All posts by oliviabolesworth
‘Our beautiful pea green boat’ Blog 3 from Olivia
So here we are then.. Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, nearly half way in fact at 1700m from Antigua in our ‘beautiful pea green boat’ we like to call Mrs Nelson.
Hygiene is certainly key to short term happiness out here, once a day or so teeth get brushed, hair plaited, boat scrubbed and rubbish rinsed and stored – all executed whilst we pitch and roll over 20 – 30 ft waves. These waves are enormous, but it’s not the big waves that we have found to be the problem to date, the ones to watch out for are the sneaky little sideways lickers that creep up, pitch the boat off balance and spit all over crew and contents, leaving everything drenched 5 minutes before it is time to retreat back to the warm cabins.
Week 2 in La Gomera
Rum Party:
Tuesday night had the fleet crowded around Wa’Omoni, the Antiguan team ‘Wadadlis’ boat for a rum (rocket fuel) party. These guys know how to row an ocean, and how to have fun with it! Packed into their R45 you will find pots and pans, a pressure cooker, packets of rice and tons of fishing kit! Based on the taste of their rum punch at the boat party – setting foot on Antigua is set to be bright! Read more
La Gomera
On Monday we landed in La Gomera, the island we are calling home for the next two weeks whoop whoop (Gee pictured to the left there dishing out beers aboard the ferry from Tenerife).
After checking into our epic 8th floor apartment overlooking San Sebastian’s harbour, we were shortly reunited with Mrs Nelson, standing out brilliantly in her bright Codestone green.
Seeing all the little row boats lined up along the harbour wall is more than surreal. We are tucked away at the back of the fleet next to the only other all female crew, Yorkshire Rows. The boats are behind a locked fence that rowers and their families can access, the tourists arriving on the ferry every day relentlessly peek through the meshed wire pointing and taking photos.
FAQ’s – Part 2
WITH JUST OVER 1 MONTH UNTIL RACE DAY, OLIVIA GIVES ANSWERS TO THE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS SHE HAS BEEN ASKED SINCE HER LAST BLOG:
FAQ’s from Olivia
