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

Day 7 - Back to work

19 Feb, 07 - 19:45    
Fixing the sea anchor, trip line and making a new rudder. Will post my update here shortly. Back to work at hand.
(ps. Nick, skipper - Fairwinds - The trip line we fixed was too thin, its chaffed in various places).
The tracking map on the right shows the progress from Day 1 to Day 5
thanks for the messages on the Sat phone. Havent had the time to reply to them all as yet.
B

Day 6 - Broken rudder, torn anchor, rocks

18 Feb, 07 - 16:27
Last night at around 11.00 after trying my best to leave the
currents I decided to make my way to a nearby port to fix the
rudder rather than risk getting shipwrecked onto the rocks. The sea anchor looks like it torn as its been dragged along the sea floor. A lot more work ahead. Mentally and physically exausted after rowing all night trying to keep off the rocks. Nothing but darkness and crashing waves around.
will post my update here shortly.
B

Day 5 - Drifting onshore, broken rudder

17 Feb, 07 - 16:27    
28.0050N,17.1652W
Did not get much sleep all night. I had to keep waking up check the drift on the GPS every two hours and then getting on deck and trying to row away from shore. Think I have lost about 5 miles of progress east and looks like the sea anchor is not helping and in fact drifting with the boat is caught in a strong current.
Been trying to fix the rudder problem all day. Had a call with Rune this morning. Forecast for Monday, Tue and Wed promise good NW winds, so I can get around El Hierro by making sufficient progress South East. The boat is drifting closer to shore even with the sea anchor out. I have about 3 hrs of daylight left to sort something out.
I am within hearing range of the breaking waves by the cliff. Can see the volcanic beach from the boat.
All day been trying to take the sea anchor off and row out of it only to get swept back again towards shore.
Its very hard steering the boat without the rudder and takes about 10 mins to turn it around. Cannot use the wind either as I am stuck on the leeward side of the headland. My hands are sore from pulling 300 ft of anchor line and trip line each time I put the anchor out and pull it in again.
Back to work trying to row out of here.
B

Day 4 - 25knot NW winds, damage

16 Feb, 07 - 20:27    
27.5559N,17.1706W
The NW winds came thru last night as advertised. The wind died
down last night around 12.00 am, sea flat as calm and then
accelerated again to 25-30 knots NW. I had to go on deck twice
last night, to make sure that the oars were secured.
Pitch black out there, but judging by the drop of the boat in
between waves, I'm guessing the swell was 5-6ft. The waves
kept slamming over the hatch last night. Around 6.00 am, I
heard a huge crash but too dark to investigate.
At daylight, I dived under the boat to check the rudder in the morning only to find that the force of the wave ripped the rudder off the locking pins that holds the rudder in place. The rudder is freely swinging, held only by the tiller lines.
I've let the boat drift with the NW winds all day, while I
have been trying to find a solution to keep the rudder in
place. Unsuccessfully tried securing it in place with rope and an extra tiller lines on each side.
The winds have changed again and the sea anchor is out.
Will have to keep trying to fix the rudder, and its difficult hanging out of the rear hatch in the swell. If all else fails, I will have to row back to a nearby bay fix it there in calmer waters.
Have not eaten or slept much. Need to get this fixed and start rowing south. Will post an update tomorrow.
Tired and stressed
B

Day 3 - 'fins in the water & progress South

15 Feb, 07 - 18.20    
27.5859N,17.2154W
Woke up this morning at 5.00 am to find I have drifted further still despite of the anchor.It must have caught a current below the surface.
Still no change in the wind.
At about 8.00 am this morning saw a few fins in the water as I was out on deck rowing. A little progress made south.
Would like to make atleast 20 miles progress further
South. Haven't been able to eat or sleep much since Monday,
when I left La Gomera. Had a brief call with Graham Walker and then
a phone call with Rune Larsson to discuss the weather
forecast. Hope to expect NW winds tonight, which will make more favourable rowing conditions.
So more waiting on the sea anchor for today till the winds change!
Mood about 4/10.
B

Morning visitor

Day 2 - Fighting the drift

14 Feb, 07 - 21:30    
27.5747N,17.1832W
I put the sea anchor out last night to stop drifting towards
the other side of La Gomera but woke up this morning to find that the boat has drifted further West again. Very very frustrating. The strong current has dragged the sea anchor. The radar reflector alarm also went off twice last night. I woke up and went out on deck but it was pitch dark and no sign of any boat, which I guess is hidden behind the horizon. The boat is also sitting quite low in the swell, about 3 ft on either side of the boat.
The sea state changed to calm again this morning and I took the sea anchor out and started rowing at 6.00 am to further south-east away from El Heirro.
I am trying desperately to avoid getting caught in the circular currents between La Gomera and El Hierro.
Conditions began to get rough at just 12.00 am , with winds
and waves in different directions. The effect of the land
heating faster than the water, and the various currents and
counter currents around the island.
I had to put the sea anchor again.
A bit more stress as a few curious sailing and fishing boats came by, while I was on the sea anchor. I've got a 40m anchor line and a 50m
trip line and have had to get on the radio at tell them to maintain a 60m radius in case their propeller or keel catches the lines floating just below the surface. So had to keep constant watch. No chance to sleep.
Checked the weather forecast with Tatiana at the ORS and North-Westerly winds due in the next 24 hrs, which is exactly what I need to be able to row further South East, away from El Hierro. So, its a very long wait once again on the anchor and spending the day in my 6ft by 2 ft cabin.
B

Day 1 - Tacking South

13 Feb, 07 - 20:30    
27.5617N,17.1026W
Could not sleep much since last night. Still fairly close to
shore and had to keep watch every 2 hrs. The boat is being
pushed west towards El Hierro, the other island to the South West.
Trying to row further south, but the North Easterly winds
generating beam on seas and making it hard to row due South.
Made about 3 miles progress South by rowing with the bow into
the opposing waves, using the downward momentum of the boat
to get up the next one.
Around 4.00 pm, I could hear the engines of a large ferry and saw one appear about 1/2 an hour later. Got on the radio to make sure that they saw the boat on their radar.
The sea finally calmed down a bit after 6 pm and I got another
few hrs of rowing in the night. Pitch dark all around. Had a brief phone call with Graham Walker.
Still very tired and body still getting used to the sea.
B

Start Day - Monday 12th Feb

12 Feb, 07 - 20:06
28.0524N,17.0629W
A few faithful fans turned up, yet again for the third time to cast off
the boat at 11.30. I left port at exactly 11.55 am.
Decided to set a course for due South, 180 deg, but with the
beam on waves, caused by the winds from the North West, I was forced to tack between 150 deg and 210 deg. Had a lot of trouble getting past the mixed winds as well, caused by the WAZ (the wind acceleration zone) between Tenerife and La Gomera on my port side and winds blowing around the San Sebastian headland on the starboard side.
As the sun set around 7.00 pm and the temperature fell sharply as the wind blows across the snow capped peak of Tiede on Tenerife.
It's pitch dark outside right now. Arms hurting from rowing 7 hrs today, trying to keep the boat on course. She is very heavy right now with all the food and ballast on board and takes at least 10 mins to turn around 180.
Its 8.00 pm now, which will be my fixed time to write the ships log and take my position fix at the end of each day. My next row starts at 4.00 am.
Thanks for the messages,
B

Sunset Ver 1.0 - on the first day

Mt Teide as seen from the boat

La Gomera as seen from the stern

Third attempt ! 11 Feb, 07 - 05:45

After finally working my way thru the repairs and new coastguard regulations, my third attempt to row the Atlantic starts today, Feb 11, 2007. Estimated time of arrival at English Harbour, Antigua - May 11th.
Will post an update from sea in the next 24 hrs,
B