DAY 31 - SCOTT BLANEY

Jenks and I have just cooked dinner and we invited James and Cayle over for a dinner party. This is the third one in 4 weeks. Tonight was a selection of foods from around the world. Very sophisticated. We made a mix of Chicken tikka, korma, fry up and spaghetti. We have had a few nice evenings recently. We all sit out on deck and have a chat. Normally we match that up with a cup of tea and whisky and stuff like that. In other news we had a memorial service for Chirpy our teddy mascot that was washed overboard when we capsized. James (Bishop of Row2Recovery) conducted the ceremony. I also said a few words, Cayle said a prayer, Jenks sang a hymn. Cayle wanted thank god for looking after him and prayed to God that for our sacred biltong which was washed overboard a few days ago.

The benefits of bad weather

Thanks to a massive rain squall me and Jenks managed to have a proper nice shower. There was a big squall so we soaped ourselves up and then washed it off as the rain came crashing past. Quite scary how much muck came of us. I’m still looking forward to a proper shower and a proper bog when we finish though. Some people are still quite private – Jenks doesn’t enjoy the al fresco crapping and he is trying to maintain his dignity. I have increased my dignity thanks to the Atlantic weight loss plan and my beer gut has now disappeared. I have lost about a stone I reckon. I could probably put that on fairly easily but I need to try and hold off until my wedding in August.

Speaking of the wedding I have been planning my stag do with the assistance of Jenks. We are going to go to Brighton, maybe do something in fancy dress, but Jenks has not made the cut to be my best man. It’s going to be 3 of my mates from the army Caz, Ashley and Dan. I wonder which will be worse – stag do or Atlantic row? Probably the stag.

The University of Blaney

My education is coming on well out there. What I have learnt:

1. I have learnt about star constellations from James. Did you know that Orion’s belt is actually a shield not a belt – it’s there to protect him from Taurus?

What I have taught the crew:

1. Never eat yellow snow

2. The route of the pub crawl we are going on when we get back.

Getting to the end

I haven’t thought much about what happens when finished but I think it would be great to work for one of the military charities. I will enjoy being finished and won’t miss much apart from lad and the sunsets. We have 1099 miles to go, so I reckon 2.5 to 3 weeks. What is the first thing I will do when I get off the boat – either drink a beer or kiss my fiancé Amy. I don’t know which one I will do first, it depends on what is closest I suppose.

Latest Blog Posts

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!!!!!!!!

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.

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!