Since our last ocean rowing roundup, Dave Bell has been inching ever closer to Australia, and a second soloist has taken to the Pacific Ocean.
Dave ‘Dinger’ Bell (UK): Bell is undertaking the longest ever unsupported single-stage row. Starting last November from Peru, he is attempting to reach Mauritius. That means crossing two oceans on a single expedition.
After three months at sea, and slightly ahead of schedule, he noticed the toll the row was taking on his body. He decided to slow his pace and allow himself more sleep. Despite this, he still progressed faster than anticipated.
At the start of March, he had to reduce his pace even more, down to 75km/day, this time because of the weather. Because of the length of the row, Bell has to factor in the changing seasons and weather so that he hits the Torres Strait at the right time.
Stalling for time, he rowed for only one hour daily for several days, then drifted the rest of the time. You might think that would be a welcome break after months at sea, but Bell found it incredibly boring. To fill his time, he caught up on all his maintenance jobs. Then he watched the wildlife around the boat.
Dave Bell. Photo: Instagram
At the start of April, everything suddenly changed from flat calm to rain, swells, and headwinds. Suddenly, he had to ramp up his rowing from one hour a day to 11 hours. Still, he made little forward progress and had to use the para-anchor to keep from drifting in the wrong direction.
Throughout, the heat in his cabin has been sweltering, almost unbearable. He has to drink around eight liters of water a day to stay hydrated. Now he is waiting for a weather system to move so that he can start picking his way across the Coral Sea.
At the moment, he is in the Pacific Ocean, drawing near Australia. From there, the point at which most rowers stop, he will continue through the Torres Strait into the Indian Ocean, and then on to Mauritius. After 155 days, he has covered 11,200km of the 24,000km journey — almost half.
Chris Barbin (U.S.): Barbin is rowing across the North Pacific Ocean from Monterey, California, to Punta Mita in Mexico. After six weeks at sea, beginning on March 28, he has covered 44 percent of the 2,400km journey.
At first, he had almost perfect conditions, and the most unsettling aspect was the shipping traffic. He could hear foghorns coming from different directions, and at one point, his ALS went off in the middle of the night.
In April, the weather took a turn for the worse, and he had to battle headwinds, barely moving forward. Overnight, Barbin struggled to sleep because of boat movement and fretting about his lost mileage as he rested.
April 8, after 12 days of rowing, Barbin crossed into Mexican waters. The milestone bolstered his spirits, and since then, he has made much better progress. In the last few days, the wind has died down completely, making everything easier, both physically and mentally.
