Day 31

Good wind today on the eve of the Superbowl. It's been cloudy with spotty sunshine for the last few days and today was no exception. Rowed by one of the most spectacular rainbows I've ever seen at the beginning of the morning shift. The picture below doesn't do it justice in the least!

I'm also sending a picture of the seagull that visited yesterday. I think this is when he made an attempt to land on the solar panel that's on top of my forward cabin. This didn't go so well for him, as the solar panels are slippery, on an incline, get really hot in the sun, and are attached to a boat that is tossing and turning. For whatever reason, he didn't go for another landing, though I admit to wishing he did for my own entertainment.

On a less entertaining note, my foot steering went out again this morning. While before it had been jamming in the "all-the-way-to-port" position, this time the push-pull cable itself snapped, which will be tough to fix. I spent some time this morning rigging up a replacement pull-pull system using electrical wire (genius, I thought...), but it didn't hold. My backup hand steering still works fine, so I set the rudder straight and had a fine shift in the afternoon steering with just the oars, so I guess I'll do without the luxury of toe steering for a while, until I come up with a fix. No worries...

I'll be thinking of all of you at Superbowl parties tomorrow - feel free to pour out a sip of your favorite beverage and throw a slice of pizza on the floor for me!

Thanks to all who have supported this expedition and important research at Yale Cancer Center with a donation to Row for Hope. If you haven't donated, or if you would consider donating again, it would be much appreciated. To donate online use the link in the upper right-hand corner of this page or visit http://www.rowforhope.com/.

Paul

Day 30

Wow, 30 days at sea! I can't decide if that sounds like a long time or not...either way, the wind made a reappearance today, so I'm hoping for some good mileage numbers for the first time in a while. The day's rowing seemed good, and at the tail end of my evening shift I crossed 29W. Given how long I spent between 28W and 29W (3-4 days?), this is a very welcome but still minor milestone. With that said, 30W is not far off now, and with good winds forecast through the weekend I have a shot at getting there by Sunday night/Monday morning.

A couple things I forgot in yesterday's post -- the first thing I do every morning is put up a hash mark for a completed day and night on the ceiling of the boat, right above my head. Right now I've got five sets of five, and a sixth set with 4 marks...soon to be completed come the morning. Right above the day counts are the words "Steady as we go...", a reminder that no one has rowed an ocean in a day and to not rush things...

Was visited by a seagull today and was surprised that in their natural habitat they actually seem pretty graceful and not annoying at all. Then again, I don't have all that much other entertainment out here, so maybe I have lowered my standards. Anyway, this seagull couldn't have cared less about my presence and for half an hour or so flew around the boat, often hovering within arm's reach of me before diving into the water to grab one of the little fish that must be living under the boat. I watched him for a while and took a few pictures, which may be interesting even though everyone's seen plenty of seagulls picking at french fries in the parking lot at McDonald's...I'll try to get one up tomorrow.

Keely -- great timing on your note, as I spent all morning yesterday dreaming about Panera Bread's breakfast sandwiches. The bacon and sausage ones got equal time, and I concluded that I could easily eat four of them in a sitting if given the chance. For the uninitiated, Panera's breakfast sandwiches are better than any deli -- thick, real bread, a slice of sharp cheddar, real eggs, and a delish spicy sausage patty or bacon...all toasted/grilled to perfection!

Mrs. Scalzo -- I'm admitting defeat on your math problem with the 4's. I like to think that with a pencil and paper I could eventually figure it out, but since I can't write notes while I row I haven't made much progress. How about an easier one?

Thanks to all who have supported this expedition and important research at Yale Cancer Center with a donation to Row for Hope. If you haven't donated, or if you would consider donating again, it would be much appreciated. To donate online use the link in the upper right-hand corner of this page or visit www.rowforhope.com.

Paul

Day 29

OK, on Day 24 I started going through my daily routine out here. I think I got through waking up, tooth brushing, and breakfast. Then what?

After breakfast, it's time to actually get ready to row and get out there without wasting too much time. It usually goes something like this...breakfast over, wish it was bigger so I guess I'll have an energy bar after I've rowed for half an hour. Lie down, wish I didn't hit my head on the hatch so many times (average 3) while eating breakfast/brushing teeth. Need a playlist for the ipod that will last a minimum of 4 hours, hopefully 5. Guh, not easy with only 5GB of music on here. Go through and add to a playlist anything that looks moderately interesting and/or like it will keep me awake. Always include Al Pacino's "inches" speech from Any Given Sunday (YouTube it, it's good...watch out for bad words). Usually cover all genre's...Kanye, Kenny, maybe some Christmas music, an episode of Car Talk from NPR, part of a book on tape (should have brought more of these), plus some random songs here and there that look good -- that would be a typical playlist.

Playlist done, it's time for a "shower." Anti-bacterial baby wipes used to bathe head to toe, with special attention to hands, feet, and anywhere that I've scraped or blistered in the last few weeks (even little things take forever to heal out here). Anti-chafe creme. No need for more detail there. Then time to pick out the rowing shorts I'll wear for that shift. Choices are blue or black -- both are covered in salt and so have many white highlights. Pretty gross. Both are also still wet from hanging to dry overnight from my navigation light on top of my cabin. Better there than inside the cabin with me!

Shorts on, where's my shirt? I've been wearing the same blue and yellow short-sleeved shirt from Coolibar since Day 1 (think it's in the picture Joy posted), which means the same shirt all day every day for a month. Also pretty gross and covered in salt. Oh, well, put it on anyway. Ok, I'm ready. Lie back down for a second. Do I really wanna do this? Another whole day of rowing?....Yup, just get out there! I tell myself "its always better outside the cabin than inside"...and it is. Out I go!

Thanks to all who have supported this expedition and the important research going on at Yale Cancer Center with a donation to Row for Hope. If you haven't donated, or if you would consider donating again, it would be much appreciated. To donate online, use the link in the upper right-hand corner of this page or visit www.rowforhope.com. Thanks!

Paul

Day 28

Second straight tough day on board Liv, both physically and mentally. Light winds of 10 knots (and often less) left me wondering throughout the day if I had dropped an anchor and forgotten to pull it back in. With little wind to keep boat speed up between strokes, and small waves (4-5 feet?) that can't really be surfed, it feels like I've been pulling a Mac Truck through the sand.

Even with eye-popping effort on every stroke, the GPS repeater in the bulkhead facing me has only occasionally in the last two days shown more than 3 knots per hour. Compared to the regular 5-6 knots, and sometimes higher, that I can make surfing down waves in 20-knot winds, seeing less than three knots for two days is mind-numbing, even before considering the massive effort required to get the boat moving from nearly a full stop after every stroke.

So, days like these are when I earn it, I suppose. Yesterday's progress was 26 miles and change, which in the grand scheme is dismal. Today probably wasn't much better. There are bright spots though -- on the ocean there's no scenery to remind me how far I still have to go. No mile markers to show that I've covered only 26 of the more than 3,000 miles that it will take to complete this journey. Thankfully, the ocean looks more or less the same and the day-to-day routine is unchanged, whether I've gone 26 or 50 miles in a day.

Tomorrow's winds are predicted to be back in the 20-knot range, and the slate will be wiped clean again by the morning. Needless to say, I have more rowing planned!

Paul

Day 27

More confirmed flying fish sightings today, this time two different schools of them in flight. Bright, silvery, hot-dog shaped bodies with blue highlights up close to the wings. They make a little pop when they fly out of a wave and you can hear their whirring fins/wings beating like mad as they go by. One school of 6-8 of them must have flown 200 feet as I watched, and I'm pretty sure that at one point they went up, which I didn't think they could do. Maybe it was an illusion caused by a wave dropping out from underneath them?

Winds are again light today (10 knots), and I missed my goal of crossing 28W before nightfall by a few miles, though I should cross it overnight. I'm also very close to crossing 20N, which will be a nice milestone too. With that said, my sights are set on 30W, which marks the end of this quarter of the row (in my mind), and the beginning of the second quarter, which I think will be the toughest for me mentally -- more on this in the next couple of days.

Am feeling some fatigue, maybe due to the more strenuous rowing required when the wind is light. Has also occurred to me that I'm not getting enough rest, or that the calorie deficit I'm running every day is starting to take a toll, though I doubt it because I've got plenty left to burn. I am losing some weight, but not enough that it I should feel it, I think. Will try to get pictures of my hands tomorrow (they're really not bad, though), as long as I can figure out how to operate the camera with my teeth. Nothing to it!

Fred -- you and I are on the same page I think. The only thing I run from the bow is the actual sea anchor (nine feet in diameter), which I've had out twice in heavy weather. At night I regularly trail the knotted line from the stern so as to keep boat speed up, which seems to average about 1 knot or so while I'm asleep. Regarding my availability as crew for a crossing in a bigger boat, sign me up on one condition -- there must be more wind than I usually see on the Long Island sound on Friday nights in the summer!

Paul

Day 26

After being on the ocean for weeks, I saw my first big fish today - a 3-foot dorado that jumped out of the water by 3-4 feet in the trough of a wave. Miraculously, I happened to be looking in the right place at the right time because the petrel (smallish black bird) was pretty close to the boat on the same side. He came down with a big splash and was gone...or so I thought.

When I was coming out for my afternoon shift the sun was out (the only time all day). I happened to glance into the water next to the boat and there was another (or the same one, who knows...) big fish swimming leisurely under Liv. From the top this one looked like a dorado too and was also probably three feet in length. I've heard other ocean rowers talk about fish living under their boats for the "safety" that a big, slow moving thing like Liv would provide, and I've actually been surprised that its taken me until day 26 to notice one of my own.

I believe that Dorado in the Atlantic are the same as Mahi-mahi, in which case they're delicious. Maybe its time to break out the fishing tackle?

Paul

Day 25

WOW! Ok, so I just got all of your comments from the past few days and man were there a lot of them -- fantastic!

I had planned to go through some of the physical and mental prep that I do in the morning to coax myself out of bed and into the rowing seat, but first I'll respond to some of your questions/comments from the past few days. Here goes...

Lori H - re snickers melting - it's actually been noticeably hotter out here the last few days, which is expected now that I'm 600 miles or so farther south from the Canaries. With that said, my candy/chocolate stashes are in compartments below the deck which stay cooler because they're close to the water. So, the problem isn't as much with them melting as it is with sea water getting into the compartments...

Donna - the idea on heading south first then west is to get into the east to west trade wind band that, at this time of year, can be found around 21 degrees north or so. If I was in a powerboat I'd head straight for Antigua, but since I don't have as much ability to power through headwinds and such, its a better bet for a solo rower to go S first then West.

Margaret - Pepe's should definitely be on my list. White clam pizza all the way. Mmmm

Zack - I'm still not sold on Nady but will give him a chance. Melky's a bum!

Patti - e-mail from me tonight or tomorrow, I promise!

Alexander - Great! Ask your mom to remind me when I get back about coming into your class. I'd be happy to!

Mike from Nirchi's - Deal. I spent some time today thinking about what toppings I'd have. Chicken spiedie, pepperoni, and tomato bacon all are in the mix...

Marlene - believe it or not, I actually don't have duct tape on the boat. I know...terrible job! I do have gorilla tape, whis is stronger but not very good when wet, electrical tape, masking tape, packing tape, and medical tape though. No peanut butter but lots of peanuts! Wish I head peanut butter cups!

Dave and Leslie - The wind is helping more than hurting now, as I'm comfortably in the trade wind belt. Ideally I'll have 20-25 knots of wind from the east (blowing me west) all the way to Antigua. Right now the forecast is for 20k for the next week plus, which is great. In regards to the sea anchor, in heavy seas it keeps my bow into the waves which smooths out the ride a bit, but also stops me from drifting (because its basically a 10-foot parachute that holds a lot of water). Better to use in a storm to prevent being blown backward than for resting. I still tow a 50 foot knotted line from my stern when I sleep. This keeps the stern from getting tossed around as violently in the waves, which is convenient because I sleep with my head all the way aft, basically on the boat's transom. The line isn't enough to keep me from getting mileage in the right direction while I drift though.

Kyle - Believe it or not I don't have "row row row your boat" on my ipod! Next time I'll remember to get it. Could definitely use Henri for the water maker....or better yet to help with the rowing! Btw, the toe steering that you guys worked up is one of the most useful things on the boat -- I steer up and down every single wave and save TONS of effort when it comes to orienting myself to the seas. Bravo!

Guys at Aquidneck - Glad to hear you're keeping an eye on me. Every day with this boat makes me more impressed. I can't overstate my confidence in Liv -- a good thing when its blowing 30k out there at 3AM in the middle of the Atlantic! Many thanks for a stellar final product!

Ok, the fact that I can't see straight must mean its bedtime.

Thanks again for all of the support and for spreading the word about Row for Hope!

Paul