Robin on the Radio live from Mauritius 18/09/2018
Robin’s Blog Six?
Apologies, while everyone probably thinks I am sat on the beach with beer in hand relaxing, eating and having a good time we have actually been rushing about the island trying to organise shipping of the boat etc. Don’t get me wrong the island is a beautiful tropical paradise, we are having a fantastic time thanks to our sponsors #heritageresorts however we are in the South the boat is in the North around 35 miles away this journey can take 2 hrs each way. So there has been a delay in posting some of the blogs written while at sea. I will try to get them up on line before we jet off back to the UK.
So what’s it all about?
do you really want to know?
Rowing
This blog was supposed to have been posted a good month ago, but we had more pressing concerns at that point so it’s been sat waiting to be resurrected.
Around six hundred or more miles from setting off and my rowing still isn’t great. It would appear that not every body can row. I always new my rowing needed honing, ever since our channel crossing at Easter. One of my main problems is recovery of the left oar at the end of a stroke I had assumed it was a weakness in that arm but had hoped this challenge would give me the perfect opportunity to overcome this. My other issues are my legs, keeping them straight on the return and straight arms, power from legs not upper body. We decided to attempt to reprogram me, this may have been a good idea or not.
If you have ever tried to teach a child something new you will find this easy to relate to. I knew what I was supposed to do the theory but I simply couldn’t get my body to follow suit so this caused frustration to all parties. Like a parent watching a child’s progress knowing they were not following your instructions we had reached a point where neither teacher or learner could move forward. Neither party could believe the other party was actually taking on board what they were being told. We persevered with occasional progress only to find it was often back to square one by the start of the next session. Was this Parkinson’s co-ordination issues, cognitive issues, age related learning difficulties? I certainly wasn’t sure.
I appeared better at speed and at night but this had the added difficulty that I was quiet literally beating myself up with my poor rowing technique. My knees were becoming battered from either me hitting them with my hands/watch strap or oars, I could also mon the return or catching and having the oar smash into my leg just below the knee this was becoming a real pain. Like an abused animal I probably came to associate the return with pain which made me worse, I needed to forget about smashing my legs up by keeping them straight but the reminder of keeping them straight was pain. My right arm was considerably better so eventually I started to row just with the right feathering the left to just practice the motions. So I can honestly say, I single handedly rowed the Indian Ocean or at least rowed with only the right arm across the Indian Ocean as one of a team of four.
I should point out that rowing on the sea is nothing like inland rowing. The only way to experience this style of rowing is to try it. River rowing sitting on a Concept 2 simply can’t prepare you for this. An ocean rower told me this at the London boat show, he added it was like stirring two cauldron pots that required unique individual attention. I now know exactly what he was talking about.
I don’t give up, so on we row, with my unique left arm feathering. Obviously this reduces my power output by up to 50% but this is better than not rowing at all. So I am trying hard but probably resemble Nemo on a good day.
This continues for weeks and I gladly accept all training and advice from the crew that may help me improve, including this “The Rusty Guide To Rowing” thanks James.
I have occasional improvements but nothing spectacular.
September the first, Ideal beginner rowing conditions, hurrah I can row with both arms again. I get two whole days in before the swell picks up and so not to slow progress I return to feathering.
More sea trials would have been a good idea prior to the main challenge but I’m still rowing in my unique style.
Sometime ago I re-wrote the lyrics for Fine Time by Cast this coincided with World Parkinson’s day they have yet to release it.
Find time to row an Ocean.
So what’s it all about?
Well I’m going for a row,
With Billy, James and Barry,
Ask me, where we’re going to go?
To Row the Indian Ocean,
Well it takes all sorts,
Raising money, awareness of Parkinson’s disease,
It’s a very good cause.
If you can, find time,
To spare a dime, we need your change,
Keep to a, steady course,
Lets jump to the oars,
Are we deranged?
So what’s it all about?
Do you really want to know?
Young Onset Parkinsons Disease,
Let’s tell it where to go.
From Australia to Mauritius,
That’s a very long way,
Over 3000 miles of Ocean,
Rowing, Day after day.
If you can, find time,
To spare a dime, we need your change,
Keep to a, steady course,
Lets jump to the oars,
Are we deranged?
I do believe we’ll make it there,
Breaking records if we dare,
Rowing day and night,
Til we see land again,
Lets hope the Ocean we befriend.
So what’s it all about?
Well I’m going for a row,
With Billy, James and Barry,
Ask me, where we’re going to go?
To Row the Indian Ocean,
Well it takes all sorts,
Raising money, awareness of Parkinson’s disease,
It’s a very good cause.
If you can, find time,
To spare a dime, we need your change,
Cast off, we’re on course,
Lets work on those oars,
We’re not deranged.
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