Over the hump(back)...
Day 36
17° 40.49 N, 042° 2.00 W
Distance to Finish: 1130 NM
It's been 36 days since we last saw land, or another human being, but we are now OVER HALFWAY! This huge milestone had to be pointed out to us as we were too busy rowing but had a massively positive effect on our flagging morale... We had a party on board and celebrated in style with a cup of tea and an extra Toffee Crisp - rock n'roll!
Getting over the halfway hump has changed our fortunes. We've speeded up and we've also seen THREE whales! They were swimming together and think they may have been a group of curious youngsters. What a beautiful sight!
On Monday we had a technical hiccup. A wheel on one of our rowing seats decided to burst and throw teeny tiny ball bearings all over the boat, which was an absolute pain in the posterior (we'll come back to the subject of posterior pain later...) Anyway, our newly-developed 'marine engineering skills' were successfully deployed and we were able to fit a new spare wheel with minimal swearing...
Grandad Paras: Men of Sore
We've heard that ITV have launched a new series called PARAS: Men of War, which we're looking forward to seeing on catch-up when we finally reach terra-firma and wi-fi. In the meantime, we are busy making our own alternative version called 'GRANDAD PARAS: Men of Sore'!
Rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic HURTS. Our joints hurt, our hands are blistered and our bottoms are officially raw from the constant and relentless friction on the rowing seat. Grandad Peter has developed two sores on his peachy behind, which we are treating and keeping a close eye on. (If you want to know what true comradeship looks like, just picture that scene!!)
We hear that the four-man teams are starting to cross the finish line and would like to send our huge congratulations to the race winners, Dutch Atlantic Four. We became good pals with these gentle giants in La Gomera and we hear they won the race in true style - leading from the front all the way. Great work fellas!
We'd also like to take this time to tell you a bit more about our three amazing charities, starting with Dreams Come True. This wonderful little charity are local to us in Hampshire but support children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions all over the UK.
Please do watch the video below to find out more about Dreams Come True and if you think their cause and our efforts are worth a few shekels, please donate via our Virgin Money Giving page.