🌊 Hometown Row – Weather Delay & Switching to Standby Mode

dawnysmiff
Dec 11, 2025
2 min read

Hello everyone,

This was meant to be the first newsletter from the Atlantic Ocean.

Instead, I’m writing from La Gomera — on solid land — because the start of the race has been postponed.

⚠️ Amber Weather Warning

The island has been issued an amber warning for Saturday, with a strong low-pressure system building across the Canary Islands.

This brings:

Large, confused seas
Swells pushing into unsafe heights
Gale-force winds
Breaking waves across the harbour entrance

In short: it’s not safe to launch an ocean rowing fleet.

Even the most experienced teams — even safety boats — would struggle in those conditions.

The World’s Toughest Row safety team has therefore postponed the start to Sunday or Monday, depending on how the weather settles.

And they are absolutely right to do so.

When the ocean speaks, you listen.

🧠 From “Go Mode” to “Standby Mode”

Paul and I were fully in go mode — mentally primed, emotionally ready, bags packed, final goodbyes said.

Switching suddenly into standby mode is harder than people realise. It’s a strange limbo:

waiting, watching, holding your energy steady, not letting adrenaline spill over.

But this is where our backgrounds help.

Paul’s military experience
My years in policing

Both taught us to adapt instantly when plans change, to stay calm under pressure, and to be ready to flick that switch back on the moment the green light appears.

We may be paused — but we are not derailed.

💙 Mixed Emotions

Today has been emotional in ways I didn’t quite expect.

Friends travelled all this way to cheer us off tomorrow, and of course it’s sad they won’t get to wave us off the dock.

But safety always comes first.

They understand that — and so do we.

We’ve taken today to:

Relax
Reset
Spend time with the friends who made the journey
Breathe a little before everything begins again

It has been grounding. Much needed, actually.

🌬️ What Happens Next?

We remain on standby, monitoring the systems and staying ready.

When the weather allows a safe start — whether Sunday or Monday — we will switch straight back into go mode and head for the horizon.

The ocean dictates the schedule. We simply respond.

Thank you for your constant support, your messages, and your patience as we navigate the unpredictable part of ocean rowing — the part we can’t train for.

The next newsletter should be from the Atlantic… 🤞

Until then, we remain ready.

Dawn