Day 54 – A small outburst and question time

Natalia Cohen By

Day 54 – A small outburst and question time

As we approach the final straight, it’s only natural that a little excitement is creeping into all of our minds ahead of our arrival into Hawaii and the completion of leg 1.

Our predictions of arrival dates that we all made on the 9th of June were as follows:

Izzy – 29 days – 8th of July

Laura – 36 days – 15th of July

Emma – 40 days – 19th of July

Natalia – 44 days – 23rd of July

So, given that anything can still happen, let’s see who is the closest.

The mind is a truly wonderful thing! I found myself uncharacteristically out of the moment today, and my thoughts began to wander. Before I knew it I had this overwhelming feeling and all I could hear screaming in my brain was,

“I don’t want to row anymore!!”

My runaway mind continued,

“I’ve had enough of this backward and forwards sliding motion. I’m over it! I would like variety. I just want to be able to move my body in a different way!! I don’t want to row anymore!”

Me being me, and always one to share my feelings, I felt the need to release my thoughts and thereby acknowledge them, but not give them any power and then let them go before returning back to the safest place to be…the moment.

As luck would have it, I was in the middle of a ‘Spanish speaking only’ rowing shift with Izz and so when I did my shout out to the skies above and surrounding sea, it was only her that understood me.

In hindsight this was definitely a good thing, as I have been told before by Keith that I need to be a little mindful with what I share with the team as it could possibly have an undesirable effect!

Obviously the moment passed (as they always do) and not rowing is never going to be an option. I however thought I would share my small outburst with you all none the less, as I challenge anyone who has rowed for 70 days (having never rowed before getting involved in this expedition), to not have a fleeting moment pass when that thought doesn’t cross their mind!

Today LP and I also jumped in the ocean to do some barnacle scraping and it gave me the opportunity to move my body in a different way. I swam and I even did some running in the sea! It felt AMAZING!

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Anyway now it’s all down to you guys. We’re giving you all the opportunity today to find out the answers to any questions you may have about our extraordinary journey or the team.

The lovely Ella will choose a selection of 10 of the best/most interesting questions posted on the blog and send them to us to answer.

We’re intrigued to see what you come up with and very much look forward to hearing from you all x

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20 Comments

  1. Before the episode of the Broken Kindle what were you reading, how on earth are you managing without it (I might cry if it was me!) and I am intrigued to know if any of the others are reading and if so, what are the best mid-Pacific ocean books?

  2. Sam says:

    What is the dreamiest meal combo that you want awaiting you when you finish your epic row? Even when I do a ridiculously unepic 10k Run I will definitely spend a lot of time considering the foodie reward that will refuel me afterwards (perhaps that’s just me)….after your killer rowing exploits I can’t imagine what you’ll be hankering after!?!?

  3. How will you celebrate when you get your first sighting of Hawaii?????? We can only imagine your excitement at the thought of nearing completion of leg 1 !!!!!

  4. Andy Little says:

    So we’ve had a lot of shark activity here in North Carolina lately. Have you seen many sharks on your adventure?

  5. Jan R says:

    Nat,

    small outbursts are just very normal, and it is a reflection of your SPIRIT and incredible character that these outbursts are not bigger and/or don’t come more often.

    Reading your blog is a very humbling experience. Dubai is too hot to run outside now (45 degrees), so I am taking it to the gym, and decided to give it a try at the rowing machine, thinking about you… I will just say that the experience has made even clearer in my mind that you four are true superwomen!

    Hope you are able to plan a few days of physical and mental resting in Hawaii. Indeed, it looks like you might be there in approximately two weeks – praying for good winds!

    Besos y abrazos,

    Jan

  6. Having just had a weeks sailing, I was wondering what you use to protect your skin – and how many bottles!

    Amazing girls – great resilience.

  7. Shu says:

    Dear ladies, I just wanted to say thank you for your best wishes when I crossed the line of RAAM last week, and to let you know I’m following your million-times-harder efforts. You guys have this now. Just a few more days till Hawaii. I can’t imagine how you are dealing with the cabin fever but I hope you get a tropical island rest for a little bit before the next leg. Wishing you the very best, Shu x

  8. Gayle says:

    What is the science behind the 2 hour shifts? It seems unbelievably hard to sleep less than 2 hours each changeover. I personally would prefer longer work effort and longer sleep but I presume there is a sound reason for two hours – is it a physical or psychological decision?

  9. JG says:

    Lizanne will be joining you shortly. The members of the crew remaining after Isabel has departed will have had a long time to develop their social cohesion with each other. How do you plan to help Lizanne slip into the fourth slot and quickly become a balancing member of the team

  10. kim says:

    girls milestone one in sight is a huge achievement – well done and i am seriously hoping that some dirty mcdonalds is featuring on the to do list in hawaii. Laura we are seriously missing you. i am now an aunty again and had some lovely cuddles with my new niece in manchester. her name is hazel so she has been named hazie g by us :). my family were here again last week so we trotted off to wimbledon and had a fun time spotting venus williams strolling around (flanked by security guards of course) and the heather watson, serena williams games was incredible in the way that only sport can be…unpredictable excitement with a nation united in their support for the underdog from their home country who is taking on the big guns :). i hope you are all enjoying the prospect of the luxury that dry land offers and look forward to hearing more adventures

  11. Mike S. says:

    I am Honolulu master chef Jamie olivertutu & would like to prepare a favourite meal & drink for the four of you what would be your choices

  12. Jeff J says:

    So at some point you will cross the international date line. When you do will you do two blogs with the same date or skip a day entirely??? Follow up question, when you cross a time zone does that screw up the two hour shifts?

    Remember always laugh and enjoy life. You only get one!!!!

  13. Babs says:

    Everyone talks about ‘hitting the wall’ when they do a marathon ( not that I would know!) but in rowing terms, when was the worst time for each of you, and how did you overcome it?
    You are now seeing what the last 4 years in the planning has done to help you achieve this epic row. We are all so proud of you, and can’t wait to see you complete the first leg, not long now girls, keep safe xx

  14. barney says:

    My question is “Who wins the 1st Leg MVP award voted by the other 3 plus the home team?”

    My guess at your arrival in Honolulu, my birthday, 21 July!

  15. Matt says:

    You often mention switching shifts so your rowing partner changes. I’m curious to know how this works, does it mean that every now and then one of you has to do a four hour shift instead of 2? Does that person then get a four hours rest or do you just take it on the chin?

  16. Steve Hubert says:

    My question is: Why is Doris called Doris??

    Keep rowing – you are all doing an AMAZING job!!!!! Not long till Hawaii now :-)

  17. IVAN says:

    Have you thought about making wee harnesses, so that on slower days you could shift into “Flying Fish Power”?

  18. Derek M says:

    To keep your minds off of “rowing”, I’m keeping my questions very light-hearted and somewhat childish:

    I know that you absolutely LOVE your crew mates and wouldn’t want to do this adventure with anyone else but them. BUT just for fun…
    1.) If you had to toss your 3 crew mates overboard and select “3 Celebrities” to join you on this long adventure(assuming they could all row too) who would you choose & why?
    2.) Same scenario but choose “3 Friends/Family members”
    3.) Same scenario but choose “3 Celebrity Crushes”

    I can’t even imagine the mental challenges that you are facing through your amazing journey. I can only encourage you to press on because you continue to inspire women, men, children, cities, nations….the world!

  19. Paul H says:

    My brain hurts just imagining what you are all having to endure both physically and mentally. However, I imagine that, if your task was easy, it wouldn’t constitute a challenge and that running the gauntlet is an unfortunate prerequisite of your incredible goal. Does your resolve at the most tormenting moments – when you’re down to the wire – ultimately perhaps distill down to a raw unwavering determination to honour your cause and thereby in itself provide the necessary mental boost? I can imagine that feelings of desperation are analogous to what the women you are representing must experience in their darkest hours and, in a sense, you are one and the same. Rootin’ for ya’ll!

  20. Paul H says:

    OK, another quick and less serious question – how does one wake a fatigued, sleep deprived teammate and get them out the sack for yet another grueling session on deck?

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