Tiny finishes 116 day Atlantic row - towed last 51 miles
May 19, 2005 16: 31 EST
After battling exhaustion, swirling eddies, and counter currents, Tiny has made it to Antigua. On May 17th, 2005, at 7:30 pm GMT, James “Tiny” Little was towed into English Harbour by Chris Harris onboard "Sea Terror."
Tiny was hoping to row into Antigua on the 12th, but last week, he had to fight against the biggest eddy of his journey. He reports: “This one has taken us around the compass, thirteen more miles north of Antigua and is currently whisking us northeast at over 1 knot. To date my strategy for dealing with these has been to row west. This one is so strong that I can get only 0.4 knots west with full effort. I‘ve decided to stop rowing against it and conserve energy for when it turns in my favor or we somehow otherwise get out of it.”
Tow-in required
It must have been infuriating for Tiny to be so close to his destination, only to have the unseen hand of the eddy pulling him backwards. In his last dispatch, dated May 12th, Tiny reports: “I have spent many hours trying to arrest the movement, but to no avail. Sadly this could be the end of the attempt. The food will last me a week at a push, but each day we move east adds a day's rowing into the equation until landfall. By my calculations Antigua is now five days rowing away. If no change happens in the next 24 hours I shall have to arrange a re-supply or a tow-in.”
"The welcome was absolutely fantastic"
After May 12th, there were no more dispatches from Tiny to confirm whether or not he would require outside assistance. But the Ocean Rowing Society reports that Tiny was towed-in the last 51 miles. It’s still a great achievement for Mr. Little: 3479 miles over 116 days of rowing! The ORS also reports that after his arrival in Antigua, Tiny said, "The welcome was absolutely fantastic.”
James “Tiny” Little set out from La Gomera in the Canary Isles to Antigua in the Caribbean to attempt a solo and unsupported Atlantic crossing. Only 25 people have completed a solo, unsupported east to west crossing of the Atlantic. Tiny is a pub-owner from Norwich, England who spent 14 years in the navy. More information on Tiny’s voyage, his daily diary updates, and his charity, The Davenport Trust, can be obtained on his website.
Image of James “Tiny” Little courtesy of www.wordserver.co.uk.
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