Where did I leave you? Oh yes — with just over 16 nautical miles to go. As the sun rose and we crept closer, the land slowly shifted from a hazy outline into something with shape, colour, and depth. Force Horizon were just ahead of us — visible on AIS but not yet to the naked eye — a reminder that landfall was really happening. What hit us first wasn’t sight at all — it was smell. For more than a month, the only scent we’d known was the ocean itself: salt, wind, rain, and som

(Covering the last 24 hours) Hopefully this is the penultimate blog of this leg. By tomorrow evening, if all goes to plan, we should be sipping rum punches on the dockside in Antigua 🍹. The first 12 hours of the last 24 were almost perfect — aside from the now very familiar rain showers that seem to have haunted this crossing. We had lovely surfing waves, fast conditions, and were genuinely enjoying ourselves, the only real debate being whether or not to slow down to guarant

(Covering the last 24 hours) We are now just two days away from Antigua. I won’t lie — we are really looking forward to land and, more specifically, a proper shower. It’s been so relentlessly rainy that stripping off and tipping a cold bucket of water over yourself is not the most enjoyable experience. Invigorating? Yes. Pleasant? Absolutely not. I am dreaming of a warm shower, for at least ten minutes, with loads of soap. Ohhhh… bliss. In fact, during one of the recent rain

(Covering the last 24 hours) Last night was, thankfully, a bit less hectic. Apologies for the short update yesterday — one of the downsides of having no sun is that there’s very little power going into the ship’s batteries via the solar panels. To get Wi-Fi onboard we have to turn the Starlink on, which is very power-hungry. We only use it for about an hour a day, and I think I’ve mentioned before that most of that time is taken up looking at weather charts and route planning

Wednesday 21st January (Covering the last 24 hours) Oh, what a night. A full lightning storm came straight through us. You always know it’s coming — first the temperature drops, then the rain turns torrential, and finally the wind arrives with real intent. At its peak, the wind must have been around 35 knots, all while lightning cracked across the sky around us. The flashes lit up the ocean in stark, frozen moments — boat, waves, horizon — then back to black again. There’s no

(Covering the last 24 hours) At sunrise yesterday we noticed that one of the outrigger plates was bent. This is a solid piece of steel, and it had deformed as a result of the knockdown the night before. It really brings home the power of the ocean. How the oar itself and the plastic oar gate survived unharmed while a steel plate bent is genuinely astonishing. 🔧 A Mid-Ocean Repair We set to work straight away replacing the plate — thankfully we carry spares for virtually ever

(Covering the last 24 hours) We’re keeping the miles ticking over, which is not as easy as it might sound when you factor in the constantly changing sea state. Last night we had a knockdown — when a big side wave hits the boat hard enough to swamp the deck, taking everything with it that isn’t properly secured, all in the blink of an eye. There’s no time to react, no warning, no chance to quickly put anything away. Paul was on the oars at the time and, in the darkness, took a

(Covering the last 24 hours) Oops — I got the date wrong yesterday! Not a bad error rate, all things considered, given we’re now 34 days at sea, living in a tiny rowing boat with ongoing sleep deprivation and a diet that would make a nutritionist wince. Some people who have rowed oceans — and therefore truly understand what life is like out here — are astounded that I manage to write these blogs at all. I did the same on my solo row too. For me, the blogs are far more than ju

(Covering the last 24 hours) Hopefully, we’re down to just 10 days to go before reaching Antigua. It’s incredible watching the other boats arrive via the tracker — each little icon reaching land feels like a small victory for everyone still out here. We haven’t quite had enough Wi-Fi time yet to watch anyone arrive on the live streams, but even seeing those finish lines tick over is a huge morale boost. We’re both very much looking forward to a proper shower and a bit of down

(Covering the last 24 hours) We’re continuing to make good progress, adjusting to a slightly lower course to stay within the current. It feels like we’re finally working with the ocean rather than constantly fighting it — and that makes all the difference. 🐋 An Unforgettable Encounter Without question, the most exciting thing in the last 24 hours was a whale sighting — and not just a fleeting glimpse. We believe it was a minke whale. We first noticed the outlines of several

(Covering the last 24 hours) Another really great 24 hours, covering 71 nautical miles — and we’re very pleased with that. It’s tough out here because conditions can change at a moment’s notice. One minute it’s pouring with rain, the next it’s boiling hot. Then there’s no wind… then suddenly plenty of it… then side waves thrown in just to keep you on your toes. The ocean always has something to throw at you. The good mileage we’re seeing is down to hard work on every three-ho

(Covering the last 24 hours) It’s been a pretty dreary 24 hours, with heavy grey skies hanging over us. The wind has been doing that frustrating thing where it picks up as rain clouds approach, then drops off completely — sometimes to a strangely still calm — once they pass. Speeds have been a bit up and down, but trudge on we do. Every stroke we take is a stroke closer to Antigua. I often think back to my first ocean row, when I spent 24 hours rowing into a headwind, only to

(Covering the last 24 hours) Wow — the afterburners are on! We covered 79 nautical miles in the past 24 hours. We absolutely worked for every mile, but it was more than worth it. Days like this remind you just how rewarding ocean rowing can be when effort and conditions finally line up. 🌑 Darker Nights Again The nights are getting really dark now as the moon is waning and rising much later — in fact, in the early hours of the morning rather than during the night. A waning mo

(Covering the last 24 hours) We said things would pick up… and pick up they did! We covered 72 nautical miles in the past 24 hours, and we’re really pleased with that. After the grind of the last couple of weeks, it feels brilliant to finally see the miles stack up properly again. 🧽 A Clean Bottom Makes All the Difference Paul got back in the water to clean the bottom of the boat, and we’re certain it’s made a big difference. There was far more growth down there than we expe

(Covering the last 24 hours) We’ve had another dip in mileage, but we’re not overly concerned. We’re planning to scrub the bottom of the boat again shortly, and with some decent wind on the way, we know things will pick up. We’ve been sitting second in our class (Mixed) for most of the row. The next boat is now just a mile behind us, so hopefully the hull clean will help us pull away again. I keep saying we’re not racing — which we genuinely aren’t — but it’s impossible not t

(Covering the last 24 hours) We have rowed our butts off over the past 24 hours to try and claw back some of the miles we lost yesterday. We are absolutely knackered — but it was worth it. We clocked 65 nautical miles in the last 24 hours, which is great news in itself. Even better news is that we’re now back on par with the rest of the fleet, doing roughly the same miles in the same conditions. That was the part that really affected us yesterday — not the lower mileage (we c

(Covering the last 24 hours) This is going to be a short one today, because if I’m honest, we’re feeling totally demoralised. We’ve covered just 45 nautical miles in the last 24 hours, while much of the fleet appears to be flying along. It’s hard not to feel frustrated when you’re putting everything into it and the numbers simply aren’t reflecting the effort. 🌊 Working Hard, Going Nowhere We’re pretty sure we’re still dealing with an unfavourable current. We’ve had to keep a

(Covering the last 24 hours) Conditions remain tough. Waves are hitting from all angles — sometimes there’s lots of wind, sometimes driving rain, sometimes no wind at all. At times it’s unbearably hot, then suddenly overcast and grey. I often describe ocean rowing as chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow — you never quite find the conditions exactly where they should be. Just as you think you’ve cracked it, the ocean changes the rules again. 💪 A Really Hard Day I

(Covering the last 24 hours) We passed the halfway mark at 3pm yesterday — a moment that definitely deserved celebrating. Naturally, it was marked with a loud, slightly off-key chorus of Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer echoing across the Atlantic. Getting past halfway is a huge mental hurdle. Until that point, every mile feels like you’re still heading into the challenge. Once the numbers tip the other way, something shifts. You’re no longer just leaving where you started — you

Photo- train of Starlink satellites (Covering the last 24 hours) We rowed 58 nautical miles in the last 24 hours, which is a huge improvement on every day we’ve had over the past week. As you can imagine, morale has taken a massive boost. Even better, we should pass the halfway point today — 1,335 nautical miles rowed and 1,335 still to go. Psychologically, that’s a big one. The second half should be much quicker than the first. Looking at the forecast, we’re expecting averag