Getting Comfortable

Hi everyone,

The expedition is entering a new phase early this week, as it has become a waiting game for a couple of reasons. As I´ve written about recently, I´m still in the process of waiting for my port clearances to be renewed by the Spanish authorities. We´ve known that this would be a hurdle we´d have to clear, but I remain optimistic that they´ll be taken care of in the next few business days, though of course the Christmas holiday will slow the process quite a bit.

The next issue is even further beyond my control -- the weather. To get clear of the Canary Islands I need at two or three days of wind from the North or Northeast. Fortunately, tradewinds from this direction are common at this time of year and should be increasing in regularity and strength as time goes on.

Unfortunately, Northeast winds are nowhere to be found. The weather forecast I use (http://www.passageweather.com/) goes out a week and shows that there are no signs of good weather through at least December 30th. In fact, there are very rare but strong winds (30+ knots) predicted from the West, of all places, that are associated with a huge low pressure system coming across the Atlantic, which will be here through early next week.

The map above is for next Tuesday :(

So, the next question is then ´What should I do to pass the time while I´m here by myself waiting for the weather to improve?´

On top of the ongoing training, small projects on the boat, and hanging around the dock, I´ve come up with a few options:

- Gomeran whistling language lessons (yes, this exists...)
- Raise pigeons (a neighbor in town does this)
- Get a job at La Gomera´s only pub, the Blue Marlin
- Buy and Santa costume and rent myself out for parties
- Watch my beard grow
- Spanish lessons
- Guitar/piano lessons

More ideas would be much appreciated...

Merry Christmas!

Paul

Pictures from La Gomera

Below are some pictures from Saturday, when we rented a car and explored the interior of the island.

The top of the volcano that created La Gomera is home to some of the only tropical rainforest in Europe. Once you get over the hairpin turns and speeding tour busses, the scenery is amazing.

Liz, me, and Joy overlooking the Atlantic. My sweet sunglasses are thanks to The Rudy Project.

A view of a tiny farming village on the northern side of the island. Note the waves coming from the north -- the right direction for my row. North to Northeast winds should be common here at this time of year but are nowhere to be found at the moment.

Merry Christmas!

Paul

Killing time...

Short update today. All of the relevant government authorities are closed for the weekend so we spent today driving around the island and up to the top of the volcano that created La Gomera. I have some incredible pictures that I'll post in the morning.

Here's to getting out on the water before Christmas!

Thanks for all of the support - you all have made the last few hectic days a little more entertaining.

Paul

Pictures

Here are some pictures from La Gomera.

- The view of the harbor from our apartment on the hill:


- This is from an interview that a Spanish TV station did with me on Tuesday. We´ll try to get a video from this up as well.

The ritual signing of the wall at the only pub in La Gomera -- The Blue Marlin. A tradition begun in 2003 and carried on by every ocean rower leaving from La Gomera:

More soon...

Paul

Politics and waiting...

The latest is that I'm still here in Gomera and waiting for my port clearances to be reissued. We've watched the 36 hour window I had for departure come and go, which has been frustrating, especially because the sea and wind conditions are ideal for a smooth get-away.

The hope is that the clearance is renewed tomorrow, at which point we can start looking at the weather again to see when I might be able to leave.

With that said, the good news is that the boat is all packed and ready for departure. Of course, this would not have been possible without the help of Liz Tomic and Joy Ridley, who have thought through and organized hundreds of pounds of food, etc...in the boat.

I'll keep you posted tomorrow on where thing stand with both clearances and weather.

Paul

So close.....

Lots of excitment and confusion in La Gomera at the moment. In short, the departure clearance that I had been granted on Tuesday from the Spanish government was put on hold today with little explanation, at least until tomorrow morning.

If the green light comes through (again) as we hope I'll be off and rowing for Antigua by noon tomorrow.

Given all of the hurdles we've had to overcome during this project it should come as no surprise that another has come up just when it appears that I'm nearing the end of the beginning phase of the trip. With that in mind, we're all optimistic that I'll make it out tomorrow after all, so keep your fingers crossed.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words and encouragement! Hopefully the next news is an announcement that the row has begun.

Paul

Another long but productive day...

The title says it all - today was another full day at the boat with the whole team working non-stop to prepare the boat for what will hopefull be a Thursday morning departure. All of the most important projects are done and the boat will be lifted into the water tomorrow morning at 9AM. The rest of the day will be spent with some shopping for last-minute items and little projects on the boat that will be designed to make the first three days as straight-forward as possible for me, as I expect to be very seasick and exhausted while rowing my hardest to get clear of the Canary Island chain..

All for now, but I'll follow tomorrow with a longer description of what the first few exciting days will be like and what to look for after my departure in the critical week of the expedition. 

Paul