Page 97 - RAPTC Year of 2019

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Evening before finish Lt Col Rich Hall and Capt Chris Hames
continued to attack us almost capsizing the boat on at least 4 occasions, this was particularly terrifying, especially at night, and left me physically shaking on two occasions. Despite over 30 years in the Army these moments were still the scariest I have ever experienced.
The weeks passed and life at sea continued, our beards and hair growing longer and all routines now second nature. Christmas day was 15 minutes long, no one had any Christmas music and the reindeer stew rations we had saved were disgusting, we opened some small presents, sat bobbing for a bit and decided that was enough, we’d better get on with it, New years eve and day were just days as was my birthday
In to the final week we were all elated knowing that if we kept up this pace, we could reach Antigua by that Saturday. Other than the start, typically, this week was the worst. The subsequent Sunday night started with a storm like our first with the boat and crew getting absolutely smashed by waves and raging seas, the next day continued the same and by Tuesday that week time started going backwards! The days dragged terribly, we were making excuses to try and give the days meaning but ultimately, we just had to row hard to make it to the finish by Saturday. We quickly realised that this required us going ‘three up’, three people rowing and two hours on with only 40 minutes off routine, a killer! Saturday finally arrived and Alex suddenly stated that he could see land. This was a momentous occasion and we all stopped rowing and shouted in joy!
Stormy Night
We finished on 19 Jan 20, it was spectacular, we were guided in to the mouth of English Harbour at night by the local coast guard where we were greeted by huge super yachts and the finish line. Once over the finish line we dropped the oars, jumped out of the seats and let the flares off, the media boat and multiple other boats buzzed around us, it was mind blowing. The best was yet to come as we rowed around the corner and could hear the cheers from the waiting families and crowds, then the piercing music from Lucy (Rich’s daughter) on her bag pipes, phenomenal. We’d made it to the finish, 3000 miles in 37 days, aching all over, incredible memories, great friendships and very much looking forward to a good night’s sleep!
Team Promotion Picture