Tiny update: The eddy treadmill and snacks from the sky
May 5, 2005 16: 16 EST
Tiny has been battling a persistent eddy that seems determined to swallow whatever progress the rower makes. It must be like walking on a treadmill. You have to keep up a certain level of work just to break even. The only difference is that there’s no “emergency stop” button on the eddy to hit when you’re exhausted.
Two steps forward, two steps back
On May 1st, Tiny reported, “I rowed very late trying to clear the eddy and was completely exhausted when I finished. This morning the eddy had grabbed back five of my hard-won miles and it took until 11 am to get us back to where we left off last night.”
“The last two or three days have been the hardest of the trip so far. We’ve been set back at least three days from my hoped for day of arrival in Antigua, and it would seem that more setbacks will occur.”
But that doesn’t phase Tiny’s unbreakable sense of humor. He quips, “It would be good to arrive (in Antigua) before my family has to leave.” The Atlantic rower has been at sea for 104 days.
Nature’s fast food
The Atlantic has thrown plenty of obstacles in Tiny’s path: Intense heat, squalls, rough seas. But the ocean also provides bounty: “Whilst looking for something on deck this morning I discovered a small flying fish which had been there a while and had dried out, so I ate it. Jolly tasty it was, a bit like anchovy. I’m now looking at my menus to see if we can incorporate a few of them or I could just dry them all and eat them as snacks.”
Since Tiny is down to his last canister of cooking gas, the “fish jerky” will come in handy during the homestretch. He’s got just under 400 nautical miles to go.
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 oceanrowing.com.
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