Day 14 - Whales And One Hour Forwards
May 22, 2009 – 8:45 amEver since Mick asked me to row the North Pacific with him one fo the main topics of conversation has been the wildlife. Mick exclaimed that it was “teeming with dolphins, sharks, fish and whales”. However after two weeks at sea and a handful of dolphins to our name I was beginning to question these observations. Thankfully today though I’ve been proved wrong.
The Sir David Attenborough class started at about 5am this morning when I saw the flukes (tail) of a whale as it started to dive about a mile away. Within the hour I was rewarded a second time with a pod of dophins around the boat including two calves. All very cute! Then the top viewing for the day was a Sei whale that blew within 40 metres of Bo. It was about 35ft long and just magnificent. It was so close that I could see it had been tagged as there was a red dot just under it’s dorsal fin. It went under the surface again as I scrabbled to get the camera and as I was doing so it blew again and must have dived as it didn’t surface again. Breathtaking! I just wish it had stayed around a bit longer.
The sea state today has been flat and undisturbed by the wind so it looks like a giant pond. We know that some strong winds from the South West are forecast later on in the week so we’re just trying desperately to get into the current before the bad weather strikes. If we do it’ll mean that we can make miles in the right direction when essentially not being able to row. Yesterday afternoon we caught a little bit of the edge of the current and we’re now sitting much more embedded in it. The water temperature is high and all looks positive that we’ll come out of the period of poor weather in a really strong position much further away from the Japanese coast. This is important for a whole host of reasons not least that typhoons track up close to the coastline so the further away we get the safer it is for us.
In fact we’ve already done so much rowing that we’re about to have to change our Reactor watches one hour forwards. This means that it’ll get dark at 8pm rather than 7pm and light at 5am rather than 4am. All in all much more reasonable. This isn’t the last time that we’ll have to do this either. For every 15 degrees of longitude we pass through we change the watches an hour forwards. With San Francisco at 122 degrees west we’ve still got to change them a few times yet, but it’s nice to practice.
Thank you class 5 for all your jokes! We did like those. The cuts that we’ve both got aren’t bad at all and certainly aren’t bleeding. They’re caused by just catching ourselves on bolt ends or hatch edges while we move around the boat. The salt water just doesn’t help with these healing very well. As for food we’ve got 7 different main meals. Mick’s favourite is Chicken Veg Pasta which I think is my favourite as well, but I also really like the apple in custard. As we get more tired from rowing though we get more and more hungry so any meal quickly becomes very tasty even the ones we didn’t like when we started.
We’re still wearing pants when wandering around on deck but when sitting down to row the hems of the fabric would rub our bums and make them sore so we sit bare on soft sheep skin seat covers. We still have to be careful of the sun though.
36°11′27”N 149°54′48”E
Chris & Mick travelled 61.1 miles East-North-East (heading 76.6°) on day 14
They ended 4638.1 miles from San Francisco (58.1 miles closer than yesterday)
Their average pace so far has been 31.7 miles/day towards San Francisco
They have 146.4 days remaining at this rate
Their target heading for the shortest route to San Francisco is East-North-East (heading 58.9°)
See where the boat is
Click on Mick and Chris to see where the boat is
15 Responses to “Day 14 - Whales And One Hour Forwards”
Good work guys. keep ticking off those clock changes! have you guys thought of doing some fishing while you are out there? it could make a welcome change to your diet and you could even sell some really big ones to those japanese fishermen to make yourselves a few quid!keep up the progress and i will try to get some good jokes to add to the pile. Keep it up guys.
By Scott Ballard-Ridley on May 22, 2009
Glad to hear that it’s going well. We are breaking up for half term today. Hurray! Here’s a riddle for you - What begins with e and ends with e but only has one letter in it?
Hope to hear from you soon!
By Class 5 (used to be Class 2) High Bentham Primary School on May 22, 2009
Good jokes?!?! Scott, what on earth are you thinking…the cornier the better please :o)
“The sea state today has been flat and undisturbed by the wind so it looks like a giant pond.” Chris, this is your chance as a flat water rower to get in some hard yards (though miles would be more helpful) and push on. Presumably after your 1/2; 3/4; 1/2 start, you are still winding the rate up? I’m not sure what anyone else thinks, but I don’t reckon you should make the length call until about the 8th/9th June.
On a more sensible note, being able to see all the whales & dolphins as an interloper in their world, must be an incredible experience, so hopefully you’re both getting the chance to enjoy it.
Bad Joke for Friday is: A man walks in to the pub and a voice from the fruit machine shouts “GET OUT FATTY!”, the man is shocked but carries on up to the bar. He is stood at the bar when a voice says “You look nice tonight”, the man looks down and the voice has come from a small bowl of peanuts on the bar, once again he is astounded, at that moment the barman comes over to serve him and the man tells him what has happened.
The barman explains “The peanuts are complimentary, but the fruit machine is out of order”
MC move for the weekend: Totteridge & Whetstone (not forgetting that reverse doubles are allowed when rule 17c is in force)
By Higgsy on May 22, 2009
Chris, this blig is getting more like it, you were begining to remind me of that woman who rowed the athlantic on her own at the same time as you, her blog was just moan moan moan. Honestly it cen get really tiresome, I mean it’s just a bit of rowing… Actually now I come to think of it I may have had the odd minor complaint on rare occasions during 20km outings… OK I take it all back!
As for jokes.. A man goes into the doctors witha steering wheel down his trousers the Doc says “My god man that must hurt” the man replies “No, but it’s driving me nuts”!
Honestly I’ve got a stack of these!
Keep trucking boys, and enjoy the whales and dolphins, it must be awesome.
Oh and Higgsy, playing dirty are we? I thought Boing boing said we were playing pre Beeching which would mean that… oh never mind. Gants Hill.
By Biff on May 22, 2009
Hi all
Loving the jokes, they have reminded me of one that was supposedly voted Scotland’s favourite joke a few years back… A man walks into the Doctors and says “Doc, you have to help me, I have a lettuce stuck up my backside’. The Doctor takes one look and says “I’m afraid that’s just the tip of the iceberg”
Chris and Mick - As a non-rower I guess the more technical aspects of this journey may be a bit lost on me but it is an absolutely awesome thing you guys are doing. Being out there amongst the whales and dolphins must be fantastic (and even better that you have the seat covers to stop any friction burns!)
Best wishes to you both from Georgie and me
By Jonny on May 22, 2009
A man goes into the doctors:
Man: Doctor, I can’t stop singing Tom Jones songs and speaking with a Welsh accent.
Doc: I’m afraid you’ve got Tom Jones Syndrome
Man: Is it common?
Doc: It’s not unusual
By Biff on May 22, 2009
and now something else:
Offside Rule - Explanation For Girls ( and rowers )!!
You’re in the shoe shop. You see a pair of shoes by the till that you must have.
Closer to the shoes than you is a rival female shopper. You can see that she badly wants the shoes. Both of you have forgotten your purses. It would be totally rude to push in front if you didn’t have the money to pay.
A friend of yours further back in the shop sees the position you are in. She prepares to throw her purse to you. If she does you can catch it then quickly move round the other shopper and buy the shoes.
At a pinch your friend could throw the purse ahead of your rival and while it is in the air you could nip round the other shopper, catch the purse and buy the shoes.
But remember that until the purse has actually been thrown it would be very wrong to move forward of the other shopper.
There you go, poppet!
By Cath on May 22, 2009
Here’s wishing all Chris & Mick’s young blog-readers a smashing half-term holiday! Here’s another joke for the collection.
Parents faced with the dilemma of naming a newborn child should always consider all the options from every angle before finalising their decision. You know the sort of thing: ‘Theresa Green’ (Yes, everybody knows that already).
I’m reminded of the brilliant Brummie comedian Jasper Carrott who realised that he and his wife had a special responsibility in this regard. They wondered about ‘Ivor’ for a boy and ‘Nora’ for a girl, but drew the line at ‘Henrietta’!
By Dad Martin on May 22, 2009
a bloke walks into the doctors with a frog growing out of his head. The doc says “how did that happen?”
The frog says “I don’t know, it started as a wart on my bum.”
By Typical Lightweight Matelot on May 22, 2009
Did you hear about the two flies playing football in a saucer?
They were practising for the cup.
By Alan in Wiltshire on May 22, 2009
Hi there lads good to see that the weather has calmed down and that you can dry out.It would be so easy to say Itold you so about the hatches and cuts but that would be clever eh,my cuts from those hatches have now nearly healed up,so has the thick head but just about to go out with Steve so another Dawson will soon create another thick head no doubt.Callum says all the best and stay safe and the same from me.BEST WISHES AND GOOD SPEED from The Joker & Callum.
By the joker & callum on May 22, 2009
Hi guys,
so sorry for my absence for almost 2 days now;internet connection problems here.
Glad you are gaining more distance now,San-francisco seem nearer everyday.
Sorry about the boring meal times(just 7 varieties for all the time you are going to be at sea?!).Considering the fact that your bums look like unpalatable pizzas at the moment says a lot to why you should row on your birthday suits,I hope you have medications on board to help with the chaffing(i prefer not to use the word SORE).
Don’t worry guys with the amounts of hard-work and dedication you have put in;you shall overcome.”Aluta Continua,Victoria Ascerta!!”
Big kisses and hugs to the Dynamic Duo!! Grace. xoxo
By Grace Dawson on May 22, 2009
Hi!
I have just returned from my first sailing venture aboard a Pico! It was really good - some of the group managed to capsize their teacher!We also nearly crashed into windsurfers - oops!
Keep on rowing!
Anna Marshall Keasden Clapham
By Anna Marshall (Keasden) on May 22, 2009
Amazing jokes today from everyone - I would just say to Chris and Mick: careful you don’t fall over-board while reading them, as I nearly fell off my chair I was giggling so much! - do hope these jokes will be recorded and maybe even published after our amazing rowing duo have reached their goal.
Your meeting with the whales must have been absolutely incredible - whow! I hope they will protect you as you continue on your journey.
By Sue from Cornwall on May 22, 2009
Those meals sound like luxury. Why are you complaining?. I managed to survive for three years at university on nothing but pasta, tuna sweetcorn and mayo. Plus the odd kebab I guess.
By The Egypt!an on May 23, 2009