Day 135
Fedor via the Iridium satellite phone: “It’s early Wednesday morning. I was hoping that by today there would only be 1000 miles left until Brisbane. Unfortunately, at about 1011 miles mark, the wind became westerly, pushing back me towards east. The day has just begun, but I already lost three miles. Tourgoyak and I got caught in between two different weather fronts. The wind here is blowing counter clock-wise: from north to west, and later, it is expected to switch from south-west to south-east. My course was at 250, but with this wind starting to turn against me, it became 220-200-180. Right now, as I speak, the bow of my boat is pointing in south-east direction. The ocean is just not letting me through. It keeps me in these latitudes, and I can’t proceed westward. I must accept the situation and wait it out. The ocean is great at teaching you how to accept something that is out of your control, and you have to play by its rules, otherwise you won’t make it.
The weather is foul with a constant cold drizzle. The swells are large, three to four meters high. The ocean’s throng makes me slightly seasick. It’s impossible to work on oars; the boat is pitching from side to side. I’m going sit tight and let the boat drift until the weather improves. I’m at the 28th degree of the Southern Latitude. That means I’m moving too far south, away from Brisbane. There is New Zealand island, Norfolk, in about 230 miles from me.
I pulled a map of Australia and New Caledonia. Looking at the map I can’t help but think that if I were on a good sail boat, the distance of 1000 miles could’ve been covered in just four days. On a solo row boat, the same distance could take me a month. When the land is so near it feels as if not only your boat, but the time as well move very slowly. It’s normal to feel impatient; however, I must be extremely careful and attentive. There is no room for a mistake. The ocean is not very keen on forgiving mistakes. I’m with you. Fedor”.
The weather forecast from Buoyweather.com
The map of the Tourgoyak’s course: http://yb.tl/konyukhov2
The detailed map of the course: www.oceanrowing.com/Konyukhov/Pacific2013/dist_map.htm
Translated by Tatiana Koreski