Update from Cliff 26 Nov 09
26/Nov/09 22:31 Filed in: Nyamezela
We have been here 3 days now and it feels like weeks. It’s great to see the ‘to do’ list get a lot shorter. There are more words scratched out than readable which means we must be doing something right. Today we spend the day unpacking the entire boat and doing a mini scrutiny on ourselves. This meant finding everything and ticking it off the list Woodvale sent Pete. The two main items missing are a handheld bilge pump (looks a bit like a prawn pump or a very large bike pump with pipes running off it) and 50 metres of (tow) rope. The rope we can get locally and the bilge pump will be brought from London by Jim. Jim is Pete’s water maker agent who Pete is flying out, as he did last time, to check that the watermaker is working. He is also going to helping a few other competitors while he is here. After we had done the unpacking and checking we had ourselves a great to do list which consisted of
To buy:
2 x pencils
1 x tow line 50 m
1 x 500ml water bottle with water for the grab bag
2 x chocolate bars
1 bag glucose sweets
4 spare round watch batteries.
To fix and do:
Secure throw line
Make tow line strop
Make parachute anchor retrieval line
Laminate/waterproof all charts
Fix bilge pump handle
Fix rudder brake line
Fit 2 x knives and 2 x axes, one each in the cabin and one each outside the cabin.
We managed to achieve most of these tasks today. of this and I won’t tell you what it’s all about except to say that to fix means to secure it all to the boat so that Pete does not lose it overboard. We use a very clever system of zip ties with a little bracket which we apoxy onto the boat.
Pete is very positive but admits to having huge butterflies in his tummy… a lot of them. He is acutely aware, more so than any of the other rowers, what lies ahead. The loneliness, the raw bum and the painful claw hands … I think this makes the apprehension worse for him than the other competitors. One thing which makes me feel relieved is his ability to voice this and show his feelings. If he was holding the butterflies in it would only be more energy sapping. He is an amazingly positive guy as we all know and turns each butterfly into an eagle (perhaps that should that be albatross?). Either way they are flying high and looking good, are strong and enduring. Pete is all this.
One thing that also needs to be said is his support base is so important to not only him but his wife Kim and daughter Hannah (his baba). You guys have been awesome … DON’T STOP WITH THE MESSAGES - HE NEEDS THEM! Kim is so awesomely supportive of Pete and you can see this by the way the his face lights up when I hand him the phone to him saying “Pete, it’s Kim.” He is a very lucky man!
I am getting to know the other rowers between working on the boat and walking past them. Dave, our neighbour, is doing well - his boat is nearly ready for checking but he still has a few issues to resolve. James our other neighbour passed scrutiny yesterday and is all ready to go. He is re-packing his boat and making sure everything is in the right place. Nyamezela will be scrutinized next week when Moose will be here to record the process.
There was huge excitement yesterday as Charlie put his prototype boat in the water. It weighs only 550kg and according to people who saw it, took only four strokes to cross the harbour. I wonder how he will feel when he sees Pete do it in two.
Yesterday we had a talk on para anchor deployment. In a nutshell the anchor is a 12 foot wide parachute which Pete will use if he is drifting off course and needs to maintain his boat in a certain sea position. It will not be used in storms as it can be very difficult to retrieve and can hold the boat upside down in the event of a capsize. It will mainly be used in winds up to about 35 knots and it will help keep Nyamezela bow (front) to wind or stern (back) to wind whichever Pete needs at the time. We were also shown drogue deployment and use. A drogue looks like a windsock you find at a helipad or airport. Pete will use this when he stops to sleep or rest - it will also hold the boat in position but will not stop the boat. He will also use this in storms to maintain his direction.
So again after a hard day’s work we packed up the office, took our briefcase and headed for the beach for a refreshing swim in the 23 deg water. Then it was off to do emails and we were in bed lights out at 9 pm.
It’s again another awesome, clear, sunny day here. The town is woken by the dirt trucks who do the rounds sweeping the streets so that when everybody wakes it’s as if the entire town has had a shave, shampoo and good all round wash! It really does sparkle - there is not one bit of litter.
If there are any questions you may have please send them in message format and I will do my best to answer them. I look forward to the questions and really need them to help me give you the info you are lusting for. So get them coming.
To buy:
2 x pencils
1 x tow line 50 m
1 x 500ml water bottle with water for the grab bag
2 x chocolate bars
1 bag glucose sweets
4 spare round watch batteries.
To fix and do:
Secure throw line
Make tow line strop
Make parachute anchor retrieval line
Laminate/waterproof all charts
Fix bilge pump handle
Fix rudder brake line
Fit 2 x knives and 2 x axes, one each in the cabin and one each outside the cabin.
We managed to achieve most of these tasks today. of this and I won’t tell you what it’s all about except to say that to fix means to secure it all to the boat so that Pete does not lose it overboard. We use a very clever system of zip ties with a little bracket which we apoxy onto the boat.
Pete is very positive but admits to having huge butterflies in his tummy… a lot of them. He is acutely aware, more so than any of the other rowers, what lies ahead. The loneliness, the raw bum and the painful claw hands … I think this makes the apprehension worse for him than the other competitors. One thing which makes me feel relieved is his ability to voice this and show his feelings. If he was holding the butterflies in it would only be more energy sapping. He is an amazingly positive guy as we all know and turns each butterfly into an eagle (perhaps that should that be albatross?). Either way they are flying high and looking good, are strong and enduring. Pete is all this.
One thing that also needs to be said is his support base is so important to not only him but his wife Kim and daughter Hannah (his baba). You guys have been awesome … DON’T STOP WITH THE MESSAGES - HE NEEDS THEM! Kim is so awesomely supportive of Pete and you can see this by the way the his face lights up when I hand him the phone to him saying “Pete, it’s Kim.” He is a very lucky man!
I am getting to know the other rowers between working on the boat and walking past them. Dave, our neighbour, is doing well - his boat is nearly ready for checking but he still has a few issues to resolve. James our other neighbour passed scrutiny yesterday and is all ready to go. He is re-packing his boat and making sure everything is in the right place. Nyamezela will be scrutinized next week when Moose will be here to record the process.
There was huge excitement yesterday as Charlie put his prototype boat in the water. It weighs only 550kg and according to people who saw it, took only four strokes to cross the harbour. I wonder how he will feel when he sees Pete do it in two.
Yesterday we had a talk on para anchor deployment. In a nutshell the anchor is a 12 foot wide parachute which Pete will use if he is drifting off course and needs to maintain his boat in a certain sea position. It will not be used in storms as it can be very difficult to retrieve and can hold the boat upside down in the event of a capsize. It will mainly be used in winds up to about 35 knots and it will help keep Nyamezela bow (front) to wind or stern (back) to wind whichever Pete needs at the time. We were also shown drogue deployment and use. A drogue looks like a windsock you find at a helipad or airport. Pete will use this when he stops to sleep or rest - it will also hold the boat in position but will not stop the boat. He will also use this in storms to maintain his direction.
So again after a hard day’s work we packed up the office, took our briefcase and headed for the beach for a refreshing swim in the 23 deg water. Then it was off to do emails and we were in bed lights out at 9 pm.
It’s again another awesome, clear, sunny day here. The town is woken by the dirt trucks who do the rounds sweeping the streets so that when everybody wakes it’s as if the entire town has had a shave, shampoo and good all round wash! It really does sparkle - there is not one bit of litter.
If there are any questions you may have please send them in message format and I will do my best to answer them. I look forward to the questions and really need them to help me give you the info you are lusting for. So get them coming.
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