DAY 43 - SCOTT BLANEY

Cayle is finding it hard to wake up so I have made up the game ‘dozy questions’ to fix the problem. These questions test Cayle’s alertness and bring him back up to rowing speed nice and gently. He is struggling with some of these tests much more than I had expected. Examples of dozy questions are: 1. What colour is an orange? 2. How do you spell U.S.A? The weather has improved 10 fold now and the waves are following us in. It is still quite calm so we need the waves to build up a bit of momentum again – I didn't think I would be saying that after our the heavy seas we had in the first few weeks. Calm weather has given us a chance to call home and get on with the little things that need to be done. But it’s still mostly eating – sleeping – rowing. James and Jenks cleaned the boat and I was on shark watch with the safety line. My job is to look out for dark shadows and fins. I did seen one did see a shark a few days ago but nothing has tried to eat the blokes yet.

Maritime friends

I haven’t spoken to anyone else in the fleet but James and Mark have. We know our mates in Atlantic Polo have had a few problems - they are hand-steering but they are still doing well and still ahead of us.

Cayle spotted a cruise liner a few days ago and when James was on the radio to them Mystique the support yacht also appeared. On the liner called ‘The World’ everyone was alongside with the foghorn blowing. Because it was during the changeover of shifts we got to see the whole event. The liner was huge and our small boat was put it in perspective – ‘The World’ was 196m long, about 189 metres longer than us!

Am I enjoying it?

I hated this experience to start off with but now I love it. Being with the crew and bonding together is the best part of it for me. I wouldn’t pick another crew. It feels fantastic being in a team again and sharing the highs and lows. Me and Jenks had some good Piers Morgan’s chats on the mid-night shift. There are a few things I want to change in my life that the row has given me some focus about.

We have come together and having more laughs now. I won’t miss the rowing but I have definitely enjoyed the experience. Small stuff keeps you entertained. Cayle’s latest obsession is that he always strokes my beard when he gets out of the cabin and makes a purring noise when he does it.  

I’m looking forward to small things like losing the beard, having a cut throat shave, a hot shower and some decent grub. But I haven't forgotten the big things either, I still want to raise the profile for injured service personnel. Reality is going to be strange after this but it will also be good! I’m keen to catch up on what has been happening I the outside world.