LATEST UPDATE 19th May 1056BST
OK, the back-up tracker has been deployed and registered. We’re still not sure what’s wrong with the original one but the map should now revert to updating every two hours. Shore Support’s spoken to Charlie this morning and all’s OK. Video blog to follow!
LATEST UPDATE 18th May 1928BST
Unaware that the Yellowbrick wasn’t working, Charlie sent us this blog earlier today:
LATEST UPDATE 18th May 1816BST
Still working on the Yellowbrick tracker…in the meantime, here’s Charlie at 0844BST to say thank you to some generous donors:
It’s fantastic to be out here on the Pacific Ocean (even better when I’m making progress, not being pushed backwards) and it’s amazing to know that you kind people continue to donate towards my chosen charities. As I write this, I am in my cabin, protected from the cold and the rain. I’m in some low pressure, with high winds pushing me west… This is the frustrating part, but it’s just a minor set back in the big scheme of things. On the positive side, I received an email update from Shore Support with details of all those who have been kind enough to donate via justgiving.com/pacific2012, towards my fundraising target of £50k. Here are my thanks to you.
- A massive thank you to my friend from school days Jess Ryan (nee Withal) and all those at All Saints School, York for your huge donation.
- A very big thank you to my friend and former colleague, Jake McQueen (and Tracy, Stanley and Katie) for your very kind donation.
- Thank you also to Dr Peter Workman & Team at Affinity (thanks also for the goodies!)
- former Army buddy Dave Meenan
- Phil Colquhoun (am flying the REYC burgee)
- and also to Yvonne Stubbs and Ash Medical, who supplied all my necessary medical equipment for this challenge
- Thank you to Ian and Jo Huggett, Wendy Barnett, Mark Dankloff, Camilla Oakley, Renee Lamb, Phil Harris, Kathleen Homfray, Jay and Faye Goss, Christina Bassadone and Katie Marsden.
Your donations will make a difference and are gratefully received.
Best regards from Charlie & Blossom @ 0515hrs, 36o 33.774’ N, 151o 45.557’ E
LATEST UPDATE 18th May 1428BST
You might have noticed that Charlie’s position on the map hasn’t changed. There’s no concern; we spoke with him at 0900hrs this morning and he has no issues, other than an easterly wind and a problem with current that caught his para-anchor and dragged him westwards. Winds have now calmed and he was expecting to make better headway today, recovering some of those lost miles.
Our concern lies with his tracking device. This is a GPS unit that is configured to send an automatic message every two hours, comprising his co-ordinates, the time, temperature, bearing and altitude (shown when you click on the map points below), plus some extra information to which only Shore Support has access. We’re not sure why this isn’t working, but the last transmission was received at 0300BST. Of course, we’ve spoken to him and had communication since then; the issue is only with the transmitter. Charlie probably won’t be aware that it’s playing up, so we’ll have to wait until we can raise him by ‘phone again. Meanwhile we’re liaising with the technical team this end to make sure it’s not a more mundane problem with internet data transmission somewhere else in the loop.
We’ll keep you posted.
LATEST UPDATE 17th May 2007BST
Hmm. We’ll have to wait for the distance figures to be compiled at 2100hrs but it’s evident Charlie’s lost some miles today. Weather problems hit again (rather than mermaids, we hope). We’ll keep you updated as we find out more, as soon as we speak to him. He might tweet about it, of course…
While you’re waiting, here’s two videos to watch: today’s video blog, plus some bonus footage of the pod of dolphins that kept Charlie company while he was rowing. Listen carefully and you can hear them laugh…just hoping they’re laughing with Charlie, not AT him…
LATEST UPDATE 17th May 1311BST
OK, so while Charlie’s busy at the oars, Shore Support’s been busy with the website. Just as all the dot-Gogglers out there find it difficult not to log in to Pacific 2012 (the website’s served up 36,500 pages already this month) several times a day, so too are we finding it difficult not to keep adding the news and information and videos that come back from Charlie and Blossom.
But we’ve a solution for you, if not for us. We’ve a newsletter. It’s called Pacific Specific and some of you might have already seen it. That was the trial version; now it’s back for real. You can sign up here.
BE WARNED: dot Goggling can become addictive. Sign up to the newsletter at your own risk; you might find you’re spending even more time tracking Charlie…
(If you’ve posted a message on the website, then your e-mail address has been added to the list. If you don’t wish to receive the mailing, there will be an unsubscribe link in each e-mail).
LATEST UPDATE 16th May 2347BST
Shore Support just received the following message from Charlie:
“60nm DMG – excellent. Amazing what a few hours of rowing can do 
Was such an amazing day, unlike the grey of today. C’est la vie!
Glad people appreciated the fish!”
The 60nm Charlie refers to masks the more impressive statistic: the 72 miles he actually covered. It’s an impressive feat, put into context by this message earlier today from Chris Martin:
“72 miles! Damn man that beats our personal best for 24 hours of 70.7! Go well.”
Chris and his rowing partner Mick Dawson became the first pair to row across the Pacific in 2009, following the same route as Charlie. They were at sea for 189 days in ‘Bojangles’.
Charlie’s just sent some more video footage to Shore Support: Rumney High School in Cardiff tweeted him and here’s his thankyou…
Next to feature on the ‘video blog special’ will be All Saints’ School, York. It’s one of the schools Charlie visited on his ‘Blossom’ tour earlier this year; they raised an impressive £611.83 for Charlie’s charities. What’s more impressive still is that they helped to take Charlie’s fundraising total to…
…£11,000!
That’s £1,000 more than when he left Choshi 12 days ago. What do we reckon to making it another £1,000 12 days hence?
LATEST UPDATE 15th May 2155BST
Stats just in…and what a great day Charlie’s had! He and Blossom have covered a total of 72 miles…which means that tomorrow, all things allowing, should see him through the first significant marker – the sub-4000 mile line! So to the Dot-Gogglers, line watchers and all of you coming along for the ride, let’s have your messages and Tweets to congratulate him and spur him on for a run of similar days. After all, he’s got a record to break – and £££ to raise (congratulatory donations through Justgiving very much appreciated too!)
Blossom-mail delivery (12th May – delayed in transit!)
Dear Alistair, Great to hear from you. I do have your book with me and my sister also wrote your previous email onto the ceiling of my cabin. So, your strong words of encouragement are very much with me. It’s not been easy so far, but I am sure it could have been much, much harder. The harder days are yet to come, but it’s fine. I’m waiting for them. I hope you’re well Alistair. Have a great weekend (are you off dancing?) Charlie.
Hi Valerie, All ok thanks. Blossom is awesome. She’s been battered consistently by waves and still we plod on. I trained on the ergo 6 years ago, prior to my Atlantic Row. It wasn’t the best way to train (2 hours on, 1 hour off, 1 hour on daily) as my right elbow became damaged through repetitive strain injury. Callouses are taking their time… they’re being bashful, but they will show themselves in due course. You see? Being in London is probably more dangerous than being out here! Hope you’re all fixed up soon. Have a great weekend. Cx
Hi Hels, Thanks for your messages. Mentally I’m fine thanks – I talk to myself and to Blossom from time to time but am ok thanks. I like your ”mindfulness” info. Interesting. I will certainly keep it in mind for when the down days come… as I’m sure they will. Only two blisters on two blisters ate the moment. Nothing to worry about. It would have been Adrian retweeting you. Cx
Hi Harry, Great to hear from you and thanks for your kind words. You know more so than many others, that this is just the beginning… still a long way to go yet. That said, although I’m alone, I don’t feel lonely. So many messages of support it’s overwhelming! Beaulieu brings back military nightmares for me… on the Army Compressed Air Divers Course as was, we spent an afternoon at Beaulieu in our dry suits, being beasted through the mud. Ah fun times! Please pass my best to Sam and indeed to Dee. I hope we can reach £50 – £25k for Toe. Cheers Harry. Charlie
Hi Rick, Laura, William, It certainly has been blowing hard. It’s eased off a bit for now, but the wind direction isn’t due to change until Monday, then I hope I can start making some mileage NE. Blossom is indeed providing me with safety and relative comfort. It would of course be amazing to see you in SF. I realise you may not make it but fingers crossed buddy. Regards to all. Cheers, Charlie
Ben, thanks. I hope you have a great weekend at Shore Cottage. Am thinking of you, looking out across the water… I’m looking right back at you! Take care, Charlie
Hi Sarah & Gulliver, Sunday? Excellent. I hope you get a good weather window and a safe departure from Choshi. All the best from the big blue Charlie
& Blossom x
Hi Benjie, All ok here thanks. Thanks for your support and kind words. Hope you’re well. All the best, Charlie
Hi Adam, Great to hear from you. Ah the loop… I was (un)reliably informed that there were mermaids in the area… I thought it would be rude not to check it out! Hope you enjoyed your time in Gloucestershire. All the best,Charlie
LATEST UPDATE 15th May 2027BST
For all you dot-gogglers out there, it’s time to get serious. Shore Support Devon (Tony) reports that with the improving weather, we should expect to see some further rapid progress across the map. At the time of writing, we’re expecting Charlie to have foregone his blissful calm weather as per the blog below; instead he’s likely to have strapped himself back into the sleeping bag and bracing himself against southerly winds of 30knots and more. We expect those to last until 0600 tomorrow morning, so it’s unlikely he’ll be getting much sleep tonight! But it’ll drop down again tomorrow morning, which we hope will allow Charlie another day on the oars to make further progress east.
“Combined with the freshening southerly breeze, I expect Charlie will achieve a better COG and corresponding DMG [check the Stats page to understand the lingo!],” says Tony. ”Soon, the current makes a big dive south so if the strong southerly wind doesn’t blow him out of the current, we’ll need Charlie to put in some effort rowing NE to break himself free of the ‘magic carpet’ he’s been sitting on since leaving Choshi.”
