The last couple of days have been a world of ups and downs. We woke up on the morning of Day 56 to a speed of 4 knots plus speeds so after some deliberation we decided to go for a world record atmept for the highest mileage in 24 hours. To do that we’d have to average 4.3 kt for the full 24 hours, between 10.30am on two consecutive days when the marine tracker updates. Basically trying to row strokes as long as possible and put down 15% extra work each stroke. Everything was going well and we were on track with a speed of 4.6 knots average until 8pm when the speed started to drop off significatntly and we were doing low 3 knot speeds. So by about 9 o clock or 9.30 we decided we should give up because the speed always drops in the night so unless we’d been achieving really good speed before sunset we’d never make it. We gave up the attempt, it wasnt worth the extra effort required.  One good thing that came out of it is the fact that by the start of the next day, we realised that after our efforts we were close enough to make it to land that very day before nightfall. We had just 55 nm to go.

The last day our feelings were mixed as we seesawed between expecting to arrive in Barbados well before the deadline (10pm) or having to arrive in port in the early hours and spend the night on the boat as customs was closed, or deciding to slow right down and delay ourselves by going west into the Caribbean sea and turning back the next morning. Our families were all waiting for us. By about 2pm the island came into view on the horizon. I saw it first and now owe the rest of the crew a round of drinks!!  From then on it became such hard work because the conditions changed. We picked up a south-easterly current and the conditions changed as we moved from the deep atlantic to the caribbean sea. The hardest rowing of the whole trip other than leaving Agadir in the first place was that final push into Barbados. Despite the hard work we really expected things to calm down significantly as we turned into the shelter of the island. Yet again though we were haunted by “unusual weather conditions”. We had direct southerlies all the way down the west coast.  At that point we were getting so worried with the 10pm local  time deadline when the customs guys would shut up shop and leave.  We contemplated whether bribes would work in Barbados. The girls threatened to barricade the customs office until we arrived, they had been expecting us from about 6pm and it was now approaching 9.30pm local. Perhaps the visit from the British senator had something to do with it, but they decided to extend their opening times for an extra hour.

There is a large cement factory about 1.5nm from our final destination, Port St Charles Marina. Finally we rounded the corner and were past the factory. We were on the radio to a local fisherman from the Lady D, who Helen had roped in to help steer us in the dark.  Suddenly we started to hear something. We could hear something but we werent sure… high frequency signals clearly travel well… so was it girls, screaming?!

The last section, 20 minutes, went so quickly. I was expecting my shift to end at 11.40GMT but had had to row on for another hour because Mylene had a knee injury, much like my swollen elbow a few weeks ago.  Finally she swapped over so she could row into the marina which meant that i got the opportunity to light the first flare. The first white flare completely blinded Matt as he tried to steer, he was steering blind for about 100m! I heard Emma shouting my name and we could see something being waved by people on the shore. As we came around the breakwaters i lit a second red flare and held it up. The wind was now directly in Matt’s face and consequently he was covered in smoke… the flare was promptly ditched in the water, but it served it’s purpose because everyone on the bank could now see us clearly.

We were so focussed we didnt see much on the bank. We couldn’t really make people out because of the lights. I looked at the crowd but i didn’t scan the faces, we had to try and land which is hard enough in the daylight. It isn’t easy to maneouvre, we had to stay clear headed and avoid the expensive yachts!

Then we arrived. I remember the approach really well, everything is very distinct, but the arrival is a blur. I remember meeting Emma and lifting her up off the floor, and hugging my parts. The TV guys there wanted an interview with all of us together. I felt as if the landing stagewas moving up and down but it was just in my head, i could barely walk in a straight line and my head was spinning. As i stepped under the roof which jutted out over the landing stage my head was spinning so fast i fell over.  I wasn’t used to having a roof over my head. I was helped up and presented with Portuguese and Swedish flags for a few photos, and my mother gave me a printed T-shirt with a picture of me as a child in a tiny rowing boat with Pedronator written above it.

We crowded together and they took pictures of the whole crew, then individual interviews. I can’t remember what he asked me, or what i said. After that food arrived suddenly. Burgers and chips. Thanks so much to the chef on standby at the yacht club who prepared a table for the six of us loaded with food. Only there were only five of us – Matt the skipper had to deal with customs and they didnt go easy on him, it was maybe 20 minutes before he could join us. I had pick and mix and liqourice to keep me going. We finally all sat down to eat. Matt was called to make a speech, then we all said a few words in turn. There was a huge crowd of people staring at us. We had beers and then champagne.

After we had cleared our plates we went back over to the boat. I took my parents in to the cabin, they had never seen the boat before.  Then i realised i could go to the toilet… a proper toilet. It flushes on its own, running water, proper toilet paper instead of pocket tissues and baby wipes, in private, with a door you can actually lock. I could have spent a full hour in there. I was still a bit unsteady on my feet as taxis arrived to take us south to our accommodation in Hastings. It was 3am when we got in and i immediately made for the air conditioned bedroom with a cold bottle of coke in hand. I slept well.

More from Pedro later, but to confirm the crew made land just after 11pm local time last night. It was touch and go whether they would make it before customs closed for the night but an extreme effort on the oars saw them greeted by friends and family in Port St Charles at around 11.15pm, completing the crossing in 57 days and 20 hours.

After interviews, passport checks, reunions and a slap up meal of burgers and chips the crew haeded back for their first night of proper sleep in their air conditioned apartments!

Photos and videos to follow.

Click below to see live webcam footage of Port St Charles Barbados, where Pedro and the crew expect to arrive sometime after 11pm GMT tonight. (Thanks to Mike Jones and his website team for the footage).

LINK TO WEBCAM

Hope you all enjoyed a very tired-sounding Pedro on the radio this morning! If you missed him, you can still listen in on BBC iplayer by going to the BBC Cambridgeshire website and clicking on “listen again”, Jeremy Sallis Breakfast Show. The interview comes about halfway through the show.

Luckily for the crew the end of te journey is now very much in sight. They expect to make port tonight sometime after 6pm local time (we are 4 hours behind UK and Portugal, 5 hours behind Sweden) and hopefully they will be on dry land before the official closing time of the Port St Charles customs office at 10pm. There will be a webcam link to the marina so that you can follow their arrival, i’ll update later so check back tonight.

God speed to the crew!

Hi everyone,

Pedro called this morning to say that as if by magic the winds have changed and they are now making 4 knots or more. They have less than 80nm to travel to reach their destination Port St Charles and now expect to arrive between 5pm-11pm Barbados local time (9pm-3am GMT) on Wednesday afternoon.

Emma

As you can see from the tracker update, last night proved difficult conditions fo rthe crew. A local currnet pushing east combined with a cross wind pushing them north made for only 40nm travelled in 24 hours. This has pushed their ETA back to Thursday. The weather does look to improve over the next day so they will be hoping to make up for lost time!

Hi everyone, Emma here.

Well, we’re off to Barbados early tomorrow morning and hoping to meet Pedro sometime on Wednesday. The weather in the last few days has been a little tricky but now looks to improve (fingers crossed) for the last 200nm. While i’m gone, Pedro’s brother Ulf will be trying to keep you updated with the latest news of their progress until they are able to make land at Port St Charles on Barbados’s West coast.

Please, in these last few days of what has been a two month journey of spectacular endurance for Pedro, think about making a small donation to his chosen charities – East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices in the UK, or the Portuguese books project for the school in Ontupaia, Mozambique. You can also help keep spritis high onboard the Sara G by sending them your messages of support and congratulations via satellite text: it’s free! Go to http://messaging.iridium.com/ and enter their number 881631667053 to send them a short message.

Thanks to everyone for the support so far, particularly Jeremy and the team at BBC Radio Cambridgeshire (look out for another weekday morning interview and update this week on the breakfast show), Nataliya for her fantastic PR work around the Cavandish, Brand Recruitment and all of our other wonderful sponsors both local and worldwide, and for everyone who’s give their time to help me out with the upkeep of the website. Finally, thanks for reading and for the generous donations towards our charities.

Watch this space!!

Quick update again. We’re currently at 13°35′ N 55°19′ W which means about 22 nm so far today, on for 60nm over the full 24 hours. It’s a bit slower than we were hoping because of these winds from the south east, which are against us at 45 degrees to our heading. They make the rowing hard work. We’re pushing hard because we really want to get in before dark on Wednesday.

I’m looking forward to our holiday in Barbados but also to being home. When i’m back i actually think the first thing i’ll want to do is sit down on the sofa and watch some telly, something like that. Looking forward to talking to the guys and catching up with whats been happening at the lab and at the boat club. Fletch and Maik, hoping you guys can fill me in!

Poiint to point distance travelled by 10.30am on day 53 = 118km / 64nm

Distance from starting point = 5093km / 2750nm

Distance from finish point = 391km / 211nm

Hi all. I’m currently eating a chocolate chip dessert! One of the few things that is better in the green ration packs than the orange is their chocolate custard!

Not much out of the ordinary has been going on today. We’ve been making soem good speed and actually stopped for a short while when we were drifting at 3.5kts. The daylight lasts much longer now so there are only really two night shifts, which also means only two dark off-shifts. That means i’ve been managing on about 4-5 hours of sleep, can’t sleep in the heat of the day. By tomorrow we’ll hope to be in the last 250nm.

Poiint to point distance travelled by 10.30am on day 52 = 114km / 61nm

Distance from starting point = 4989km / 2695nm

Distance from finish point = 510km / 275nm

The days are going by so fast now. Six more days at sea. The winds have dies down slightly but we’re still making between 3 and 4 knots. I’m feeling fine, no pain and no real fatigue. Matt has spoken to Stokey today and he’s changed our next waypoint slightly so that we’re approaching Barbados from the south. That’s because the winds are coming slightly from the south now and we don’t want to get blown too far North before reaching the island. Could add a bit of time to our arrival date though. We’ll speak to him again on Monday and then we’ll be able to predict our arrival time with a bit of accuracy – currently looking like Wednesday.

Although i’m feeling fine and the mood here is good, it’s becoming very hard to stay awake in the night shifts. I feel i can only ever work at 80% at night and i fall asleep for a few strokes basically every shift. I reckon i’m down to about 72kg which is still a healthy weight. I’m still managing to eat a lot of calories. I’m finishing off my treats… i’m even eating the sachets of tomato sauce on their own just for the strong taste! On Monday i drank the single can of coke Emma gave me, good willpower to last until the flights were booked and we were definitely on the home stretch.

For my Mum (off the top of my head)
Worst thing of the trip: Without a doubt, being on sea anchor.
Best thing of the trip: That’s harder. There are lots of things. But the best day to day thing has been catching (and killing) fish to supplement our meagre rations!

Point to point distance travelled by 10.30am on day 51 = 129km / 69nm

Distance from starting point = 4883km / 2636nm

Distance from finish point = 623km / 336nm

Apologies for trouble with yesterday’s blog, for some reason reception seems to be on and off even though we’re now officially within 500nm of land! The whale we saw was incredible. It surfaced just 10m away from us, grey with grooves on its head and a huge jaw. Wonder if it was a humpback?

Today we’re making brilliant progress, 40nm in less than 12 hours with the wind behind us. Spirits are very high knowing we’re so close. Someone had better bring my beard trimmer by the way, i’m looking like a proper ocean rower these days! If we arrive on Tuesday it will be 7 months til the wedding. Need 73nm/day average for that. Bets are on!

Point to point distance travelled by 10.30am on day 50 = 136km / 73nm

Distance from starting point = 4762km / 2571nm

Distance from finish point = 754km / 407nm

Just a short update. Today we’ve been making really good progress and are hoping to get up to 70nm by the morning. Finally the easterly winds have arrived, just hope they stick around! The mood on the boat is really good now we’re moving into the last 500nm. Everyone’s thinking about seeing their families again and having some well deserved R and R.

Point to point distance travelled by 10.30am on day 49 = 136km / 75nm

Distance from starting point = 4640km / 2571 nm

Distance from finish point = 887km / 479nm

Hi! We’re now moving at 3.5 knots, if we can keep it up should be Wednesday arrival. We saw a blue shark yesterday and a whale surfaced today. Longer update tomorrow. Pedro

We’ve been pre-warned that the last week can be the toughest, so if anyone would like to help keep spirits up onboard the Sara G please go ahead and send them a free text. That’s right it’s free! Go to http://messaging.iridium.com/ and enter the number 881631667053. You’ve got 160 characters so keep it witty! Jokes, riddles, and (for some reason) physics are encouraged. Emma xx

Point to point distance travelled by 10.30am on day 48 = 121km / 65nm

Distance from starting point = 4517km / 2439nm

Distance from finish point = 1027km / 554nm

*** UPDATE – We’re now up to 560 miles sponsored. It’d be fantastic to get up closer to £1000, so please do thing about clicking on our Justgiving link on the left and showing some support to Pedro and his fantastic charity East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices. Every little helps guys!! ***

Something quite exciting happened. Mylene has a friend Michel who is an amateur astronomer. Although he’s an amateur he actually has a lot of contacts at NASA. He’s been sending us messages about what to look out for in the night sky, which has been really interesting especially as we’ve made an agreement to try talking and interacting more during night shifts to keep ourselves awake.

Well he told us that the International Space Station would be passing by visibly on Saturday February 27th, last night. This morning at about 4am the ISS came into view. And the cool thing is that he spoke to one of the astronauts and they are going to take a photo of the boat, or at least this bit of the ocean!!! They have a new window called the cupola (maybe you read about it in the news?) and they can take a shot of us from up there. We’ve also seen the moon, planets and the North star and lots of constellations.

So now we’re all feeling that we’re looking forward to the end of the trip. We should be in the last 500nm in a few days time. I’ve had some small skin problems but it’s all very manageable especially if we only have 11 days left on board! I’ve also got a comedy lop-sided tan on one side of my body, but it’s not too dark I can even it up in Barbados. All the fat on my arms, legs, face and back is gone, but i’m still carrying some around my gut, it seems like that’s the last thing to go.

Point to point distance travelled by 10.30am on day 47 = 106km / 56nm

Distance from starting point = 4408km / 2381nm

Distance from finish point = 1146km/ 619nm

No update from Pedro other than a quick message: Caught a tuna this morning. Massive! A bumper to the club and the double headship, enjoy the dinner!

Point to point distance travelled by 10.30am on day 46 = 112km / 60nm

Distance from starting point = 4316km / 2331nm

Distance from finish point = 1251km / 676nm

Hi everyone,

Well we’re still managing to push along between 2 and 2.5 knots despite the winds, and hoping that we’ll be back up to speed by tomorrow morning. We’ve been lucky to come off so lightly.

The last few days have been fairly uneventful. Yesterday we found the pirate tattoos Emma stowed away so had some good photos! I’ve also got her secret stash of snacks but i’m trying not to eat them. In general i’m not too hungry in the day, but overnight we have no meals, only snacks and drinks, despite the fact that we are rowing the same 2 hours on, 2 hours off shift. So then i do start to feel really hungry and sleepy. I probably drink about 6-7 litres a day and am careful not to get dehydrated. But i’m still losing weight.

All my kit has held up well and i think i packed the right stuff. The only thing i would change in hindsight is that I would have cut the holes in my foam seat pad much earlier, to relieve the pressure on my poor ass! I have no pain at all now after enduring three weeks with it absolutely killing me. I wish i’d done that right at the beginning. We’re still hopeful for an arrival date from the 9th onwards, depending what speed we can get up to in the next few days.

Point to point distance travelled by 10.30am on day 45 = 82km / 44nm

Distance from starting point = 4209km / 2273nm

Distance from finish point = 1361km / 735nm

The crew are down at 14,41N 44,07W this evening, and still moving along at 2 knots or so which is great news considering what we’ve heard from other crews to our North. Massive congratulations to Charlie Pitcher who today won the Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race 2009 (or should that be 2010?) by crossing the finish line in Antigua. The race has so far been a real long slog as the competitors were first delayed at their starting point in the Canary Islands for a month and then struggled with the same mixed bag of weather Pedro has been experiencing. Spare a thought for the pairs and soloists especially who still have a long road ahead of them.

As an independent expedition, Pedro and the crew opted for a longer route from mainland Africa which has added an extra 7 days to their journey. However, the more southerly destination of Barbados should help to keep them clear of the worst of the unhelpful south-westerly winds. Sara G has been making excellent progress through the Woodvale fleet which is mostly centred to the north-north-west of their position.

This from Pedro:
I can’t wait to be in Barbados. Also missing Bumps and racing… almost enough to consider rowing May term! The updates are brilliant and keep my mind off things, thanks! Good luck for Friday, all crews.

Point to point distance travelled by 10.30am on day 44 = 95km / 52nm

Distance from starting point = 4132km / 2231nm

Distance from finish point = 1442km / 779nm

Yesterday evening Stokey called to say we needed to move down past 15N as soon as possible. It turns out that the weather system we’re trying to avoid is bigger and meaner than expected so we’ll probably be stalling here for a while, only making 40nm or so for the next few days. Could be worse, as some Woodvale crews are already on para anchor. We’re still moving along at 22 strokes per minute.

Starting to think more about our arrival now and planning things out. Have to try not to overthink as it’s still quite a way to go. My family will be talking about booking flights soon, maybe as we go through the 700nm mark this weekend. One thing to bring out with you please is pick and mix, i really crave sweets! I keep myself occupied thinking about all sorts of stuff – the rowing, conversations in the crew, wedding plans, physics – everything really, important and unimportant!

Congratulations to First and Third for today’s results – especially to W1 and Thomas, double headship is a massive result, keep it up. It’s a good distraction to hear updates via the satellite texts, good luck all crews!

Point to point distance travelled by 10.30am on day 43 = 115km / 62nm

Distance from starting point = 4043km / 2183nm

Distance from finish point = 1537km / 830nm

No blog today i’m afraid but Pedro will be calling later to let us know how he’s getting on. The crew have had to make a change of course to avoid an unexpected low pressure which could blow them too far North. So they will be pushing south as hard as they can. Today is another milestone of sorts, they will have travelled 4000km by the end of the day!

Point to point distance travelled by 10.30am on day 42 = 120km / 64nm

Distance from starting point = 3934km / 2124nm

Distance from finish point = 1648km / 891nm

Today we’ve been making good progress, 3kts plus since 4am this morning.

At about 3pm i suddenly saw something white appear on the horizon, to our stern. Before we knew what was happening an enormous super yacht came into sight. Matt got on the radio and called them, and they were able to bring the boat close enough for us to shout across to them. They were on their way to the Caribbean, landing in one of the smaller islands north of Barbados. It was all so quick, the time they came into sight til they were right on top of us! As we’d been making such good progress we stopped for 15 minutes and had a chat, it was incredible to see other people after all this time. Hard to believe it was happening!

Now we’re moving at about 2.6kts so hope to have a 70nm day to mark our move into the last third. Good news is that the weather forecast stays the same for the next seven days. After rearranging my seat arrangement my bum is finally really healing. I have basically no pain. Although i’m tireder than i was a few weeks ago i’m actually feeling in better shape physically overall. When i get back to land i’ll have to deal with land sickness as i’ve become accustomed to the rocking of the boat. And i think only once i’m back on dry land will i start to feel how tired i really am.

I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to the lab, seeing everyone, carrying on where i left off. I keep trying to talk about physics here but it doesn’t go down too well!! My mum asks if i’m tired of rowing now. It’s a tough one. I’m not tired of it really but i don’t see myself getting back into proper rowing in the near future, it feels like there are more important things to focus on back home, other goals.

Point to point distance travelled by 10.30am on day 41 = 114km / 61nm

Distance from starting point = 3817km / 2061nm

Distance from finish point = 1765km / 953nm

Hi all.

Today is a big day for the crew. This morning they have travelled more than 2000nm as the crow flies from Agadir, Morocco. (In fact they have actually travelled 2221 nm, but some of those were frustratingly in the wrong direction!!). They have only one waypoint left, and that is Port St Charles marina, Barbados.

By the end of the day they will be less than 1000nm from their destination. It must feel amazing to see the GPS counter move down into three figures for the first time! Therefore they can finally say that they have only 1/3 of the row to go. The crew hope to be back on dry land in 14-16 days and whilst the weather forecast is not spectacular it looks as though they ought to have light easterlies all the way.

Point to point distance travelled by 10.30am on day 40 = 111km / 60nm

Distance from starting point = 3713km/ 2005nm

Distance from finish point = 1877km / 1013nm

It’s starting to feel like we’re into the last few weeks now, exciting. We’re all really into the routine now. Ten minutes before my shift i get a call from Mylene. Sometimes she loses track of time and wakes me up later so i get a little longer in bed. But these days I tend to wake up right before she calls anyway, it’s habit. I sleep in my pants with no sleeping bag, so i immediately reach for my rowing shorts, jacket, maybe my waterproofs. In the cabin there’s a raised platform where we sleep and then an area just inside the door where we can just sit, and where we cook. All of our stuff is stored in long thin nets which stretch along the side of the cabin next to us, we have one each. Anything spare in stored under the bed. Before i start to row I have to complete the ritual of arranging my seat, getting the gel and foam in the best possible order to protect my bum! Then it’s two hours on deck.

I’ve got more time now i’m not writing my blogs, but it doesn’t mean i get any more rest. The cabin is 35 degrees, its really too hot, you’re better off on deck if there’s any wind at all. One change to routine is our introduction of Saturday fish supper. Now we’re on the worst brand of dry food til we arrive so its so good to get fresh fish. Yesterday we caught two dorados.

In general we’re getting helpful easterlies now but we haven’t yet had a day where they’ve stayed with us for a full 24 hours, so we’re managing about 60-65nm a day. But Charlie Pitcher [Woodvale soloist currently leading the entire race by several hundred nautical miles] has reported better conditions in the last few days so hopefully we can reach those soon, we’re further South which by rights ought to mean stronger winds.

Point to point distance travelled on day 39 = 110km / 59nm

Distance from starting point = 3614km / 1951nm

Distance from finish point = 1989km / 1074nm

BETTER SPEED HERE, 3KTS SO FAR. STOKEY PREDICTS EASTERLY WINDS BY FRIDAY. STARTED ON GREEN RATION PACKS NOW, LOSING WEIGHT, SKINNY. WILL BLOG TOMORROW EVENING, ANY QUESTIONS?

Point to point distance travelled on day 38 = 118km / 63nm

Distance from starting point = 3519km / 1900nm

Distance from finish point = 2098km / 1132nm

Hi everyone. As the laptop shows no signs of life, we’ve decided to update the blog slightly differently. Every second day Pedro is going to give me a call and dictate his blog, which i can transcribe up here. This is great news not just for us but also for Pedro, as he really enjoys composing the blog as a record of the trip. He also asks that you keep your messages coming, even if he isn’t able to reply directly. As a reminder you can text Pedro direct by going to http://messaging.iridium.com/ and entering the satellite phone number 881631667053. Messages can be up to 160 characters – please only send one at a time, and start any message with “Pedro” to avoid confusion. Jokes, bumps reports, riddles, news and maths are all welcome!

Now to the daily blog.

It’s been a busy day! This morning’s interview was good fun and gave me something to mull over in the following shift. Things on the boat are going really well. We’re slowly getting the easterly winds we need and are moving at just under 3 knots. At this rate we should be in sometime around the 8th March.

This trip has been by far the biggest thing i’ve ever done in my life. It’s not really the physical side, it’s the mental stuff which is so much harder than anything i’ve done before. It’s the repetitive shifts, 2 hours on 2 hours off, basically 24 hours a day. I do feel that i’m coping well. As far as my health is concerned, things are pretty shipshape! My bum has stopped peeling and started healing, and i’ve cut holes in the foam seat cover to try and relieve the pressure. I’m completely off the painkillers and have basically no pain at all when i’m rowing. My elbow has settled down too.

The thing i’m missing most, which i wouldn’t have expected, is sleeping in my own bed. Not having someone wake you up after an hour and a half. It’s fun here. But i can’t wait to be home.

Point to point distance travelled on day 37 = 113km / 61nm

Distance from starting point = 3409km / 1840nm

Distance from finish point = 2218km / 1198nm

Tune into BBC Radio Cambridgeshire tomorrow morning at about 0715 to hear a live update of the crew’s progress. Jeremy Sallis will be talking to Pedro live via satellite phone. You can find the interview by clicking “Listen Again” at http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/cambridgeshire/hi/tv_and_radio/, and choosing the Jeremy Sallis show.

The crew made 50nm overnight and this morning the MarineTracker picked them up moving at over 3kts for the first time in a few days. Looking forward to seeing them back on form!

Point to point distance travelled on day 36 = 111km / 60nm

Distance from starting point = 3312km / 1789nm

Distance from finish point = 1258nm / 2332km

Pedro called this morning to say that the laptop still shows no signs of life. The winds have now changed to favourable north-easterlies but despite this they don’t seem to be getting up to speed. Whether this is a local current, or due to barnacle stowaways on the boat’s hull they aren’t sure, but Matt and Pedro have today jumped in to take a look and see if they can get Sara G up to her full potential again.

Pedro’s elbow problem seems to have subsided and he has been able to come off his painkillers. The crew are in good spirits despite the frustration of only making 2kts over the last few days, and are looking forward to getting down to the 1000nm mark.

Point to point distance travelled on day 35 = 96km / 52nm

Distance from starting point = 3212km / 1734nm

Distance from finish point = 2440km / 1317nm

Hi all, i’m afraid to say it’s Emma here, not Pedro. The crew have been having trouble with the laptop and this morning it refused to switch on. Due to this the email system is down, though the Marinetracker and satellite phone are still working. The weather should have changed today and so we hope to hear that the crew have made good progress towards Barbados depsite this technical hitch.

Point to point distance travelled on day 34 = 36km / 32nm

Distance from starting point = 3030km / 1636nm

Distance from finish point = 2617km / 1413nm

Happy Valentine’s day!

Today we did another 39nm in 24 hours… and only 25 of those were actually directly towards Barbados. Stokey reckons we will now have good enough weather that on Monday morning we can simply put a way point at Barbados and head for it.

Congratulations to all the crews that won in Pembroke regatta, good to see that we keep dominating. Also wish Dan and Amelia good luck [You can read about Dan and Amelia's North Pole expedition at http://www.northpolechallenge.co.uk/. Dan Darley is a fellow ex-captain of First and Third Trinity and has previously rowed the Atlantic Ocean with yet another captain, Richard Dewire, in 2005. The club has ocean rowing pedigree! - Emma]. Thank you Dan for your advice, looking forward to swapping stories on your return.

We caught 6 Dorados at lunch time today. People now expect me to kill them, but this time instead of clubbing them over the head we decided to cut their heads off with a knife, much quicker and probably more humane. We cooked them with a type of polish sauce called Maggie. Absolutely gorgeous! A good supplement to our usual diet.

As you know our food comes in three different varieties. Green ration packs, orange ration packs and British army ration packs. The green ones are by Pack’N'Go and they are definitely the worst out of the three kinds. We started out with them but then decided to move up to the orange ones. However this means that we need to eat the green ones for the last 2 weeks or so because we’re running out of the orange. The green and orange meals are freeze dried so you need to add boiling water to them to rehydrate them. The green ones come in lots of different meals, like shepherds pie, spaghetti bolognaise chicken and pasta and lots of puddings like custard with apples, custard with sultanas. There are also breakfasts, mostly porridges and hot cereal mixes. In each green ration pack you also get some biscuit fruits, two chocolate bars, maybe a protein bar and some tissues.

The orange ones are from Expedition Foods and are much better than the green ones. They have lots more choice in terms of meals and they generally taste much better as well as crucially containing more calories. Some examples are Chicken Korma, Beef and Potato Casserole and Chilli con Carne. The breakfasts are also good with porridge with strawberries, hot cereal start with Mango and Porridge and sultanas. Finally puddings like custard with mixed berries, custard with apples and chocolate chips, but unfortunately that one is not brilliant. The rest of the ration pack comes from different sources. But usually they contain roughly the same as the green ones.

Finally there are the British ones which we have only had on Saturdays so far, and this Saturday was the last. The meals are all wet food so you don’t have to add any water, just heat them up. You get two main meals like bacon and bean, or pasta and meat balls, and one pudding like syrup pudding. You also get two Yorkies, a biscuit fruit, a biscuit brown, chicken pate and some boiled sweets. Overall they are the best ones but you don’t get as many calories from them as from the orange ones. Some of the ration packs also contain random things like small bags of pasta.

My favourite ration pack would be: porridge with strawberries, chicken korma, beef and potato casserole and mixed berries with custard. On top of that I would have some biscuit fruits, a couple of chocolate bars, and a bag or two of peanuts. We’ve got this camping-type stove to boil the water which takes about 5min. Then you need to leave the meals to rehydrate for about 5min or so. The meals actually don’t taste that bad, it could be worse, you just need to be lucky which ones you get.

I’ve opened some of my treats but I’m trying to not be too gluttonous and eat all of them in one go!

Last night was pretty eventless, but the night sky was absolutely brilliant with no moon out. Saw lots of constellations, my star spotting book is coming in handy.

Point to point distance travelled on day 33 = 37km / 32nm

Distance from starting point = 3030km/1636nm

Distance from finish point = 2617km / 1413nm

The weather is being a bit depressing at the moment with a low pressure competing with a high pressure which results in basically no winds so we’re currently not moving much quicker than 2knots and won’t until Monday. At least Stokey’s prediction is moved one day earlier and we should start to get good winds on Monday instead of Tuesday. As it is now I expect us to arrive on the Friday or the Saturday, the 5th or the 6th. The rowing today is a real pain really and it’s so draining. It’s like rowing trough treacle and the sun is so hot, probably 35 degrees in the sun. Can’t wait until my first night shift. (Read more...)

So officially 1 month at sea by 7am this morning. In a way it feels pretty cool but on the other hand it feels just like any other day really… We made 48nm 8.30am to 8.30am which is not too bad considering the variable weather and the fact that we stopped rowing for 5 hours to swim and stuff. Stokey has predicted us to have this weather with no or little wind until Tuesday when we should get easterly winds. On Sunday we should get some really big northerly swell from the lower pressure north of us. (Read more...)

After Stokey put us on a new waypoint two days ago, yesterday evening he put us on another, to about 15N 40W apparently to avoid another low pressure coming down. I’m starting to hate these pesky little low pressures!! Anyway the winds died off yesterday during the day and that in combination with changing to a new waypoint half way through the day meant that we only did 40nm! A lot less than we were expecting, but by now I’m sort of starting to get used to it. (Read more...)

Night rowing can surprisingly be both heaven and hell. In a way that part of the day goes really quickly because all you do is sleep and row and as it is now I have 2 shifts partly in the night and 2 shifts fully during the night. On the other hand it can be virtually impossible to stay awake some times, like yesterday. I kept falling asleep all the time and kept falling from side to side when I did. I also kept hallucinating lots and woke up trying to do stuff with my hands that I was dreaming of like opening bottles.

When you have a clear sky with no moon the night sky is absolutely beautiful. I can see lots of constellations and the milky way and shooting stars. I wish I could take pictures of it to show you but the boat is moving too much, I’ve tried more than once. The moon rise is basically like a sunrise. You can see the first glimpse of it at the horizon and then it quickly rises up like the sun. You don’t get the nice colour effects though as with a normal sunrise.

Normally because the solar panels aren’t working we can’t have communal music on overnight. It’s quite nice to listen to your own stuff or just chat… we’re currently on the letter X. We came close to a ship two nights ago, we radioed him and he changed his course. Also we saw an absolutely massive oil tanker today. We spoke to him on the VHF and he passed about 600m away from our stern, pretty cool, I’ve got pictures and video.

So a bit of an update of our progress. Stokey predicted us to have easterly winds by 11pm yesterday and by 6pm the swell had swung around fully and we were doing plus 4 knots consistently. We called Stokey at 8.30pm and he told us we have to go another 1 degree south to avoid a low pressure. So we spent the entire night with swell on port side. What’s annoying is that if we could have predicted it 24 hours previously we could have gone the 1 degree further south with the swell instead. That’s the ocean for you.

Halfway should be tomorrow, probably by lunch time. And from there it’s a 20 day journey if we do 75nm per day which should be more than feasible if the trade winds materialise. We did 80nm today according to the charts.

My tan and beard are coming along just fine. We’ll take another picture halfway an send it to everyone so you can have a look. My elbow is improving a bit I think. The swelling now seems to have stopped even though is still pretty swollen, pictures taken. I’m taking anti-inflammatories three times a day to fight it. I’ve also stopped taking Tramdol for now since we redressed my ass. I might have to go back on it though since it’s starting to hurt again. Maybe only take one for the night shift when there is less conversation and just deal with it during the day. Elbow is not getting any worse which is good, and might actually be settling back down slightly. So a mixed bag really.

I hope this email was a bit happier than the one yesterday, sorry about the rant! I just realized that tomorrow we will have spent a third of the time already between coming off sea anchor and Barbados. Time is going quicker now than it was before the sea anchor.

Point to point distance travelled on day 29 = 92 km / 50nm

Distance from starting point = 2764km / 1492nm

Distance from finish point = 2880km/ 1556nm

I’ve had a bit of a downer day. It started out just fine yesterday and we were making really good speed with up to 4knots. However throughout the day my elbow started to swell up even more. So Mylene called her doctor friend. Well at least the doctor doesn’t think it’s an infection, we have to keep checking my temperature though to make sure I don’t get a fever. The most likely reason for it is probably like before… I have a small tear in the cartilage which means that the body produces fluids to restrict the movement of the elbow. This would work just fine if I wasn’t rowing. The only real way to get rid of it is resting unfortunately so I’m basically stuck with a swollen elbow for the rest of the trip. I just need to keep taking anti-inflammatories and using a tubigrip when I’m rowing.

This morning we had lots of breaking waves and lots of rain. This morning was the first time so far that I’ve felt really pissed off with the entire thing and that I just want it to finish tomorrow. I know that my mood will change once the sun comes up but it’s a bit disheartening to get feelings like that. Well at this speed we’ll reach midpoint on Thursday morning.

I’m back – finishing off this email at 2pm and I feel a lot better already. I think it was just a low earlier today. I know they will happen but always come as a shock when they do. Back again, adding some stuff at 6pm – and we’re now doing 4 knots on average. It’s cool how such a thing as boat speed can change your mood.

Point to point distance travelled on day 28 = 130km / 70nm

Distance from starting point = 2672km / 1442 nm

Distance from finish point = 2966km /1602nm

It’s a beautiful morning! Possibly because of the painkillers, the shifts have been so much more enjoyable!

Something cool happened last night. As I stood up to have a look around for ships a 6 inch long flying fish hit me in the neck and bounced into the stern cabin. Well you don’t mess with the Pedronator (my nickname for the last 3 weeks!) so I got the Stanley knife out, cut it’s head off and put him in a plastic bag with water to eat later today.

Fletch, Emma told me your good news. We’d better organise an early stag party before you go jetting off to Harvard!

At our current speed we should be in Barbados on Wednesday 3rd March. I reckon that’s the latest possible arrival, so once we get the trade winds we can only arrive earlier as long as the weather stays friendly. Currently we’re moving at about 3.5 knots and up to 4.2 knots with swell!

Point to point distance travelled on day 27 = 127km / 69nm

Distance from starting point = 2542km / 1373 nm

Distance from finish point = 3089km / 1668 nm

Yesterday and last night were really quite interesting again. During the day yesterday we saw a 3 foot yellow-finned tuna and a 4 foot Maki-maki (?) fish. We tried to catch both of them but with no luck. Then during the night a big, flying fish about a foot long jumped up on the deck. Mylene wanted to keep it to eat it the next day so she asked me to kill it. I tried but it kept sliding around so I couldn’t really get a hit over the head! So in the end we threw it back. It was really bright blue with big fins.

We also cleaned the hull so we are now moving at about 3.5 knots!!! Hopefully we’ll keep that up.

Yesterday was also a day for personal admin. Matt had to take a look at the state of my ass (!) and he recommended me to put compeed on both cheeks where the bony bit is. The problem with that though is that it actually hurt more with them on. So I decided to take a Trammadol painkiller for the first time. After about 1.5 hours the pain in my ass was gone and I could actually sit down on the seat without any pain. And a side effect seems to be that I sleep much deeper and therefore better and I feel really rested despite having only slept 5 hours. I’m not normally too keen on taking painkillers but this time it actually makes the rowing much more enjoyable since my arse is not hurting all the time, so I might take some more if it doesn’t get any better soon.

Also two days ago my left elbow started to swell up and the very tip of it is painful. I think the pain is from where I hit it about a week ago. Matt reckons it’s me compressing the cartilage and the body then produces a fluid that swells the elbow and restrict its movement to allow it to heal. Mylene has put some NSAID gel on it and I’m wearing one of those tubigrip thingies to reduce the swelling if possible. The swelling had settled down today so hopefully it will be gone fairly soon. I seem to be sheding skin on my fingers, quite a lot actually. Anyone got any idea why that might be, salt water maybe?

I just realized that my last video diary thing was 11 days ago. It feels much shorter than that which is good I guess. I’m very happy about our new found speed and we will be cleaning the hull at least every week to maintain it.

Point to point distance travelled on day 26 = 136km / 73nm

Distance from starting point = 2417km / 1305nm

Distance from finish point = 3211km / 1734nm

According to the chart plotter we currently have 1850nm left (at 10.40am today). Sometimes it feels like three weeks is nothing but other days I realise that we’re basically only halfway through the total time on the water. It’s very up and down currently which is what you expect I guess. Hopefully we’ll go through halfway distance wise Wednesday next week and will start to get proper tradewinds and 80-90nm days. No sign of the single Halcyon so far but we will keep calling them every so often. According to Stokey we will be way south of any worrying low pressures so should be fine and will have north easterly winds until about Wednesday next week.

Having nothing to do except training would be fine if I was back on land. It’s not actually the rowing 12 hours per day that’s the problem, it’s the lack of status quo things in life, like sleep, food and proper rest – especially the lack of sleep.

The rowing is actually not too bad and too difficult. Unless we’ve got winds with us the boat feels really heavy which is not surprising considering she weighs about 2.5 tonnes! The stroke length varies lots with the amount of swell and the direction it comes from. If the boat keeps rocking from side to side a lot we simply have to row quite short, maybe “quarter slide”, otherwise the oars slam into your legs or your chin which hurts a lot. I’m going to have some impressive scars on my legs. But if the swell period is long we can actual sometimes row all the way to “full slide”. The rate is probably about 21-24 depending on stroke length, which is higher than I was expecting. Some people in previous rows seems to have problems with loosing flexibility and shortened hamstring form rowing quarter slide but I have no problems with that at all. How well we move together varies depending on who’s rowing. Matt prefers to row a shorter stroke than Pete so I keep changing my stroke length depending who’s behind me. The only difficult thing I have found with the stroke seat is staying awake during the night sometimes because you have no one else to follow.

We saw dolphins really close to the boat yesterday, they were surfing on our bow wave and turning on their side to look at us, it was really cool. If they’re back today then Matt, me and Mylene and very keen to jump in to swim with them.

Could someone check on the 2Hopes.org and the blog and let us know how he’s doing. And what happened to the guy who got rescued?

Natalya: that might be true but that the cat would probably be eaten as soon as we ran out of nice ration packs!

PS We have just (at 2.30pm) removed lots of barnacles from the boat. We reckon that they stuck on during the sea anchor period. We just gained about 0.6knots of speed drifting and are now moving consistently over 3knts!!

Point to point distance travelled on day 25 = 119km / 65nm

Distance from starting point = 2286 km / 1234 nm

Distance from finish point = 3341km /1804 nm

Just a short update. Here everything is ok, just another day in the middle of the Atlantic really. It’s really quite warm during the day with temperatures up to 27-28C and then if it’s clear during the night the temperature drops to probably 15C. We’ve have tried to call for Halcyon, the closest Woodvale boat, a couple of times but no reply so far.

My hands are ok, I’m still using gloves but no tape. I’m shedding skin though on my hands, which is a bit weird. My back and shoulders are just fine, slightly sore sometimes from the rowing but nothing I can’t cope with. No sunburn really, trying to be careful, tanning slowly.

The charger for the computer seems to be working just fine now, so we should have email access for the rest of the trip.

Point to point distance travelled on day 24 = 95km / 51nm

Distance from starting point = 2168 km / 1170 nm

Distance from finish point = 3456km /1867 nm

You’re getting all my daily reports in one go – lucky you! Here’s the ups and downs of being stuck on sea anchor for a week…

Point to point distance travelled on day 23 = 121 / 66nm

Distance from starting point = 2078km / 1122nm

Distance from finish point = 3548km / 1915nm

Day 17: Another day on sea anchor, it’s getting boring already. It’s so humid in the cabin, the temperature is above 32 degrees and there’s condensation everywhere. Stokey says that this low pressure might persist until Monday which will be a pain if that’s the case. Anyway, what’s happened today… The night was pretty eventless since we just had a 1 hour shift rota on lookout so I got about 7 hours of sleep in total. Today has been a bit more interesting. Firstly we noticed that the morse cable (the cable that controls the rudder) had sheared off. That normally shouldn’t happen but we have a spare one. To prevent it from happening again we have taken the rudder out for now and will do so if we ever go on sea anchor again. Also we have had two freak waves and lots of water in the stern cabin which took a while to get rid of. Just sitting in the cabin with the hatch closed now. I think cabin fever is setting in already, people are getting a bit more irritated over small thing, but I’m trying to keep my head cool and not be too Portuguese!

I am enjoying every second of it, even though some of the seconds are a humid pain in the arse.

So we’re currently about 22nm north of where we put the sea anchor out so are drifting about 0.7knots. If this weather persists until Monday we will have drifted about 90nm, so a day’s worth of rowing. And on top of that another 5 days lost sitting on the sea anchor. So assuming our speed remains the same later on it should take about 46 days. I’m sorry for taking longer. I know that I can’t control the weather but I wish I could!!!

Don’t send me answers to my mum’s riddles just yet. It’s useful to have something to think about in the cabin. Haven’t eaten that much today, I think it’s because of the hot cabin. Don’t worry though, Im drinking plenty so am staying hydrated and will eat something later this evening when hopefully the cabin has cooled down a bit.

I think I have to stop here. We have decided to try to save minutes on the satellite phone by keeping emails shorter when we’re on the sea anchor. The reason is supposedly that are fewer thing to talk about whilst on the anchor, not sure I agree but never mind.

Day 18: Not much has changed since yesterday really. Didn’t get much good sleep because of the humidity. At least for most of today we have had he hatch open so the cabin is now nice and cool. We have also re-arranged the bedding so that me and Pete will sleep inside the hull on either side of the hatch and Matt and Mylene will sleep on the bed. We are now vectoring east so hopefully it will turn around to something southerly soon. Even north west winds are good. It means we could row dead south and the further away we get from this place the better. We are currently about 30nm away from where we deployed the sea anchor.

I’ve done some of the puzzles today and also watched a film, The International, so I’m keeping myself occupied and I’m not too bored. I just want to get out of here though and do some rowing again.

Day 19 & 20: Still on sea anchor and still pretty boring! Well hopefully we’ll be off by this evening or early tomorrow morning. Stokey says that the winds should be starting to turn around to NW and then N by this evening. I can’t wait to get back on the oars! I reckon it’ll be like starting all over again though, the nights will be as long as they were to start with and it will probably take a day or two to get back into the routine again.

Anyway we’ve had some equipment issue whilst on sea anchor: Firstly the water maker now only runs on one of the pumps. Both pumps are actually working but if we turn them on at the same time, the fuse goes, no idea why. Hopefully Matt can talk to the electrician today and we can sort it out. It’s not a huge problem, it only means that it takes twice as long to make the water.

Secondly the cable that controls the steering snapped because of the forces on it. We have a spare one though and as long as we don’t do go on sea anchor again we should be fine. However if it does snap as well, we’re down to using foot steering which will be interesting if that happens.

Thirdly the internet and email is not working. The voice calls work but not the data. Hopefully the head office of Iridium in Virginia will sort it out once they get back to work today, afternoon UK time.

We have a fish underneath the boat, he’s black and blue striped, quite cute. I tried to grab him with my hands and managed to get my hand on him but he’s too quick to actually catch. He (or maybe they) seem to live there and come out if we throw something in the water, may it be the contents of the bucket or just some left over biscuits! I’ve taken pictures and video of him. We’ve named him Barry. Also we think we saw sharks yesterday. There was something big with a dark top and a white belly swimming about 5m below the boat. We reckon that it might be a tiger shark, a small one probably not more than a metre in length.

So, so far we have seen: sea turtles, dolphins, albatross, storm petrols, sharks, barracuda, some black and blue striped fish, a small squid, flying fish on the deck and flying through the air, and finally whales. Matt saw whales earlier on a day when it was really calm. Quite a good record so far.

From here Matt reckons we can make it to Barbados in 23-24 days, ie an average speed of about 85nm per day. Stokey reckons we should have at least 7 days of good weather which is more than enough to get us away from here and to start to head west towards Barbados.

Day 21: Winds started to come around to the NW today so we decided to come off the sea anchor at about 3pm. We then stared rowing again at 8pm. Feel good. All of the problems we had before now seems to be fixed. Water maker is now working as is the replaced morse cable. Rest of day went quite quickly really, not much happened except you guessed it rowing.

Day 22: Caught two dorados today and fried them, heaven! Also a bit of the retrieval line from the para-anchor got stuck in the centre board but we got rid of it today, it had cut a about 4 inches long tear in it though. Nights are really hard, I can barely stay awake, hopefully that will change soon. Also I have lost some skin on my ass, even though I have been careful with sudocrem and dry pants. Just have to be careful not to get an inflammation.

Day 23: Me and Matt fixed the computer charger today using a screw driver and a gas stove instead of a soldering iron! Also we saw a big pod of dolphins, they were eating our dorados! Night was a bit better and easier to stay awake. Beautiful moonrise! Kept thinking about home. Pretty eventless apart from that.

Since I’m writing this early today I thought I would tell you about the sea anchor weather. Weather was really good for the first 2-3 days with small swell. It then picked up towards Sunday with up to 5m swell which was quite interesting during the night with winds up to 25-30knots. We had some really hard hits against the water when the bow takes off and slams down into the water. So not extreme weather really just a very annoying headwind!!! We’re making about 3-3.5 knots currently so about 70-80miles per day. I so want to get to half way so that I can count down.

I’m back! Me and Matt played MacGyver and managed to fix the charger for the computer. I’ll keep this email fairly short and then we can resume as normal from tomorrow. I’ll also send a blog summary of the sea anchor day tomorrow.

Anyway I need to go, cooking, yum…

Point to point distance travelled on day 22 = 128km / 69nm

Distance from starting point = 1957 km / 1057nm

Distance from finish point = 3664km / 1978nm

The crew have taken a southerly course to escape the bad weather as soon as possible, and the forecast now looks clear for the next week. I’m personally hoping that they will be able to finally break through the ‘1000nm rowed’ point sometime today, after having been taunted with it for the last five days as they drifted north on sea anchor.

Anyone following the Woodvale race will be pleased to hear that the crew’s good friend Sean in the solo boat Tess is now back on track. The boys have been in touch with him over the weekend. Although he was swept further North by the storm, his water supply and emails are up and running, and he has managed to bail his boat and stop the leak which means he will continue to race. We really wish him best of luck. Britannia II, the Woodvale record attempting boat has not had such good luck. On day thirty of their row they still have 500nm to cover and cannot expect to break the 33 day record set by Leven Brown and his crew. We’ll hope to see Sara G resume her progress through the small Woodvale boats over the next week.

Point to point distance travelled on day 21 = 101km / 54nm

Distance from starting point = 1829km / 988nm

Distance from finish point = 3780km / 2040nm

Hi everyone. After fixing the satellite problem which was preventing their emails, the crew had a minor disaster today when an unruly wave swept into the cabin and soaked the laptop. They’re hoping that it’ll all dry out nicely and they’ll be up and running again soon, but worst case scenario is no more daily emails. For now i’ll try and keep the updates coming based on the various phone calls and messages friends and family have received and shared around!

With the weather finally calming down the crew are back on the oars and trying to get into the swing of their two-hour shifts again. They’ve been rowing since 3pm so hopefully by tomorrow morning we’ll be able to see them claw back some of the miles they’ve lost over the last four days.

UPDATE – This morning’s tracker update shows that the crew have managed to move 56km south since they started rowing at 3pm yesterday afternoon. As the winds turn in their favour throughout today they should hopefully be able to continue in a south-westerly direction. Must be a great feeling to be on their way again!

Point to point distance travelled on day 20 = 56km / 31nm

Distance from starting point = 1744km / 941nm

Distance from finish point = 3836km / 2071nm

The guys still aren’t contactable by email but we’re keeping fingers crossed the problem will be sorted soon. They continue to drift east on sea anchor and don’t expect a change in conditions until Tuesday.

In the meantime i’d like to use this time to say thanks for all the very generous donations that have been made from lots of different people both during Pedro’s preparation and now whilst he’s out at sea.

Firstly we’ve been very lucky that a lot of Pedro’s kit and equipment for the row was donated from all over the world! From Toronto, Colleen at GelSport was quick to help the crew out and supplied their (frankly life-saving) gel seat cushions for free. The British outdoors company Trekwear donated Pedro’s essential waterproofs, whilst 1000 Mile donated anti-blister socks. Sunglasses for Sport also became a full-crew sponsor and kitted them out with the shades you can see in their photos in training and at sea.

More locally, we’ve had support from BBC Cambridgeshire and Look East who have invited Pedro to their Cambridge studio twice in the run up to the expedition, and are hoping to arrange a live interview once the crew are a little closer to the Caribbean – watch this space.

Our biggest local sponsor are the marketing recuitment company Brand Recruitment. The Brand HQ is in central Cambridge, about thirty seconds away from Portugal Street where Pedro and i lived during our last year in college. When we started looking around for sponsorship Brand were the first company to really hear us out and give us hope that despite the difficult economic climate there were still people willing to support this kind of adventure. Steve Mann at Brand has been unfailingly positive and encouraging, and we’re very proud to have the Brand logo painted on the side of the Sara G.

We’ve both been touched by the help we’ve had from so many different quarters in getting Pedro to Morocco and hopefully seeing him safe and sound to Barbados. There are too many people to mention here, but i’d really like to thank Pedro’s friend, BSS colleague and now ocean-rowing advocate Nataliya; and Brendan, who was the crew’s fantastic host and general ‘go-to guy’ in Agadir. Thanks everyone for your help! And please keep following Pedro, sending your messages, and if you’ve got a few quid to spare then sponsor a mile or two and help us reach our fundraising targets for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices.

Point to point distance travelled on day 19 = 31km / 17nm East

Distance from starting point = 1717km / 927nm

Distance from finish point = 3839km / 2073nm

Emma again. The crew’s email system still seems to be down, but I had a call from Pedro this morning. The crew are all doing really well and keeping themselves occupied.

At the moment the seas are relatively calm but they are expecting a second round of big waves later today. The calmer conditions means they’ve been able to keep the hatch open and to go out on deck for a stretch. Pedro was also excited to discover that they have a new friend. A small black and white fish has taken up residence underneath the boat and pops up every now and again to eat leftovers!

Overnight they drifted South-East but are now moving North again – they are basically at the mercy of the ocean currents. Stokey is predicting that they may have to remain on anchor til Tuesday. This is a real blow, but it does give them all a chance to rest. Pedro is feeling fit and healthy and is applying himself to your riddles!

Point to point distance travelled on day 18 = 22km / 12nm East

Distance from starting point = 1747km / 943nm

Distance from finish point = 3810km / 2056nm

Hi everyone, Emma here. The low pressure system is giving the crew some problems and Pedro hasn’t been able to send a blog today. He called earlier to let us know that they are all fine, rowing sporadically whenever they’re able, but still being pushed slowly North.

It’s likely that the guys willl be on sea anchor for a few more days as this huge storm passes North of them. Luckily their progress over the first two weeks has been excellent, and so although it’s irritating to be stuck in one place they can afford a short delay.

Thanks for all the messages, jokes, riddles and technical help! And please, keep your donations coming via the JustGiving page: every little helps a good cause!

Point to point distance travelled on day 17 = 24km / 13nm East

Distance from starting point = 1767km / 954nm

Distance from finish point = 3787 / 2045nm

As you probably have noticed from this morning’s Marine Tracker update we’re not moving very fast!

Yesterday the winds started to turn around to southerly as promised by the forecast. We still managed to make headway during the night at about 1knot but it was a real slog. This morning they were almost fully southerly and they actually started to push us backwards at about 0.5-1knot… so we have decided to go on sea anchor for the time being. With the sea anchor deployed we still drift North at roughly the same speed as if we were rowing so not much point to row really. The problem is that we might be on sea anchor for up to 4 days. Hopefully not but we just don’t know. So all the routine with 2 hours on, 2 hours off we had established will now probably be lost which is a bit annoying. Well we knew it could happen at some point, it just a bit annoying that it happened that close to Cape Verde, because once you’re South of the islands the likelihood of being on sea anchor goes down significantly.

We’re all in good spirits on the boat though. I reckon a 40 day crossing is definitely out the window. Looks more likely for a 45 day crossing now assuming that the low pressure system north of us does stay longer than expected. All of our problems is caused by the weather system about 600 miles away sucking in water and wind towards its centre.

In terms of things on board when on sea anchor, during the day people can basically do whatever they want and then during the nights we’ll have a rolling 1 hour lookout schedule. Some of the days I’ve been trying to do a daily video diary. Also before I forget, we caught fish today! A 2-3 feet long Barracuda at about 6am this morning. We left the line out all night. Mylene has filleted it and will cook it later on, yum!!!!!!!!!!!

My hands and back are basically fine now. I still wear gloves but might not at some point to get rid of the glove tan line. My back is only a bit sore which is to be expected, noting hurts really. Hopefully being on sea anchor will allow my poor ass to heal a bit since I don’t have to sit down for 2 hours in every 4!

So in hindsight these first two weeks have both lived up to my expectations and also surprised me. The biggest worry to start with was getting into a routine. Both Matt and Pete spoke about how hard it was on their first trip with Mondiale. Then Matt didn’t really sleep for the first 2 or 3 days. To be perfectly honest I didn’t really have that problem at all. I slept at least 6 hours the first day and have been sleeping roughly the same ever since. The eating has also been alright, only on one day have I not had an appetite.

The biggest thing to get used to, which I didn’t expect, is staying awake during the nights. For the first couple of nights everything was new and exciting but then I really struggled to stay awake. Now two weeks down the line, not that much has changed of my routine, besides some tweaking of when to do what. I still have trouble staying awake during the nights and the food is still not very appetizing, besides the British army ration that is! It sort of compares to my army days, but not as extreme and repetitive. We never did the same thing 6 times per day for 40 days.

Point to point distance travelled on day 16 = 45km / 25nm North-east!

Distance from starting point = 1786km / 964nm

Distance from finish point = 3763km / 2031nm

Another interesting night. Even though the winds and swell died down over night we still made 70 nm which is good since we want to get a far south as possible before 1am on Friday, preferably south of 20N. Low pressure will hit and forecast headwind. So today we have altered our course to a bit more south to allow us to progress as far as possible. The problem is that by doing that we end with more easterly swell beam-on which makes the rowing difficult, we’re only doing about 2 and a bit knots. If we cant get away from the low pressure we might have to stay a day or two on sea anchor. So basically we are heading roughly for 20N 30W and should then turn towards the west. (Read more...)

We’re up to day 14 here now which is really exciting actually, two weeks in and hopefully less than 4 to go! I tend to think in terms of a 40 day crossing, so at some point today we were a third across time-wise. Halfway is lurking around the corner, next Saturday/Sunday hopefully, at which point we will crack open some Heinekens, photos to follow… (Read more...)

Things are going really well and yesterday was our 5th consecutive day of plus 80miles. Scoffed all of my excellent Saturday food from yesterday, nothing left, not even the hot chocolate! It was also a very interesting day or more particularly night.

The night was really fun to start with, we were chatting about the letter K and Karma and we saw flying fish jumping out of the water. You can see them because the moonlight, which was really bright yesterday reflects off them, stunning!!! I then went to bed after my 12-2pm shift and was woken up by a lot of noise and commotion. (Read more...)

Hi everyone!

We are making really good mileage at the moment with an average of 86 miles per day for the last 4 days. We had a look on the charts today to see where Sean and the rest of the Woodvale fleet and we’re about 200 miles off Sean so should overtake him fairly soon. (Read more...)

Hi everyone! Everything here is the same as usual, as you might expect. I feel a bit less bored today, I think it was just a 10 day low-point, Im sure I’ll have a 15 day one and a 20 day one etc just to warn you all! Anyway last night was interesting in more than one way.

First of all I was extremely tired, to the point of actually falling asleep whilst rowing and being hit by Pete behind me. I tried to take a proplus tablet but that just seemed to make it worse and I got double vision when I tried to look at my watch. I think I was so tired because yesterday was the first day I felt I didn’t eat enough, not that I didn’t want to but my body simply said no. We are getting British army rations tomorrow so hopefully that will pep up my appetite. Also I saw a small squid and a very small flying fish being washed up on deck. Unfortunately they were gone by time I tried to get my camera.

During our on shift we normally just listen to music to keep ourselves occupied. We have a stereo and speakers onboard so if there is enough sun and wind to power the chargers then we have some communal music. If not enough charge then we listen to our own ipods. We’ve played a few games like 20 questions and also worked on some riddles and jokes that people have been sending. To pass the time during the night, and sometimes also the day, we pick topics based on the letters in the alphabet – today we’re on ‘I’.

The boat is always noisy, from the blades in the water but mostly from the boat itself moving through the water. And from things banging around in the cabin. Not many animal noises really because we don’t really see that many animals apart from an occasional seagull! But there’s the occasional static on the VHF radio. As I’m trying to go to sleep, which normally isn’t a problem at all, I can hear two things besides somebody talking in his sleep ;o) !!! Firstly the reassuring noise of the autohelm doing its thing, constantly correcting our course to compensate for swell and winds. But mostly I can hear the water running past the hull of the boat which definitely sends me off to sleep…

Point to point distance travelled on day 11 = 145km / 79nm

Distance from starting point = 1348km / 728nm

Distance from finish point = 4195km / 2265nm

Today has been a bit of a boring day, not sure why really. I guess I’ve just hit the middle slog! The first week or so and everything is exciting, and for the last week we know we’re arriving soon. We’re making good progress and between 8.30am yesterday and today we covered another 88nm which assuming that Matts drawing skills on the map are accurate enough is a new record for us. We are basically going to have the same weather until Monday according to weatherman Stokey and that should take us down towards the tradewinds and out across the Atlantic. (Read more...)

So I mentioned this morning on the phone that conditions had changed yesterday. Late yesterday afternoon we started getting the wind with us but the swell was not so the ride was really quite bumpy. When I came out for my first night shift the swell had turned and we were getting some really good speed up to 4.5knots. The distance travelled from 8.30am yesterday to today was 80miles.

So we thought that today would be as good but the problem is that its too good! By 10am we were getting up to 20 feet swell. It’s really fun surfing waves like that and you can see through the top of the wave as its about to break, it’s light blue. But the extra gain in boat speed from the rowing wasn’t worth the extra risk. (Read more...)

Yesterday was quite a mixed day – first weirdly choppy waters and then later very calm seas. We made good mileage though so not too bad. We’re on our way towards a waypoint of bearing 259 which is about 650 miles away. Along the way we’re very much hoping to catch some tradewinds taking us towards Barbados! We currently have the swell and wind with us and the speed has picked up to about 2.7-2.8 knots so we should clock up another 65-ish miles today.

Physically i’m doing ok over here! Its very warm again with about 29 degrees and no clouds. I’m wearing sunscreen, don’t worry Emma. (Read more...)

Yesterday night was very eerie again but this time because of mist, and no-one in sight. We also had our closest encounter with another vessel so far. It wasn’t dangerous but it was impressive how big the other ship was.

Today is absolutely scorching with temperature probably reaching high twenties and no clouds. It’s going to take a while to get used to that! The swell today is basically “beam on” to the boat and so is the wind so the rowing is very hard work especially in the sun. We’re making a consistent but low 2 knots so should make about 50-60 miles today again. Hopefully we’ll reach tradewinds by Wednesday. (Read more...)

Did you see our mileage yesterday?!? Between 8.30am yesterday and 8.30 today we rowed 85 miles!

Today is really nice weather with not a single cloud on the sky so I’ve been rowing without a top to improve the tan. We also stopped for half an hour for a quick swim – don’t worry I looked out for sharks! (Read more...)

Things here are good. I think I felt a bit down for the first couple of days but I’ve now settle in to a routine and everything should be plain sailing from now on… The conditions and the weather has really improved today and we now have both the wind and the swell with us instead of a crosswind. It’s still pretty bouncy but at least we’re getting good speed with above 3 knots all the time. We’re now getting properly south of the Canaries and once we get proper winds instead of the 10-15 knots we have now we’ll be flying. (Read more...)

This post has to be quite short since we are a bit low on power because the wind is quite low today and its also overcast.

The winds changed overnight from northerly to north easterly winds so we now have a dead tailwind. This means that swell is also more favorable for us and we have consistently had a speed today over 3 knots. We should be south of the canaries by tomorrow lunch time. After that we set the next waypoint towards Cape Verde. We saw land today for the first time since we left Agadir in the shape of Lanzarote. People have been asking about life onboard so from tomorrow I’ll start to describe the different aspects of the boat, including cooking, sleeping, going to the loo etc.

Point to point distance travelled by 6.30pm on day 4 = 127km / 69nm

Distance from starting point = 390km/ 211 nm

Distance from finish point = 5090km/ 2748 nm

Just a short update today!

We’ve now been at sea for almost 60 hours and I’ve been rowing half of that! Last night was worse than the night before and I really struggled to stay awake during some of the shifts. (Read more...)

This is my first blog post after my first night shifts. Based on when we started the row, my night shifts are at 7.40-9.40pm, 11.40-1.40am and 3.40-5.40am. Rowing in the dark was really quite interesting with phosphorescence in the water and the first shift was nice and relaxed. However having to wake up for the second shift just before midnight was really hard. First of all I had to drag myself out of bed and secondly I kept almost falling asleep during the rowing and was woken up more than once by the oars hitting my chins! So for the last night shift I decided to take some caffeine tablets which seems to work. I was much less tired and could cope with the late night rowing better. (Read more...)

This is my first blog entry from the boat. I’ll be sending one every day hopefully so you should receive about 40-45 of them if everything goes to plan.

We set off this morning at 7am after having woken up at about 5am. The morning was really nice with no wind although a bit cold. The plan was to head WNW (about 280 degrees) to make sure that if we did get any NW winds they wouldn’t push us back towards land again. The first couple of hours were brilliant and we were making about 4 knots. The wind that we had anticipated didn’t really materialize and instead we are now getting southerly winds. We are going along at about 3 knots and should hopefully make the turn towards southwest after about 75 miles. (Read more...)

Since we’re now back in the marina for at least the next couple of days I thought I would give you an update of what’s going on here.

We set off on Thursday at 12.40pm but only got about 1 mile of shore when it became apparent that the conditions were quite different from what was forecasted, with the NW winds being much stronger than anticipated. Since these winds will push us back towards land we took the decision to return to the marina. It was a bit gutting to go back again once we thought we had set off for real, but safety is always our main priority. (Read more...)

The Marine Tracker should be working once they activate it at sea, when Pedro also hopes to make his first blog entry.

UPDATE 8th January – Just heard from Pedro via facebook. This morning proved unfavourable winds again so they’ll be sitting it out in Morocco for possibly a few days before they can depart.

UPDATE 7th January – When we came 30min outside the marina it became apparent that the predicted NW winds of 15-20knots were much stronger than forcasted and we decided to return to the marina. We are now awaiting better conditions before we set off again.

Since we didn’t leave today I will have time for one more post before we go. The boat is now fully loaded with all our personal stuff (see picture) and she’s ready to go. The predicted departure time is now 10am tomorrow and we’re all extremely keen to go! Even though this is the last post I will do, I do have email access on the boat and Emma will update the blog for me so keep the comments coming! (Read more...)

I arrived in Agadir on Saturday evening and woke up on Sunday morning to a completely different country. Everything here is very different even though Agadir is a very western part of the country. Sara G is moored at the port in Agadir where we have been doing all of the final preparations. (Read more...)

Tomorrow is the day! Pedro is fully packed and ready to go, flying out of Stansted early afternoon and meeting the rest of the crew in Agadir marina. The Sara G is now on the water and they’ll have a couple of days for some last checks – especially gearing, footplate position, etc – before departure.

We’ve updated the website so that as well as seeing their progress on the map you can click below left to see the latest weather. For the nerds amongst you, we do also have a more detailed version of the MarineTracker which shows everything from surface water temperature to average distance travelled per hour. (Read more...)

After a hectic day buying (amongst other things) seamless underwear, a legionnaires cap, baby wipes and chocolate, Pedro had a visit from the barber for a drastic new haircut.

(Read more...)

Hi everyone,

This is my first test post – I’ll be keeping the blog updated daily with messages from Pedro and the crew as they set off for the Atlantic row.

It’s five days til Pedro flies out to Agadir in Morocco, to meet his team mates and start the final preparations for a probable start date of January 5th. (Read more...)

Introducing our latest and very exciting piece of kit! The MarineTracker will allow you to follow the crew’s progress as they make their way across the Atlantic Ocean. You can access it by clicking the link above or going to the MarineTracker website. More information will follow on how you can send messages and emails to Pedro, and read the latest updates and blogs from the boat.

We’re very pleased to announce that the major recruitment company Brand Recruitment have become our newest sponsor. (Read more...)

The raffle organised on Bonfire night was a great success. We managed to raise £105 and would like to thank Magog Muffins and Ready 2 Row for their great raffle prices!

James Kenworthy has joined the crew. James has previously served in the army and is raising money for the charity Help for Heroes. Hopefully he’ll be coming to Cambridge in th next few months to get some sculling training.

We are very proud to have another sponsor onboard. Sunglasses For Sport are providing polarising sunglasses for the entire crew from their evolution range.

Trekwear, the online quality outdoor clothing company, is delighted to be able to support Pedro Cunha in his One Million Strokes challenge to row across the Atlantic from the Canaries to Barbados raising money for East Anglia’s Childrens’ Hospices. Trekwear is supplying Pedro with waterproof clothing to help protect him from inclement weather during his journey. The voyage is due to take place between December and February – everyone here at Trekwear wishes him success with achieving his goals. Good luck Pedro! – Robin Longworth MD

Due to an exciting job opportunity in the Faroese coast guard, Livar has unfortunately had to leave the expedition. Filling his shoes is Mike Jones. Mike is an experienced sailor and kayaker who currently serves in the Irish coast guard. The whole crew will be meeting for sea trials in October.

Pedro’s appearance on BBC Look East is now up online. Click here to play the video.

1000 Mile Sportswear have kindly donated a selection of their 1000 Mile Socks for Pedro to use during the expedition. The socks are designed to prevent blisters and fatigue and will be an essential piece of Pedro’s kit. Thanks to all the team at 1000 Mile – click on the link to check out their full selection.

New photos of the first sea trial in Lymington are now online.

New photos of the Sara G and Pedro in training.

The interview was with 209 Radio’s Feel Good Friday (31 minutes in), 209 Radio.

You can find it on iplayer here: BBC Radio Cambridgeshire Listen in to Pedro talking to Jeremy Sallis on the Breakfast show (53 minutes in).

Tune into BBC Radio Cambridgeshire at 7.50am tomorrow (Wednesday 19th) to hear Pedro’s first interview with Jeremy Sallis on the breakfast show. Don’t worry if aren’t awake / have to be in Ely for a pairs outing at 8am, the programme will also be available on the BBC website and here at One Million Strokes!

They are sending Pedro a selection of their specially designed gel seats for erg training and for the expedition itself. Thanks to Colleen at GelSport for her enthusiastic support of Pedro’s expedition – you can check out her full range of products by clicking on the GelSport logo.

You can follow me on Twitter and check out my JustGiving page – fundraising for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices.