Friday 26th December

(Covering the last 24 hours)

I’d like to say that yesterday was a different kind of Christmas… but in truth this was my fifth Christmas Day on the ocean.

That doesn’t mean it gets easier. You still miss home. You still think about the little traditions that make Christmas feel like Christmas. One that always comes to mind is my dad making Santa footprints up the pathway to the house — boots dipped in flour, leading to the door. It’s such a simple thing, but it’s those small, familiar moments that really tug at you when you’re thousands of miles away surrounded by water.

That said, we made the most of it.

🎁 Christmas Afloat

We had a great half hour opening presents and cards. I now have boat slippers for the cabin — absolute luxury — and enough chocolate to keep me going for the rest of the year. At this rate, I may well be rowing on pure cocoa by the time we reach Antigua.

🌊 Back to Business

Conditions over the last 24 hours have been okay — nothing spectacular, but steady enough. Just honest rowing, with the occasional beam wave coming in to remind you who’s really in charge by knocking you out of your seat.

The forecast shows the wind dropping completely in about 12 hours, which will make things a lot tougher. Flat seas can be just as hard, if not harder, than rough ones — every mile earned entirely by muscle.

Good job I’ve got plenty of chocolate to fuel me along.

Back to the oars we go.

Dawn

“Together Paul and I are rowing home — the long way round.”

Hometown Row

Leg 1 – La Gomera to Antigua

Leg 2 – Antigua to Florida

Leg 3 – Canada to the UK

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