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DAY 13 – CAYLE ROYCE

Good news – the weather has calmed down. Bad news – we found a hole in the boat. It’s not as bad as it sounds. After quite a few hours of emptying the contents of the hatches in aft cabin we think we have found the source. We think it may be that one of the food storage hatches has not been sealed properly. From now on we will just have to monitor the situation closely.

The weather is getting better with North Easterly winds of 20 - 25 knots. The winds should be moving to East North East which in layman’s terms means that we will have a good following wind but potentially a few more days of rough weather. At the moment we are heading South, rather than directly West. The reason for this course is to allow us to pick up the trade winds which will assist our progress toward Antigua. We have about another 500 miles until we cut the corner and start heading more directly West.

Thanks to an improvement in the weather we are not in oilskins for the first time in about 10 days. Our Musto clothing has been amazing.  With the awful weather with cross swells and side-swiping waves our kit has really kept us well protected. The side swipe from a wave inevitably happens when Scott and I do the seat change, the time when we are most exposed to a jet of water down the back of the neck!

The weather has meant that up until today, life has been driven by routines and getting on with rowing and being safe. The boat almost went over a couple of times but thanks to some good steering we are still ok. We couldn’t socialise much. We have just been getting up, getting soaked by a wave and then getting on with rowing. Severe night time weather meant that the 3 hour night shift has been reduced to 2 hours. It was just impossible to concentrate for 3 hours in those heavy seas. Overall the whole crew is doing well. We are still having a laugh both at ourselves and at the weather. I feel very fortunate with my sailing experience and I have massive respect for some of the other guys who have never been in these kind of conditions – it must be doubly terrifying,  it really is big out here.

But despite all this, I am having the time of my life! The last week has been so challenging and I have felt so fortunate to be back in the action. The reward is facing the challenge and coming through it.

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DAY 49 - CAYLE ROYCE'S FINISH LINE BLOG

After a frustrating last 24 hours or so we began today with slow conditions and not much visibility. It was quite squally, with little rain showers coming and going, but things cleared quite abruptly around 8am and suddenly we could see land. After being hidden in the mist it appeared out of nowhere and it seemed really close! This last stretch was totally different to the first half of the race. For so much of this crossing the weather has been horrific, I have never experienced anything like this. Yesterday morning at 8 am marked the first time in the entire race that we had a full 24 hours out of full foul weather gear and today is also the first day that an equipment failure would not be a cause for emotional devastation. I always thought that we would make it, but equipment failures could have slowed us down a lot. The thought of breakages always kept us on edge. But now we can finally enjoy the realisation that WE HAVE DONE IT!!!!!!!!

Read More | posted on Jan 21, 2014

DAY 48 – SCOTT BLANEY'S FINAL BLOG

It feels great to count down the hours and the miles. It is a big morale boost to know that we are almost there. For most of the crossing I had felt confident that we would make it but we did have a few scares. When the auto-helm broke I did worry that we would be down to one rower for the whole crossing. One rowing and one hand-steering would have been a horrible routine. Luckily we managed to fix it. But the most important bit of equipment is my leg - it has never let me down.

Read More | posted on Jan 20, 2014

DAY 47 – MARK JENKINS FINAL BLOG

Hard as it is to believe, this is my final blog! It has been a moment to reflect on an extraordinary 7 weeks at sea and an even more extraordinary group of people. By that I mean not just the guys in the boat, but the many wounded persons that they represent. I have been thinking a lot about what this team has achieved and what we hope others can achieve. This project has been about setting a huge challenge, committing wholeheartedly to it and then facing every challenge head on in pursuit of our goal. There have been no excuses only a choice to live this experience to its fullest and to take a positive attitude to all things. I hope that we have demonstrated that it is not what people see in you but what you go on to do that counts. I want to thank to all those who have personally supported me – you know who you are. There were a few people who said it could not be done. Oh dear… you will have to kiss my nappy-rash!

Read More | posted on Jan 19, 2014