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DAY 33 - MARK JENKINS

On my shift last night we finally went under the 1000 miles to go point. We had a short celebration now that the end is in sight... a-ha-ha-ha…boo-hoo-hoo! Yes, we must be losing the plot to think this is a victory but please humour us! I think that’s fair enough given our circumstances. Just look at it from our perspective, the next way-point on our GPS is the end. And that hasn’t happened before. No other way-points to go, just a drag race to the finish line (at 3 miles pre hour). I am starting to feel like we are actually achieving something but we don’t want to count our chickens yet! To finish this would be a huge achievement on so many levels but if you asked me to do it again that’s a straight no my friend. You might get a yes if you asked me in a bar, but I wouldn’t bank on anything materialising from it! Night times are good now because they are cooler and the days are really starting to hot up. Dress code for the evening shift is now t shirt but thankfully no heavy jackets although we are still in the full length trousers for now to protect our botties. Calmer nights also meant that you can enjoy the moment and reflect a bit more. I have laid some ghosts to rest in my mind and its nice to get through this and put things in perspective.

Heaven is a baby-wipe and a packet of Chewits

This week has been pretty routine with no huge events. My bum is my primary concern right now. Repeated 2 hour rows on a wet bum in rough conditions are like being sandpapered from below. Little comforts become increasingly important. I was in heaven with this week simply due to a clean dry bum - heaven is a baby-wipe and a packet of chewits. Little things like comfort are key and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is powerful. Simple things become more important and thankfully I am on top of my routine now. During the first few weeks I tried a few things and not all worked, but I have a good system now and avoid certain things (like crapping over the side) which seem to cause problems later on.

As far as the others are concerned; James is all over it, but still gets the odd sore, Scott is ok and Cayle has some numbness as he can’t move around in his seat as much as us. If I have a bad day, bad arse and bad shift it gets you down. I have to keep on top of ‘Butmin’. On the bad days you get splashed down your oilskins, then have to steer on your off shift and you never get properly dry – we really need the dry days to help recover. One day I got drenched and had no jacket on just as I got on shift, that wasn't much fun. Getting wet just before you get in the cabin is just as bad as the admin is a killer. The cabin is getting uncomfortably hot towards the end of the day and that can mean only one thing. We are getting closer to our destination... and to coconuts with the straws coming out of the top!

 

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