It has been quite a productive month with me finally being able to take the Happy Socks out into the Solent for some proper training. As a solo rower in a small boat I am not able to take any passengers onboard, including people who would potentially be able to teach me how to do it! As such, I have to plan my outings quite carefully taking into account tides and weather conditions to assist me in my outings. In the end, it is all about learning from manageable mistakes and avoiding catastrophic ones. As I become more confident on the oars, our training sessions extend into the late hours and even nights covering more and more miles. My goal is to do about 100 nautical miles of training rows before pushing off from Gran Canaria in January

Onwards and upwards!

We are getting properly ready!

I have to plan my outings quite carefully taking into an account not only the wind, but also the direction of tides, which are luckily predictable, albeit quite complex – due to the location of the Isle of Wight the water does not just oscillate from West to East and East to West, but also comes in from the South hitting the Solent from both sides of the Island. There is a place near the Needles where you can actually see the line of the two tidal streams joining each other, the line I hope I will never get to see up close! The tidal streams reach 4+ knots in some places so I could only go with the tide as my rowing speed over ground (SOG) is only about 2 knots at best. There are certain places in the Solent, notably the Needles and the narrow channel between the Needles and the Keyhaven, which could only be crossed on a slack water – one hour’s standstill between the tides just before the water turns.

In the video below you could see me standing on a boat which is barely moving – that was a slack water after I had struggled for a couple of hours against the tide having covered very little distance. I was then carried back home with the incoming tide.

I have done a few longer rows including a 12—hour one when I crossed the narrow North Channel and rowed towards Christchurch. I then turned back and rowed against the tide to make it back to Keyhaven on time for a slack water so I could cross the channel and be carried home by the incoming tide. I did make it on time and had an opportunity to experience some night time rowing, which was quite a good experience.

I have spend 24 hours on the boat - twelve hours of non-stop rowing and the other twelve - sleeping, cooking, cleaning the boat and just chilling (that bit was by far the shortest!). The boat is very comfortable to sleep in (or, was I just happy to finally be dry?); the view in the morning was amazing and the porridge tasted sublime!

Learning to live on the boat during extended rows are far more important than rowing it. Also, making yourself drink regularly and snack every two hours is absolutely mandatory.

I have also been towed back to the harbour for the first time. As I have mentioned before, the boat really makes you appreciate how important the elements are, particularly the wind speed. Basically, I am not able to row against more than 10 knots of wind. It is more straightforward out in the Ocean - you just sit it out, drop the parachute anchor out and accept that you will be blown off course. Out in the Solent, it is a bit more tricky because of various hazards that you do not want to be blown against - I cannot just drop the oars and have a nap out there and wait for the right conditions to row back!

I have learned my lesson the hard way when I went out in spite of the westerly winds of 10-12 knots with gusts up to 20. I had planned to go west with the tide, but was being pushed back east immediately after coming out of the harbour. I struggled for a bit with very little progress and then the tide turned and both the wind and the tide were pushing us in the wrong direction. In spite of my continuous efforts to fight the elements I was being pushed back fast and had to call for help. Luckily, I had friends sailing on that day and they were able to come to the rescue. Thank you Neil and Sam!

I am planning to go around Isle of Wight if the Gods of Weather (and Wind in particular) are merciful on my days off. I am still working as a Consultant Anaesthetist and also trying to prepare for my row, so it is an equation with a few unknown variables. Rowing around the Island is no minor fit both physically and from the navigation point of view and requires a lot of planning. Still, there is no guarantee that the winds would be favourable on the day. I am keen to do it and I am lucky to have Neil and Sam as my support team, so it is just waiting for the right weather window and hoping to be off on those three days!

In the meantime, I am doing some essential RYA courses for my Atlantic row. I have repeated a VHF Radio one and what is more important a Sea Survival course part of which involved practicing survival techniques in a deep swimming pool. Boarding a life raft from water is not easy; pulling in an “unconscious” victim (pictured below) into it is even harder.

Finally, not to loose sight of why I am doing this I would like to remind you that my project is aimed at supporting our Ukraine Medical Charity Ukrops. I am not asking for money to finance my amazing adventure - I have (almost) done it myself. I am asking you to consider a donation, however small to a cause that I am deeply passionate about and it is helping my Ukrainian medical colleagues who are struggling every day. They have to deal with unimaginable horrors of war, young people often children whose lives will never be the same and do it with often minimal resources in a system that is under a tremendous pressure all of the time. Bigger charities often lack an ability to understand the needs of the people on the ground and sending stuff that is not needed or is not compatible with what is already being used. We come from Eastern Europe, we speak the language and we have a direct contact with the people on the ground who are able to make the real difference. What is more important is that we still have a will to fight for them. Please consider supporting them in a very personal way. Thank you!

Follow me and be part of the journey as I prepare to row the Atlantic 2025

Leo Krivskiy 💙💛