At 7:30am we were all rowing again. It had rained since 2am and would continue to rain until 5pm. We had rowed 20 miles (23 statute miles, 37 km) yesterday.
TEN MILES THAT FELT LIKE A HUNDRED
The 5.5h and 10 miles (11.5 statute miles, 18.5 km) to Douglas Island were absolutely dreadful. The swell and winds had gone down but the adverse currents were killing us. Struggled to make 2 knots most of the time. Of course, as if fate wanted to spite us, we started making above 3 knots with zero effort on the last 2 miles.
WELCOME COMMITTEE
Douglas Island welcomed us with a committee of around two dozen seals and calm waters in a safe and easy-to-find anchoring location next to a pebble beach and near cliffs.
COLD, DAMP, MISTY
We all changed into dry clothes, but it kept on raining and drizzling, so after a 4h shift the new clothes were no longer dry. Leven had warned me before I left for Cambridge Bay, that the usual waterproofs aren’t of much use at sea. You need proper oils.
GORETEX VS OILS
Having failed at finding suitable oils in my size online, I ended up buying a jacket in Cambridge Bay for the equivalent of £100. There were no pants available. In essence the jacket is like a 2mm thick, jacket-sized rubber bag with zero ventilation, but it keeps 100% of the water out. In turn you sweat like in a sauna, even if you are cold and don’t move much.
SANDWICH PAPER
My £575 Goretex Pro expedition jacket and £600 Goretex Pro expedition salopettes turned out to be as useful as sandwich paper to protect against 24h+ continuous exposure to drizzle. The fabric of both got completely soaked.
