Aldo Kane – blog day 27 and 28
It’s unbelievable how slowly time passes out here on the big blue, minute by minute, shift by shift. What’s even more unbelievable is how quickly time passes genrally when you are governed by routine and discipline, even when the minutes and hours drag. We are now truly in the grind, this is the Ocean Rowing time machine.
Over the last two days we have crossed two separate mental and physical way points. Team Essence crossed the half way point at lunch time on day 27 and have just spent our 28th night at sea. That’s the end of four weeks at sea. That’s 5 novice ocean rowers that have so far survived capsizes, huge waves, hypothermia, cold fronts and heatwaves whilst always maintaining a Southetly/westerly bearing and manning the oars 24 hours a day. There is a huge sense of achievement between the team, in our weakened physical state our mental state takes over and gives us the confidence to continue ever onwards to the West and to our final destination.
The half way marker is a huge way point for us obviously but it is also a reminder that we have, can and will have some of the same epics we have had already but this time we are further from help, much further. It has been said that at this position now, we are closer to Tim Peake in the International Space Station than any other human being on Earth. That makes us feel truly isolated. We got here under our own steam and we will progress under our own steam. In mountaineering, when you reach the top, you are only half way there and have the most dangerous part of the climb left to complete, the route down. It is the same with ocean rowing, we can not allow complacency, laziness or bad admin to compromise our progress. From here in Team Essence will re double our efforts and refocus on the goal whilst trying to enjoy the journey.
The last 24 hours have seen some of the hardest rowing to date. We have a cross swell from opposite directions which makes any sort of progress laboured, tiring and painstaking. Other than that we are all well and in high spirits! We are like happy little ants bobbing our way over the high seas on a champaign cork, one day soon we will reach the beach, a beach on a separate continent where they speak a different language and have different cultures, one day soon Team Essence will arrive in Venezuela, that’s progress for you.
Speaking of progress, I’ll sign off with this thought! When I stand at the front of the boat at night watching the sun go down I am often hit with how huge our task is and how daunting it is. We are a tiny boat in a very very large ocean, our forward progress when viewed from the bow is almost stationary, the swell and waves go with us and give us the impression of being perpetually hung in the same place. I guess the same can be true in real life, when looking forward and upwards at your goals it can be easy to lose faith and be intimidated with the task ahead. Just a thought, but maybe the true mark of progress is turning round and looking at the phosphoresesce in your wake, from my spot here on the bow at sundowners, progress is measured in how far we have come. Aldo