Tiny savors remaining food - 700 miles to Antigua
Apr 22, 2005 14: 11 EST
After more than 12 weeks at sea, constantly rowing, food takes on a special importance. It’s not only invaluable energy; it’s a little treat to look forward to, and a break from the monotony of rowing and the open ocean. That would explain Tiny’s frequent references to his food supplies:
“The flapjacks are so good and easy to prepare in the mornings that I’m going to have to halve them and put a porridge mix in each half. That should make them last a little longer. After that it’s scrambled eggs for brekkie each day which means more fuss. By the time the eggs run out we should be just about there, then no breakfast for a few days only.”
Nowhere to sleep
“My mileage is holding up well, so I stopped rowing in the dark, if the miles drop off I will start again. It has become too hot to sleep in the cabin. If the night time temperature stays like this I shall have to make up a bunk on deck together with full equipment. The snag is that the deck often gets waves break over onto it and each day I have to clear a lot of dead flying fish which have landed there during the night. Sleep can’t be easy with all that going on. The fish are too small to eat.”
On the 19th, Tiny found himself in an eddy that was taking him southwest at 1.8 knots. The following dispatch is from April 20th:
“These eddies are jolly difficult sometimes, we are still in it, and today has been another slog and I have no idea when we will exit. They play a game of cat and mouse; the rowing effort in the eddy is heavy and when leaving the effort required drops off, giving the water a soft and light feel.”
The water turns to clay
“The eddy has a number of areas like that to tease you with. When you’ve been in soft water for an hour, you think you have cleared it and just as the cigars are being passed around, the water again turns to clay and the boat’s speed plummets. Ha ha says eddy, gotcha still. Several areas of soft water were laid on for my amusement today, so that it will take a whole day of soft water to convince me that we are out.”
700 miles to Antigua…
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 courtesy of oceanrowing.com and Rob Sastre.
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