Follow up to my last blog on ocean rowing;

As the crowd began to gather at the arrival of the "The Reason Why" I could not help but get caught up in the moment. Well OK! I must admit that this endeavor is nothing less than an extraordinary accomplishment. Yes I still feel strongly about these small boats in a big ocean. But what I will say is that they are manned by very strong people. I just do not mean that in the pure physical sense either. Trust me they are in shape. What I was taken by the other evening was the emotion of these guys arriving after 55 days at sea.

The emotion of their friends knowing that at last they are OK.

The emotion of themselves in the reality that it was over. This brought home to me what they have done and my hat is off to them for this accomplishment.

The next thing that blew me away was the two guys on the "The Reason Why ". Old guys rule in my book and after seeing these guys I want to get back into rowing again. No worries I will not be doing a trans Atlantic any time soon. Just some recreational rowing will be fine thank you. I was taken by the fact that these guys, I am not sure of their exact ages but certainly mid to late 50 somethings were only a few hours behind two members of the British Special forces Marine Commando unit. Talk about a couple of guys in shape. These guys are poster child's for the fitness aspect of rowing. Any how I certainly feel if there was a handicap rule of some kind in this sport these guys would be the winners. So I congratulate these guys on achieving their goal.

While enjoying the excitement of the event, I was made aware at the gathering that there were still 14 rowers out on the Atlantic still trying to make it to Antigua. It was a sobering reminder of how hard this is to do. It was also suggested that there may be boats out there well into the month of February.Whew what a thought. At this point after 55 days it becomes more than just the accomplishment but more a case for survival. God bless them and God Speed to them. I hope and trust that they will all make it safely to Antigua.