Leg 2, Day 55 – The Equator

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Day 55 – The Equator

Emma: We finally crossed the equator at about 3.30am this morning. The Southern Hemisphere greeted us with squally wind and rain but took enough of a break to allow us to toast to Neptune with the bottle of rum which a friend Paul from the Hawaii Yacht Club gave us especially for that purpose. It feels like a big milestone reached to be finally halfway both on this leg of the journey to Samoa and also on the expedition as a whole. We planned to have a couple of hours today to celebrate but the weather is still squally so we had to make do with eating dinner together in the rain and then postpone the rest of the festivities until Neptune sends us some more favourable conditions. Now the countdown is on to Samoa and then Australia. Here’s to following winds and favourable currents!

Lizanne: Yay!! Very happy to have crossed the Equator! I’m incredibly grateful that we have made it this far all healthy and happy. Here’s to a speedy/smooth sailing/wind on our backs second half. I’m not sure what we expected, but torrential rain, stormy clouds and swarms of birds in the distance wasn’t on the list; once again it leaves us paying respect to the ever changing ocean. We were planning to swim across the equator, which I’ve been dreaming of for weeks, but due to our arrival being in the pitch black night, the unfavourable weather, and the fact that we’ve been followed by a shark for the past few days made this a 3 times NO!Regardless of weather, it’s been a special day as we have reached the milestone that means we are edging out of the doldrums. We can finally start entertaining the thoughts of fresh fruit and that first shower!

A toast to Neptune, cheers!

Natalia: Reaching the equator was an amazing landmark for all of us. Wooohoooo! We’re over half way now and that means that we can begin a new mental journey. Although the picture perfect, still water and blue sky was not sent our way, Neptune ensured that we will never forget his power for providing change and unpredictability in his almighty ocean. The numerous downpours stopped us carrying out our special social time plans, so these will be resumed at a later stage. We did however have a great, if brief, toast to Neptune in the early hours with my all time favourite spiced rum, then today we sat in the rain, ate a communal lunch and toasted again to the ridiculous equator conditions with our fruit pot deserts and ‘Happy’ song by Tetra C2C feat. Derek Martin! A special thanks to Jay for having the unique idea to sponsor us with 4 songs to be played at this pivotal point of the journey. The other 3 will be played when we celebrate for real in the coming days. Watch this space and bring on Samoa…

Laura: Wow…… We have finally reached a momentous milestone in our journey, the equator! This to me is a pivotal point. To help me chunk the whole row, I have visualised the equator to be half way of the journey and half way between Hawaii and Samoa (even though it’s a little over for both). The fact we have reached half way excites me no end! To think we are now on the count down to home sweet home, which I have been thinking about since week 1 after leaving San Fran in April. Reaching the equator actually felt quite emotional, but this was short lived considering the conditions we were in and the timing of our arrival. The idyllic expectation was that we would arrive around 16:00 with blue sky and blazing sun, we would bask in the glory of reaching the equator and toast to Neptune before having a 2hr social as a team. Of course we have learnt by now that the Pacific can never be predicted and often will do the opposite to our expectations. So of course our arrival was 03:30AM not PM, it was pitch black, the seas were choppy, the wind was squally and there were torrential downpours – perfect! Our toast to Neptune was a momentary pause amongst the mayhem of the weather and gave us a second to appreciate where we were. With just the numbers of the latitude on the chartplotter to go by, there’s no lights, or flags, or marker buoys in the sea to note the equatorial line. So the whole process is very surreal albeit very cool too to think we are the first team of 4 to ever row across the equator!

UPDATE:
We reached the equator!!!! x

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11 Comments

  1. ALC says:

    Wonderful! Wonderful!
    I feel as if I have crossed with you, having waited so long.
    Wishing you downhill all the rest of the way. Roll on Samoa and roll on Australia.
    You incredible women – I salute you all.
    Love you all – Anne xx

  2. Jim Andrews says:

    Huge congratulations to the whole team, but mainly the current crew on this momentous day. I hope the new day brings you Southern Hemisphere Spring sunshine, allowing you to celebrate in a little more comfort. You have just left Autumn and arrived in Spring, how clever is that? You have found the perfect cure for the winter blues. Well done, stay safe. XX

  3. SimonTY says:

    Amazing, brilliant, wow, magnificent, awesome, incredible, unbelievable, extraordinary, stupendous, unparalleled, good grief, womderful, A1, superb, tremendous, epic, bloomin marvellous

    I have been willing you on to the Equator, watching with bated breath, longing for the current or winds to get you there. We have all been aware that it has been a pretty tough couple of weeks and the psychological importance of getting to half way was vast. Downhill all the way now ( apart from the tricky bits).

    Sorry Neptune did not give you calm seas, a large shark net, full moon, shooting stars and a large tuna on the line.

    Amazing achievement all of you. Brilliantly proud for you. The next leg begins. Samoa, then Oz.

    XXXX

  4. Andy says:

    Congratulations ladies x

  5. Sara says:

    Amazing what an awesome fantastic amazing wonderful crew you are now over half way home I couldn’t be happier! Hope Neptune is a little kinder to you after your offerings of rum. Row on team Samoa becons. How amazing to move straight from Autumn to Spring definitely my kind of journey. Love to you al xxx

  6. Congratulations! Must feel like a huge milestone both physically and psychologically. Here’s to easier times as you head to Samoa. xx

  7. Congratulations! As is traditional in Her Majesty’s Navy, you have now officially graduated from pollywogs to shellbacks! I hope the celebration on HMS Doris was a grand time and we here at Hawaii Yacht Club are all cheering you on!

  8. Liz davey says:

    Fantastic news the whole family has been willing you on and how brill to actually speak to you on the telephone on Saturday. You are all truly amazing and inspire us every day with your dogged determination to carry on through all your difficulties. Keep your wonderful blogs coming they are my daily fix! We couldn’t be more proud of you all downhill all the way home now! Keep safe. Xx

  9. simon says:

    Well done ladies…… time to review and celebrate your plan….

  10. Esther B says:

    Hooray and congratulations one and all!! It must feel like a real milestone has been reached and even though the sun didn’t shine, it must have felt like a light has come on somewhere! Well done and here’s to an easier (??!) second half of this leg. I hope Samoa is ready for you…

    Loads of love to all and a special hug for Laura xxx

  11. Kathy Butler says:

    WOW WOW WOW ( as Kylie would say). Congratulations just doesn’t seem enough on your fantastic achievement . We are all willing you safely along & to think your half way! As for your weather we’re having lots of rain here in Cornwall to. ( home from home ). But no sharks !!!!! Xx

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