Wednesday 12th August- Day 48
- dawnysmiff
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Signs of Civilisation
It really feels like we’re starting to come back into human civilisation now.
After weeks where another vessel was an event in itself, suddenly there seems to be something going on around us all the time.
Yesterday we even watched part of the RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race fleet pass to the north of us. RORC is the Royal Ocean Racing Club, and these boats are taking part in an 1,805 nautical mile non-stop race around Britain and Ireland, having left Cowes on Sunday. (Royal Ocean Racing Club)
What a fantastic sight.
From our little rowing boat we could see yacht after yacht in the distance, many with their huge colourful spinnakers flying as they powered along.
I have to admit, watching them disappear past us at sailing-boat speeds while we’re fighting for every fraction of a knot felt slightly unfair!
Still, it was incredibly cool to watch and another reminder that we’re getting closer to home.
And remember the fishing boat from yesterday?
Well, that story has taken on a life of its own!
We’ve now made contact with Brendan, the skipper, and tomorrow we’re even being interviewed on Cork radio about our encounter.
He’s also put up a prize for a little competition:
“Guess what I said!”
Head over to our social media and watch the video of the encounter. See if you can work out Brendan’s response when Paul told him we’d rowed all the way from Canada!
It still makes us laugh.
The days themselves are absolutely beautiful now.
It’s warm.
The sun is shining.
The sea looks glorious.
If you saw only the photographs, you’d probably think we were having the most wonderful holiday imaginable.
Unfortunately, the actual rowing remains absolutely gruelling.
We’re still fighting for every mile, and when the tide turns against us there are moments when, despite both oars working hard, we actually start going backwards.
That’s incredibly difficult mentally when we’re this close.
We’re now down to just 86 nautical miles to go before reaching the UK coast.
Eighty-six!
It sounds tantalisingly close, but our ETA is still very much up in the air. Without any useful wind behind us, there’s simply no way of knowing exactly how quickly we’ll cover those final miles.
But the nights are certainly helping to make up for the hard work.
The skies have been absolutely epic.
And tonight could be particularly special.
Today there’s a solar eclipse, which will be seen as a deep partial eclipse from the UK and surrounding waters, followed tonight by the Perseid meteor shower—one of the best meteor showers of the year. The Perseids are right around their peak at the moment, and with very little moonlight, conditions could be fantastic if the clouds stay away. (Sky at Night Magazine)
Being out here with virtually no light pollution could give us a front-row seat.
Last night, though, we had our own magical nighttime display.
A pod of dolphins appeared right alongside Penny B in complete darkness.
You couldn’t always see them until they came into the glow of our navigation lights. Then suddenly you’d catch a flash of a body beneath the surface before one appeared alongside the boat.
But the most incredible part was the sound.
Their breaths were so close and so loud in the darkness that, for a split second, they almost sounded human.
You’d hear this sudden whoosh of breath right beside you, turn towards the sound and there they were.
After 48 days at sea, those moments still stop me completely in my tracks.
We’re tired.
We’re sore.
We’re working incredibly hard for every single mile.
But there are now just 86 nautical miles between Penny B and the UK coastline.
We don’t know exactly when we’ll get there.
We just know that we will.
Keep nudging Penny B.
We’re nearly there.
Dawn
“Together Paul and I are rowing home — the long way round.”
Hometown Row
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