Expeditions / My Story
The raw archive — 106 dispatches written from the boat, the training ground, and everywhere in between, 2009-2014.
27 June 2014
Monster learning, minor winds
A short bus ride from the airport bought the crew to Ocean village, the Southamton home of Monster Project. We received a friendly welcome from the full time crew who had just com…
20 June 2014
Whats that coming over the hill...
Yes its a Monster, a 70 foot carbon fiber Monster!! Its fast and apparently a little bit wet on deck! But it is all for a great cause, Care for Shane. Clic…
5 May 2014
Round I Go Again!
I often get asked, so whats next?, where you off to this time? and recently the answer has been, nothing at the moment, just focusing on my studies and getting my Masters finished.…
18 March 2014
Adventures in Africa
Once upon a time I was a wannabe mountaineer, with a poster of Everest on my wall and an unquenchable thirst for mountain adventures, heading off to the hills around Ireland when I…
5 March 2013
Jinxed!
A grey day on the water today but a nice paddle all the same. It is great therapy after a long day of mental exercise in college!
4 March 2013
Back in the boat
After a break for the winter I am back in training in the sea kayak for the next expedition, which is only just over 3 weeks away!
14 August 2012
The Battle of Belfast Lough
Over the previous few days the tide had played a big part in my progress and had been major the factor which determined how many miles I would make each day. I knew this would be …
10 July 2012
Into the North
As much as I was nervous about travelling in the remote areas of North Donegal I was more nervous about travelling in Northern Ireland. Having never travelled much in this part of…
10 July 2012
Over the top
The South and West coast were all somewhat familiar to me and I was always in close range to friends or family. When I moved into the northwest I had expected to be isolated and l…
3 July 2012
Cutting corners
My college education was pretty varied and among the things we studied we learned about theories of learning and philosophies of adventure, some of which I remember. One particul…
3 July 2012
Wear and Tear
Being awakened by rain on the tent is one thing, being awakened by rain on you face is an entirely other. But that is the joy of bivvying, at about 04:30 I woke to drops of rain o…
29 June 2012
The Teddy Bears arm
Slyne head is yet another of the major tidal gates on this trip miss the tide and it not a pleasant place to be. I woke from my tented slumber early to make sure I could make a cl…
22 June 2012
A Whale of a time
Getting across Dingle bay is no mean feat and after being defeated by the wind a couple of days earlier I was determined to get across today. A light head wind restricted my speed…
22 June 2012
Diversion
In September 1998 I boarded a train in Dublin to head west and start a new chapter in my life. Little did I know at the time that it was to be one of the most significant chapters…
12 June 2012
Going round the bend
Getting moving again was such a great feeling and not only was I moving I was feeling strong and had fair conditions. Originally I had set Cape Clear as my target after Castletown…
12 June 2012
Why the H?
Sitting and pondering was always was inevitable on this trip, be it in my boat, in my tent or in this case in a pub in Castletownshend. But why the ’h’ surely it should simply be …
11 June 2012
The story of the first 3 days...
I set off on this journey in good spirits confident that I was well prepared mentally and physically. I waved off the last farewell boat containing my Dad, Brother and Uncle as I …
4 June 2012
T minus 10 hours
After a hectic few days which has included a few hundred miles on the roads around Ireland and the small matter of my little brothers wedding, which was a magical affair and a spec…
30 May 2012
Rescue ready
Last night I had to practice the skills I hope not to have to use on the trip around Ireland. Since I bought the boat people especially those who do a little bit of kayaking keep …
20 May 2012
Tick Tock
This time 2 weeks it will be the eve of the start and there will be no more time to train or prepare. And for that reason the next 2 weeks will be crazy!!! [caption id='attachm…
7 May 2012
Time to ponder
Definition of PONDER transitive verb 1 : to weigh in the mind : appraise < ponder ed their chances of success> 2 : to think about : reflect on < ponder ed th…
4 May 2012
Where has all the time gone?
Today marks the one month to go for the start of my next big adventure and the biggest solo expedition of my life. I have been planning expeditions and adventures for years so I …
27 March 2012
Spring into training
This week has brought some unseasonally good weather and with the clocks going forward I have stepped up my training as it is now only 10 weeks to the start of my big kayaking adve…
9 March 2012
2 years on....
It is hard to imagine that this time 2 years ago I had a beard and a tan and a sore back and a tired body and was filled with that bitter sweet emotion of knowing that another life…
15 April 2010
Ode to an Ocean Rower
It is amazing to think I am back over a month now and at this stage much of the adventure has faded into a distant memory. The month has flown by in a haze of work, training, func…
30 March 2010
New Beginnings
The past few weeks have been frantic, after a great few days of catching up chilling out and sleeping in Barbados we flew home to a fantastic welcome in Dublin airport. It was quite surreal to have so many family and friends awaiting my arrival in the terminal. It was fantastic to see everybody and I really appreciate the effort they all went to to travel all the way to Dublin.
22 March 2010
Home Sweet Home!
It seems like a long time since I pulled my last strokes propelling Sara G every closer to our final destination of Port St. Charles. Our journey although amazing was certainly lo…
10 March 2010
LIVE WEBCAM FROM BARBADOS
March 11th - Mike and the crew of the Sara G have landed safe and happy in Barbados after 57 days and 20 hours at sea. He will no doubt update the site once he has a sleep!…
10 March 2010
Podcast 10
Hi All, Mike Talks about the roller coaster 48 hours they have had on the Sara G. He sounds very positive and upbeat about the fact that they will be with family and friends before the week is out. If you haven't done so already, don't forget to Donate!
7 March 2010
Podcast 9 Day 54
Hi Folks, What a Huge Day! The Sara G Broke 5000kms distance travelled. They have (as of yesterday) only 275 nautical miles, so 500km to go now!! The first arrivals of the welcome party will touch down in Barbados tomorrow (the easy way, by plane!) with the rest not far behind within the following few days. Tick Tock... not far to go now!
4 March 2010
Podcast 7
Mike Jones talks about activities on the Sara G.
4 March 2010
Podcast 8
Mike talks in depth about his weight issues. He discusses the percentage of body fat he has and the fact that his heart rate is super human. Some of us here believe that possibly Mike and the crew have rowed through some sort of force field and that they no longer have human blood in their veins. We will have to wait a few days to see! (Only joking of course)
1 March 2010
Podcast From the Atlantic
Mikes latest Podcast from the Sara G. On a side note, things appear to be going well for the crew of the Sara G with their pace picking up slightly and weather conditions l…
1 March 2010
Day 48
Donate now to help Mikes Charities as he races towards the end of this epic journey in a rowing boat across the Atlantic aboard the Sara G! Please donate now!
25 February 2010
I would Row 1000 miles!
So the Sara G is getting ever closer to Barbados! Less than 1000 miles to go now. Mike talks about a busy few days aboard the Sara G in his latest podcast
22 February 2010
Day 36
Podcast from Mike on Day 36 live from the Sara G, edging ever closer to Barbados! In fairness to the crew of the Sara G, they have been through a lot. Day 36 Podcast
22 February 2010
Day 37 - War with Flying Fish
News updates live from the Sara G. Podcast live from the Sara G on Day 37 of the mikejones.ie voyage across the Atlantic.
22 February 2010
Day 38
Mike talks about what he misses most from home as well as answering other questions about life on board the Sara G.
9 February 2010
Day 27 Thanks to Peli
Sunday saw us wrap up a weekend of good sunshine and decent mileage. We are now cruising along and the boat feels so smooth through the water, this is due to a good scrub of the boat. Mylene and Matt took the opportunity of calm conditions to jump in and clean of the barnacles which had began to accumulate on the hull. It is amazing how different the boat feels after the scrub. At this stage we would all probably feel pretty good after a good scrub! The weekend also flew by as I had my music back. It was so nice to be able to sit on deck with my Mp3 player safely tucked away in its water proof Peli case. All the crew was provided with a waterproof Peli case by Niall at http://www.peli.ieto make sure our music players stay dry and safe even in the roughest of conditions out on deck. So far they have performed great and it is cool to see the 3 cases lined up on the deck at night as everybody bops there head to the music of their choice, Matt even treats us to random bursts of lyrics from his favorite songs. It is so sporadic and loud it helps keep me awake which is useful at 5.30am!
8 February 2010
Day 25 - Dolphins - Friend or Foe?
Happy days, sun shine, dolphins and my music player which has not worked for 3 weeks came back to life! What a great day the rowing was pretty nice all day with a light tail wind small swell and beautiful sunshine, these are the days that make this so worthwhile. If you could bottle and sell the feeling of being out here surrounded by only blue ocean slipping effortlessly through the water with the wind on the stern and the sun on your back you could make a fortune. One small glitch in the day, the moments that remind us of how significant we are out here, came between 4-5pm when the wind shifted slightly to the south east and increased to a mere 10-15mph. It was the longest hour of the day as Pedro, Peter and I rowed our hearts out to barely stand still, in the end we started to go backwards at 1mph, heading north! Thankfully a slight course correction along with a minor wind shift lifted the shackles and just as my shift ended the boat began to slip through the water once again. I was so excited though as my Mp3 player which ran out of battery on day 3 and since then refused to take a charge came back to life as I plugged it into the laptop in a last ditch effort to breathe life into it. It is so great to have my own music and videos back again, although James did very kindly share his Ipod with me over the past few weeks, it is so nice to have my own tunes! The real highlight came just at sunset when a pod of Atlantic Spinner Dolphins came right up to the boat and stayed with us for about 10 minutes. Although we had seen some dolphins these guys were so close and playful you could almost touch them, they slowed right down to the speed of the boat and from inside the cabins you could hear them communicating under the water. We stopped rowing to allow them to get alongside the boat and we all chilled out for a few minutes to enjoy their company. The only problem with all these dolphins is that they are depleting our fish stocks from under the boat, hopefully they leave some Derado for us.
8 February 2010
Day 26 - Where's Barry?
Another sunny day in the Atlantic and we are back on the imaginary treadmill, the horizon never getting any closer, just surrounded by blue with no land to reference the distance we are travelling. We are however making good mileage and with the breeze increasing each day, we should finally reach half way some day this week. It has been great to have emails back as I am getting some great messages from friends, family and fans. It is really encouraging to hear all the messages of support and I look forward to reading my emails at 18:45 each day before I go back to the oars for the evening, it never fails to put a smile on my face. Keep the messages coming and if you any questions about life onboard send them on and I will do my best to answer them. I have had some requests for more pictures and video, unfortunately our internet speed is so slow it is not feasible. Our connection speed is at best 9kb/s, pretty prehistoric, only just faster than carrier pigeon! I will get all the pictures and some video clip up online as soon as I get to dry land, well after I have a pint, a steak and a good night’s sleep. We also have a new friend, as Barry seems to have disappeared or been eaten by dolphins, a fantastic electric blue Yellow Fin Tuna, he is about 2 foot long and looks tasty, so far no joy catching him though!
5 February 2010
Day 24 - Nearing Half Way
Just a quick update to say we are still making mileage in the right direction but not much else going on really. The days are hot, back up around 25degs Celsius today and the nights are a little chilly, but still in shorts though. Today should be around the half way point in days as we now expect to cross in around 48 – 50 days but the half way mileage point will not come until next Wednesday. I am really looking forward to that as we will finally have only 3 weeks to go, for the past 10 days I have been telling myself we have 3 ½ weeks so it feels like we are standing still. We are also each stock piling any orange rations to ensure we have enough to get u to the end without having to delve into the contaminated green packs, the thought of them make me feel ill.
4 February 2010
Day 17 & 18 - From the Boat
As of this evening, Friday, we are still on sea Anchor. It has been a long couple of days sitting around hoping for the wind to change. Thursday was particularly rough with gale force winds, we got throw around a lot in the cabins and with the hatches closed it gets pretty stuffy very quickly. Wednesday night we set up a watch system which involved us hot bunking so when you woke somebody to go on shift you took their bunk, this was because we only had 5 bunks in operation for the 6 of us. This resulted in both James and I having to depart the sanctuary of the bow cabin to sleep in the stern cabin. It is very wet, hot and smelly in there, as somebody keeps farting. I’m not pointing any fingers but let’s just say it isn’t any of the lads. Today Friday has been relatively calm compared to yesterday with some squalls pushing through as the cold front of the depression passes over. The winds have been up and down but we have been able to spend most of the day on deck getting some sun. We also did some more admin getting kit dried out and moving the life raft out on deck to free up the sixth bunk. Now everybody will have a proper bed for the night. According to Stokey we might have these southerly winds until Tuesday which will mean a full week on Sea anchor, Disaster! But hopefully over the next 12-24 hours as the low pressure system moves south east we will get northerly winds and will finally be able to get moving again. The one thing that has become very apparent over the past 50 something hours is that we are now on an expedition, for a while there it seemed like a holiday as we racked up the miles. Now after being pinned down for a few days and having our resolve and our patience tested I am really beginning to fell like this is a pretty big undertaking. We will relish every mile we row for here on and take nothing for granted and hopefully the weather and mighty Atlantic will grant us a safe and swift passage to Barbados to be reunited with our loved ones.
4 February 2010
Day 19 -20 From the Boat
Still on Sea anchor as of Sunday Lunch time but it looks like we only have another 24 hours to go before we finally get the wind shift we badly need. Funny thing a about the past few days is that the boat is pointing in exactly the right direction, this is due to the fact that when a boat is on anchor it will always point directly into the wind. It has been pretty boring on board so not much to report. We have had some equipment issues since we went on sea anchor, some of them have been sorted but we are still waiting to get a couple of them fixed. First up the water maker is tripping the switch when we run it on 2 pumps, we don’t know why just yet and will have to wait until Monday to talk to the electrician. Hopefully he will have an answer for us, it is not a major issue it just means it takes longer to make water on just one pump. Second problem is that after a couple of days going backwards on sea anchor the cable connecting the steering snapped. Thankfully we have a spare but it is very early in the trip to lose our primary cable. Third problem is that our satellite data connection has been down for the past few days. We can still make voice calls but it seems there is a problem with the server receiving the messages from the satellite in America. Hopefully this will also be sorted once they get back to work on Monday. In other news we have a few fish living under the boat, the first guy to arrive was a blue and black stripped guy that we have named Barry, we think he might have some friends bit we only ever see one of them at a time. Yesterday we had some more visiting fish, one of them looked like a 2 foot long tiger shark. He was pretty menacing and was circling the boat for quite a while. No sign of him today though. We are all looking forward to getting back on the oars tomorrow, only 1 more sleep!
4 February 2010
Day 21 - Moving Again
Day 21 Today was a great day, after what was the worst night on board so far. We got slammed by a big storm during the night, wind were up over Gale Force and probably gust force 9 most of the night with swell in the region of 7-8 meters. James an I got seriously thrown around in the bow cabin and had a god laugh as we would in turn get flung across on to the other , apologizing all the time although the actions were completely out of our control. Funniest of all must have been opening y eyes to look across at James and we both went airborne and levitated above our bunk for about 2 second before slamming back down as the next wave crashed in. It is probably the closest I will ever get to being in a zero gravity environment. But finally after 124 hours (over 5 days) on sea anchor we finally got moving again at 1500, what a relief. We also had a major morale boost as we caught 2 Derado fish. They have been hanging out under the boat and we didn’t think our rubber lure would catch them but with some foil from our rations and a neat whipping I dressed up our lure to make it look nice and tasty. So much so that Matt had the first fish on board after about 60 seconds and I had one hook before I even realized I had the hook in the water, like catching Mackerel back in the camber in Cobh. The Derado are a nice big fish and after I gutted and filleted them we fried them up to give everybody a tasty fresh treat. Surprising they also taste very like Mackerel. Just as morale was boosted we took our eye off the ball and a large wave crashed into the stern cabin shorting out the laptop charger an nearly toasting Mylene. Bit of the kick in the teeth but we were so glad to be moving again we didn’t let it get us down. After a couple of hours drifting down wind and sorting out the boat, bailing the hatches and resorting the food rations we got back into rowing at 8pm and it was back to the 2 on 2 off grind, at last!
4 February 2010
Day 22 - Fish Lunch
Day 22 Great to have the cabin back to myself for sleep last night, even of it was only for 2 hours at a time, it is so much cooler and you can stretch out properly. Also nice to the back rowing and making some miles although with a cross wind we are not making great miles. We should be back close to where we went on sea anchor within about 24 hours and then finally back on track for Barbados.
4 February 2010
Day 23 Back in the Groove
Day 23 Back in the groove today after a couple of days in the 2 on 2 off, feeling good and the boat is gathering speed as the wind comes around behind us at last. Chilly night last night but the past couple of days have been roasting. Good news is the laptop is back in action after Matt and Pedro took out the faulty part and rewired the mains on to the circuit board. Now we just need to be super careful with it. Great morale to have it back but no fishing today. We have decided to reward ourselves with fishing only after we make 75 miles or more in a day. We also had our fish stocks depleted as a pod of bottle nosed dolphins came hunting this morning. It was pretty cool to see them in action as they circle the boat the herd the fish in and then they pick them off, no place for the poor Derado to go.
3 February 2010
Row Row Row your Boat...
Apologies for the slight gap in posts... Long story short, The Sara G was on Sea Anchor for the last few days going backwards (slowly) and then the email on the sat phone broke …
30 January 2010
Day 17 Update
Unfortunately the satelite email system on the boat isn't working too well due to a massive low pressure system about 600 NM north of the Sara G. Therefore there was no update today. Phone contact was made with the boat and all are well. The downside to the low pressure system is that they have had to drop the sea anchor and they are moving north rather than west, although they aren't going that fast. This was expected but is a dissapointment to the crew as they were on target and hoped to break a 40 day crossing earlier in the week. It is expected that the sea anchor could be down until Tuesday. .... Further Updates to follow...
30 January 2010
Day 18, 19, 20 - Weekly Update
Weekly Overview Update from Atlantic5000
27 January 2010
Day 16 - Going the wrong way - slowly
Progress has come to a halt, the southerly winds we were being promised for Friday have kicked in and we are now on sea anchor. I suppose it had to happen at some stage but it loo…
26 January 2010
Day 14 - 1000 Miles Rowed
We are now just getting back into proper routine, we have spent most of the past 24 hours not rowing as conditions were poor, we still made good mileage though with a tail wind. We have been keeping to our 2 hour shifts as it is important to stay in routine and it also means if the wind dies off we can get on with the rowing and more importantly we can keep watch for ships at night.
26 January 2010
Day 15 - 21 Degrees
The wind that has been pushing us along and churning up the Ocean finally died off last night, just as predicted by Stokey(our weather man back in the UK). So we are now plodding along in a light breeze heading south to dodge a weather system which is due to blow 20-30knts from the south at 0100am on Friday morning. If we don’t manage to get below 21degress by then it could mean a day on sea anchor, which would not be a disaster but would most likely remove any chance of a sub 40 day crossing. So fingers crossed we get low enough then we should pick up the trade winds and we are westward bound! We are also fully back into routine by now and those of you following the updates will know that I am now on lunch. I get back to oars at 1500 until 1700 and then it is dinner time. Depending on how hungry I am I sometimes eat a full meal other evenings I just have a snack. Once I have eaten I fill in my diaries, one is a personal account of what I get up to during the day and what has happened on board, the second is a special account of the trip for my sort psychologist, Aine McNamara. She has asked me to record specific information each day and she hopes to analyze the data when I get back to see just how mental I am !! Once the diaries are done it is time to chill out and get my kit ready for the night shifts, I try not to sleep during this rest period as if I do it normally means I can’t sleep when I come off the oars at 2100. More on how we are getting on with the pending weather system and on life on board tomorrow.
25 January 2010
Day 12 - My Morning Shift
So now that you know my shift pattern I thought I would fill in some of the blanks and take you through what I do when not rowing. My first off shift for the day starts at 0900 and this is usually when I have breakfast. This is normally either porridge or custard and berries, 2 of the only things worth eating in the morning. Once I have cooked and eaten that it is into the cabin for a good stretch session and a massage with my trusty trigger point massage ball, great for the places you can’t reach yourself. This takes about 20 minutes and is well worth doing as I feel like a new person after it. Then it is on to a good baby wipe bath, it is essential to have good personal hygiene, especially living in such close quarters. Once I am all clean it is time to apply new Sudocream and Bodyglide and then I am almost ready to hit the oars again. A good coverage of sun cream is just smart and then if I have time a quick cat nap or a puzzle. Then back on the oars at 1100 for another 2 hour stint.
25 January 2010
Day 13 - Unlucky 13!!
Just as we were settling into our routine again a couple of more problems have popped up, superstitious or not day 13 has not been very lucky on board Sara G. At a couple of minutes before 3am this morning Mylene was knocked out of her seat by a wave, she dropped her oar and as she tried to recover it the blade swung towards the front of the boat, as the water caught the oar it bent the steel rigger on the boat and snapped the oar lock clean off the boat, the oar is now floating somewhere in the Atlantic. Just as we were settling into our routine again a couple of more problems have popped up, superstitious or not day 13 has not been very lucky on board Sara G. At a couple of minutes before 3am this morning Mylene was knocked out of her seat by a wave, she dropped her oar and as she tried to recover it the blade swung towards the front of the boat, as the water caught the oar it bent the steel rigger on the boat and snapped the oar lock clean off the boat, the oar is now floating somewhere in the Atlantic......
23 January 2010
Day 11 Photo From the Boat!
The honey moon is now over and it is time to get the heads down to bang out some miles. This was always going to be the toughest phase of the trip mentally as each day is like the last and we are a mere spec in this vast blue rolling square of ocean. Each day the horizon to the front, back, left and right all seem to be in the same place so it appears that we are rowing to stand still, the only reference we have to tell us we are moving is our GPS plotter. Thankfully we do always appear to be rowing downhill with a gentle Atlantic swell nudging us along our way.
22 January 2010
Friday Progress Report
We thought we would put together a copy of a spreadsheet of Mike's Progress across the Atlantic. It's appears to have been a super week, with only one day of rough weather which prevented them from rowing for a few hours. Despite everything, The Sara G is making good progress and is about to start moving at an even faster pace across the Atlantic.
21 January 2010
Day 10 - Surfing the High Seas!
It has been an interesting 24 hours mainly due to the weather. As I mentioned yesterday we were experiencing some strong winds and big swell, almost immediately after I finished yesterdays update the decision was made to stop rowing as to continue would have been unnecessarily dangerous. The swell reached about 6m at times and with oars catching in the water and the boat beginning to surf there was real potential for somebody to damage a thumb or get an oar in the ribs.
20 January 2010
Day 9 - Update - Trade Winds Ahoy!
Look like we have picked up the beginning of the trade winds jut as predicted and we are rowing downhill in 3-4m swell making about over 4mph which will put us up for a 90+ mile day! It was a pretty cold night and we were getting splashed by the waves as we rowed so it was not much fun but with a little bit of adrenaline in the system the time flies by.
19 January 2010
Day 8 - Update - Bouncy Bouncy
Just a quick note as I am being bounced around the cabin. We finally got some wind to help us along today, only problem is is that is not directly behind us and the boat is getting tossed about a little so tricky to row and not very comfortable to sit around, hopefully it swings around behind us tonight and then it will make for a smoother ride.
18 January 2010
Day 7 - Update
I can’t believe we are at sea week today it has gone by so quickly and the first few days are all a bit of a blur. Now that we have settled into routine I thought I would give you an idea of what life is like on board. Each day we row for 12 hours each are consuming in the region of 6,000 calories a day. To fuel our bodies we need to eat lots of high calorie food, this comes in the form of mainly dehydrated food sachets.
17 January 2010
Day 5 Update
The days are flying by and we have all settled into routine at this stage. Today was a super day, sun was shining and the wind was behind us as we cruised past the Canary Islands. Although I had a pretty crappy night’s sleep and I am without my music as my Mp3 player is dead today has been super. I spoke to Andree on the phone and my Mam and it was great to be able to make contact with them both and fill them in on our progress and get the news from home.
17 January 2010
Day 6 Update mikejones.ie
Another sunny one today but we have a slight head wind so the going is slow. Everybody is really in the zone at the moment and we are looking forward to making good time as soon as the wind swings around again. I was due to talk about our diet today but just as I began to write we had some excitement on board as the bracket for our wind generator became loose. Minor problem and all sorted now, good thing it happened in relatively calm sea and daylight. That’s Ocean rowing for you, never a dull moment!
16 January 2010
Day 4 - Lanzarote in Sight!
All good today the wind finally came around to the north and is now pushing us along nicely, yesterday we made 74 miles and making better time today so we expect to make 80+ today. Can’t write much more no sun and light wind means our batteries are vey low. I will update in more detail in a couple of days when the sun comes out. Point to point distance travelled by 6.30pm on day 4 = 127km / 69nm Lazarote in sight! Mike
14 January 2010
Day 3 Update
Wow the past 2 days have gone by in a flash, I can’t believe we have been at sea for over 48 hours and I have rowed for over 24 of those. We were repaid big time by the weather after 2 false starts in horrible winds we got away at 0700 on Tuesday morning, the sun was just up the sea was flat and the winds were light, pretty much the perfect start. After a bit of slalom through a busy fishing fleet we were 8 miles offshore within 2 hours and since then we have been making good time. Speed has dropped to about 2 knots as we are heading south west with a westerly swell and breeze hitting us on the starboard side.
13 January 2010
DAY 2 Update
Point to point distance travelled on day 2 = 87km or 47nm Distance from starting point = 141km or 76nm Distance from finish point = 5315km or 2870 nm
13 January 2010
Sara G Departs Agadir - Video
Report from the boat: The Sara G left Agadir at 7am this morning and travelled well throughout the day with very little wind at a speed of 3 -4 knots making good progress. Mike will follow up with more info when he gets a chance. Point to point distance travelled = 58km or 31nm (10 hours at sea)
9 January 2010
If at first you don't succeed try, try again...
It has been a frustrating few days for the crew in Morocco, our big send off on Thursday turned out to be premature. After less than a mile it was quickly apparent that the forecast did not match up with the conditions and making noprogress we took the decision to return to the marina.
6 January 2010
All Aboard!!
The past few days have been good fun getting to know the crew a little better. The boat has been ready for a couple of days now and everybody is starting to get bored of waiting a…
2 January 2010
Final call...
Just sitting in the airport waiting for my flight. Got the bus up this morning as I didn't fancy yet another day of driving on snowy roads. Thanks to everybody for the message…
1 January 2010
Happy new year!
It is hard to believe that 2010 is upon us already and I have mere hours remaining to pack and double check all my kit before I say good bye to my beautiful wife to depart on an ad…
17 December 2009
What a beautiful day...
Another crazy day but perhaps one of the most memorable so far in my preparation. I kicked off this morning with a pounding from a fantastic sports masseuse, I didn't realise how …
16 December 2009
20 Days to go...
It just occurred to me today that all going well we should be heading out of Agadir to row across the Atlantic Ocean in only 20 days ! That means that I will be jumping on a plane…
8 December 2009
It's been a while...
Over a week since my last post and it has been a pretty hectic but productive week. Last week I spent 3 days in Cork attending a 3 day Offshore Emergency Care course, it was the first one run and is part of a new scheme set up by the Irish Sailing Association. the course is designed for people who are going offshore and covers all the basic skills of how to diagnose and treat minor emergencies as well as how and where to seek advice on some more major issues.
29 November 2009
Water, Water everywhere
The past week has been great training for being in the middle of an ocean, because everywhere I seem to look there is water! With record rainfall giving rise to record water levels…
20 November 2009
Pelican crossing...
I am delighted to announce that International brand Pelican, better know as Peli have come on board as a sponsor through their new Irish Distributor Niall O'Donovan and www.peli.i…
19 November 2009
First Big sponsor comes on board
Just a quick post to say thanks to my first corporate sponsor. The International Centre for Security Excellence (ICSE) is a security training company based in Galway city. The…
17 November 2009
Run Forest run...
No Tom Hanks here I'm afraid just more news on the upcoming fundraising events. This coming weekend will see our local forest a wash with Lycra clad hill runners working up a sw…
11 November 2009
You are what you eat
As I have mentioned previously my diet is a major part of preparation. There are two main reasons that my diet is important, firstly it has to provide me with the energy to train …
5 November 2009
Fundraising time...
It has been another busy week of training and work and some fundraising organisation too. Training has been going pretty well, I got 2 long session in on the rowing machine last…
31 October 2009
An apple a day...
One of the areas we all have to look at during our preparation is the condition of our pearly whites. Tooth ache in the middle of the Atlantic would be quite miserable especially …
27 October 2009
Quiz time...
It's been a busy week of training, working and planning for the row. The big news is that I have set the date for the first fundraising event. I will be holding a table quiz in …
21 October 2009
Safety 1st
The normal reaction when I tell people I am planning to row across the Atlantic is , 'Are you Crazy?'! This is quickly followed by questions regarding safety. The question of, 'Wi…
19 October 2009
Miles of Trials...
Its been an exciting few days, flying to the UK, meeting the crew and of course meeting the lady herself, Sara G. On Friday I flew to Stanstead and stayed the night in Cambridge w…
15 October 2009
It's all in your head...
Yesterday I met with Aine McNamara, Sports Psychologist, to discuss some techniques to keep me sane and motivated during the row. Pretty much all top level athletes use sports ps…
13 October 2009
Bon voyage agus cheers mate...
The title is just my way of showing off my multi lingual talents, but enough about me. As all is quiet on the training front I wanted to take this chance to say a special thank yo…
12 October 2009
Tickets please...
Another big step in getting to the start was made today when I booked my flights to Morocco. I will be departing from the big smoke on the 2nd January 2010 on a direct flight to A…
11 October 2009
New Toy!
It has been another busy weekend trying to fit training around a busy life and of course my obsession with Heineken cup Rugby. Yesterday morning I was on the road with my bike for…
9 October 2009
Sculling 101
Yesterday morning I was back in the rowing tank with James Mangan. Although this was my second session it was my first introduction to sculling. There are 2 types of rowing, swee…
7 October 2009
Business as usual
Nothing special for the past few days, up early each morning to train at home then on to work for the day followed by another session in the evening. I have been working on my technique on the rowing machine in the evenings and it seems to be coming along nicely.
5 October 2009
The Italian Job...
Just back from a fantastic trip in the north of Italy. Spent the first day in Venice, had a look at the Gondola's, not sure if they would go very well on the Atlantic though. Th…
30 September 2009
Moving to the Dark side...
Today was a very exciting day for The University of Limerick and Irish sport for that matter, today saw the official opening of the UL Boathouse. The ceremony was attended by th…
29 September 2009
Tanks a lot.
Two gold fish in a tank, one fish says to the other, ' Have you any idea how to drive this thing?' Ok, enough of the funny stuff, and tank references. This morning was another …
28 September 2009
Pain in the butt...
So my weekend was pretty busy with a good weights session to kick to kick off on Saturday morning, I managed most of it but still couldn't manage press ups or shoulder press with m…
25 September 2009
Energy saver!
I hit the gym again this morning for my 3rd outing on the rowing machine and longest stint yet, a whole 45 minutes! The previous 2 sessions were fine but I knew I was lacking tech…
24 September 2009
It's all go...
I have been on the go non stop for the past couple of days. Yesterday morning I was in the gym at 0700 for my first session on the rowing machine, 30mins and about 4.5km, felt pre…
22 September 2009
Rise and Shine!
Anybody who knows me or has had the pleasure of living with me for a while knows that I am not a morning person, I usually get out of bed for about 0850 head to work and wake up ar…
21 September 2009
Pins and needles...
After a super meeting with Tom in the Arena gym this morning it was off to United Physio for another treatment on my shoulder. Last week I had my first taste of superficial dr…
20 September 2009
Another busy week coming up
Just back in from a 5km jog, trying to keep working on my cardio fitness until my shoulder is sorted. Physio tomorrow should hopefully get it back in action and then a week of reh…
19 September 2009
Turbo torture
This morning I dusted off the turbo trainer to get some cardio work done, it has been a few weeks since I rode my bike and at least 4 months since the turbo saw the light of day. …
18 September 2009
Another big day!
The past few days has been really exciting, I have been talking to so many people about the row and I have been blown away by the offers of support. Today is extra special though…
17 September 2009
Weight gain 5000!
My training has started in ernest with phase 1, the weight gain phase! so far so good all I have had to do is eat, which to be honest comes pretty easy. Muesli for breakfast, 2 …
16 September 2009
Graphic Designer Wanted!!
Hey Folks, I'm looking for a few hours of a graphic designers time. All I need in an mikejones.ie logo and a few other basics done up. It would hopefully be benificial to a stud…
16 September 2009
Ocean Rowing closer to reality
Interesting news taday, I have been contacted by Peter Williams of www.worldoceanrowing.com , he is recruiting a crew to row from Morocco to Barbados in January 2010. It is a lit…
16 September 2009
Rowing Across the Atlantic...
Ever since reading about ocean rowing in a book a few years ago the crazy notion that I could do it has been stuck in my head. After about 4 years of trying to convince friends to…
16 September 2009
Welcome Aboard!
I have spent the past few days getting my CV together and met Peter on Sunday evening in Galway. Got the email this moring 'Welcome aboard' totally blown away. The past week has …