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| The final countdown... |
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| Written by Lin & Rachel at sea | |
| Sunday, 10 February 2008 | |
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After a constant bombardment of huge waves and strong winds, the conditions seem a little kinder today and we pray that they stay that way as two days ago, we had a couple of nasty surprises.
The first came while Rachel was rowing and the mother of all waves started to build up in the distance. Lin was safely in the cabin, and the boat stern-on to the wave so there was nothing more to do than sit and wait. When it hit it was amazing. The boat was carried for some distance in the breaking part and filled up with water completely, leaving us with a fair bit of bailing to do. The second incident came that night when we were just settling down to sleep. Lin was closing the door and had her hand on the handle, when another huge wave hit, this time from the side. Unfortunately it threw Lin and the contents of the cabin on top of Rachel, wrenching the handle from her grasp and letting in a fair amount of water. The cabin was swimming and we were both soaked from head to toe. The night was not a comfortable or dry one and the mopping up exercise took up most of yesterday as well! We also found that sometime yesterday, our tracking beacon had packed up yet again! But another change of fuse seems to have done the trick and we hope it lasts until we make dry land. Sorry if you thought we’d been slacking, but you should now be able to follow our progress again. At the moment our ETA is still sometime on Saturday or Sunday next weekend, but of course we don’t know for sure and anything can happen to slow you down out here. We’ve been seeing some new birds flying around, had a brief visit from whales yesterday, and found some horrible black jumping insects onboard this morning. So we know that land is getting closer. We also passed the 300 miles to go mark yesterday and the champers with dinner last night was just as good as ever! We’ve seen a few ships in the distance, but no one to talk to recently – but maybe that will change as we get ever closer to the islands? So, that’s all for now folks, but we will try to get in more blogs before we get to Antigua. Messages: Jaydubyoo, Row of Life and Ocean Summit – Congratulations on finishing the race and making it to Antigua. Joe and Andrew, if we don’t see you there, we look forward to catching up with you at home. Angela and Franck, your achievement is outstanding, particularly as we know how much work went into getting your boat ready to start on time. You are an inspiration to us all. Nix – happy birthday and we’re sure your mum has been having a few chuckles, watching us out here! Charlie in BVI – great to get your message (relayed from home) and hope to catch up with you again soon. Dr George – sorry mate, but despite the dousing of the cabin, the laptop never budged and is still working fine. Claridges here we come…! Love and Hugs to you all from Lin & Rachel |
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| Last Updated ( Sunday, 10 February 2008 ) |