Painful Posterior and Rickety Rudder
( Last Updated: 05-01-2008 )
Oyster Shack Ocean Challenger at sea. In general terms we are all in good health. We all have some blisters and sore bottoms with mine being the worst, of which more later. But that aside morale is high and we have our heads down and are concentrating on covering the miles and getting to Antigua as quickly as possible.
We have not made quite such good progress in the last couple of days as we had hoped. While the wind was kind to us earlier in the week and allowed us to take a more Southerly heading, it has been variable for the past 36 hours as we have been on the edge of a weather system. The winds have veered between East and South which has slowed our progress and made it difficult for us to work our way South.
Then, this morning, our rudder came off. We managed to recover it into the boat and set about repairing the brackets which had sheared. The repairs done we had the tricky job of replacing the rudder back on its pintails. Mike went over the side to guide the rudder into position and reset the lines to the self-steering system. Meanwhile Ian and Ben went for a swim to clear the hull of soft barnacles and other sea life that had begun to build up and would slow us down if not removed. I suppose the whole process of mending and resetting the rudder took about six hours. However all is now well. We are underway once more and making good progress.
It is very hot by day and although we row for shorter periods when the sun is high in the sky it is hard work. I think we all prefer rowing at night when it is cooler and the breeze is usually in our favour. We have not sighted any more wildlife of note but the sea is crystal clear and a beautiful colour.
A few words on the state of my bum! Last week I acquired some nasty sores and blisters on both buttocks. They were sufficiently bad for us to seek medical advice. As a result of which I was required to lay off the oars for 48 hours in the hope that the sores would heal over and not get infected. This has paid off. My left cheek has healed well and the right one is coming along nicely. I sit on a piece of plastic laid over the sheepskin seat cover. This keeps any open sores clean but does cause some sweating. However the overall effect is to help the healing process. Hopefully it will all be sufficiently well healed for me to enjoy a swim next time.
Looking ahead, we are hoping for more favourable winds once this weather system has passed through. The Atlantic Six are keen to get down to 20°N as soon as possible where we can pick up the Easterly breezes that will help us towards Antigua in record time.
Transcribed from a telephone call from George - 15.00hours GMT 5 January 2008