Day Forty-Four of Indian Ocean Row

We are now only 50 miles from what will be the physical halfway point (1600m) to Mauritius.

The distance we have covered is far greater than that but does not mean we will be out here for the same amount of time again. We hope to average about 50 miles a day from here on in, so a very approximate arrival date is 20^thSeptember, but we hope it will be much earlier than this.

The load we are putting on our bodies is high and there is definite signs of wear and tear starting to show. Everyone’s hands begin to stiff up and lock up after 2 hours on 2 hours off of rowing and our skin is callous and rough. Any blisters or cuts take ages to heal in the wet conditions and often become infected. This can make the smallest of injuries as painful as hell.

Ailments At Sea

We all have the usual aches and pains that you would expect, especially our backs but muscle wastage is something that surprised us all. We haven’t been able to stand up for more than a few minutes at a time in the past forty-five days, let alone walk anywhere. We are doing a lot of exercising, but this is only working certain muscle groups. Calf muscles, triceps, chest have all wasted away leaving skinny little bodies behind. The worst is definitely our backside, the more weight we lose, the fleshier and flabbier they become and therefore provide less padding which leaves our bums all worn and aggravated by the sea. This results in sores and salt water boils, these suck and are extremely painful to the point that whenever we sit down on a new shift on the oars, it feels very much like sitting down butt naked in a bed of stinging nettles. We don’t recommend trying it but take our word for it that it really really hurts. Here are some of the examples earlier in the month of how it’s been for us.

Despite all of this we all realise that we are in a beautiful place and are privileged to be here. The sea is the most amazing reflection of what is going on around it and mirrors the weather and the way is appears from the deepest darkest blue to the cold hard grey that it can sometimes be. No two days are the same. So many stars in the sky at night it seems like there are billions of them. But despite all our ailments and the challenges every day with or without Parkinson’s we wouldn’t change it for anything.

About the author

Billy

Billy, 45, is a fire fighter and lives in Bracklesham Bay on the South Coast. Billy sailed from Australia to England aged 17, delivered yachts all over the Mediterranean for many years and has sailed across the Indian Ocean twice. He has rowed across the Pacific Ocean with Barry Hayes and two other crew members and achieved two world records. He has run ultra-marathons and was also a consultant for a record-breaking ocean row across the Black Sea. In his spare time, Billy likes nothing more than romantic walks on windswept moors, needlepoint and curling up with a good Julie Cooper novel.

Robin on the Radio live from Mauritius 18/09/2018
October 6, 2018