Archive for October, 2015

Day 68 – team update

68 days is the time it took us to reach Hawaii from Santa Barbara, so any additional days from now on, will be the longest we’ve been at sea for. Our estimated arrival into Samoa is late October so we still have a few more weeks left out here before we get to landfall. With that in mind, I’m sure many of you have also done the maths, but we have reviewed where we are and what our timeline is looking like. Needless to say, we have been less than impressed with what the outcome was after speaking with Tony about future conditions and estimated speed of travel considering our history to date. If we can leave Samoa prior to 1st November, then we originally would aim to reach Cairns by mid December. This is based on a westerly current and easterly winds. Considering our last 2 legs have gone less favourable due to lack of trade winds and the ITCZ currents, our estimated time of arrival has been extended by 3-4 weeks for both legs. Therefore, our predicted arrival into Cairns if we continue to travel at the same pace, will be closer to the 1st of January. Nearly 3 months after we had planned! This news has impacted us individually in different ways and for different reasons, so we thought we’d share with you those thoughts…..

Laura: To see in black and white that we may not reach Cairns until the New Year and will have to spend Christmas out at sea, was fairly upsetting news to me. This was for more than one reason. Firstly, Christmas with my family is always special but in particular this year I have been looking forward to and planning since I stepped onto the boat. It has been a source of thought for me when on the oars, thinking of where we’ll be, what presents to buy my family, the amazing food to look forward to, seeing my lovely aunts/uncles and cousins, my niece’s first Christmas she’ll remember at the age of 3 etc. I’d been on email with my folks as they’d suggested we may spend it at my brothers this year for a change, as his house has just been built and Isla my niece would be great to see at Christmas. I’d also been co-ordinating my friends and my brothers friends for a New Years Eve celebration. Thinking that both our groups of friends would come over to our parents house in Cornwall, for a NYE house party. I’d even thought of what food I’d make and the games we could play. Christmas on Doris will certainly be a memorable one but also no doubt emotional to be missing home sweet home.
Secondly and my biggest concern since the delays started to happen, is my work. As you may now have all realised, I love my job and the athletes have always come first for me when I’m at home. So doing this row feels extremely selfish and particularly when the timing is so poor just prior to Rio. Having a responsibility to my team at home I know I’m letting them down and causing them so much hassle with not being there at such a crucial time. At the same time I can’t let my team down on the boat either. So my responsibilities feel torn. What is the right thing to do? What is the ‘what if?’ With either option. Fundamentally there is no choice. We’re out here and after 4 years of preparation to get here, there’s no way I’m walking away with just 3months left to go. However I’m coming to realise that it comes at a cost most dear to me and the biggest sacrifice to let my work down and possibly affect my chances of supporting the athletes through to Rio. Suddenly the sense of enjoyment on the last leg, I fear will feel tainted by the guilt of not being back home for work.

Emma: Like Laura I also found it hard to hear confirmation from Tony what we had started to realise out here on Doris, that we are very likely to still be out at sea at Christmas. Like Laura I had been holding on to Christmas at home with all of my family as a reward for completing the row. It also concerns me that if we arrive in Cairns around that time that it will disrupt Christmas for the rest of my family as my mum will be coming out to meet us when we arrive in Australia. To be honest also the monotony and boredom of life on Doris is beginning to wear me down. Rowing has always been my happy place and out on the oars on Doris has always been where I work out my frustration or claustrophobia but in the last couple of weeks I have been finding the hard rowing with little gain in speed or distance incredibly frustrating and have been struggling to enjoy it. The thought of an extra 3 months of this doesn’t excite me. However our journey will not feel complete until we reach Australia and it is good news that our weather window has not yet closed and that this is still a possibility. I have no doubt that we will pull together as the strong team that we are and enjoy a unique and special festive season, support each other through the difficult times and appreciate the magical moments that the ocean provides.

Natalia: I’m not going to lie, the news of the new predicted arrival date into Cairns disappointed and frustrated me. Although the experience and lessons from the almighty Pacific have been incredible, I don’t really want to spend extra time out here! To be honest, I’d already been thinking that at the rate we have been going, we would probably end up spending Xmas on Doris. So, when the news came from Tony, it was not really a huge surprise and made hearing it more manageable. The positive news for me was that because of the change in usual weather patterns this year due to El Niño, our weather window has been extended and it is still possible to make it all the way to Cairns safely. If there were to be problems outside our control with the weather, then there also are a couple of islands that we could head to if necessary. What I think is the most important thing, is that there is still an opportunity to successfully complete the journey. We’ve worked too hard to not be able to make the best attempt we can.
Although the thought of spending another 3 months on the ocean doesn’t exactly fill me with uncontrollable excitement, I do not have a job that I have to get back for or any other pressing commitments. My family are still my main concern and spending time with them over Xmas would have been wonderful, but also a luxury, as they are used to me being away during this time of year. I suppose I am fortunate in the transient and ever changing lifestyle that I have chosen, as it has allowed my family to expect me to be somewhere other than home in December, and if it so happens that I am with them, then that’s a bonus!

Even though there are many days out on the ocean filled with so much frustration and monotony, there is also so much simplicity and beauty. I don’t want to forget that this is a once in a lifetime experience and these moments all need to be savoured, even if there are more of them than originally anticipated x

Lizanne: My journey on Doris ends in Samoa where the wonderful Meg will jump aboard to complete the last leg of the row. Our arrival into Samoa has been delayed by about a month, which has not been a surprise to me as I’ve kept a close eye on our progress and already suspected such a delay. My commitments when we get back to reality are also work related and the delay has naturally complicated things. I have been trying to imagine what it would be like to spend an extra two months out at sea after reaching Samoa, and my hands start to ache at the thought. It is a testament to their strength of character to witness how the girls are dealing with the prospect of rowing for longer than anticipated. Emotions have wavered, however these amazing women have already joked and conjured plans about what they can do to break the monotony and make it a very memorable Christmas and New Year. Knowing this lot, they will certainly not fail to amuse and entertain each other. Part of me wishes I could join them.
However…. My Christmas wish for them all is to be reunited with their families, cosy by a fire. I have been inspired to row even harder for the remainder of our journey in attempt to speed things up. We have become a family on the boat, so even though I won’t be on the boat physically, I will still be living every day with them on the ocean.

Day 67 – A Tribute

Yesterday Nat spoke about the ‘fears’ we considered before getting on Doris, as this allowed us to prepare as best we can for unfortunate circumstances. This list was accompanied by our ‘hopes’ which identified our goals and gave us a clear idea of why we are doing what we’re doing.

One of my biggest fears was receiving bad news about loved ones whilst out at sea, and unfortunately this happened earlier this week. My uncle; a devoted husband, an incredible father, a dear friend to many and one of the funniest people I knew, lost his battle with cancer. He put up an amazing fight and stayed positive throughout; testament to how he lived his life.

Last year he decided at the last minute to come and run the Two Oceans half marathon with my cousin and I. He made it across the finish line and got his medal with 30 seconds to spare…! No training, an aching body and a huge smile! His beautiful demeanour and lust for life has been passed onto his children, and as someone who was so involved in his local community his legacy and stories will live on.

As I received the news late at night the ocean was still, calm, lit up with a gorgeous large full moon and stars flickering. If I had wine onboard I would have used that, but instead with our spiced rum Nat and I gave a toast to a beautiful person.

It is strange receiving news like that when we’re so far removed from everything. In contrast to our distant existence out on the ocean, it very quickly brings you back to reality. All I really wanted to do was take a walk in the mountains. There’s no escaping on the boat…

So taking on my imaginary hike while on the oars, I pondered the dynamics and importance of family. We were born into families to be instantly connected to someone else. Families can be so complex, yet such a necessity in our lives. At times of need they can either pull together like an old fashioned knot; the bigger the load the tighter the knot, and even after the load is lifted the knot stays taught. Other times the rope can snap where is has weakened and been worn away over the years, the load too heavy to bear.

I have also once again been amazed at how a good team pulls together during tough times. We have had an array of different challenging circumstances on the boat so far, but for me nothing quite as bonding as this. Over the past two months we have become a family on the ocean and these girls have becomes my sisters. I could not have chosen three more incredible ladies to be on my boat.

I know that families can be the biggest stressing in ones life, but they can also be the biggest blessing. I know they are the people we take most for granted because they’re just ‘there’, but they’re also the ones we miss most when they’re gone.

Thank goodness we were also given the choice of friends to bring into our inner circles, as the saying goes “you can’t choose your family but you can choose your friends”. I regret that I am not there to offer my support, but love and prayer crosses oceans. I’ll continue to live my life with the motto “make the circle bigger”, but first ensuring a firm core with the people who have always been there, and alway will be; blood is thicker than water.

I know that the nature of this blog is personal, but if you can take anything from it then realise that life is fragile, and appreciate the amazing people around you.

Lizanne x

Day 66 – What’s your Pacific?

Challenges come in all shapes and sizes. What is a challenge and why do we create them for ourselves and each other?

‘A task or situation that tests someone’s abilities’ or ‘To do something that one thinks will be difficult or impossible’

I suppose for me, a challenge is something that gives you a sense of purpose. It allows you to push yourself a little further, step outside your comfort zone, develop a new skill or learn a little more about yourself and others.

Challenges make up a huge part of our lives, whether we realise it or not. They can be big or small and are where we have an opportunity to grow and improve mentally and/or physically.

What happens when we create a challenge for ourselves?

When you set a challenge, it is good to have a clear idea about what your hopes and fears are for successful completion of the task. This helps to keep you focused and to give you perspective.

Preparing mentally and physically for the challenge is vital in ensuring that you have exactly what you need to do in order to accomplish the task and not give into fears before you have even begun. Acknowledge your fears but don’t allow them to hinder your progress. They aid in helping you plan your challenge or be as prepared for it as you can be but many fears can also just be imaginings of our over active minds!

The main fear that most of us have is fear of failure or fear about what others will think. You’re never going to know if your task will be a success until you begin it. Believe in yourself, have faith in your challenge and you can also choose to not give much importance to any negative opinions that come your way. We write our own story.

Just remember that:

———- ” The cave we most fear to enter, holds the most treasure ” ———-

The hardest part of any challenge is taking the first step. The rest is easy!

Doing and completing the challenge is the most intense part of the journey, as you enter into the task or situation wholeheartedly. Be in the moment, fine tune existing skills and grow from new experiences, then whatever the outcome, you will have found success.

Last but not least is the celebrating and reflecting back on the challenge. This is a really important part of the process and surprisingly few people make time for it.

Before setting off from San Francisco (for LP, Ems, Izz and I), Hawaii (for Lizanne) and Samoa (for Meg), we all had to write down our hopes and fears for our Pacific challenge ahead. We needed to think about what they meant to us and then we had to share them with each other.
I am going to share my main ones with you:

Hopes
1. Happily, safely and successfully complete the full expedition
2. Indeed prove that the power of the mind and strength of human spirit is the most positive thing you can access and tap into to get through anything that life throws your way.
3. The success of the journey is used to further enrich my life and I can take the insights gained to empower others.
4. We achieve everything we set out to do as a united team

Fears
1. The stress I’m possibly putting my family under.
2. Capsizing whilst on the oars
3. Injury that means I cannot continue with the row and will therefore let my team down.

Some hopes and fears differed but some were the same such as successful completion of the row, capsizing, putting family under stress and remaining a strong, united team on completion of the challenge.

We all had to deal with people telling us we were crazy for attempting this challenge and I think for most people a little fear and incomprehension shrouded all their thoughts about the expedition. The fact that we are unsupported, rowing an unbelievably great distance, only sleeping for 2 hour shifts, living in such a confined space, 4 women in the same boat, no proper toilet or shower facilities, 6-9 months at sea, fighting the elements etc etc

This is an almighty challenge for all of us and, to be honest, I don’t think we realise quite what an undertaking it is yet. For now, however, we live this existence every day and we find small daily challenges within this gigantic one.

A sense of achievement comes from all matter of challenges and that’s also what creates those defining moments I spoke of a while ago. How else do we enrich our lives and that of others without being the best we can be? Where would we be without challenges?

Aunty Linda and her incredible swimming students (as mentioned by Ems in her last blog) have taken on their own Pacific and have already reached their virtual Cairns, and my brother has taken on his own metaphorical Pacific by project managing a complicated building renovation. He is yet to make it to Hawaii.

From running a marathon, hitting sales targets for the month to making it through the first round of chemotherapy or making that first public speech in front of a large group of people, we have always said that we all have our own Pacific to cross. What’s yours? x

Leg 2, Day 65 – Many Miles

Yesterday we passed an impressive milestone. Doris has now covered over 5000 miles since our first outing in Christchurch almost two years ago. Adventures to the Isle of Wight, sea survival in Plymouth, a 24 hour row in Falmouth and plenty of training out of Christchurch made up the miles before we reached San Francisco. Since then she has experienced strong winds, torrential rain, burning sun and still clear night skies. She has seen whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles and many birds. She has been our home for 149 days, taken good care of us and we’ve had many laughs and jokes and a few tears on board. In the next day or two we will also pass the 5000 nautical miles since San Francisco and the 2000 nautical miles since we departed from Hawaii markers.

It is hard to imagine or explain exactly how far our journey actually is but one school have found a great way to experience it for themselves. During leg one I blogged about how inspired we were to hear about a sponsored swim happening at a swim school run by Meg’s Auntie Linda. They were swimming one length for each mile of our journey and before we had reached Hawaii they had already reached their virtual Samoa. A couple of days ago Wellesley House School where the swim school is based held a final sponsored swim to reach virtual Australia. With Meg there to support the school pulled together and after a four hour long sessions, at 7pm, they arrived in Australia. Many of the pupils swam double sessions and the top swimmer swam 140 lengths. The head teacher came and swam 100 lengths and those who didn’t swim counted lengths and were on drink duty. Having known the date of this challenge for a while we thought of the swimmers during our night shifts as they swam and knowing that they wouldn’t stop until they reached their Australia were inspired to push just that little bit harder despite the current and tiredness. It is humbling to think that we have inspired young people to challenge themselves and are grateful for their help in raising money for our charities.

We have an ambitious fundraising target to reach to provide support for our charities Breast Cancer Care and Walking With The Wounded and we need your help. Do you have any ideas for covering the 8446 miles of our journey (you could add on a few if you like to cover our unplanned visit to Santa Barbara) in a sponsored event? Could you help us to provide support to those suffering from breast cancer and their families? Could you help to support an injured servicewoman build a new future? Please get in touch at info@coxlesscrew.com and let us know your fundraising ideas. If you are a school and want to get involved in our schools project then email us at schools@coxlesscrew.com.

UPDATE: Last night saw an end to the clear skies and bright moonlit rowing shifts. With heavy cloud cover and a freezing cold two hour shower for LP and I the night was dark and cool. However without a breath of wind for much of the time the ocean rolled gently like silk around us and we continued to make progress South when not stuck in a squall of wind. As changeover time arrived and I was about to exit the cabin wearing my damp kit for another two hours on the oars Nats and LV hushed us and we could hear a pod of whales passing close by. In the darkness we couldn’t see them but we could hear blowing and a gentle whistling sound as they came up for air. It was another magical moment on the Pacific. Today we appear to have come across a northerly current so are back to making painfully slow progress. We wouldn’t want it to be too easy after all!