It has been a while since the last blog post so we have a lot to cover! But I will try to keep it brief.
After overcoming her seasickness in week 1, Lara had a few days where she was in a decent rhythm and making some good ground. Then came the storm. Huge waves and strong winds kept Lara confined to the safety of her cabin and stuck on the para-anchor for five days just trying to avoid being capsized. The power of the ocean is no surprise to our brave girl, but it was a sobering experience in a 20 foot row boat to say the least! The storm took its toll on the whole field of courageous rowers, causing issues throughout. Lara wasn’t immune from these and as the storm finally subsided she had a number of issues to overcome before she could get rowing again. These included removing her rudder from inside her boat in order to untangle a line that had wrapped around, reattaching the arm of her autohelm that had broken away, and fixing an error message her autohelm computer was now showing. Showing her ingenuity and adaptability, Lara was able to overcome all of these challenges so it was possible to point Lunar back in the right direction and start to make progress again. This challenge is about so much more than just rowing!
This all happened with the backdrop of Lara spending the strangest of Christmases alone on The Atlantic Ocean. Opening her gifts from home and reading all her lovely messages from friends and loved ones really helped lift her spirits during the days where she was frustrated and stuck in her cabin sheltering from the storm.
Today we find ourselves on New Years Eve, often a time of celebration and reflection on what has gone by… 2022 has been a unique year in the life of Lara. Preparing for this massive voyage- all the speeches and fundraising events which showed us just how many good people there still are in the world. How many people engaged with Lara’s journey to the start line, dug deep into their pockets to help out at a time when we are all feeling the squeeze financially. So many kind messages of support for her and how so many people continue to follow her progress on the YB app and the dot watchers group.
So thank you 2022, and 2023, if you could bring Lara some favourable sea conditions and a steady breeze roughly in the direction of Antigua then that would be great!
Happy New Year All…
See you next year x
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