9th March 2010 21:29:08
Another boat rows safely into English Harbour. Karukera finished early today making them 3rd overall...
6th March 2010 20:45:07
I have been looking at all the Justgiving donations since leaving the UK two months ago. I am absolutely in awe of everyone's effort and generosity...
5th March 2010 15:47:32
Simon called me at midnight to tell me to get down to the ABSAR centre ready to go out to find James and Ollie who were three miles from the finish...
4th March 2010 14:32:57
Come in Boat #9, your time is up and the celebrations await you. As I write this blog, James and Ollie are about 42 miles from the finish...
2nd March 2010 15:31:03
After the whale vanished, the ABSAR boat transferred my two boys from ZigZag to my boat and we proceeded to row into English Harbour...
28th February 2010 17:04:40
I last posted a blog from sea when I was 54 miles from the finish on the 24th February. Shortly after posting that blog, a fishing boat from Guadeloupe appeared and wanted to come alongside..
27th February 2010 08:03:19
This is to say I haven't switched off as I have finished, only that I've needed 24 hours to get back to a level such that I can say it's all over for me...
25th February 2010 11:42:53
David writes:
Another quick call from Charlie - he can see Antigua!
He sighted land at 6:50am local time (10:50am GMT) and is around 28 miles out with a following NE wind. Unfortunately, this wind is not forecas..
24th February 2010 14:53:59
I am writing from the comfort of my wet cabin as I ride the weather system on the sea anchor. I am 54 miles from the finish, the weather is against me now for the next 24 hours at least, so I'll get one more last rest before I pull up the sea anchor, get on the oars and give it all my worth for a few hours, drop the anchor, rest, pull it up etc until I get here...
23rd February 2010 23:18:01
Guess what I am up to?I have been fighting a strong wind (S - SSW 20 knots +) from the south and just making headway. It started ..
23rd February 2010 20:05:43
David writes:
I have just spoken to Charlie. I'm afraid he isn't planning to post a blog today, as he's fighting a 25 knot Southerly wind and can't stop rowing without being driven North. He has been constantly battling ..
22nd February 2010 22:19:59
I had an excellent start last night at 1900 to leeward of Da Capo, although there was no wind! By 0800 the following morning I had a lead of about five miles, but in came enough wind for Tony to fly his spinnaker and they passed me at 1130 doing 5...
21st February 2010 22:49:05
I have been travelling in parallel to a sailing yacht most of today and have managed to make contact with them as they are now only 1.1 miles off my port bow. Tony and Sue are the owners of the beautiful Christensen 43 "Da Capo" and rem..
21st February 2010 09:43:57
I don't know how hard some things can be. You never can tell unless you have been there before. I know what to expect when I do a set of heavy repetitions in the gym or how I will feel after running for 80km, but I just couldn't imagine how difficult the last 48 hours out here approaching the Carribean Islands would be...
20th February 2010 22:05:54
OLIVIA CHENEVIX-TRENCHWho is she? What's she got to do with this?Take a minute to read this before I write my usual Blog.Imagine listening to Tch..
19th February 2010 23:50:12
One mile at a time. It's not getting any easier, but I've definitely got the focus and am being careful not to do something silly...
18th February 2010 23:38:57
Typo error on yesterday's Blog - SW wind was ment to be SE wind. Who noticed??The wind kept on coming and with strength. I wasn't ex..
17th February 2010 21:27:45
Last night the wind was as close to the wind I had on 21st January when I did around 80 miles. It was then I nearly pitch poled. Last night I did two broaches (this is a hand brake turn, then fa..
16th February 2010 23:17:11
ACT 11A bit late, but now I think I am experiencing "The Trade winds" for the first time in this race. There..
15th February 2010 23:52:33
Asked what my father might be thinking of this challenge, there isn't a day in my life, I don't think about him...
14th February 2010 18:09:43
A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TWO PEOPLE IN MY FAMILY.To Sally Wartman, my ex-wife and Godmother to my little Freddie. I hope you ..
14th February 2010 18:08:33
Well today has to be rather special, being Valentines Day. To my wife, Emma, you are everything to me, but you will never guess who visited me today?......No wo..
14th February 2010 00:12:43
The last few days has been difficult, but today was very hard. I have somehow got a head cold which has completely blocked my sinuses, so I have not been able to sl..
12th February 2010 22:17:10
Just as I thought. Last night was too good to believe. There wasn't any current under me, I was purely cracking along...
11th February 2010 23:14:52
Hearing from my friends in Valencia, it seems the America's Cup should be run exactly where I am. The water is flat with a very slight swell and 5 knots of NW breeze...
11th February 2010 09:18:24
Ship's log - The bad weather this morning got better and I've been tapping along with a soft following breeze and friendly wavelets. The show this morning was just temporary, but it is now 0030 UTC and there is hardly a breeze which t..
10th February 2010 09:41:56
The bad weather has just knocked on the door, so I've set up for slow progress over the next few days and am looking forward to having a lazy day, knowing I can't achieve anything else (unless of course the natural elements change again)...
9th February 2010 22:29:27
The record for crossing the Atlantic under sail is 3 days and 20 hours set by a French Trimaran in 2009...
8th February 2010 23:11:02
I'm posting a short report as I am down on power and want to make sure this goes out before the laptop does!Ship's log - compass 270T doing 3.2 knots in a..
8th February 2010 08:38:46
ON A LIGHTER NOTE....I can't keep it off my mind, so have to mention some people who are giving me email support twenty four seven. Tim and Kar..
7th February 2010 23:02:26
The last 48 hours has been very difficult and I have put every little bit of my energy into staying focused and moving in the right direction, mentally as well as physically...
6th February 2010 16:11:36
The heavens haven't given us any wind (only my freeze dried food has), but last night was a once in a lifetime...
6th February 2010 00:52:58
This is all so difficult. Now the wind is SSW against me, I've been rowing too long and have just packed it in...
4th February 2010 23:39:41
I find myself very carefully sneaking along on ever changing waters. The wind is up and down all the time and shifting gear around the boat to trim it accordingly and constantly changing the pin heights helps more than you would think...
3rd February 2010 21:24:07
From a good morning to an average evening is all today is about. The wind died on me by noon leaving another mixed up sea. So much so, that it really is not possible to..
3rd February 2010 03:19:01
Imagine this - get a piece of paper, landscape, draw a line right across it. Below the line, colour in dark blue, above the line, very light blue with two or three white puffy clouds (just as children do)...
1st February 2010 23:05:44
HURRAY, WE ARE HALF WAY! I think today is a special day. We are half way (I thought this might have happened last week!)and we are on our way with half decent winds. I sp..
31st January 2010 21:21:32
Hurray, we are moving again. I had my worst day yesterday and felt very low, shouting at the wind and waves, screaming to the skies and having a good old cry...
30th January 2010 21:53:28
Hi BabyI'm finding it very difficult at the moment. This weather is relentless and not giving up, infact it is getting worse. I screamed ..
30th January 2010 18:46:42
I am now locked up down below, my hatch securely fastened and experiencing 30 degrees inside and a full Gale on the outside...
29th January 2010 22:18:11
When we designed this boat, one of the criteria was the distance between the longitudianl frames to match the length of the liferaft box and my shoulder width, with two bolsters, which happens to be the same...
28th January 2010 21:59:10
Ships log - wind WNW 20 knots with a few stronger gusts of up to 30 knots for most of day. It's just gone lighter, but a new front on it's way! Sea - Medium swell with lots of busy waves doing the "rush hour" in between...
28th January 2010 09:42:44
Yesterday was bad. Now it's worse. If I was on land, I wouldn't be going to sea today! The sky is grey, the sea is angry and there are occasional rain squalls. I think the wind is about 30 knots plus and every now and again a wave crashes over the whole boat. T..
27th January 2010 10:42:18
Well it just got worse. It seemed I put the sea anchor out at about the right time last night. I was unable to make any ground over the wind by about 0200, so dumped the anchor over the side...
27th January 2010 00:30:00
It's all getting a little hot in every respect out here and some serious conversations have been going on between myself and the "shore team"...
25th January 2010 23:55:03
My third ship sighted today and not far off. Probably about five miles away steaming towards Europe from the South America direction. There has ..
25th January 2010 00:13:56
Yes, a perfect night. This is the first time I can remember the moon lighting up the night sky and ocean...
24th January 2010 00:39:55
Almost a perfect day. Started off well with good wind and orchestrated seas. A few puffy clouds and lots of sunshine...
22nd January 2010 23:46:44
Again, a difficult morning session with no formation to the waves. As my boat is so small, the big Atlantic swell pushes me which ever way it is going...
21st January 2010 22:56:26
I'm starting to take control of my power situation. The fact is I do not have enough solar panels to charge the batteries quickly in order to use my toys i...
19th January 2010 18:13:57
High seas and a good breeze from the North East has made all the difference. It is a different ball game now, not so much strength and raw grit, but more quick thinking and agility...
19th January 2010 08:36:01
A couple of hard days rowing through unsettled waters, a bit like trying to swim through jelly with a space suit on...
17th January 2010 09:36:02
It's dead calm and I could be on the Serpentine in Hyde Park, except there are no dolphins there! Yesterday, I had a massive school of them, infact it must have been the entire "village" as they were playing around the boat and over an area of a few football pitches...
14th January 2010 09:11:22
It's the 14th January and I've got my first letters to open, a pressie from Emma and an "unusual" one from my friends at LA Fitness...
12th January 2010 09:26:57
Happy Birthday Rob.More than anything else, I'm worried about my hands. Before the race started, Pete did say how it was his biggest problem in the last race, which he won. His was ten..
11th January 2010 20:53:19
Over the next couple of days I'm rowing for some special people. Tomorrow is for Robin Dinning and the following day for Virginia Collins (my big sister!) Rob's birthday 12th, Virginia's on 13th and...my birthday on the 14th. Stuart and his crew on Aurora have said they will try to visit me and wave ba..
10th January 2010 09:51:22
The wind eventually came in last night, but from the NW! Although it was soft, I still had to re-consider my course and strategy...
9th January 2010 20:05:41
I've been straight lining on 230 degrees for a couple of days now. The wind has completely disappeared and the wind vane on my transom is going around in circles...
8th January 2010 13:15:45
After being stuck on the para anchor for nearly a day, the wind eventually changed towards the north and I was able to get moving again...
6th January 2010 16:11:47
I'm definately in another world. The start for the race went well, I manoeuvred into a good seaward position and off I went...
3rd January 2010 22:39:16
This is my last blog from land. It's 1900hrs and I'm sitting in my boat doing final things like checking my route waypoints, stowing away provisions and generally taking it easy...
2nd January 2010 10:55:55
There are about 48 hours left on this Island. It is a remarkable place full of interesting characters! Take the local barman, Manola who should have been an entertainer, not an ex professional footballer...
31st December 2009 23:16:57
WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR 2010. Good luck with all your new year's resolutions. My new year's resolution will be to play my guitar more, run more with Emma and learn how to keep everyone happy at the same time!There was an official registration meeting for all rowers in the Town Hall yesterday, at which time we were weighed in. I am a stag..
30th December 2009 23:57:01
It's been really difficult to say the least. Here I am still in La Gomera after nearly a month of being on standby to race across the Atlantic Ocean...
23rd December 2009 19:12:51
Tonight is my last with the family. We are having a quiet night in and opening a few pressies. The taxi will pick me up at four thirty in the morning and I shall be back in La Gomera tomorrow afternoon...
19th December 2009 21:31:24
I hear through the grapevine that there are now seven solo rowers due to set off across the Atlantic on the 29th December...
13th December 2009 13:28:22
I find myself sitting in the departure lounge waiting to go home and not on the oars at sea. I have tears of frustration and all the emotions are kicking in...
9th December 2009 12:40:12
For all my sponsors, supporters and followers, I am so sorry this blog is being written in the confines of an apartment overlooking the Atlantic ocean and not actually from sea, but there is nothing I can do about it...
8th December 2009 16:56:53
With 36 hours to go, I find myself all alone again and missing Emma. However, I've had a really productive day...
6th December 2009 10:03:18
Today is supposed to be start day, but as you are aware, we are still waiting for flares to turn up. Hopefully this will be on Tuesday as promised by W..
2nd December 2009 15:51:04
Emma, my wife, joined me yesterday and it was like Christmas as she had a whole load of goodies I needed for the boat...
30th November 2009 09:35:40
If the truth be known, I am nursing a hangover from being with the other solo rowers last night at The Blue Marlin Bar...
27th November 2009 09:04:46
It's nine thirty in the evening and I'm sitting in my boat at Puerto de la Gomera. I've just been on the phone to my sisters and look forward to seeing them out here next week...
25th November 2009 10:05:36
Charlie writes...
I've been out in La Gomera since Saturday and the whole circus is in town, so to speak. There are thirty two boats, sixty four competitors, event organisers everywhere, landrovers, cranes, ocean going support vessels, flag..
20th November 2009 21:20:06
It's been a long programme. Alot of tears and alot of joy. Alot of luck and alot of training. Alot of support and alot of critisism, but it's now time to go and meet my boat again and do some rowing...
18th November 2009 18:11:16
The last week has been a whirlwind. Not only the weather, but I've just realised all the different things that have happened in such a short space of time...
15th November 2009 15:16:58
I just can't believe it's true, but yesturday evening's fund raising dinner at The Raj Mahal raised over £6,700 for charity...
13th November 2009 19:19:20
Alot has happened this week. An email from our shippers on Monday to say the ship has been delayed due to bad weather, but that my boat will arrive in time was an anxious message! However, I fully trust them to get my boat to The Canaries before I arrive next week!
I've more or less come to the end of my training period so what has been achieved? After the Marathon des Sables, I was a 75kg whippet with a knackered left leg. Six mo..
3rd November 2009 20:15:00
At least for a short time. On Monday, I handed over my 5.75m "InsureandGo" rowing boat to the shippers and hope to see her again in a few weeks time after our separate journeys to La Gomera...
1st November 2009 18:12:25
Yes, it is true. Last night Cathy Herring organised a Halloween Fund raising Dinner and Auction at the Royal Burnham Yacht Club to raise funds for our charity in memory of Shaun Mcleod Jones...
26th October 2009 18:31:12
The Facebook link has been updated and shows further information and interaction, so please click on the top right hand Facebook widget and see for yourself...
25th October 2009 21:31:44
It has taken the best part of six months to prepare my boat, but for the first time it is absolutely ready together with all the provisions I will need whilst at sea...
5th October 2009 22:01:27
I'm going to keep this short as Muggins here has lost the last four Blog entries over the last month! Don't ask me why, but when you sit down and create three wonderful paragraphs of facts, humour and porkies over an hour, press the wrong button and it all buggers off into oblivion, tears of hatred and rage start rolling down your face...
25th September 2009 22:31:49
On Tuesday 29th September there will be a Press Day organised by my main sponsor InsureandGo. It will be on the River Thames and hosted by HMS President just down river from Tower Bridge...
4th September 2009 21:05:48
It's nearly 2100hrs out here. I'm now anchored in a sheltered area, but the wind is howling and it's very dark...
30th July 2009 21:37:54
As another month goes by, I can't believe how much there is stil to do and very little time! 128 days until the start, but only half that until I have to pack up the boat for shipping to The Canaries...
6th July 2009 19:09:27
Big Steve (Freddie's Godfather) has sorted out the electronics and found the fault with my VHF set...
25th June 2009 21:54:49
A great morning. The feeling of coming away with something big, like walking out of a shop without having bought anything! Great...
24th June 2009 21:08:21
You wouldn't know how frustrated I have been lately. I can get over most things, if not by reason, then with brute force! I have not been able to "suss" the steering system on my boat, until last Saturday...
14th June 2009 21:58:23
What a glorious day we had on Saturday. Far from sweating it out on the oars at sea somewhere, I found myself drinking tea with lovely old ladies behind the Village Church...
11th June 2009 11:43:13
I've had the boat out in the North Sea and spent a few nights on board. I think there is a tiny bit of video coverage on Utube, not your North face of the Eigar though...
11th June 2009 11:00:00
I thought it best to leave the blog for a while, otherwise it becomes less interesting? Anyway, since the beginning of May, so much has happened in terms of business, projects, training and so on...
10th May 2009 21:35:21
It's been a while since I blogged, but the last few weeks have been like running in quicksand! So many things to think about and action, but I'm not getting there! I've got too much on and have decided I need help...
20th April 2009 22:04:26
"Hi Charlie, the switch turned up this morning, I've finished the wiring and tested the solar panels in the afternoon sun...
12th April 2009 11:12:26
I would just like to say a big THANK YOU to all of those lovely people who have been sending me messages of support over the last few weeks...
12th April 2009 08:52:58
I flue out to Morocco not really knowing what to expect. I arrived in Ourzazate along with ..
25th March 2009 21:46:25
I first thought about running the MdS about 12 years ago and now here I am about to jump on a plane to Morocco for the 24th Marathon des Sables...
23rd March 2009 22:12:20
I just can't believe I've come down with a throat and chest infection. Again! Only 4 months after the last one! I've been laid up all weekend, but the antibiotics are kicking in now and I'm feeling a bit better...
7th March 2009 07:50:06
It's great to see a little more light at the end of the day and to see all the buds coming out. Roll on Spring...
18th February 2009 21:45:01
Soren and Jo organized a telephone interview on Antonia Brickell's Drive time show last Monday at 5...
8th February 2009 20:38:24
I've just got back from a great day, so I thought I would tell you about it. Woke up about 1000, had cooked breakfast and read the papers until the Wales v Scotland match, got drunk and went to bed...
28th January 2009 22:01:52
Last weekend was great. We launched James and Oli's boat in Burnham, then I raced them up the river to the Ferry Boat Inn at Fambridge...
14th January 2009 22:31:54
Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear meeeeee, happy birthday to me!
Let's not mention how old! Everything is going well indeed. Howard..
6th January 2009 21:50:17
My feet are freezing, it's -7°C and I'm thinking "this time next year I will be nice and warm and cozy somewhere in Mid Atlantic (hopefully)"...
1st January 2009 20:40:21
Happy New Year everyone. I hope you have some good resolutions in place and that your 2009 will be happy and exciting one...
22nd December 2008 21:37:38
Picked the wrong shift after my last blog! I've been horizontal and off training for 13 days, I've shrivelled up and all my hard work has gone backwards 2 months and down 3 kilos! Pretty ****ed off, but what can you do? I blame all those lowsy people who commute to work giving their ***t to others when they should be in bed!!
To make things easier on myself, last night I designed my own sleeping bag from PHD and ordered it online. How co..
13th December 2008 22:15:27
I went down to Cornwall last weekend to meet Phil and Jamie and go over the construction. "Insure and Go" is looking amazing...
29th November 2008 21:42:14
I took the family to the boatshow today. It was perfect weather for it, cold and drizzly! Very interesting, I saw no fewer than four different Ocean rowing boats, other boats ( as you would expect ), racing cars, racing powerboats, a huge stand for modelling animals in clay, open to all, a lap dancing stand (advertising their club in London) with models, yeah...
27th November 2008 22:12:37
The boat construction is coming along and I'm ordering all sorts of parts and having them sent down to Devon where she (we always call boats "she"!) is being created...
18th November 2008 21:29:22
For the benefit of those who don't know what "Fartlek" means, it is a Swedish term for speed play! This is what you do when you go and run for fun! But now I have invented a truly new sport based on it's Swedish predecessor...
16th November 2008 20:20:22
Let's be honest, with the damp drizzly weather, grey skies, and the current affairs going on, I find it really, really difficult to get motivated about training...
11th November 2008 22:31:44
Folks, we are so close (but that feels so far away) to breaking news, but I've still got to wait. I've got no finger nails left! Watch this space...
10th November 2008 21:32:51
Still getting over October! Well I've just got back from doing a Sea Survival course with KTY Yachts on the Hamble River and I promise Yvonne and Keith could not have squeezed any more into it...
1st November 2008 09:55:41
It's the 1st of November and am I glad to have got through October. What happened? Apart from my day job, I squeezed in 6 x potential Sponsor presentations, 1 x RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory Certificate (this takes 5 x days in a classroom for anyone), 3 x day trip to Palma, 1 x Live BBC Radio interview, About 100k running, 70k rowing, 2 x dinner parties and to finish it off nicely...
26th October 2008 19:42:15
I passed ! Big box ticked. " With a little help from my friends", special thanks to Neil Burgess at East Anglian Sea School in Levington Marina...
24th October 2008 22:01:34
Hope you all think the "new look" website is informative and interesting. I must thank my cousin David for all his hard work and effort over the last 6 months...
23rd October 2008 09:30:00
I'm sitting in Palma Airport waiting for a delayed Ryanair flight to arrive in order to take me home! So I'm treating this as an exercise about controlling your attitude when you can't do anything about the situation...
7th October 2008 17:34:00
Michael emailed me yesterday. He said "The world has changed in the last two weeks". Whilst waiting for my early morning train, Andy said "There have been as much M and A's in the last two weeks as we normally see over a decade"...
