga on the Island of El Hierro.
El Hierro is the smallest and western most of all the Canary Islands, about 50 miles south west of La Gomera. El Hierro was the end of the known world, before Columbus discovered America and the lighthouse just south of La Restinga marks the 0 degree meridian, before it was changed to Greenwich.
The population of the Island is just over 2000 ppl.
La Restinga, with about 300 people, is a small fishing village built next to a harbor created by a volcanic crater.
I was welcomed by gale force winds of around 45 knots upon arrival in La Restinga on the 22nd of Feb. I spent about a week on standby waiting for the winds to drop. They finally eased out to 30 knots at noon on the 28th of Feb. I took the decision to leave at 13.15 GMT despite the still near gale conditions as the time left for us before the start of the hurricane season was running out.
Excerpts from the ships log book:
Start Day – Wed, 28 February entry at 21.30 GMT
N27.38.192, W018.12.829
Good initial progress SW, reaching about 10 miles off shore by 20.00 GMT. Winds starting to drop off again at night. Woke up at night to find boat caught in a strong current pushing the boat back towards the rocky cliffs to the south. Far too close for comfort. Alerted friends at the dive center on the island, to remain on standby in case a rescue was required. Can't believe my bad luck with the currents. I lost 5 days on the last attempt fighting currents around the island. Very angry and frustrated start to the trip.
Day 1 – Thu, 1 Mar
N27.32.453, W018.26.699
Spent most of the night monitoring the GPS and rowing to get away. Still caught in the current and drifting towards shore on the leeward side of the island despite 10 hrs rowing. Looks like a strong 1.5 knot current. All progress made on the first day lost. Still too close to land. Made some progress further south during the day, but the winds are still not strong enough as I am stuck on the leeward side of the island.
Day 2 – Fri, 2 Mar
N027.05.710, W018.57.847
Getting pushed closer and closer to land judging by the lighthouse. Been rowing all night again to move out into the winds, that should pick up in the morning. Angry enough to just throw the towel and call it a day. Finally caught the winds at about 25 knots and have started moving away from land. Woken up from my afternoon sleep by a sortie of fighter jets flying low overhead at supersonic speeds. As if I needed a reminder of how slow I was going. Making progress in the right direction. Spirits have improved. No time or energy to post updates to the web. It will have to wait. Not eaten much apart from a few bars of protein.
Day 3 – Sat, 3 Mar
N26.53.285, W019.12.077
Big day today. Finally lost sight of land around 11.00 am. Crossed the my first meridian, W 019 degrees at 03.24 HRS GMT and crossed my first parallel, N26 degrees at 15.24 GMT. Out in the open Atlantic. 2500 nautical miles between me and Antigua. Much more relaxed now that the islands are out of the way. Celebration with a 1 miniature of Jagermiester. Brief phone call to Rune to relay the good news and check the weather forecast. Based on the weather forecast, I'm expecting high winds for the next few days as there is a low pressure system moving into the North.
Day 4 – Sun, 4 Mar
Rough seas. Waves 4-5 meters (12-15 feet) breaking over the top of the boat. Lost the external satellite antenna to a big wave. Visited by a sea bird at night, possibly lost or tired. Kept slipping off the plexi glass hatch in the high winds and ended up scraping up the solar panels. A bit of amusement for the evening. Did not get much sleep as the sound of the waves crashing into the side of the boat kept waking me up. The fiberglass is only around 1 inch and the noise is incredibly loud.
Day 5 – Mon, 5 Mar
N25.53.963, W019.43.647
Large breaking waves with lots of white horses. No let up in the weather. Lost first pair of navigation lights to a wave. Appetite picking up. Had my first decent (sort of) meal since leaving. A tin of Argentinian corned beef and toast and with Chocolate cake for dessert.
Day 6 – Tue, 6 Mar
N25.15.470, W020.14.782
Rough and windy. Waves from all directions. Difficult rowing conditions. Mostly steering with oars. The sleeping mats that I bought in Tenerife are not very good. I've got 1 neoprene, 3 foam rubber and 1 inflatable stacked together to sleep on. The movement of the boat keeps making them slide all over the place. Got thrown to the sides of the boat a couple of times last night. A few cuts and bruises. Another issue to be fixed.
Day 7 – Wed, 7 Mar
N24.34.967, W021.05.406
Lost second replacement of navigation lights. Rudder starting to make a noise. Had a small celebration to mark my first week at sea with a whole pack of chocolate chip cookies.

Stormy coast at El Hierro

Full moon at sea