Conditions eased a little two days ago, and by a little, we mean a very small amount. But this did mean that we could struggle on in a roughly SW direction, so struggle we did! It’s hard in the day with waves coming in from all directions, and even harder at night. But we’ve both now perfected sleeping and rowing so it’s not so bad!! The real pain has been little waves from the East that come in like a torpedo from nowhere. They slap Barbara Ivy down the side, she then leaps around like a stung horse and reminds us again just how good her ‘Weeble’ impression is. She likes to remind us regularly – even as I write this in fact! We have seen a few ships too – one encounter with a fishing boat two nights ago saw me hopping around outside in knickers and a jacket, waving a flare around and wondering just how close they get before you have to use them! But we had figured out that it was a fishing boat and trailing nets – eventually they trailed off over the horizon and we carried on as normal. But yesterday we saw two massive tankers pass within just a few miles of us, followed by a container ship early this morning. Just seeing them and their bow wave is scary and they generally don’t answer on the radio which is annoying. But they are easy to see and to tell what heading they are on. They do show up on the AIS too which can help.  We’re both still enjoying the time onboard and settling into a routine of rowing, sleeping and eating. A lack of sun so far has caused us some power problems, but the forecast is good for the next few days. Our dreadlocks are developing nicely now, we’re getting good at recycling t-shirts and shorts. Bertie the blister has finally given up and retreated to become an odd shaped ridge for the time being. But don’t worry, other blisters are always turning up looking for trouble! Wildlife watch – this morning we were treated to a fleeting glimpse of a pod of dolphins feeding. There were absolutely loads of them, all jumping and darting around together. They didn’t stay long, but seeing 10 or more jumping at the same time is really special. Thanks again for all the texts – it’s great when we switch the phone on and read them all out. Please keep them coming as they make a world of difference to our days out here! 

Todays pictures, Lin rowing and Rachel rowing
Hugs, Rachel & Lin  
Position:N 25.28.56.4W 020.18.04.2