I have now been in Antigua for 3 weeks. Can't say I'd ever want to leave. It's hot and sunny (maybe too hot!) but I'm getting way too fat and comfortable for my own sanity! My key excercises are now snorkelling and lifting beer bottles. But don't worry, I'm heading home soon and in a bit of style. Myself and James Dennistoun from HOTW are sailing back with a legendary guy called Ray who owns a Moody 54' (that's a bloody comfy yacht for those who don't know) and he's keen to teach us and have us up to scratch to start working on a Yachtmasters when we get back. Should be back in time for the prizegiving on the 22nd of May and then I'll be home in Devon very soon after that....whoop whoop!!

So what's been happening over here then? The Oracle will dish the gossip!!....

....Have enjoyed a fantastic fortnight with my parents; relaxing, sorting the boat out for shipping back to the UK and exploring the island (once on a dune buggy!) and generally drinking and being merry. We've had some great opportunities to go free diving and will be kite surfing on a small island off of Antigua this weekend. We've had some awesome parties on some of the bigger yachts, and as it's sailing week soon, we're in the company of some of the most stunning yachts in existance! 130 yr old classics (almost got to race on one this week, but not enough space unfortunately) up to multi-million pound superyachts, one with a 105 metre high mast (think its the biggest ever?). It's actually crazy that most of the super yachts here are engine driven across the ocean from Europe as its too expensive to use the sails. One main sail can cost as much as half a million dollars on the larger ones!!

I shook Eric Claptons hand 3 days ago! He has been on his Gin Palace next to the bar we frequent. We were deciding how best to invite people to Ole Elmer and Brian Heron's arrival party (Boogie Woogie), when he walked along the jetty not far from us. Simon Chalk pointed him out and joked that I should go over and invite him. Dave doesn't joke!!....

"Hello, are you Mr. Clapton?"

"Yes, Hello."

***Handshake***

"Well I'm Dave Brooks and me and my friend here," ***points to James next to me*** "Have just rowed across the Ocean from the Canaries as part of a Race."

"Wow"

"Cheers!" "Anyway, we would like to invite you to our BBQ and booze up to welcome in 2 rowers who will be arriving ....................

......needless to say, Layla didn't have me on my knees that night!

As for the rest of the remaining fleet at sea. Halcyon has now officially crossed and ocean. He was picked up by the Guadalupe coast guard after crossing the qualifying latitude as is currently being towed back to Antigua to a heroes welcome tomorrow afternoon like the rest of us had. Well done matey! I think Speedo has now recovered his latitude and is now making good progress and we're all very pleased to hear he has found another 30 days of rations to see him in without a resupply. As for Tess, well, we all think Sean is a bloody animal!! Good on you mate, and keep pluggin away!!

As I was a complete knob and forgot the most important member of my team in my last blog......I'd like to thank my hero of a sister, Sian, for painstakingly managing my website and posting all the blogs I emailed to her, whilst simultaneously working her pop-socks off up in Lincoln with her new house and job. Cheers lil' big sis!!

That's it from me. The website will remain active for the rest of the year but when my next adventure comes to pass I will be sure to re-kindle the blog. I'm so pleased that you've all enjoyed hearing my ramblings and I hope you all gave a little bit to my charities!

If you can take anything away from following my adventure, I hope it's that you now have the belief to go and follow your own dreams and not let anyone or anything stand in your way. You will get knocked down many times along the way, but learning to get back up is what makes you stronger. I had 101 moments in the last 2 years where I could have downed tools and walked away from everything. My friends and family will all agree that I was no closer to the start line of this race in September 2009 than I was back in 2007 when I took the Woodvale poster off the wall at the Gym in Birmingham. Blind, dogged faith in your ability to succeed can often lead to ruin, but it will always deliver in the end!

Happy are those who dream dreams, and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.

Team Panasonic, Out.............xx

.....My energy had returned somewhat as Antigua loomed a little more convincingly and hinted that the finish line might be on the horizon. I had only a few hundred yards to go when I was met by the Antigua and Barbuda Search and Rescue Rib (ABSAR) that welcomes the boats across the finish line. Apparently I had snuck up on them and they were expecting me a lot later. I wasn’t going to miss the sunset arrival after the last 2 days’ efforts so no time for dilly dallying! What I didn’t expect to see was what can only be described as a marmite twiglet with a testosterone problem. The chiselled, tanned and magnificently bearded frame of Peter Van Kets was stood proud at the bow of the rib with his African horn (Vuvuzela) between pursed lips, hooting triumphantly. An awesome sight, as during the last month at sea we had spoken every single morning on the sat phone, sometimes for advice, sometimes just to chat about whatever was bugging us at the time. A great friend and close competitor. I’m glad to have given him a run for his money too!

Me and PVK sporting the very finest in beer can polymer chains!

Then, as if out of nowhere, a large black cloud emptied its contents onto me. The sudden downpour was actually quite poignant, like the cleansing of my sins and rite of passage before stepping onto dry land. This was followed by the sunset I was aiming for and following just 78 days, 8 hours and 23 minutes and around 1,095,120 oar strokes, I crossed the finish line.

No time to kick back and relax yet though. The rough seas were kicking up over the shelving sea bed as the cliffs of Shirley Heights drew closer. I had to keep very close to them to avoid missing the inlet into English Harbour a few hundred yards around the corner, but it was an incredibly exhilarating feeling to see the messy waves and foam crashing onto solid cliff and rock. At sea they were nothing more than a nuisance, but here they could easily pick me up and finish me on a plate of stone. Vision of Cornwall almost met this fate, fetching up and capsizing on a reef, just metres from the finish line. Both were thankfully unharmed, just shaken to their Cornish booties!

When I rounded the inlet to English Harbour I was met by a chorus of horn calls from the yachts moored in the bay, and small tenders of people escorted me on all sides towards Nelsons Dockyard, where I would make landfall. PVK’s (Van Kets’) wife Kim and daughter gave me a twin flare salute from atop the harbour wall and I managed to judge my speed and direction enough to drift between all the yachts towards the bank and spark up 2 flares myself. I didn’t expect to then be blasted by cheers from around 200 people at the finish. It really did blow me away. Then followed big hugs with Peter and Simon Chalk (race organiser) and fellow rowers who had already arrived. Then my first ice cold beer. Every bit as perfect as I had imagined the experience over the last two and a half months. Then on a silver platter I was served burger and chips and a rum punch that smelled like pure gasoline!

As my parents were not able to make it out in time, I was then at a loose end for where to go next, as most rowers would then disappear off for cold showers, clean clothes and a bit of kip. But I didn’t want to disappoint, and was whisked off to the Mad Mongoose (local bar) with my decompression team fronted by Paul Williams of Limited Intelligence. My next adventure then ensued as, being freaked out by the social situation and having eyes looking at me, I legged it for a bit of peace and quiet, on a jetty a few yards down the road. I dangled my legs over the side into the water......and then I woke up and it was 4am. Everything was shut, I didn’t know how I had got there or where I was and I didn’t know where I was staying that night. In the end I managed to escape a random semi-mugging and wandered about for an hour until I stumbled across Nelsons Dockyard again, and my boat. One more night in that gopping cabin wouldn’t hurt!! Apologies to Paul and the guys who were looking for me all night, I guess I just really needed a snooze!.....................

Since arriving, I have been reunited with my parents, which was a very emotional affair! I am now recovering in an air conditioned cottage eating as much as I can and drinking more than I should. Sporting some epic swankles (swollen ankles) but my sunburnt hands are looking a bit better. It’s been a strange experience as I didn’t expect to get my head around things as quick as I have, although crying in the shower on the second day was a bit odd. In fact the only things that I’m glad of, apart from family and friends, are cold water, ice and air-con....and beer of course! Everything else is a bonus, but I could go without it. Being at sea for such a long time makes you realise how little you actually need in life. And it’s a great leveller of people, bringing all walks of life down to the same level playing field (to an extent!!).

What I have always valued and will never be able to say enough thanks for, is the support I have had from some seriously legendary friends! You have all been more supportive than I could have hoped for, with great emails of enthusiasm and encouragement. The advice, jokes, banter and even the abuse when I went slowly were all treasured and most have been written down, except for the obscenely un-PC jokes. You know who you are, and you know I loved them!! Especially my stalwart messagers, The Forey Clan, who kept me up to speed on all things Rugby, were probably better weather forecasters than the Met Office and served me with poems and jokes aplenty! A big thankyou goes to St. Peter's High School, Exeter, for all their support and for their fundraisers which have gone towards my 3 charities. This row has been a fantastic means of raising the profile of the charities I'm raising for (especially Sidmouth Lifeboat) but essentially, to help me raise loads of bucks for them. While I doubt I will ever reach my golden totals of £10,000 for each with the economy as it is, I'm still trying to make significant contributions, so please do dig deep and put a few pennies in the coffers via Just Giving on my site? I've finished the race now so there's no excuses!!!

Additionally, without the support and generosity of my sponsors I would never have made it to the start line, let alone the finish. So thank you to Panasonic Stores first and fore-mostly. The cameras and Toughbook were spot on! Thank you to Woodvale Challenge, the Race Organisers, for hosting what is set to be the most successful Ocean Rowing Race to date and to the Woodvale workforce for building me a first class boat, and to Simon Chalk for being instrumental to my success in fundraising and reaching the finish line, and for all his advice and expertise. Thank you to Dave “The Dood” Holland for posting all my videos on Doodacky.com and all the messages! Thank you to Darts Farm for following me and supporting my sat phone. Thank you to Health Connection for the Shiatsu Lumbar Cushion, a lifesaver after the sluggish days in soup! To the boys at Retreat boatyard and Projexe Engineering for all your work on the boat, with which I had not a single issue! To all my suppliers, Chelston Direct, Skwoosh, Natural Mat, Chuckles Shoes, Blakes Paint, Yeoman, Fusion and Cotswolds, and to Devon Web Design. MOST IMPORTANTLY, thank you Mum and Dad. You have been there every step of the way working as hard if not harder, and fielding any issue I threw at you. Everyone needs a Mum and Dad like you if they want to row an ocean!! Finally, thank you Ole Elmer. You’re still out there, flogging those oars, but you know how much I appreciate you and what you are doing. Don’t stop believing in the little guys!!

I will never forget this experience, nor will I ever play it down if people come and talk to me about it, nor will I ever be able to fully explain its impact on my life. I saw and experienced things out there that can’t really be put into words, especially not without welling up. What I will say, is that everybody should make the opportunity to experience solitude, even just for a brief period, as you’ll learn things about yourself that you never will among others and you’ll come out a better person for it. On the other side of the coin, I cannot stress how valuable it is to challenge yourself as part of a team, with friends or comrades. I have lived by the same motto for a decade now, when ever I get myself into a crazy situation or rope my mates into silly adventures, “What would we have to talk about in the pub later if we weren’t doing this ay?” Quote, Christopher McCandless (Into the Wild); Happiness is only real when shared. Am I now destined to sit in the corner with a pint and talk to myself? No.....that one was for me, but the next one, and the next, and the one after that, will be with friends. There won’t be a pacific row....

I guess, in an arrogant way, I took up this row to prove myself to my mates; a bit of a man challenge that I could use to chat up the birds and, I suppose, an effective CV filler. Arriving at Antigua, I have come to realise that I have actually proved myself to myself, and I don’t really mind much what anybody thinks about me. I don’t think that I will achieve anything more than this in my own head whilst ocean rowing, and for me that is a great feeling! Why watch an awesome film, and then go out and buy the extended edition straight away and watch that? It’s time for another film....

Fun Times in Antigua:

WRITTEN ON LOCATION IN ANTIGUA....

It was 4am on Tuesday. I had been rowing for 20 hours, only stopping to scratch my arse and light the jetboil for my meals. I had been slowly, but surely speeding up over the course of Monday as the winds grew and the waves built, and out of nowhere, in what has been essentially one of the slowest, hottest and quietest races in modern ocean rowing, I was suddenly being assaulted by 25-30 ft breaking waves and 30 knot winds.

The sea was lurching and I was pitching and rolling, surging down faces of white foam at over 10 knots. At one point I was surfing and the entire deck, and everything up to my chest was just a mass of white foam....not only was the boat well over 250 kilos lighter at this stage and therefore much more reactive to the turbulence of the ocean, but my exhaustion was at a peak, even to the point where people were coming out of my cabin and trying to pull me inside for a sleep, and I kept having to palm them off with an outstretched hand, determined to execute my final task. I was then attacked by a group of small coastal birds that were exhausted from fighting the winds and couldn’t rest on the boiling sea, so were competing for pride of place on my solar panels. That bit did happen!!

Determined little chap he was!!

I had sent a message to the race officials on Saturday morning, confirming my ETA of Tuesday at sunset, and didn’t want to disappoint. The benchmark had been set, but this meant I needed to average 2.8 knots for 38 hours in order to make the cut. Monday’s toils at less than 2.5 knots meant I needed a miracle current to help me along as I slowed up through fatigue. The necessary conditions arrived, but at the worst point. Savagely knackered....savage wind......savage darkness! I clung on until day break and the sun breathed a bit of life back into my eyelids for the final push. 36 miles to go, 13 hours until sunset, flat out rowing at 2.8 knots....no time for rest now I’m afraid, Mr. Brooks!

The rest of the day floated along in a psychedelic mist, reminiscent of 80s Disney masterpieces, such as when Dumbo gets drunk or the entirety of Fantasia. But brief oddities brought me back to reality, when I spotted 2 frigate birds attacking a turtle. The old boy was about 3-4 ft long and he kept swinging his arms about trying to fend off the persistent little gits!! Poor chap. Better him than me though!

Over the last 800 miles I’d been receiving some truly inspirational texts spurring me on. With people’s perception of the “home strait” ranging from 50 odd miles all the way back to 500. I had personally made the fatal mistake of seeing the final thousand as “all downhill from here on in” and a brief examination of the main map at day 50 shattered this particular illusion, and I had come to the conclusion that I could only start to envision the finish line - and enjoy the moment with heart wrenching songs like Coldplay’s Amsterdam or Israel Kamakawiwo'ole’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow - when the GPS started counting down miles in single figures.

What I didn’t expect in the last 10 miles, however, was an intense feeling of anger and disillusionment. I had entered an anti-climatic void where I suddenly resented everything about the boat, everything around me, and couldn’t understand why the mileage wasn’t counting down fast enough. All I wanted to do was get off the boat as soon as possible and had no interest in savouring the moment.....Something was VERY wrong!! And I realised it in the nick of time. Due to my exhaustion, my body just wasn’t metabolising my main meals and tuna sachets fast enough to give me any energy whatsoever. I was dangerously hypoglycaemic as my head was swimming and I was exhibiting textbook “HUNGER STRIKES” (shreddies advert). I scoffed down a load of army issue Yorkie (it’s not for civvies!!) and pancake mixture with nutella and honey, and then....BAM....back in the mix! Lots of teary eyed reminiscing and sunken headed blubbing brought me slowly but surely within spitting distance of the southern cliffs of Antigua, looming up like a flattened molehill in a field of blue. No sign of civilisation on the coastline as most of the action is contained within the bays, so it really does look as untouched as when the pioneers of the mid 20^th century made landfall in the crude predecessors of the rowboats we use today.

The final steps towards terra firma and freedom brought me back to a conversation I had at a rickety table in a small cafe in La Gomera with Ole Elmer, my good friend and major supporter. His outlook on life is staggeringly refreshing for a man who is wealthier than the entire line-up of Dragon’s Den. He looked me in the eye with blind sincerity and said, “You know Dave, what we’re doing is kinda just the same as what Christopher Columbus did!” ...... “Okay, Ole? Care to explain yourself out of that one?” “Well, we’re setting off on a journey that might never reveal a destination, we’ve no idea how long it will take us, and if we do get to the journey’s end, we will pass into a new world where nothing will be the same again.”....He was right.

End of Part One.....

....Part Two will follow...................................

Brooksy Out

xx

Hey All,

I'm very pleased to announce that Dave made it to solid ground at 20:20 last night!!!

His last few miles were unfortunately somewhat stormy and he was battling with heavy rain, wind and big waves but he was greeted by several of the teams who formed a much deserved welcome party despite the weather :o)

Ill let him explain his bambi legs when he attempted to walk on the jetty...lets just say when you've been at sea for over 2 months, walking on land is comical! Mum and Dad are on their way and will be reunited with Dave tomorrow evening so I'm predicting lots of tears! ...Dave, don't be too hungover!

We will hopefully be hearing from the man himself soon enough but for now, I'd like to thank everyone for their support of my big lil bro over the past 77days, to think that this all started 3 years ago and it wasn't so long ago that we feared he wouldnt even make the start line! It is a credit to him and all those who have helped and supported him, both directly and indirectly along the way.

Here's to the Pacific!

Brooksy2 xxx 

We’ve just had a call from Dave. He’s as high as a kite doing 3 knots while drifting. It’s the fastest speed he’s done for the whole time he’s been at sea, and he’s not even trying! He thinks that, at this rate, he will arrive in Antigua about Mon pm/ Tues am. This, unfortunately, means that we will miss his arrival. Fortunately , his life coach, Peter Van Kets will be arriving earlier, and will act in loco parentis, according to Dave. Peter will take photos of the momentous occasion for us all to enjoy.

Dave’s feeling really guilty, getting there before we arrive, but we are both of a mind that we want him to get there as quickly and as safely as possible, even if we miss it. After all we’ve got 2 weeks with him to help sort out arrangements for his Pacific leg. We will, hopefully, have future arrivals to look forward to, in goodness knows where.

The boat’s not being put to bed immediately cos Phil wants to take to the oars and visit the 365 beaches around Antigua. Perhaps Dave could earn some money offering guided tours! Any other suggestions will be gratefully received x

Wow, unless by some cruel stroke of irony, I spring a leak or get attacked by a flotilla of turtles, I do believe I have entered into the final week of the row. With just over 300miles to go, I’m looking to arrive in the afternoon of next Thursday ( when my parents arrive, which is quite handy ). Not a moment too soon! Every day now is more fatiguing than the last. My shoulders, hands  and forearms cry out for prolonged rest . It doesn’t help that I keep trying to damage myself during the rest phases too ...

... I was attempting to reward my day’s rowing on Tuesday, with a big mug of hot custard, just after sending the last blog. I had boiled the water and added it to the custard powder in a screw topped jar which had previously been a fruit salad container. Thinking that this would be the best way of mixing it up, without making a mess on deck . I set about shaking the jar like a maraca. Unfortunately I hadn’t anticipated any form of pressure build up inside the container, so what followed was not only horrific but sadistically amusing. The lid exploded off the jar and what can only be described as a  400ml  molten mass of sugary magma that coated my chest up to my forearms. It was lucky I was wearing boxer shorts otherwise things could have gotten really ugly. I jumped up screaming , and not knowing  where or how  to deal with the situation so I grabbed a 5litre bottle of water and emptied the contents over my torso. The water was useless as it had heated up to about 50degrees in the sunshine. So I jumped into the lukewarm sea to try & cool the burns. In fact the most effective treatment I adopted was to grab my only can of deodorant, hold it very close to my skin & just spray. A great method of instantly cooling the skin, but be careful not to get a cold burn in the process. Anyway I’ve endured 2 days with a very sore & pink torso, but I’m all better now.

I’ll be taking requests as to what songs I should be listening to during my last few hours on the oars. Please txt me your requests & I’ll be thinking of you when I listen to them. I have most music, so the more random the better.

Fingers crossed the 1^st day of Easterlies in a while, and they are predicted to remain for the duration. I haven’t had Easterlies endure for more than 48hrs since day 20. So that’s a bonus I guess ???!

Brooksy out xx

Putting the hammer down now. Averaging 45miles a day & the Easterlies haven’t even arrived yet. They should be arriving by Thursday so all hell will break loose then. Hopefully be arriving in Antigua by the middle of next week. It’s a catch 22 situation though because I want to row as hard as I can to get in as soon as possible, but Mum & Dad won’t get there till the 25^th, so if I’m too early then  there’ll be no one to see me arrive. I could always cross the finish line, which is offshore & anchor up & go snorkelling for a day or two , until they arrive.

Hands are in a bad way at the moment. Very sore & bruised from pulling hard & my right hand is cracking badly under the knuckles, so I have had to splint the hand to the oar with strips of silk rag so the pull on the oar comes through the wrist & forearm, rather than the fingers. Ingenious, but a right ol’ faff.

Also saw a great white yesterday. A huge great fish about 11ft long with a grey back and a white underbelly, and a grey triangular fin. I was contemplating poking my head under the water with mask & snorkel, but noticed that it had a huge tail fin that was purply blue in colour, like a Dorado’s. Not sure what species of fish. It scarpered before I could get a good look.

Still planning on rowing non stop for the last 48hrs. How’s about you guys & gals getting on to Just Giving to ease my pain?!

Just before sending this blog ,I saw a yacht on the horizon. No ID on the AIS, no response to the radio but heading on a course which would intercept mine. Great I thought, someone knows of my whereabouts, and is coming to say “hello”. A support vessel maybe. As the yacht came closer I saw it would pass my bow a few hundred yards ahead. So ensued a dramatic sprint by me inducing very sore and blistered fingers until I could tell, I wouldn’t be able to catch up with the visiting vessel. So I just cried out at it “ hello”. Then had a rant into my Panasonic camcorder, about the whole event. Then out pops this nice German fella on the yacht, Pangea. He then stowed his sail  & motored over  and said “ guten tag “ & asked me if I wanted anything. I flatly refused as being so close to the finish line now, I didn’t want to spoil the moment of my first pint etc while I’m still not on dry land.

The moment will come though .........

Brooksy Out xx

Hello Everyone!

We will be flying out to meet Dave on Thursday, 25th March. Hopefully he'll slow up enough so we get to see him arrive! We will be taking out a big bed sheet so we can fly it on the harbour on his arrival and thought it would be nice to put messages from his blog followers for him. He's been frustrated with the lack of internet in the latter stages of the race and apologises for the lack of blogs so Im sure he'll love the gesture.

If you would like us to write something from you, please could you either add a message to the blog for copying or, email me at janebrooks21@hotmail.com

Thankyou so much for your support of Dave it really has made a difference, its humbling to see how many hearts he has touched :o)

Best wishes,

Jane and Phil x

A few milestones reached in the last few days. Just passed 500miles to go mark,which is spurring me on to a sprint finish, but currently being hampered by Southerly winds, which were certainly NOT promised by the weather experts .. Pah! We were supposed to be getting 15knot   Easterlies for the remainder, which have quite clearly not resolved, so now the predictions have been “tweeked” and we’re now looking at South Easterlies instead. Not a dire adjustment, but it does  add on at least another 2 days, so I reckon I’ll be in, in a fortnight . C’mon! I can almost smell the bubbles from the champagne & the ice cold generic beers.

70 Days at sea.  That’s a bloomin long time when you think about it. I’m sure  many of you can’t remember what you were doing either last week, let alone 2 months ago. Well I do. I won’t go into details, its self explanatory really. The hardest part is trying not to think of all the things I could have accomplished in the same time frame at home, and that, when I finish, I’ll be only crossing one thing of my  “ to do list”. But then again this was quite a significant chore on the list and not quite as menial as doing the washing up or tidying my bedroom

Also I saw humans for the 1^st time in 40 days. Aurora, the support vessel, came for a visit on Friday, which was very surreal. They came close enough for a chinwag & I literally couldn’t shut my gob for more than a few seconds, just firing off gibberish, and relishing the experience of human interaction , face to face.

Brooksy Out xx

Moving along like a floundering  wilderbeest crossing a river, this morning, but now scooting along at 3knots. That’s good enough for me . The southerly winds that we’ve been experiencing  have finally swung East  a tad  and back up in the 30s for daily mileage. Hopefully tomorrow will  see a return to the 40s and then the sky’s the limit. Hoping to  average just over 40 a day now will see me in Antigua in about 16/17 days from now. Very exciting to think about the finish line but it’s still over 295,000 oar strokes to go, and each stroke is as energy sapping as the next.

So though I’ve spent the last week diving South, I’m well away  from the brunt of the southerlies. I’m hearing about the northern contingent of the fleet on anchors and struggling against it.

Last night will stay in my memory in much the same way as the phytoplankton displays will. The Dreamworks Fishing Pixie was away with the horizon somewhere  as there was  a very distinct dullness about me  with the absence of the waning moon and its ethereal glow. The pitch darkness does have its advantages as the stars become ever more vivid and the sea comes to life too, with some help from my headtorch. I’d just finished my final session & was stood up having a pee in my pee bottle ( kindly donated by the Pendovey Swift  firefighters ! cheers lads. Little did you think that that was what it would be used for when you gave it to me ?!)when the light from my head torch reflected off something under the water . This is good fun sometimes because  the light from the head torch can excite some types of plankton & a streak of torchlight will leave a streak of green radiance in the water for a few seconds after. If I had a strong enough beam I would be able to write my name like in the snow ! Anyway this time  the reflected light fell on to a  large Dorado who was darting around under the boat & it soon   became apparent  a  huge school of smaller fish were being chased  about  under  & around me by this great 40pounder. I then spent the next 20minutes chasing the action with my torch & marvelling on the dexterity of the hunt just based upon the vivid blue & silver reflections darting back at me

Had a cheeky wake up call yesterday. Had been struggling to maintain my 13 hour days because  a) ir’s a  hard slog against  counter currents and b) my  anxiety about  drifting the wrong way has been preventing me from sleeping during the day   so it becomes almost impossible to get to the oars in time  when I wake up in the the morning. This time I dozed back off to sleep after my alarm went off at 7.30am. I was then rudely reawoken  just before 8.00 by a torrent of water  covering my head.    I’d left the rear hatch open & a wave broadsided me. In the end it was a  handy  blunder as the   shock  roused  me enough to  allow me to crawl from my pit & not oversleep  too long, but the wet sleeping bag  & pillow thought  otherwise.

Brooksy out  xx

I thought that Act III: “The current catastrophe”, might have reached a conclusion yesterday . I started out , motoring along & clocking up some good speeds,  covering 40nms in the process . But the euphoria of the day fizzled out with the dawn of the next & the return to the monotonous drag of oars, pea soup  & lacklustre winds from the South.  I’ve moved some of the weight  in the rear compartments to the front cabin in an attempt  to improve the balance ( & hopefully my speed ).  I’m hoping the sluggishness will be short lived & I haven’t sprung a leak in one of the sealed compartments that I don’t know about. It is really a flukey  game in this area where one boat  might have bad conditions and then another, mere miles away, may be flying along. But I must  say, that I must  stay positive & accept my fate . I reckon “ Him Upstairs”  has fallen out with Neptune, & the whole thing has gone to pot. Let’s hope they sort out their differences & team up for an assault on the fleet  FROM THE EAST, to speed us into English Harbour for a cold pint. It’s about 35degrees on deck & it’s already late evening. That’s well past G&T time. Wait a second ..... when is it ever , not G&T time!!!? On a very positive note I got a great txt from Chris Martin ( Cold Play ) 2 days ago, telling me to keep up the good work & that the band & all the roadies are betting on when I will finish. Well Chris, if you fancy putting a few pennies toward one of my charities, via the website, then I may endeavour to arrive on the day your money is down for! Thanks for the support from all of you & I hope the gig in Argentina goes well.

Brooksy out xx

**DAVE HAS ZERO INTERNET EVERYONE :o( **

**HE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU BUT PLEASE MESSAGE HIM VIA THE SATPHONE, NOT VIA EMAIL**

This afternoon was the first time I was able to sustain 3knots for more than an hour in ages... whoop whoop! Let’s pray that  this remains the case for the foreseeable future, as I quite fancy  racking up some miles while the wind is up & the sun is sneaking around behind the clouds.  I’ve found the joys of Russell Brand  podcasts.  I have around 40hrs of them so I’m set for a couple of  weeks. Definitely enjoying comedy & stand up whilst rowing especially when I need a pick me up. It helps me   distance myself from the  task  in hand.

I discovered I have good hearing today . I can hear the dolphins all chattering around me before they come  into view. I was chilling out in my cabin when I heard several high pitched squeaks & wheezes, like air being released slowly from a balloon & pebbles  being stirred up in the waves on a pebbly beach.  When I got out on deck I was surrounded by 30 – 40 of the fellows . They didn’t seem in a hurry to go anywhere so I whipped on my snorkel  & mask & hung over the  side  with my camera to see what all the commotion was about. There was a shoal of fish that they’d rounded up about 30ft below the boat & they were darting in and out with ease, fetching their grub for the day. A fantastic spectacle & was sad to see them drift away before I had a chance to get in & swim with them. Caught a lot on camera but I think it was a bit too murky to catch anything  decent ... shame.  Upshot is I now  know to rush to the mask & snorkel if ever I hear them gossiping again

   Would like to give a big shout out to everyone from St Peters School ( Dad’s school ) who’re following me especially Mrs Hibberd’s class who have been sending me lots of encouraging messages. Thanks guys, I’m looking forward to a visit when I get home. That’s if I ever get home. Now that I’m learning their language  perhaps I’ll just pop my flippers on & live with the dolphins for a bit & wait for the trade winds.

Brooksey out xx

Just when we thought we were  on the move & racking up the miles, these ruddy ocean currents are still out to rain on the parade. I always assumed that the water bodies would eventually move with the prevailing wind conditions ( especially this far out to sea).Currently Team Panasonic is being thwarted by a strong  EN Easterly element which has          me for approximately 1 – 1.5 knots on oars & drifting due South while resting. At least I’m drifting South this time & not North. Patience is a virtue ..... They’ll come around in time I hope. Only 20nms behind Heritage Explorer now but this is only because  the crummy  currents hit them first. If anyone out there knows why they’re about then please let me know . My theory is that the Mid Atlantic ridge is becoming a dominant feature with the lack of trade winds to compensate.

Grand day today, got me thinking about what actually goes through  the brain  whilst I’m rowing .... very little to be honest  (no surprise there then!? ) I spend a lot of time mind – numbingly  staring at the compass & speedo to see  how my progress is  & comparing it to the previous session, usually involving fractions. Well  I’m 0.3 quicker in the first 10mins than the last 10mins.                                    During the next hour I will better my previous mileage by about 1/7th . Who cares. I’m now growing increasingly anxious about my speed & it’s prohibiting me from sleeping during the day time rest periods . Which is a pain. When I manage to steal  myself away from the instruments, I usually just gaze about looking for birds & flying fish.  The clouds are usually good for amusement  imagining their shapes & predicting the next time the sun will next be obscured  giving me brief release from the scorch . The really valuable thoughts  are about family & friends imagining the finish line & the beer.

Even with all this free time to think  and reflect etc   it is actually very difficult to maintain any form of sustained brain activity what with the intense heat sapping my concentration  and the monotony of rowing.  So Mum, when I rang you at 23.55 on your Birthday I hadn’t forgotten you, I was just brain dead.

  A quick shout now to Keith  Hoppings and   Projexe Engineering. Your seat & footplate are holding out like a goodun . Thanks for the first class metal work dude.

Brooksey Out xx

***From Brooksy2: Daves Internet is down again, he's resorted to vaseline on the contacts...or was that for something else??I forget..anyway, bare with us, blogs will be updated as soon as he is able to ring home :o)

Hey everyone, having spoken with Brooksy1 it turns out his email is pretty much defunct for the foreseeable future. So, please please could everyone use the text message service on the website to message him via the sat phone. Don't forget, when you copy and paste the number into the box to remove the dashes and then make sure number is correct. I had issues as the box has a maximum character limit.

Anyway, more importantly, Dave is doing very well and is still (wierdly) in good spirits, despite the boy part issues! I think he made about 52 miles today and so is motoring away!

Thankyou for following my big little bro, he really does appreciate all the messages and does try to reply but its all dependent upon signal. I have a small favour to ask...needless to say, Dave needs to keep up the fundraising side of things, and Im not going to lie to you, Im pretty rubbish at this side of things so, if anyone has any genious original ideas please let me know! sianbrooks@hotmail.com

Ta very much! Keep smiling everyone :o)

Yesterday was pretty much just a hard old slog with the occasional albatross, and Flappy and his pals, along for the ride. It left me exhausted as the sea-state is very confused and VERY uncomfortable for the posterior. However...I have devised a strategy that was put into effect today with encouraging results....

....I call it ‘ rash rotation ` . It’s the act of changing my seat cover and clothing every so often so that the rubs occur on new or non-rashy parts of my body leaving the rashy bits free from rubbing and allowing them to dry and scab-up. Today I was able to let my backside out to fallow by rowing without lycra with the sheepskin covering my foam seat. When my bottom has recovered enough and my ‘gentlemans’ vegetables` can no longer take any more abuse between my cheese-grater thighs then I will swap back to rowing in lycra on top of my squish-pad ( gel cushion ) . And so the cycle continues. The same rules apply to my arm-pits by removing t-shirts before the rashes form, and then enduring the chilly sun-rises and sun-sets in the nuddy and risk sun-burn in the heat of the day ( not so bad now that I’m as brown as an over-baked gingerbread man )

Today has been more pleasant with some big waves teasing me with the promise of a long ride. I reached 9.8 knots on one peach of a wave but they’re just not steep or long enough yet to yield decent long runs. Won’t be long now as there is a low pressure coming in for Tuesday to Friday next week bringing some really pants weather with north-westerlies and west-nor’westerlies coming in, so it could be time for the para-anchor to come out again if westward progress is halted. Pah !!

Regardless of the impending ‘ wind of doom` I’m in relatively high spirits now, and have my mind’s eye firmly locked onto Day 30, which I see, psychologically as  my half way marker. Why so  optimistic  I hear you ask.?..well judging by my current progress I’m guess-timating on arrival in 60-70 days ( which is sweet) . I reckon I’ll be so excited by day 60 that any day after that  doesn’t  count as I’m having so  much fun. I love  how naive I am about  this whole  thing which is probably my biggest failing but my biggest advantage also

Brooksey Out for now  xx

PS  will let you all know about my diet & weight loss etc in the next blog .Lots of food stories to tell !

Day 18: Gone Fishin ..........

I was completely wiped out for the best part of this morning & couldn’t work out why until Mum texted me saying I’d overtaken 3 pairs boats & was closing in on the French fours having rowed the furthest distance out of the entire fleet in the last 24hrs . 57miles =Result !

Today was a slightly more subdued affair taking lots of breaks, pottering & tidying having a shower & scrubbing the unmentionables & CAUGHT A DORADO – WHOOP WHOOP ! .......

........Mum had been complaining to me that I wasn’t being ”Ray Mears” enough,fishing for my supper & that  the Heritage Explorer boys had been making fish jerky  from tuna and herring . So of course I obliged by getting my custom made  fishing line & lures out for a maiden       .A big thankyou to Richard Bolton for my handcarved reel & lures because lo & behold, within 10mins I had a baby Dorado bobbing about on the end of the line which proceeded to spaz itself off the hook taking the rubber lure with it. Oh well, round 2 lasted 2hrs longer so with a change of lure with a big pink eye painted on it & funky looking hook I was then greeted by a nice 5 pounder who I named Helmut. He had a big crash helmet  forehead & I reckon , by his complete sense of humour failure, of the prospect of being my dinner , that he was definitely German! ....

...... only trouble was , what the hell was I supposed to do with him? I was planning on dispatching him with my 19mm spanner (who’s called Betsy ) with a swift blow to the head ( the quickest & most painless way of doing it ) then removing the fillets & tossing the rest back. Just my luck then that he decided to spasm his way into my footwell , which is covered by my footplate & go to town down there! I was left flayling about with the spanner in hand trying to send Helmut to meet his maker in a fashion. He just wouldn’t part company with his life and kept wriggling away from Betsy .... the jammy crout!

To cut a long story short I got my fillets , which I steamed/poached & bloomin  lovely they were so a good day all around!

Brooksey out   xx

Day 17, Sun Sea Surf.........& Ballrash.

After yesterdays epic washing machine ride I was in no mood for another day of being wrenched off my feet & only getting 40% of my oar strokes into the water. Don’t even get me started on the evening sessions, which were like trying to stand up on a bucking bronco with your hands tied behind your back whilst blindfolded.

Nevertheless, I apparently notched up a pretty good VMG ( velocity made good ) so my agony seemed to pay off. What took a beating however were the old  meat & 2 veg which I now have to paint with Sudocrem after every shift and bathe in talc before every shift . It’s like my thighs are sandpaper ........ aaargh !

But now the wind is behind me & I’m going to bear slightly more W than S as I feel the last few days  snatching up latitude need to be rewarded with some progress forward.I am glad of my decision to head S though as the conditions are definitely more consistent  here.I’m just looking forward to waves & swell l becoming  more established & therefore less messy so that my bum can recover a bit & that of course I can “ shred up some gnarly H2OOOOOH yeh !” Quote:  Duffman

I must say hello to Chris Martin ( of Coldplay ) , who’s reading my blogs and says if I can get to Antigua by mid March then there’s tickets to their Argentinian gig in it for me. Well I reckon that’s reason enough to up the anti? Now all I need is Sir Richard Branson to stump up the flights & I’m sorted. Ha Ha !

Brooksey Out. Xxxx

PS Still need some more options for naming Mr Grasshead

PPS Hello to everyone at Teign School as I believe you’re following me. Thankyou for your support xx

Day11: Long days rowing. Some good short surf managed to nurse me up to a top speed of 9knots. Flappy the bird is now a regular companion will try feeding him today! Started feeding myself on patsys homemade fruitcake too. Its like rocket fuel so thankyou! brooksy out xxxx

From Brooksy2: Having spoken to the crazy boy, it sounds like he's getting on very well, becoming accustomed to routine and generally looking after himself well, even if his rear is residence to a few recce barnicles. If anyone is missing a bird by the name flappy, rest assured he/she is being fed and hitching a ride to the caribbean! 

Day10: Managed 52 miles in the previous 24 hours which was v good! Just soldiering on but lost the lid to my cooker over the side! pah! Oh how mr.grass head laughed! hes my new friend ive been cultivating.(pressy from sis).a sawdust potato shaped head with grass now slowly erupting from his bonce! I feel like a proud mum! Weather turning slack over weekend so dont expect any record pace.brooksy out xxxx 

From Brooksy2: Hehe! Im amused to see Dave describes himself as a proud 'mum' rather than 'dad!! Bless him. Right all Brooksy1 followers out there, we need a name for mr grass head - such unoriginality will not do. So, please text him name suggestions! Can be boys or girls names, the winner of course will determine the sex ;o) and will recieve a grasshead of their own in the post!

day.9 hello all.apologies for lack of contact but my email has stopped working.bloomin sat phones.so now i have to text my blogs so ill keep em brief.been making good progress though.have turned the corner now so its just a case of chewing up the miles!brooksy out x

...Fingers crossed Daves email starts up again! I will endeavour to contact him this evening and get some more info, otherwise we may be looking at tx speak from now on. Who else is wandering how flappy is getting on?!

A hard day of rowing to report today, as the winds completely dropped of leaving a glassy pond to row on, which is great for the backside (as I'm not rolling about on the seat) but rubbish for the boat speed!

So, the journey begins....again...de ja vue?? Yes I think so! But at least i managed to get fat on Christmas Dinner and nibbles for a good few days prior to this lastest get slim quick fad!!

HOWEVER!!! Im now stranded in Gran Canaria having missed the last bus to the Port last night due to a near 3 hour plane delay, and hence missing the 9am ferry to Tenerife this morning, preventing me from getting on the 12pm ferry to La Gomera, in time for the -48hr race deadline of 2pm today. Confusing? Hence my newly found situation! You try running your lungs off through an empty street and a few staring spaniards from behind closed shutters to be met by a ferry just taxying out of the port at 0855 this morning. It was too much of a cliche to be believable!

Brooksy Out
xx

Well as it happens, i have just booked my ticket back to chilly devon to spend 2 weeks at home for christmas, seeing as the adverse weather still hasnt abated and we are looking at another fortnight on standby until things change for the better.

this is incredibly frustrating for me and all the other 31 teams, as we have built ourselves up for this one opportunity to row the ocean and are now in limbo, which is agony and very very costly too as its not cheap out here! so when i return please don't expect any big nights out with the boys, as i am flat out broke!!

the boat is being looked after by 2 very lovely people who bring me cups of tea and cake every day called robert and caroline on yacht Aragorn and rob is keeping my watermaker ticking over every other day.

i'll endeavour to see people if and when i get the opportunity and if anyone has any work that they need doing "cash in hand" then please let me know! (i'll cycle over as i cant afford petrol!!)

england here i come....

xx

Well, those hurricane force depressions that you all seem to be getting buffeted by certainly do seem to be ruining a lot of people's days! Unusually, mine too!! Basically, the front of the current hurricane has a tail that stretches over 3000 miles down towards the caribbean, and each one brings to the Canaries 25 knot south-westerlies and 30m swells (basically in the exact wrong direction). This makes it impossible for ocean rowers, and the conditions would currently have blown me onto Africa in due course.

Here's a synoptic image of one of those dastardly depressions, and what its bringing La Gomera and our route:

During "normal" conditions (is there such a thing?) we would expect a strong north-easterly current with n-easterly winds of up to 10-15 knots to help speed us on our way. These are generated by a strong high pressure over the azores, kown as the Azores High (who would have thought it??!!) and currently this high is hiding from the nhurricanes over Africa, hence why the fronts are decsending so low in latitude.

If anyone has an interest in this sort of thing then visit www.passageweather.com to see what i mean!!

So the situation as it stands, we need a stable weather window of 5 days or more in order to escape the fronts and reaches the sanctuary of the trade winds further south. another front is due in next weekend too, which means that at this stage, Sunday the 20th of Decemeber will be the absolute earliest possible race day. If things continue, we may even be looking at a post christmas departure. But dont fret guys, the lastest we are permitted to leave is February 14th, so as long as Neptune and his buddies dont be [bad] for too long then we should get a window very soon....but i will be needing all of you to cross your fingers, immediately!!

As for me, Im being typical Brooks, living on my boat and making daily trips to a hotel up to road to get a free breakfast, they still think im a guest there!!...result!

As for the website, i must apologise that its taking so long to get sorted, but have patience! Bloody good job the race is being delayed thats all i can say!

Please keep texting and emailing, im getting them all but apologise that i haven't had chance to reply to all of them yet!

Brooks Out,

xx

The race start has been delayed until Wednesday due to flares not being allowed off the container ship (buggers!!) so now Woodvale are working like troopers to get new ones!
Got out on the water for 3 hours today with a lee shore wind and strong offshore current, boat and limbs handled well and my water maker is a-ok which is the main thing. I was a pussy though and it took me 30 minutes to pluck up the courage to swim under the boat, not keen on getting gobbled by a shark before ive even left!!

Hey guys, after 9 days of 8am-11.30pm working like a madman on the boat, she's finally on the water, and looking gorgeous!

La Gomera is a fantastic place, the weather has been a consistent 35 degrees with brilliant sunshine, and i haven't needed sun lotion the whole time as the ozone layer here is really thick. the people here are great but some little git stole my bike! reckon it was probably an englishment though!!

For now, its a case of getting the boat fully ship shape, getting out on the water for some training runs, and keeping an eye on the weather. there's a large depression moving in that is currently looking like it will bring strong north easterlies, which is what we want! but that can always change rapidly into south westerlies if the depression swings so standby for either a rapid start to the race, or a delay by a few days. either way im happy and raring to go, which is what its all about!

For the record, ocean rowers are bloody good blokes (and lassies!) and its nice to meet people that are as crazy as me....some maybe even crazier!

Brooksy OUT!
love to all xxxx

Me and Sian (my sister) writing the to-do list for the day with Pete and Mum observing.

Guys, I go on Friday!!! What the hell??

A year and a half of blood sweat and beers has left me a rather excited young man, on the fringe of the adventure of a lifetime, but it's only going to be as good as it can be with you guys back at home following my progress and sending me lots of good luck messages!

"BUT HOW DO YOU DO THAT?" I hear you ask??

Well, the website (revamped) will come online in the next few days, with the links for you to track my boat and send me free text messages to my satellite phone, but here are the links now:

The Race Website:
www.atlanticrowingrace09.com
A google earth map shows all the race competitors, I am TEAM PANSONIC, boat number 16, and my progress is updated every half an hour!

Messaging my Sat Phone: ((160 characters max))
http://messaging.iridium.com
Here, you need to enter my phone number in the box, 8816-316-567-94
Please include your email address in the address field so that I can reply if necessary!

You can also send a direct email from your own hotmail/gmail/outlook etc and the email address for the sat phone is 881631656794@msg.iridium.com

ITS FREE TO MESSAGE ME! WHOOP WHOOP!!

Please send me messages about what you are up to in your lives, and what awesome meals you've been eating so that it spurs me on to get to the finish line and give you all a kick up the backsides for being so mean!!

BUT!!! .... don't send me too many messages as they might block up my phone!

All that's left to say until my blog starts on my website is, wish me luck, and if you're the praying type, then you know what to do!!

Dave x