Day 149 (Belated) - Miles A Month and 400 Day Anniversary

October 7, 2009 – 7:18 am

A belated day 149 post which I received when Chris got his data link working again

After a few days grinding out reasonable mileages in a grotty side wind we’ve eventually had to admit a temporary defeat and put the sea anchor in as the wind was pushing us too far south. Whilst stopping is obviously never a good thing it will allow us to do a few essential things. Sleep, mend and repair. Gradually over any period of non-stop rowing but especially now that we’ve been worn down a bit after nearly 5 months out here the opportunity for sleep is very much treasured by both of us, this pause means we can catch up on the 40 winks we desperately need. After being out here for so long some of our bits and bobs on the boat are starting to show signs of wear and tear. The cookers are less effecient and are taking longer than they should to boil water for our meals. I’ve spent a few non-rowing shifts trying to clean them (which has prevented me from sleeping) but they need a bit more time than I’ve been able to devote to them so far so this is the perfect opportunity for that. Obviously we’re also showing signs of wear and tear especially due to chaffing caused by rowing in soggy sallopettes 12 hours a day. We’ll get the chance to repair our bodies which will make the next few weeks hopefully a bit less painful.

Also in all the excitement over the past few days (ahem) I completely forgot to mention the latest anniversary that we’ve had on board. Mick passed the 400 days at sea in an ocean rowing boat anniversary on day 146 but I forgot to mention it. So we’ve now got a member of the 200 club and a member of the 400 club on board. Fingers crossed we can get to San Francisco before we hit a four figured combined total!!

Thank you for all your blog comments and especially the text messages. It’s great to know now that there a loads of people who have been following our progress throughout the row but are just getting in touch. If that’s you then thank you and if you’ve been watching but haven’t said hello yet then please don’t be shy. We’d love to hear from you - just click on the contact the crew link at the top of the page.

40°4′45”N 137°33′42”W
Chris & Mick travelled 27.3 miles East-South-East (heading 120.2°) on day 149
They ended 824.4 miles from San Francisco (25.0 miles closer than yesterday)
They covered miles 4232 to 4257 of the trip
Their average pace so far has been 28.6 miles/day towards San Francisco
They have 28.9 days remaining at this rate, so would arrive in San Francisco on 4 Nov 2009
Their target heading for the shortest route to San Francisco is East (heading 96.1°)
See where the boat is