Day 38 - Tower This Is Ghost Rider, Requesting Fly By
June 15, 2009 – 9:47 amWinds continued in exaclty the right direction last night if only for a little while. I got a little carried away on the 12 - 2am shift and pushed it a little too hard making me a bit cream crackered for the next shift 2 hours later but we’ve both made some great mileage in the last few days.
 Chris Rowing |
 Mick Rowing |
We’ve started to encounter flying fish for the first time this trip and both Mick and I have been subject to flying fish fly by. Some are more successful than others. These (generally) small fish have long pectoral fins that have developed into a sort of wing that they can use when jumping out of the water to glide long distances. Last night I had 2 get extra inquisitive. One jumped from just behind the boat and flew diagonally across the rowing position. He buzzed the tower so close that I felt his fishy wings brush the end of my nose. Close call. The other jumped behind me and hit the cabin door. I looked down and he was lying quite still. I thought he’d knocked himself out so I reached down to pick him up and pop him back in the sea. However it became aparent that flying fish stun easily and he quickly came round and let me know what he thought about being picked up.
I’m not entirely sure what it is about a flapping fish (even one only 4″ long) that causes a grown man to panic as if he’s holding a porcipine but it certainly does. After a few attempts at returning him to the sea he finally calmed down enough for me to drop him back into the drink but not before he’d made me smell like Unhygenix (The fishmonger in Asterix). Still I suppose he was happy as he didn’t come to visit again.
All going well here and it’s looking rather favourable as we get closer and closer to the international date line. A concept which I’m still trying to get my head around. Still pleanty of time for that yet.
32°27′26”N 167°50′11”E
Chris & Mick travelled 53.0 miles East-North-East (heading 72.4°) on day 38
They ended 3863.1 miles from San Francisco (52.4 miles closer than yesterday)
They covered miles 1166 to 1218 of the trip
Their average pace so far has been 32.1 miles/day towards San Francisco
They have 120.5 days remaining at this rate, so would arrive in San Francisco on 13 Oct 2009
Their target heading for the shortest route to San Francisco is East-North-East (heading 63.4°)
See where the boat is
Sponsor Thanks
Thanks today go to John Barnard, a friend of Chris’ family, who sponsored miles 1200-1203. These were covered by the crew at around 7-9pm last night.
Click on Mick and Chris to see where the boat is
16 Responses to “Day 38 - Tower This Is Ghost Rider, Requesting Fly By”
When you cross the date line are you adding a day so you’ll go Day 40, Day 41 day 43 or will it be Day 40, day, 41, day 40?
I can empathise with the flying fish incident, last night whilst settling down for a BBQ a swallow (leave it Egypt!an) flew straight into next doors conservatory, bounced off and landed on my garden table, dead. Looking back I should have BBQ’d the thing!
In light of “I’m Sorry I haven’t a Clue” returning to the airwaves tonight I play the quarter dawn double switchback made famous in the 1976 World Championships: Perivale
By Biff on Jun 15, 2009
Well good morning,
Great Pics - gave me encouragement to start doing some work for your arrival in SF. Dropped a line to some main stream radio stations for you this morning (left out the ‘adult entertainment’ and ‘unusual lifestyle choices’ ones from the list.
Can’t get my head around the international date line thing either - will it be like a ribbon that Bo catches, or more like a made few minutes where one of you is on Monday and another on Tuesday with the line down the middle? Will you be able to hop between the two days? (maybe not hop exactly at least not without a wire attaching you!) Is it where boats linger to make the most of time, like Dr Who, or Back to the Future. Will it feel different - do you have to do preparation for it? Will you be able to see into Thursday for instance or would you both have to be on the oars for that? Do tell…..
By Tracey on Jun 15, 2009
oooh I’m getting as vexed as a vexed thing who’s a bit fed up! it appears I have to wake up the computer with a short message before I can post anything with volume.. oh well, here begineth the daily 2 entries of Cath
By Cath on Jun 15, 2009
Greetings & salutations ! Let’s see if technology is with me today
History of the World part IV, we return to early USA, ( aaah bless, they do like to “big up” their ickle 200 years )
Delegates from the original thirteen states formed the Contented Congress. Thomas Jefferson, a Virgin, and Benjamin Franklin were two singers of the Declaration of Independence. Franklin had gone to Boston carrying all his clothes in his pocket and a loaf of bread under each arm. He invented electricity by rubbing cats backwards and declared “a horse divided against itself cannot stand.” Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead.
George Washington married Matha Curtis and in due time became the Father of Our Country. Them the Constitution of the United States was adopted to secure domestic hostility. Under the Constitution the people enjoyed the right to keep bare arms.
Abraham Lincoln became America’s greatest Precedent. Lincoln’s mother died in infancy, and he was born in a log cabin which he built with his own hands. When Lincoln was President, he wore only a tall silk hat. He said, “In onion there is strength.” Abraham Lincoln write the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. He also signed the Emasculation Proclamation, and the Fourteenth Amendment gave the ex-Negroes citizenship. But the Clue Clux Clan would torcher and lynch the ex-Negroes and other innocent victims. On the night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln went to the theater and got shot in his seat by one of the actors in a moving picture show. The believed assinator was John Wilkes Booth, a supposedly insane actor. This ruined Booth’s career.
By Cath on Jun 15, 2009
Forgot to ask - didn’t you pack your Gillette Blades? Maybe I’ll see if I can get you Beckham’s gig!!
Second thoughts - he also does undies ads and you guys don’t wear any so that wouldn’t work
By Tracey on Jun 15, 2009
That’s a negative Ghost rider, the pattern is full.
Glad you’re putting the Top Gun quotes to good use. You’ll be tested on them when you get back.
By Margaret on Jun 15, 2009
Chris / Mick. What is the first line of Top Gun?
This is a standard pub quiz question and I expect it to feature in tomorrow’s blog.
Good to see the photos. All we need now is one of you sleeping, one eating and one shi…. and we’ll have a comlpete picture of your voyage.
By Laser.Beam on Jun 15, 2009
eeeuuurrggghhhh
Fishy “Bogies”
As for the International Date Line. The day that you cross it you will go back a day, as you are moving in an eastward direction. So if you cross it at Midday July 1st (no estimation of effort just using the 1st for ease of explanation, made all the harder by the clauses and parentheses) it will actually be Midday 30th June.
Fear not though as I am sure someone will let you know what day it is out there.
Spare a thought for our Jewish friends trying to work out the Sabbath if they cross the line. Apparently they have to keep their own calendar, so the day if they cross on a Friday then the next day (by sunrise rather than date) would be the Sabbath, unless they meet someone who says its saturday. So what if you are in a little boat in the Pacific, any Rabbis out there with ideas?
Great pictures.
By Fat Bloke on Jun 15, 2009
Hi Chris and Mick - good to see the pics of you both enjoying yoru rowing. As for the International Date Line, I got very confused when I flew from NZ to Hawaii last year - arrived at the hotel in Honolulu only to be told that I had arrived a day early and would have to pay for an extra night! Even my travel agent had overlooked the date line when booking everything up for me! At least you boys won’t have that problem - but hey, you might arrive in San Francisco a day earlier than you hope!! So that’s good news. Watch out for those flying fish! Maybe you could catch one or two for dinner…. Keeeeeep smiling, keeeeep rowing and keeeeep safe
By Sue from Cornwall on Jun 15, 2009
It’s me again - another thought about the Date Line - you will both also be a day younger when you cross it!
By Sue from Cornwall on Jun 15, 2009
The MSN Top Ten Mistakes No 10.
In 2002 a unit of heavily armed British Royal Marines were ordered to land on the beaches of Gibraltar for a practice exercise with other marines. Unfortunately, they landed in the wrong country: confused by bad weather in their helicopter, they unknowingly ended up in Spain where they landed and pulled out their SA80 assault rifles and 60mm mortars on bemused local fishermen. The Ministry of Defence later commented, “It was clearly an embarrassing and unfortunate incident. They made their apologies and left.”
I’d love to have heard that apology: “Terribly sorry old boy, wrong country”
By Biff on Jun 15, 2009
Chris, make sure you’re not bending over when they fish next do a fly-by!
By Stinky on Jun 15, 2009
Lovely photos, beard looks good Chris. Do flying fish bite, have spines or what to make them scary to pick up? Or are you just scared of hurting them? How about popping a cloth over them first to make them quiet….would love a picture of your next visitor.
By anthill on Jun 15, 2009
Why does Mick look like someone attempting to row across the Pacific, but Chris just looks like some deranged lunatic who’s just been found floating on some flotsam? Mick’s expression also seems to be one of “please don’t eat me”.
Also, why does there appear to be a disco ball next to Mick?
By The Egypt!an on Jun 15, 2009
Egypt!an - Mick has his “fancy a quick pint” face on. Very dangerous.
By Laser.Beam on Jun 16, 2009
“confused by bad weather in their helicopter” - must have been a very big helicopter to have its own weather system.
By Higgsy on Jun 16, 2009