A spectacular meteor shower, a close encounter with a hammerhead shark and a brief refuge for exhausted storm petrels – these are just some of the recent experiences recorded by Dr Karen Weekes on her solo row across the Atlantic.
Weekes reached the halfway mark on her 3,000 mile voyage this week with little fanfare, remarking that she is enjoying the ordeal so much at this stage that she is in no hurry to reach Barbados. Speaking to Wavelengths, she said she is pretty tired with just four hours sleep most nights.
And, unlike other extreme challenges like long-distance cycles, a solo row allows no time for a breakaway or a rest.
She spent her birthday cleaning barnacles off the hull of Millie, the craft she has named after her late mother. She says she expects to be doing that fairly frequently, due to the build-up every ten days or so.
Weekes was upbeat about her physical and mental state, and about weather and sea conditions. She reported that her Rannoch 25 ocean rowing craft is performing very well.
Weekes is undertaking her row, after costs, for two charities, the Laura Lynn Foundation and the RNLI, and there are regular updates on social media, including Facebook and Instagram.
More details on her GoFundMe page and on her progress tracker are on her website here
Listen to Karen Weekes below in interview with Lorna Siggins
