State of health and wellness
Day: 25, Odometer: 873M
Distance from start: 767M
Position: N29d21’ W128d13’
Nearest land: Pt Conception, 499M due 050T
Waikiki Yacht Club: 1675M due 260T
Solo career total: 869 days
Overall career total: 953 days
It was the day before yesterday that I received my first wind forecast consisting of all NNE. Yesterday, I began to see 15-knot NE breeze predictions among those NNE. This is perfect to remain on course. In fact, last night my rowboat traveled 22.5M in the right direction while I slept. I am now well west of the wind dividing longitude, east of which would have taken me south into trouble. This is a wonderful reward of hard work, processing and acting on the timely information by Jason Christensen at Racing the Wind (https://racingthewind.com).
Hurricane Felicia is gathering 800M southwest of me but it is too far away to worry about just yet. The letter F means that it is already the sixth tropical storm named this season. This level of activity though is of concern and we are closely monitoring.
Until now it has been mission critical to let the rowboat run unhindered to break free of the coastal flow of wind and current. Likely in another few days, when I am well established in the trade winds, I will begin gathering sound data with the hydrophone that NOAA scientist Dr Jay Barlow provided. More on that when I deploy the device.
My state of health on this plywood island is fine. I have had no skin issues like what some ocean rowers refer to as “pizza butt,” where irritated hair follicles on the rower’s bum turn red, swollen and achy, sometimes even turning into a full on infected boil. Constant friction with the rowing seat initiates the problem, poor hygiene and salt water exacerbate it. Rinsing with fresh water and taking extra care for hygiene certainly helps. I also carry medicated cream which works wonders.
Sun exposure has not been as much of a concern yet given the constant cloud cover that I’ve had on these cold waters due to the nutrient rich upwelling along California shores. The water temperature at Crescent City was 54F (12C) and by now it has risen to 67F (19C). This means no more condensation in the cabin from my breathing or drying clothes. The wind also has less of a chill; so fewer layers while rowing now provide more freedom of movement, reducing chafing as well during that repetitive movement.
One failure that I had early on was letting my right hand get blisters. To avoid blisters, first one must learn to use an open grip on the oar handles. Normally I would row with bare hands until a hot spot develops in my palm or fingers. Then I must put on a glove BEFORE this has a chance to blister. The next morning, I again would start without a glove, monitoring for hot spots, wearing the glove again when that warm sensation returns which always precedes a blister. This allows the skin to toughen gradually preparing me to never need the glove.
This time I was so preoccupied fighting the persistent NW and WNW winds down the shore, constantly pulling harder on the port side oar, that blisters just developed . So I put a glove on that hand and modified to even more of an open grip to not fold the same section of skin in my palm. I kept the right hand in the glove while rowing for 10 days to give my body the chance to reabsorb the fluids, leaving behind properly calloused skin. By now that glove is off.
I have had no sea sickness issues on this crossing. I suppose by now my lizard brain has registered the particular movement patterns of my rowboat and there is no ill reaction when I drive her back out to sea.
Let’s hope that my trend of wellness continues.
Erden