Friday 24th July- Day 29
- dawnysmiff
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Under the Milky Way
It was a slow but thoroughly enjoyable day on the oars.
There was very little wind, so we were having to work hard for every mile, but a small favourable current gave us just enough of a helping hand to keep us moving in the right direction.
The sun stayed with us for most of the day too. There was a bit of cloud around, but after the endless grey weather we’ve had recently, it felt like a completely different ocean.
Then came the sunset.
It was one of those evenings that simply stops you in your tracks.
The whole western horizon looked as though it was on fire, glowing deep orange and red across the sea. It’s amazing how quickly you forget just how beautiful this place can be when you’ve spent weeks battling wind, rain and waves.
As darkness fell, the sky was quite cloudy at first, but gradually the cloud melted away to reveal another spectacular night.
As usual, The Plough sat just over our port stern quarter, pointing the way towards the North Star, whose proper name is Polaris. The Plough isn’t actually a constellation in its own right—it’s an easily recognised pattern of seven stars that forms part of the much larger constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear.
Polaris itself remained over our port beam, faithfully marking north, while Cassiopeia, the distinctive W-shaped constellation named after the vain queen in Greek mythology, hung over our port bow.
Then the sky revealed something even more special.
The Milky Way.
From most towns and cities it’s almost impossible to see because of light pollution. Out here, hundreds of miles from the nearest streetlight, it stretches across the sky as a soft, glowing band of light. What we’re actually looking at is the combined glow of billions of distant stars within our own galaxy, seen edge-on from our position inside it.
It arched gracefully overhead, creating a pale ribbon across the darkness.
It’s one of those sights that reminds you just how tiny we really are.
By sunrise the wind had picked up again, bringing a fresh chill to the air, but this time it was blowing from behind us.
Finally…
A helpful following breeze.
It wasn’t particularly strong, but it was enough to give us a welcome boost.
Over the past 24 hours we covered 57 nautical miles.
Now that’s much more like it.
That’s the sort of mileage we need if we’re going to arrive back in Burnham in time for the celebrations planned on 29th August.
There’s still well over a month to go, but we’re edging ever closer. We’re now approaching the halfway point to Burnham itself and are already well over halfway to the UK coastline.
Just before the shift change this morning I caught sight of a small shark swimming past the boat.
Unfortunately, by the time I’d reached for the camera it had disappeared.
I suppose some moments are simply meant to be enjoyed…
…rather than photographed.
Dawn
“Together Paul and I are rowing home — the long way round.”
Hometown Row
📩 You can have Dawn’s blogs delivered directly to your inbox here:
🌐 Or visit the website:
Comments