Finally Here 🇨🇦
- dawnysmiff
- Jun 21
- 2 min read
I am finally in St John’s, Newfoundland.
The journey here was made even better by sharing the flight with Emma and Charlie Pitcher. Charlie owns Rannoch Adventure, the company
that not only builds many of the world’s ocean rowing boats, including Penny B, but also supports countless expeditions around the globe.
Ocean rowing is a surprisingly small community, and it’s always reassuring to have experienced people around who understand exactly what goes into getting a tiny rowing boat safely across a very large ocean. We are incredibly grateful to have them here.
As soon as I landed, there was no time for sightseeing or putting my feet up.
Within a couple of hours, I was straight into one of the less glamorous but absolutely essential parts of any expedition — food packing.
Every meal, snack, emergency ration, coffee sachet and morale-boosting treat has to be accounted for. There is something strangely satisfying about seeing weeks’ worth of supplies laid out before gradually disappearing into every available storage space on the boat.
It’s one of those jobs that reminds you just how self-sufficient you need to be out there. Once we leave the dock, there is no popping to the shops if you fancy a different breakfast!
As the day drew to a close, we headed to the yacht club for dinner. Sitting there looking out over the harbour, it finally hit me.
We’re actually here.
Penny B is sitting in the boat park. The team is together. The start line is no longer something in the distant future.
I always get a mixture of emotions at this stage.
Excitement, because I genuinely love being at sea and taking on these adventures.
Gratitude, because I know how many people have helped us get to this point.
A little nervousness too. Anyone who says they aren’t nervous before setting off across an ocean is either lying or hasn’t thought about it enough. The day I stop feeling nervous is probably the day I should stop rowing oceans.
Mostly though, I feel incredibly lucky.
Lucky to still be having adventures. Lucky to have the support of friends, family, sponsors and followers. Lucky to be standing on the edge of another chapter in what has already been an amazing journey.
Tomorrow the real work begins. Boat preparation, equipment checks, safety inspections and making sure Penny B is ready for everything the North Atlantic can throw at us.
The countdown continues.
Dawn
“Together Paul and I are rowing home — the long way round.”
Hometown Row
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