Archive for October, 2015

Day 77 – Noodles

Many of you have asked whether the impression we give off that team dynamic on the boat is harmonious, is a facade and actually behind the scenes we really hate each other. Well sorry to disappoint, but our dynamic is stronger than ever. However, this is not to say that we haven’t had a disagreement or difference of opinion, I don’t think we would be normal to undergo the conditions and challenges we’re facing without an argument or two ; the sleep deprivation, the heat, battling the currents and the winds, the torrential rain storms, recently the lack of music and the finishing of snack packs. The difference with this team, is that we deal with it there and then and most importantly MOVE ON. Nothing is left unsaid and often it is reflected on afterwards and finished with a hug. That being said, Nat and I have decided to share with you a recent disagreement we had, it was over something hugely important. The most relevant points to highlight to you, is that the outcome of the debate would clearly affect the speed of the boat and the dynamic of the team, so of course it was indeed a very necessary discussion to have. The heated argument we had…….was about……. noodles! Noodles come in as a close third behind Oreo’s and fruit pots as a luxury item, so when Lizanne and I found an extra 7 on the boat, it was a disagreement as to how the noodles were distributed. So here’s the debate……

LP: I asked Nats how many noodles she had stashed from her previous snack packs and she’d saved 3 packets. The rest of us had none as we’d previously eaten whatever we had at the time. To note that not every snack pack had noodles previously & we had an extras bag where we’d helped ourselves, so some may have had more than others but there was no way of telling exact numbers. Therefore I thought it was fair for the team to have equal share going forwards, so I gave Lizanne, Ems and I, 2 packets each and suggested the other packet goes into the spare bag for whoever needs it first. I truly, honestly believe that this was the fairest way, as we now don’t have any snack packs and food is precious. It was not in any way meant to be unfair or to alienate Nats, as far as I was concerned she still had an extra bag to the rest of us so I figured it made us all even.

Nats:
” I saw a zip lock bag of at least 5 packets of noodles enter the aft cabin as I was just about to exit to begin my row shift. Being ‘hawk eyes’, I made a mental note and then as I began rowing asked where the extra noodles had come from. LP replied that she had found them and was going to distribute them between the team excluding me as I already had a stash of noodles. I was gobsmacked. The fact that I had taken it upon myself to keep some noodles for a rainy day was my prerogative and had absolutely nothing to do with how extra noodles that had just been found should be distributed, in my mind. That’s how I felt and so that’s what I said.

LP has consistently eaten a large number of noodles during this leg and the reasoning behind not giving me any made no sense at all. Why should everyone else get 2 packets and I get none!!?? Everyone has collected stashes of various food stuffs over the last few weeks and what they have managed to save is theirs. The fact that they saved sweets or cereal bars over noodles, again, is their choice. When LP was about to exit for the row changeover, she asked ‘Are we ok?’ to which I replied, ‘As long as I’ve got a packet of noodles, I’m fine’

LP and I have always had a really passionate relationship as we are we are both strong, confident and expressive women who are not afraid to share our opinions with each other. I love this about us and although there have been a handful of disagreements over the last 18 months (they happen on land too), we have a deep, mutual respect and understanding about who we are what makes each other tick. ”

As this ended up being a pointless argument where neither of us agreed with the other person’s viewpoint, I could see how Nat was seeing it I just didn’t agree. Also as it was a topic that didn’t influence the speed at which we travelled or our performance, I gave her the extra packet of noodles in order to keep the peace. It took 24hrs later for me to swap our pairs so that Nat and I were on shifts together, we hugged and made up and found we could laugh about it even though we still disagreed. Nat and I are particularly open and honest with each other and not scared to be confrontational if needed. The majority of the time we get on like a house on fire, bouncing off each other with ideas, laughter and support, and only rarely has it occurred that our opinions clash. Considering the length of time we’ve been at sea, Nat and I had one disagreement on leg 1 and have had 2 on this leg, which I think is pretty good going, hopefully it won’t be 3 times on the final leg!

There are certainly ways to approach things which takes the heat out of a debate or point of view, but I think the way we handle disagreements on the boat, I hope I will take forwards with work and relationships etc. in the future.

UPDATE:
Today was the hottest day we’ve had yet. Over 110 degrees out on deck and about 100 degrees inside the cabin. We’re literally melting together!

Day 76 – Laughter

Laughter is one of my favourite joys in life. It can connect people without saying a word, or it can be the connection that brings friends and family closer together. It can lighten the mood, lift the tone, end quarrels or be the bridge to falling in love. No words, just a simple shared humour in thinking something is funny.

You can tell a lot about a person by the way they laugh, or what they laugh at. Laughter is so individual you can often pick someone out in a crowd by the sound of their laugh. I think sometimes one of the best sounds is the belly laugh of someone you love.

We weren’t taught to laugh. It’s something inside us that we were born with. Everyone can laugh; deep down stomach aching laughter, explosive laughs, silent laughs (me!), high pitched, low pitched, laughs that make the tears stream, laughs that make you fall off your chair, laughs that make you struggle for air, a child’s laugh, a cheeky laugh…. The thing I like about laughter is you can’t fake it, but generally you never need to as it’s as contagious as seeing someone yawn. They say time’s a healer; personally I think laughter is even more so.

On the boat we have bonded blood, sweat and tears. These have been grounding moments, and plenty of deep meaningful chats to set the world’s troubles right, but the moments I will cherish far beyond my destination in Samoa is the endless laughter we’ve shared on the boat. They are moments etched in my mind that will make me laugh again when I think of them back home, unable to explain to anyone asking “why are you laughing?” We often talk about it on the boat; how will we ever explain any of our jokes to people?? The answer being; you can try, but they won’t think you’re funny. The truth is these are the moments we’ve all built together, so special that between the six of us they are memories we’ll cherish and remind each other of at our 10 year reunion. I already can’t wait!

UPDATE
Still going South. Woop woop! It was so hot today I think we all died a little. We’ve been downing our SOS rehydrate drinks to keep us hydrated!!

LP took the opportunity to clean the barnacles off Doris (which is supposed to speed us up 0.5 knots!) as we’ve not seen Fernando for a few days.

We swapped rowing buddies today, Ems and I are reunited.

Oh! And Megs amazing mum and partner have contacted Oreos to see if they can help us out so that the girls don’t run out in the last leg. Absolute LEGENDS!

Leg 2, Day 75 – Comparisons – friend or foe?

Better, stronger, happier, smaller, faster, thinner, richer, more beautiful…our world is full of comparisons.

I understand their benefit. They give us a benchmark to help us improve on a personal and professional level. They inspire general drive and ambition and increase our motivation to strive to be better at what we do, for what we want to see and who we are.

Comparisons can also help put things into perspective. If you think you’re having a bad day at work then just think about miners and their working conditions or the fact that you are actually lucky enough to have a job. When you’re feeling sorry for yourself the next time you have the flu, be thankful that you’re not undergoing another chemotherapy treatment, or having to learn how to walk with a prosthetic leg. Those may be slightly extreme examples, but you know what I mean, it’s all relative.

I have always found it fascinating that we constantly compare and contrast everything we do without even realising it. On occasion I think there is good reason but to be honest, when I go somewhere completely different or have a truly unique experience, I love the fact that it’s all lived and seen with fresh eyes and complete wonder – no preconceived ideas or automatic comparisons to be made.

Why are our minds so conditioned to make continual comparisons? I feel as though it’s a bad habit to get into and I’ve really been making an effort over the last few years to control my automatic comparisons that happen in my mind. It’s not easy! It almost certainly has something to do with being completely in the moment and not straying into the past.

When we do something for the fist time, there is always a sense of excitement, intrigue and possibly a little fear of the unknown. Whether it’s a new travel experience, challenging yourself with a new sport or competition, learning a new skill, facing an unusual situation that you have never had to deal with before or starting a new job, doing something new holds infinite possibility and gives the opportunity to create a good framework for future experiences.

This row has been the perfect example. None of us had any idea what to expect from the journey when we set off from San Francisco 6 months ago. For Leg 1 there was nowhere else to be but right there, every moment, living the experience. Perfect. However, within the expedition, there were moments where the mind slipped naturally into comparison mode. The starry night sky is beautiful but there’s nothing quite like an African sky, or the water is so blue here but have you seen the water in Croatia, it’s the bluest so far etc.

What about the habit we have of looking at someone else and comparing yourself with them. Why do we do this? It will only end up making us feel inferior and unhappy…so why does the mind take us to that place of thinking? There will always be differences between us, as we are all unique individuals (thank goodness as the world would be a very boring place). The beauty about the Coxless Crew is that we have an undeniable strength within the diversity of our team. We all bring very different skills, personalities and attributes to the expedition and so comparing ourselves to each other, except maybe our tan lines, angry bums and smell of our hair (!!), is futile.

Yes, leg 2 of the journey has brought challenges, highs and lows, but I’m not going to compare them to leg 1. Each leg of this journey is its own adventure with different special moments and team dynamics. They will all be a story in their own right and we are going to make sure that when we experience something it is not compared to anything else.

These memories that we are creating right now on the almighty Pacific are incomparable and that’s what we need to remember. Whether comparisons are friends or foes, we all have the power to decide how we choose to see or experience something x

UPDATE: We’re still moving in the right direction! Woooohhoooo…

Day 74 – Midnight feast

News flash! We have had 24 whole hours of favourable conditions out here in the Pacific and have been averaging 2kts in a southerly direction. A star app on Nat’s phone had told us that there would be a meteor shower last night and so as a celebration of our change in fortunes we decided to have a midnight social and watch the skies. The last few nights have been cloudy with only brief glimpses of the stars through a haze of light cloud but last night was clear and cool with a steady north easterly breeze. Since running out of snack packs we have begun eating our second main meal of the day during the night and so LP woke early for changeover time and made us all shepherds pie. We sat together under the stars toasting to how we have pulled together as a team over the tough last few weeks and months. We saw a few really bright shooting stars and made our wishes but it was more of a meteor sprinkle than a shower.

The night still held a bit of excitement for us after our social. Later on as Nats and I prepared to exit the cabin we spotted a boat on our AIS. LP and Lizanne could see its lights and we saw on the AIS data that it was a fishing boat and would pass within a mile of us. We tried calling them on the radio but with no luck and we assume they were all working out on deck. We signalled with our torch and laser flare to make sure that they knew we were there and then watched as the boat, lit up with super bright lights to lure in the fish, passed behind our stern. We could hear it’s generator working at its closest point and we feared that our mahi mahi escort may be attracted to its glitz and glamour. Thankfully they stayed safely alongside Doris as we have enjoyed their company as they return to support us through the night. I think the southern hemishere mahi mahi may be a more intelligent breed than their northern hemisphere cousins as none of them have swum into my oar and given themselves a headache yet! Later in the same shift a squid landed on my seat and I had to remove him with our trusty bbq tongs.

This mornings excitement came in a different form. Our batteries have gained some charge so we each had the choice of a bottle of water to do some washing or 30 minutes of charging time for our iPods. Laura and Lizanne chose the former and Nat and I the later. It’s probably for the best that Nat and I are on shift together as it means we can smell together for a day or two longer.

We are still pushing as hard as we can in a southerly direction while conditions allow since as we know from our journey so far you never know how long anything will last! As Tony said this morning ‘fill your boots while the wind remains North of East’.

In day to day life it can be easy sometimes to put a smile on your face temporarily when really you’re feeling sad, to give a fake laugh when you don’t find it funny, to pretend your excited when you actually don’t care. Out here, with sleep deprivation and no personal space, faking it or pretending to be someone that you’re not is not a possibility. Maybe with a lot of effort someone can hide from who they really are for a 24hr period, but not for 6months. The conditions, the space, the close proximity with your team mates, leaves you no where to hide. Slowly but surely this row has stripped us all bare of the temporary barriers or facade we may have put up, to bring us back to the raw and real you and expose our vulnerabilities.

Being British there is a stereotype that we are a nation that tend to hold a ‘stiff upper lip’, we power through and are prudent to our emotions, saving them for behind closed doors. Before doing this row I too believed, that wearing your heart on your sleeve and showing when you’re upset, was a sign of weakness.Why is it that I had trained myself to think, that a ‘strong’ person or leader, is stoic and can take anything on? Someone who doesn’t ‘drop their guard’ with their emotions and keeps them bottled up and hidden away. Someone who gives the appearance that nothing phases them. Keith our Sport Psych has highlighted to me that who I’m describing is a robot and not human. This middle leg of the journey has finally taught me more than ever, how wrong I used to be in thinking that I needed to be a robot in order to show strength. Out here and particularly on this leg, I have come to realise the strength in showing your vulnerabilities and how that brings you closer as a team. I know I feel closer to someone if they open up to me and I feel I can support them or help. I don’t know why I felt before that I personally should be any different.

Lizanne recently wrote a blog about the middle, the place where you have to get your head down to push through, the place where the job gets done, the place which challenges you the most. I couldn’t agree more with the words that Lizanne wrote in that blog that day. Our first leg was challenging but everything was exciting and things were faced for the first time. The last leg, I hope, will also be more enjoyable as we row towards the finish line, towards an achievement albeit with a few challenges along the way. This middle leg has without a doubt, felt like the middle, a long middle, a place where we have been constantly challenged with frustration, anger and loneliness in missing home. It is during this leg, that I have learnt so much about the strength you feel when you open yourself up to your vulnerabilities, how refreshing it feels to show raw honesty and openness to who you are. My barriers I had developed over the years I am sure came from the fact that deep down I always worry about what people think. I was jealous of friends of mine who have always been confident in who they are and what they believe, never worrying about others opinions. No one is perfect and at the end of the day what is perfection? However I have always had this idea for what I had created in my head to be perfect, to be the best I can be, to show no weakness, to never fail.

This row and our team have taught me to challenge the thought of what is a weakness? Surely they’re just areas to improve. To learn to love the imperfections and be confident in that they make you who you are, a whole, gives you self belief. I have learnt that exposing those vulnerabilities brings you closer to others, it allows those around you to feel like they can play a role, and a reminder to who you are. If you can’t be vulnerable with your family, friends and loved ones, then ask yourself the question whether they know the real you, the whole you.

Update: We’re going South!! And not only is it the right direction, but at a speed of 2-2.5knots! We haven’t rowed at this pace for months! Now as usual we’re not sure how long it will last, so we’re powering through and making the most of it whilst we can. Thanks again to all of you that have sent such supportive emails and comments, they have worked a treat to boost morale and drive us forwards to Samoa. Personal thanks to great friends and family that have been emailing, including Michelle, Heather, Lily, Kim, Mary & Darren, Kirsten, Leah and Ben, Hannah, Lou (HUGE congratulations on the engagement!), the Day family, Gemma and Mike C, it’s worked a treat to put a smile on my face.

Day 72 – Times they are a changin’

After 71 days at sea, our existence on Doris is changing. It was never supposed to take this long and we still have quite a distance to go, so we are now entering into our provisions. This is where we adapt to bend and not break and show that resilience we’ve been talking about so much. On the boat it is often mentioned how we miss the things we took for granted back on land (like a non-crusty towel for example!) but as we start to run out of certain things it’s amazing to realise that even out here on the Pacific there have been things we took for granted.

We keep going on about our snack packs, but you need to understand how important they have been to our rowing lives. As well as offering a tiny element of surprise; “oooo what treats are in store for me today?!”, they also make life amidst the salt a little sweeter. They give us the quick boost we need when afternoons in the aft cabin drains our energy with high temperature and humidity, or when we need a little kick at night to stop us nodding off. Their main purpose however has been to increase our calorie intake; savoury snacks, oreos, jelly beans, gummy bears, dried fruit and nuts etc.
The idea was to consume 3000 – 4000 calories per day on the boat, split between breakfast, 1 or 2 main meals, a snack of noodles and tuna, a dessert and then a snack pack of about 1000 calories to make our intake a little more exciting.

As mentioned previously we have now run out of snack packs (mayday!!) but also of noodles, desserts, and we’re almost out of breakfasts. The thing we have plenty of though is main meals (unenthusiastic ‘yay’). So this means that since running out of all the good stuff we are having to adjust meal plans.

Breakfast: instead of having porridge, muesli or an all day breakfast we now have the choice between a protein bar or a main meal. Some might decide to have half a main meal and save the rest for night time

Lunch: a choice of vegetable pasta, beef curry (those two are my least favourite thanks to the sea sickness), oriental chicken (running dangerously low as its a firm favourite), shepherds pie, chicken tikka masala or chicken korma. To increase calorific value of our meals we will add olive oil to our (already greasy) delicious freeze dried meals.

Afternoon: packet of tuna or protein bar

Night time: after a night shift we will come in and make a quick meal. For our first night LP and I had shepherds pie. Nats and Ems took their meals out on the oars which was a little tricky to eat between strokes.

Additional treats: a cheeky spoon full of peanut or almond butter, our secret chocolate stash which will allow us one chocolate a day and a few fruit pots.

Toilet rolls….
Two weeks later and we are still on our last toilet roll. We have dug out the wet wipes and decided to, y’know, use a splash of water if we can.

The one good thing that has come from running out of stuff means that we are acquiring more space in the hatches. This means that we can clear out the Fore cabin of sheep skin and our broken water canisters to provide a little escape at night. Sensitive to everybody’s moods and needs we have decided to sleep separately for one (or more if wanted) of the sleep shifts. I wonder if this is going to be bliss or lonely after 2 months of sleeping head to toe.

Now comes the reason the morale on the boat is wavering; we have lost the use of one of our solar panels. Thankfully due to the efficieny of the remaining solar panels we are still able to charge our batteries but at a slower rate. . Since we have two batteries we have plenty of power and more than enough energy to fuel the boat. However, with slightly less charge capacity of our batteries we have decided to be more conservative with the use of our electrical components. The essentials to be used include running the water maker, charging our sat phone, iridium go (access to emails) and iPad (for comms).

This has meant a few other changes.
Temporarily we are unable to charge our iPods/personal equipment as these are our lowest priority…. so no music on the oars. Our deck speakers have also not been used in attempt to save energy. This has meant a significant increase in chatter, especially at night to keep us awake. LP and I being the gobbledygook culprits have started compiling a ‘night plan’ of conversational topics. When you thought you knew it all, you get to know your row buddy even better!
Nat is also singing a lot more. Usually 2 sentences of a song, in an extremely high pitch, repeated over and over….

We have also decided to be sparing with running the watermaker, so there is a hold off on clothes washing. There is still plenty water for us to drink and body wash with as this is one of our top priorities, and hopefully we should be back to normal washing clothes within a few days. I reckon the next change aboard Doris will be putting pegs on our noses.

With all these adjustments on the boat, this is where we draw on each other for our entertainment and energy boosters. In the changes we are experiencing right now, the team is stronger than ever. Being able to talk about our frustrations together somehow creates a new bond, then we leave it behind, make a joke about it and row on.

We have received an unbelievable amount of incredible and thoughtful emails over the past few weeks. From us all we would just like to say that you guys inspire us to keep going… It makes all the difference

UPDATE: we were supposed to celebrate with her in Samoa, but instead we called her from our pink boat….. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH MOSHMAN!! The gorgeous lady doing our documentary is another year older, wiser and ready to spend the coming year doing a lot of editing!

Love, Liz xx

Day 71 -Hugs

What’s given and received at the same time, costs nothing yet is priceless?
Can lift you up when you’re feeling down and give you strength and support. What can connect people in a special way and speak a language that can be felt not heard?

Hugs are one of my favourite things.

Ask anyone that knows me, and they will confirm that I am one of the worlds biggest huggers. I don’t really do the reserved British handshake and although I’m happy to partake in some European cheek kissing, I’ll generally go straight in for the hug.

This was one of the first things the girls found out about me. On our initial meeting, I grabbed each of them for a hug. In fact during the whole expedition they have witnessed me hugging everyone from business professionals and charity partners to strangers passing by Doris on an event we’ve done and Kylie Minogue!

You can tell so much about a person from their hug and I truly believe that hugs are one of the best ways to be there for someone without having to say a word. Not everyone is a hug lover as they feel as if they are having their personal space invaded, and there are obviously certain situations where a hug is not recommended, but generally speaking I like to think that everyone will come round to the amazingness of hugs at some point.

The last couple of weeks has brought some challenging, difficult and frustrating circumstances for all of us here on the boat, but the one wonderful positive to come from the disappointment has been hugging! There has been a lot of hugs being given and received on Doris and as well as all the healing powers they contain, they have also been a surprisingly more stable position to be in! It seems as though two people locked in an embrace on an unstable boat is a more solid and balanced way to stand or sit. As we lean against each other literally, symbolically we also know that we are here for each other without question when needed.

UPDATE:
Apart from me in my hugging element…
Ems and I had a wonderfully refreshing sunset shift in the literal sense.
We had wave after wave of rain shower pass over us. Relentless for the whole 2 hour shift but great at the same time. The ocean looked magical in between the rain with a smooth molten and silvery surface. Huge droplets danced across the water and their feel tickled our skin. I suggested that we could save some time by washing whilst rowing! Ems grabbed the soap and proceeded to lather up. A couple of minutes later the rain suddenly stopped, I heard muttering and when I turned around, Ems was sat there covered in thick soap suds in utter disbelief that the rain had stopped. I laughed so loud and without restraint, it was amazing.
There is one thing that I love as much as hugs….and that is laughter x

Day 70 – Para anchor

You may have noticed on our ‘where’s Doris’ map that we are travelling East and our countdown to Samoa is counting back up. It would seem that the ITCZ is not finished with us yet and we have spent a couple of days battling strong North westerly winds and a north easterly current. Along with our weather forecast yesterday Tony sent us the following instructions: a course over ground South is good, East is not great, North is bad and West is a disaster. The reason for this is that once we are out of the doldrums the prevailing trade winds should be south easterly which will push us west while we try to hold a southerly course. If we make too much ground west too soon then we run the risk of overshooting Samoa. While travelling East is in the wrong direction it will actually help us make use of the trade winds when we reach them.

Yesterday after spending a few shifts travelling in a bad/ not great direction at a fast speed in a strong wind we made the decision to deploy the para anchor for a couple of hours to hold our position against the wind. We all hate being on para anchor as it means our progress is halted or we are going the wrong way and it is frustrating just sitting tight and not rowing although it does usually mean a little bit of social time with the whole team. Yesterday we enjoyed a good singalong to Backstreet Boys to lift spirits. Since we have mentioned the para anchor in blogs a few times now so I thought I would give you an insight into exactly what it’s deployment involves.

1) The decision to deploy the para anchor is made. This is usually either because a strong wind is blowing us fast in an unfavourable direction or the sea state is too big for us to be rowing, usually because the course we need to take would involve us being side on to the waves.

2) The rowers on deck move into action stations. The back rower will open the wet weather hatch to remove the para anchor and its lines and begin the process of shackling them together. The front rower will stow the oars under the gunnel along with our spare oars. These then need to be tied down. All on deck activities are usually accompanied by a nice cooling salt water shower.

3) All loose items on deck need to be either tied down or placed into a hatch. If we are getting into big weather then this will already be done to prevent anything from being washed overboard and lost to the ocean.

4) The para anchor is deployed on the windward side of the boat. The para anchor itself is a parachute which is attached to the bows of the boat and dragged behind to hold Doris steady in the wind and also to hold her in a better position relative to the waves. The parachute is dropped over board and the main line and the retrieval line are payed out after it ensuring that the chute has opened. The retrieval line is attached to the middle of the chute so that it collapses it as it is pulled back in to the boat.

5) Once the para anchor is deployed it is time to make the forecabin habitable. If we are unable to row then two of us have to set up camp in each cabin until we are able to take to the oars again. Usually the fore cabin is home to our spare dagger board, the sheepskins we sit on plus all the fresh sheepskins in 2 duffle bags, 2 sleeping bags, our wet weather gear, spare life jacket, laptop with chargers, spare bucket and spare seat cushions. All the small loose items are removed and stuffed into any spare space in the hatches. As we get further through each leg and have eaten more of our food there is more space to use up in the hatches so more space in the cabin for us. All the bigger items are stuffed into the nose of the boat as tightly as possible but they usually fall down on to the sleeping rowers at some point during their time inside. The dagger board is lashed to the oars on deck.

6) Whilst this is going on outside the rowers in the aft cabin prepare a bag of supplies for whoevers turn it is to stay in the fore cabin. This usually includes a sleeping sheet, towel, dry clothes, head torch, snack pack, toothbrush and toothpaste, iPod and/ or iPad, kindle, water bottles and a surprise treat of a bar of chocolate to help survive fore cabin life.
UPDATE: Today is a sad sad day on Doris. This morning we got our final snack packs for this leg out of the hatches. Tonight will be our last night of snacking on the oars so we will savour every last piece of dried mango, every last cereal bar and every last Oreo. Tomorrow we embrace midnight chicken korma and beef curry breakfasts. Through the last 24 hours our direction has been very random. A few spells of bad/ disastrous direction has helped us to draw an artistic silhouette of a sitting dog on our chart plotter. I think it’s the best picture we’ve drawn to date.
This afternoon Nat and I were treated to story time on the oars when LP read out our blog comments and emails to the team from the last couple of days. It lifts our spirits so much to hear such supportive messages from everyone and was a highlight of the day.
Last night Nat and I saw a large shark in the glow of our nav light. He has been around to visit Doris again this afternoon meaning no chance of a refreshing dip to clean the barnacles off our our bows.

Day 69 – Surprises of the sea

Feeling like a stuck record, we are once again caught in strong currents East and strong unpredictable winds from the South West, culminating in meaning a rapid track East and an increase in mileage to Samoa. As you are aware the last few weeks have been testing, I guess that why it’s called a challenge. Poor Lizanne has been a pillar of strength through a very difficult time with her uncle passing and being away from her family, the rest of the team having to come to terms with an extended time aboard Doris potentially over the Christmas period. But thanks to all of your lovely comments, words of true support and sound advice, plus a few surprise visitors from the deep blue, we are feeling revived again.

It seems amazing to us, that as soon as we reach some difficult times and we start cursing at the sea, the ocean sends us a few visitors to restore our faith and reignite our passion for being here. In the last 24hrs we have had the closest and most amazing whale encounter yet. Literally less than an oar length away from the boat, she was over twice the length of Doris and with the close encounter happening over 4 times, you could tell she was checking Doris out. She stuck around for over an hour and a half, circling the boat, rising and falling and occasionally showing a glimpse of a barnacled tail or a huge, big long mouth. She came so close at one point, that we got hit from the spray of her blow hole, it was unbelievable! That sound when they blow is unforgettable and I think it will end up being my favourite sound from the Pacific.

We have talked in recent blogs of fish frenzies that we’ve encountered. I have never seen anything like it. With my so called ‘bat ears’ (as Nats likes to call them as I hear everything!), the first thing is actually the whirring sound of what you imagine to be a rushing wave coming towards you. When you look round you don’t see anything apart from a few white breaking waves and then suddenly you see this whirlpool across a massive expanse and loads of fish jumping, belly flopping, twisting and turning rapidly underwater, all in a crazy frenzie. There are literally thousands of fish in these schools. When it happens at sunrise you can see just the fish and once or twice we have rowed straight through the middle of it with fish jumping all around us. Later in the day, the frenzie draws attention from an array of birds including all that we’ve talked of to date; boobies, magnificent frigates, turns, storm petrels to name a few.

As well as our trusty sharkies, who then decide to stick with us for a short period to see what Doris is up to or whether any of us are planning to take a dip. When we first saw Wendy the whale, it was a David Attenborough shot as she rose up from the depths with her mouth wide open, right in the middle of the frenzie, taking out most probably nearly half the fish. Without a doubt it was definitely a ‘I wish I had a camera on’ moment. But not to worry, as our personal close encounters with her we’re certainly captured on the go-pro so hopefully there’s some great shots for the LSOS documentary. I guess the take home from this is, trust that even when you’re feeling really down, something will come along, cheer you up and put a smile on your face. Have belief that the sad and hard times will pass and they are just part of the journey, but as much as things feel difficult it can be outweighed in a second if you take a time to be in the moment, experience it and enjoy it for the rarity that it is.