Panic buying …. reality
I don't know how we got to this point, but we did …..
We are down to less than 64 days before we begin our row across the Atlantic in the plucky Lucy. We have finally purchased flares, settled on our favourite pants (two each) favourite socks (two each) and favourite rowing apparel (god help us if the images go public). "Things are becoming real, real fast".
Will (who loves a bit of detail) has done his Christmas shopping for the family, which got me thinking about the things we will miss on this adventure and the moments we will miss. We will have to fill these "loses" with our own positive experiences so we can tell our families about the time we battled off a giant octopus or were chased by a ghost ship.
The last two weeks on a personal level have been a bit low for me; a raging cold brought home by a germ ridden child, a pulled back from hauling something I wouldn't have been able to lift in my 30s let alone 50s. A sore heel from trying to row barefoot. All of this has been capped off by a smear of deep heat on the underside of my unmentionables that should I have been on the erg would have led to a new world record. I know you are thinking “well that's what you signed up to” …. you are correct but I am just letting you know (its not a whinge). It is really!
The publicity of the worlds toughest row is beginning to ramp up now, Instagram, Facebook etc you can't help but look at what the "competition" are doing and it looks like an exercise in neatness as each food bag is organised per day, each snack pack put into a system that makes the dewey decimal system look humble. The only system Will and I have come up with is to unload huge cardboard boxes and empty the 1000s of packets into dustbin bags and sling them on board on the basis we will get round to sorting in La Gomera. (Why empty cardboard boxes into bin bags - great question, cockroaches have a tendency to lay eggs in the cardboard layers and we dont plan on being that hungry!)
Encouragingly we are being asked lots of questions, mainly centred around timescales so i thought the below framework might be of interest. There will be a live tracker that springs into life the minute we cross the startline, this can be found at the following site; https://www.worldstoughestrow.com/the-atlantic/ if you are struggling then please message the instagram page https://www.instagram.com/theentrepreneurship/ or ask someone that knows someone!
I think that's it for now, enjoy the pictures of the food!
Timeline
Now a bit of panic (what have we forgot)
Late October - Lucy shipped to Tenerife
Mild Panic (We've definitely forgotten something)
30th November - Will and Adam fly to Tenerife and hop on a ferry to the island of La Gomera
Over the 12 days in La Gomera we have daily meetings, inspections, un pack the food, repack the food, un pack the food, repack the food, hang out with other competitors and have a major panic. Finally we make sure the boat trim is correct with everything in the correct place (Wills feather pillows, asparagus tips and caviar)
12th December - Race start = (Histeria)