Saturday 19th March 2005
Congratulations Wales on winning the Grand Slam Six Nations trophy.

The Atlantic Rowing Club must have had a sign outside this morning stating that no boat shall exceed 1.3 knots today, for that was the maximum whatever the conditions or amount of effort expended.

There was not one cloud in the sky for the whole of the day today. The sun rose as I rowed, roasted me slowly for the whole day and set as I rowed. Just another day.

The result of the Wales game was broadcast on the World Service this evening. They also broadcast the match, and I tuned in, but as soon as the match started the reception faded to the usual level; inaudible. Radio Sweden is well heard out here, also Radio China in as many languages as you care to learn, Radio New Zealand, Radio Moscow and just about any station on the planet .The BBC World Service though, is hidden so well that you need the trained ear of an asdic operator to pick it out.

This morning I enjoyed listening to Radio Portugal. My Portuguese is not brilliant, but they broadcast some home-grown folk music which I enjoyed very much, especially the bit that goes dah, dah, dah, dah, dum, dum, dah.

Chicken Teryaki for dinner tonight followed by vanilla and raspberry dessert. Both scrummy yum.

One click. To Antigua 1759nm.

Sunday 20th March 2005
A most excellent day. Rowing began at 0700 and finished at 2000 with a few short breaks. The sign outside the club was gone so boat speed today was over 2 knots and the miles clocked up regularly. Occasionally a cloud gave cool relief from the relentless rays and all was very happy on the Womble.

An interesting event at noon; a 50,000 ton bulk carrier appeared without warning about a quarter of a mile away and headed straight towards us. A short period of intense activity followed and he passed us by at very close quarters a few moments later. The boat had been manoeuvred to take his bow wave and all went well. My VHF calls went unanswered and no-one came out from the bridge. Perhaps the bridge was not manned. The ship’s name was Onde and was Japanese. No Teryaki for me tonight.

My inverter has been playing up. What’s that? Well, it converts my solar powered battery bank voltage (12V) into main voltage so that I can power the laptop on which I type these bulletins. One of the VHF radios relies on it, also my moribund music system and the video camera, which I use to film events of note. A few days ago I was trying to resurrect my music when I discovered that the inverter simply wouldn’t work. I stripped it out, checked everything was okay and tried again but still nothing. Two hours later it started working normally. Intermittent faults are always the hardest to fix, so my confidence in the machine is not high.

Thank you for your greetings Barbara, Jacky, Andrew, Henster, Matt and brother Steve.

Eleven clicks. To Antigua 1728nm.

Monday 21st March 2005
The day began much the same as yesterday and by noon we were bouncing along merrily knocking off the miles. It is so exhilarating when the current and winds are in your favour and the boat speed starts to rise. Such a shame then when you are cracking on and everything goes awry. It started with just one darkish cloud from which a light shower emanated. The sea beneath became boisterous and confused and soon there were more clouds. By 1600 the whole area was a massive maelstrom and rowing was very difficult. Still, we managed to meet our mileage target by dusk, and as I type we are drifting west at 1 knot or so. In the morning I shall row from 0700 until 1000 to top up today’s mileage and then we begin again. Too much detail? Okay.

We had oodles of flying fish today – they seem to leave the water simultaneously in numbers of about 30, do a few aerobatics and re-enter as one. A large splash near the re-entry point means that the Dorado have secret intelligence and knew where to loiter. An adult flyer was found dead on deck yesterday morning and it made at least one of the keel squadron happy.

Today’s yearning was for a bowl of peas on Reggie’s stall in Norwich market. By the time you read this, it will probably be Wednesday which is specials night at the Earlham House Tandoori. Vegetable curry, mmmm. I shall be there in spirit.

Thank you for the kind words Chris and Maureen, Sally and Sarah, Wendy and Steve. Norm – you’ll be pleased to know that I am smiling.

Seven clicks To Antigua 1690nm.

Tuesday 22nd March 2005
Squally and difficult rowing, eventually I became weary of drenchings and gymnastics so I spent some time tidying and calorie-cramming for the settled conditions. The music system was also tinkered with but no cure yet.

Some of you may have spent time in your youth with a transistor radio under the bedclothes at night, listening to Radio Caroline or trying to listen to Radio Luxembourg (reception was about the same as the BBC World Service). Those of a certain vintage will recall that it was illegal to tune into Caroline (it was a pirate station moored off the coast of Essex). Between the two stations was a whole range of music that teenagers and some parents wanted to hear, but until the arrival of Radio One, we were denied. My Uncle Lol bought me a transistor for passing my 11 plus, and it was late at night and in secret that I did my listening. Well anyway, I turned on this very laptop a couple of days ago and noticed a very faint chime as it fired up. I searched vainly for the speaker, then tried to play some music on it anyway. To my great delight it worked, albeit as faint as faint can be.

In order that in the evening I can re-enact my youth and straining my ears listen to my favourites, I’ve begun transferring music from my MP3 player onto my laptop. The only snag is that the laptop battery lasts about an hour and the inverter must then be run to charge it. The inverter makes enough noise to drown out the music. Nevertheless it is a fine piece of progress. Hurrah.

Speaking of progress we are now on the latitude for Antigua, yet it seems inevitable that we will drift further south yet, but in the 1600 miles or so left to go west we should be able to tidy up the course.

Two Cory Sheerwaters and several Wilsons Storm petrels sighted in the last few days. Tonight’s bulletin is dedicated to our supporters and sponsors in the lounge bar in the Alex. Fine folk you all are.

Two clicks. To Antigua 1658nm.

Wednesday 23rd March 2005
Today began well with a brisk north easterly wind and a well regulated sea. Rowing was good but not as fast as Monday. At 0900 the wind veered east and stayed there until 1500 when it went back to the northeast. It has now moderated to a slight breeze.

Whilst rowing today I felt a few spots of water on my head and face and looked up expecting to see a cloud. Two flying fish whizzed by a metre above my head.

Without the music to numb my mind whilst at the oars, I have begun recalling places, names of friends and acquaintances, events and just about anything that has happened to me during my life. Most of it seems like a comedy, my laughter must be audible for some miles. Over the next few days I shall endeavour to remember something legal, credible and printable as an example for you.

Today’s lunch was a half packet of freeze-dried scrambled eggs, fried with a good quantity of sliced salami. Exquisite. My forthcoming book "Single-burner banqueting" will include such delicacies.

My wristwatch came alive today to tell me "enjoy your exercise" Hmmm.

Three clicks. To Antigua 1617nm.