Thursday 13th August - Day 49
- dawnysmiff
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
My eclipse attire!
There’s been a definite change in the job on board Penny B over the last few days. For weeks, our biggest concern was simply the weather, the current and keeping the boat moving east. Now navigation and keeping a good lookout are taking up much more of our attention.
Last night was particularly busy, with fishing and trawling boats working around us throughout the night. It means there’s much less opportunity to disappear into the music and just row. We’re constantly checking lights, AIS targets and making sure everyone knows we’re here.
The dolphins apparently haven’t received the memo that we’re busy!
They’re becoming frequent companions now, and the water is so incredibly clear that even at night we can watch them darting beneath Penny B. Every so often one comes close enough for us to hear that unmistakable breath alongside the boat.
I don’t think that will ever get old.
As for the actual rowing…
It’s still a slog!
The improvement is that we now have no wind rather than a headwind. I never thought I’d be quite so grateful for absolutely no wind!
We managed 33 nautical miles in the past 24 hours, which we’re actually really pleased with considering there is virtually nothing helping us along. Every one of those miles has been properly earned on the oars.
And now we have a very exciting number on the chart.
51 nautical miles to Land’s End.
If we can maintain roughly the same pace, there’s a very real possibility that by tomorrow afternoon we could finally be coastal rowing.
After seven weeks in the open Atlantic, even writing that feels incredible.
But getting there presents our next big challenge.
The Tides
We started feeling the effects of the tide from around 100 miles offshore. At times we could be working incredibly hard and barely making any headway.
Now, as we close in on Land’s End, those tidal streams become much more significant.
We could potentially be dealing with close to 2 knots of tide in places.
When Penny B is only moving through the water at a couple of knots herself, you can see the problem!
Get the timing right and the tide becomes our friend, effectively giving us a free ride around the headland.
Get it wrong and we could row our hearts out while watching the numbers on the chart barely change.
So this next section isn’t simply about pulling harder. It’s about timing our approach, reading the tide and making sure Penny B arrives at the right place at the right time.
After thousands of miles of open ocean, we’re entering a completely different type of rowing.
Yesterday also gave us something very special.
We had a front-row seat for the solar eclipse.
With Penny B heading east, it all happened directly over the stern of the boat.
What struck me most wasn’t simply watching the light change. It was how everything around us seemed to change with it.
The temperature noticeably dropped.
Everything seemed to go strangely quiet.
For a short while there was an almost eerie feeling across the ocean as the light faded, before slowly the brightness and warmth began to return.
What an incredible place to experience something like that.
Then last night came the Perseid meteor shower.
We definitely saw some spectacular meteors streaking across the sky, although it wasn’t quite the peaceful stargazing session I’d imagined!
Between our own navigation lights and keeping watch on all the fishing boats around us, there was no lying back and staring at the sky for hours.
But every now and again a really bright one would streak overhead and catch our attention.
A solar eclipse, shooting stars, dolphins beneath the boat and 51 nautical miles to Land’s End.
Not a bad 24 hours.
We’re tired and everything aches, but this is starting to feel very real now.
The next big milestone isn’t another number on the chart.
It’s seeing land.
And I genuinely cannot wait.
Dawn
“Together Paul and I are rowing home — the long way round.”
Hometown Row
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