Sea sickness and bruises
By Mark Beaumont and Rob Pendleton
Week one of the record attempt has not been without some success…rowing 701 miles and staying ahead of World Record time being top of this list…but sea sickness, fatigue, bruising and blisters…and a distinct lack of trade wind support has put the crew of Sara G under extreme pressure.
Starting their row from Tarfaya at 1pm on the 2nd January despite a last minute customs hitch the crew were out of the traps pretty quick completing over 100 miles in their first day. Thereafter progress was hindered by difficult seas and a lack of wind support.
A number of the team suffered from sea sickness which hampered their ability to eat and sleep (and row effectively). Each team member will use up to 12,000 calories every 24 hours but with the crew unable to eat more than 2,000 calories a day during the first few days this placed a strain on the team’s strength. Whilst the ‘getting your sea legs’ aspect was expected the severity of the first few days was not!
The team have now settled into their 2 hours on 2 hours off routine with the sessions during the night proving to be the most difficult psychologically. Rowing in the dark with your back to the direction of the boat and not being able to fully see the direction of the waves has been pretty disconcerting for the crew.
Simon, Aodhan and Matt
The Atlantic Odyssey challenge has already attracted the attention of a large following not least of which because they have been able to send back regular voice blogs (courtesy of iPadio), and take part in a number of phone-ins (particularly with Heart FM Breakfast show – as they are undertaking the row in support of Heart’s Childline appeal), and Mark continues to blog for the The Independent Online.
The description of the first few days was summed up by crew member Ian Rowe who described tjhe journey thus far: “Think of a washing machine, place a boat in it and turn it on, then bash your legs and knees with a baseball bat…now you have some idea of what it has been like!”
The journey is compelling and can be followed at www.atlantic-odyssey.comand via their http://twitter.com/AtlanticOdyssey. Please send messages of support to them via their Get In touch section and any donations to Childline would be most welcome.
