I have just received a quick call from Anthony on his sat phone. He reports his position as 26deg39minsN 19deg07minsW.

The sea state has calmed down now and the wind speed dropped a little, and also in the right direction. The concern now is for sunshine. As I have mentioned before, all the instruments, lights, communications and water making facilities rely on a good amount of sunshine to power up the batteries. Up until now there has been precious little. Anthony managed to row all day yesterday stopping at 22 30hrs. Earlier on he spotted a Tanker on the horizon he, managed to contact it on the radio and had a chat with the skipper the name of the ship was The Ocean Cobalt. Anthony reports that his hands have toughened up now the blisters have hardened but his backside is “——- red raw!!!!!

Ready to go

So far as food goes still not cooked or reheated much as yet but the dry ratios are fine. Lets all hope for some sunshine in the North Atlantic A.S.A.P.   BW (Land based co ordinator)

It was at 0700 hrs today Sunday Morning I was in a deep dream when the phone rang. I sprang out of bed knowing that the only person I know to be awake at that time would be Anthony. He was fairly cheerful bearing in mind that he had been awake most of the night. The sea anchor was deployed again to keep the boat steady. Earlier in the day Anthony had stopped rowing and was about to prepare a meal when out of the blue the sky darkened and the wave increased in height and intensity. Preparing a meal was too difficult so it was an Uncle Bens Rice again. The North Atlantic is a big place so it comes as some supprise to me that Anthony has seen and been in radio contact with 3 other vessels since he left the Canaries. One vessel an American fishing trawler was able to give useful weather information. Speaking of the weather I am able to pass on information to him over the sat phone wind speed wave height e.c.t. and this is of some limited use. The problem is in a rowing boat there is really not much you can do to avoid it. The plan at the moment is to head South and a bit west hoping to pick up the currents that will aid the progress of the boat towards Antigua. At the moment the waves are coming onto the side of the boat making rowing uncomfortable but at least it is pushing him South.

His position at 0700 hrs this Morning was given at 27deg 08mins

N 18deg 31mins W There was a fair swell up to 3 metres in height with good visibility. Anthony has managed to have a shave today and sort a few things out. The sun is making a watery appearance which will help to charge the batteries that run all the electronics and essential items like the water maker. No sun equals no power!!!

We had another brief telephone conversation at midday. I was able to give him the news that the weather was set to remain as it has been until Tuesday when it should calm down a bit. His position 27deg 04 mins N 018deg  35 mins W. If you type the Lat Long reference into google earth you can see where he is in relation to the Canaries. Anthony says that he would love to email people personally but it is not possible at the moment but will try later.

BW (land based co-ordinator)

After leaving la Gomera in good spirits and a straightforward start, things started to get a little more difficult. As darkness fell and still well within sight of Land the wind direction changed and was coming head on to the boat.  At about 2300hrs Anthony decided that to keep the boat steady and prevent drift he would deploy the parachute anchor over the side of the boat. For those of you not initiated into the boating world the parachute anchor is pretty much like it sounds. A length of line (rope) approx. 60 metres long tied off on the boat at one end connected to a 2 metre diameter canvas parachute. The last thing he wanted is to be blown back onto land. Sleep was  minimal 20 minute cat naps at best. His position that night was given as 27deg55.924′N 17deg17.276′W. It sounds like the the next day was much the same as far as the weather and sea state were concerned. The next position was given as 27deg48.653′ N 017deg 25.864′W. It is almost impossible to cook any food or heat water in the conditions so the ration packs come in very handy. If any of you have ever seen the seat on Anthonys boat you will know that it is not much different to the seat on the rowing machines at your local gym. Anthony has a gel cover and the pure luxury of a sheepskin one if required. Even with that luxury!!! Anthony tells me that the motion of the boat in the water and the effort of rowing, his backside now resembles the dark side of the moon and no amount of cream relieves the pain. He is having to stand up at short intervals just for some relief. His hands are covered in blisters and every joint in his body is aching. Apart from that all in the garden is rosie. He is just about managing to send email and I spoke to him on his satellite phone this evening to give him a weather update. He has seen some ominous looking clouds in the sky but according to the website www.passageweather.com things are not looking too bad. Anthony is in good spirits and hoping for a reasonable sleep. I will try and load a picture of the sleeping arrangements . His position so far is 27deg38.487′N 017deg.40.077′W.

Just before leaving La Gomera Anthony received a visit from one of his old colleagues Terry Roscoe who served with Anthony in 42 Commando. Terry is also a major sponsor of the challenge Central Catering Services Ltd. It was good for Anthony to see a friendly face before leaving. The small Island of El Hierro is still within sight from the boat the light is fading the sea state confused another uncertain night ahead. I like to pass on words of wisdom that I am sure that he will appreciate “If in danger or in doubt always keep a sharp lookout. I think I will put on another log on the fire while a sip something hot.

BW (Land based co-ordinator)

Sleeping Accomodation

BW (Land based co-ordinator)

Good Morning to you all, and what a good Morning it is. After all the problems with Port Clearance, I am now priviliged to be able to announce, that having obtained all the necessary paperwork, checked and re-checked the boat and its stores including even more bottled water, now 250 litres. Anthony has now pushed off from the Marina in La Gomera and keeping a sharp lookout for the local Ferries and other shipping is on his way. I said to him to remember that old Chinese proverb that says “Even a journey of 1000 miles starts with a single step.” He has now started,  3000 miles of open Ocean stands in front of him with everything that nature can come up with to make things difficult. Anthony was in good spirits and thankful that the waiting was over. I wished him good luck and a fair wind from us all, Family friends and all of you following his progress on this website. He did ask me once again to thank all of you for generous donations and remind everyone that the row is for a great cause “Help for Heros.” Fundraising is going well and will be ongoing during the row. One last thing I will be uploading pictures when I learn how!!!!

BW (Land based co-ordinator)

Anthony reports from La Gomera that the weather for holiday makers is fantastic, but it does not help much for him because the problems with Port clearance are still evident.  When Anthony visited the Port Authority in Tenerife last week, it was hoped that clearance would be allowed for yesterday (Tuesday).  A phone call was made today, as arranged, to the Port Authority, but, unfortunately, the person designated to deal with clearance had decided to go on holiday.  However, a different officer told Anthony, in very broken English, that the row was far to dangerous … .  Anthony has had to compose another letter and have it translated into Spanish, then forward it to the Port Authority for further consideration.  He is totally confident that he has met and exceeded all of the safety rules and considerations imposed on other boats that have been allowed to leave.  So he is hoping that all this can be ironed out quickly.  As well as the paperwork problems that he is encountering, the weather (which has been excellent for the last 10 days) is looking like it might change, as a new low pressure system is moving in over the Canary Islands.  Anthony reports that he has completed the loading of the boat’s water ballast.  This ballast comes in the form of a minimum of 150 litres of fresh sealed bottled water.  If required, the water can be used for drinking and replaced with sea water.  Apparently, Anthony had to use a trolley from the supermarket, some distance away to get the water to the boat, but I said it was all good training!  I asked Anthony how he was coping with the delays and frustrations that he is experiencing, he replied he felt totally calm and not worried in any way, shape or form and that it would all be alright in the end.  And, if any of you would believe that, you’ll believe anything!!  Well, that’s all for now, hope we have better news of clearance soon .  BW (Land based co-ordinater)

Anthony is having a few technical difficulties with the laptop and sat phone so I am posting a short update on his behalf. I am Brian, and I am acting as his land based coordinator here in snow locked Devon.
Anthony arrived at base H.Q. in La Gomera last Tuesday having flown out early in the Morning on one of the last flights to leave Gatwick before the snow closed the airport. The boat had been delivered in one piece with some minor damage to the stem of the boat. The most pressing issue has been the problems in obtaining port clearance. Without this paperwork the row cannot start. The boat registration and other paperwork had to be translated into Spanish (for a fee) and then handed in on the island of Tenerife. This involved a return Ferry trip of 36 miles and a return car trip of 80 miles. On arrival at the Port Authority office the person responsible for the clearance paperwork was on holiday!!!! Anthony is hoping that he will not have to return to Tenerife but the authority will fax the marina in La Gomera with the permission to leave. All this is very frustrating but nobody said it would be easy. The manager of the marina would not allow the boat to be put in the water until clearance was obtained (in case you escape without the correct paperwork). After some pleading and intervention from Simon from Woodvale the boat has now been launched and is in the water during the launch one compartment rapidly filled with water and was a worry for a short time until it was discovered that a drain valve had been left open allowing sea water in, a scramble for a valve handle to shut the valve averted another crisis. There are some problems with the GPS and Communications equipment but hopefully they are minor and will be sorted today. The position of the boat in the Marina is currently 28deg 05.22′ N
Friends and family that made the journey out to see Anthony off, have had to return to the UK leaving  him on his own getting used to the solitude.  Anthony is pushing as hard as possible to to get things shipshape for the row. The boat is loaded with food and water lets hope that he can move out soon.  BW.
17deg 05.93 W