29 Aug-4 Sep

So, the big trip to the Med. We spent a while on the ferry crossing deciding where we were going to go, and what kind of rotation pattern we were going to do. We knew it was going to be hard work, but we were confident that we could fairly happily row for 5 days or so without too much trauma, and that we would learn some bits and pieces that might be useful.

On the last point we were certainly correct - we learned masses of stuff. I simply can’t understand why other crews don’t seem to do this kind of really long row - we haven’t heard of anybody else ever doing more than a couple of days. But there are things that you will simply not find out without doing a really long training piece, and now we believe we have a significant advantage over many other crews - we know how we’re going to feel while at sea.

The things we learned are too numerous to list here, and many are things that we probably don’t realise we’ve learned - they’ve just seeped into our consciousness. But some of the main points we’ve taken away are as follows:

It’s tiring. Yes, I know we knew it would be tiring, but man - it’s TIRING. For a day, doing a couple of hours rowing, then having a break for a while, then starting again, is okay. On day 2 it’s difficult. But on day 3 you would give anything to be able to have more than a couple of hours sleep, and on day 4 we found we were really pretty close to being asleep while rowing. It really took it out of us, and that’s something that it’s very good to be prepared for. We know that the alarm will go off and we will not want to get up - but we also know that immediately turning the light on makes it easier. And we know that however bad we feel in the middle of the night, it miraculously feels much better by mid morning. “This too will pass” became something of a mantra in my head.

Music helps. Dan really likes cheesy pop and dance, I’m slightly more into rock and something with a bit of bass line, but ultimately it doesn’t really matter what you like, as long as it picks you up and takes you along. I would be feeling shocking one moment, struggling to keep a decent speed, and then a song I liked would come on and I would pick up instantly. Moral of the story - take lots of good music.

It can be rough. People have asked me if I get seasick, and I’ve had to say “I don’t know”, as I’ve never really put myself in a position to find out. Well, the end of day one was the roughest sea I have ever been out on, and the answer is an emphatic yes. Dan caved first (yes, I’m competitive at everything), but I wasn’t at all far behind. We took our seasickness tablets, which seemed to not help at all, and which were generally lost overboard not too long afterwards. We pretty much stopped eating and drinking, and we felt shocking. But we did find that rowing made it better, as did laying down with your eyes closed. So I guess if (when) it happens in the race, we just row or lie down!

The rudder is amazingly effective. I hadn’t really believed in it before, but a minute movement caused a huge deviation in direction, even when the wind was opposing. I’m very glad we fitted the foot steering.

Comfort is important. You can be stoic for a day, two, maybe even three, but you can’t be stoic about everything forever. My feet rubbed against the plastic footplates, and I just dealt with it, but after a few days I could hardly row for the pain, and I had to wear my trainers for a while. The footplates will be getting covered with neoprene in the very near future, and I will be solving anything else that makes me uncomfortable at the first opportunity. I believe the crews that do well will be those that make themselves comfortable, and thus able to keep going at a decent pace.

We can do it. I have never really doubted that we will make it across the ocean, and that we will post a respectable time. But it’s very reassuring to make it through 5 days at a reasonable pace and to know that we could have carried on. Everything did not go our way, and everything will not go our way in the race. But we dealt with it and came out well. It’s made me more confident, and that’s re-energised my feelings about the race.

There are moments that are simply fantastic. On the fourth day, after feeling very hot and generally rubbish most of the day, I did a two hour session in the evening that was bliss. I didn’t feel tired, the sun was warming but not hot, I was posting a very good speed, the tunes were good, the water was flat, the clouds were pretty, and I felt amazing. I wanted to bottle the feeling and keep it. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, a pod of dolphins swam past the boat. I’m a pretty grounded and non-spiritual guy, but that moment was pretty special. Along with all those reasons for doing the race that I listed in my first blog entry, add this one.