Day 68 — I’m a real pirate now!

by Katie on March 11, 2010

After meeting two Venezuelan fishing boats in the same day, I played it safe and did my evening shift with the nav-light on (I usually only leave it on while sleeping, as it can be difficult to watch for waves with it on). The light seemed to attract a different kind of visitor: a bird. It was flying rather awkwardly, almost like a bat, and found itself a spot in the cockpit.

Midnight … 2AM … 6AM … 8AM … it was still there. Most other birds leave by sunrise so I knew something must be up. And then it did it. It hobbled around, unable to fly with perhaps a broken wing. With a cockpit about 4-feet long, I debated whether or not this was the right place for an injured bird. I couldn’t bear to put “Hobs” overboard, so I let him stay.

After 10 minutes of rowing, I feared running him over with the sliding seat, so I fenced him in the corner of the cockpit with some snacks; they remained uneaten. Humans can have three days without water and possibly 10 without food; if that is the standard for birds too, I’m afraid Hobs’ days may be numbered.

With less than 150 miles to go, it’s now my personal mission to do what I can to save Hobs.

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Rowing for clean water

Katie is now within the final 150nm of her epic voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. Normally, that would still be a massive distance to row but, when you’ve already covered the best part of 3,000 miles (if you include all the wiggly bits!), it becomes the final straight. As many of you will know, one of Katie’s main goals with this expedition was to raise money in order to provide clean drinking water to thousands of people worldwide. This is a cause that Katie believes in passionately, as you can see from the blog she wrote a month ago, which you can read here.

Katie has currently set a target of raising $60,000, which would enable 2,000 people to get access to clean water for life. At the moment, the total stands at $54,100. I now have a challenge for you…

In just a few days’ time (probably Saturday or Sunday), Katie will set foot on land for the first time in over 10 weeks. Let’s hit the target before then so one of the first things she can hear is: “You’ve raised $60,000″.

But there’s an added incentive as well. We have received a very generous offer from an unnamed donor whereby, for every dollar over $60,000 that has been raised by the moment Katie arrives, that will be matched (up to a total of $5,000). This means that, if we can get the fundraising total right up to $65,000 by that time, it will instantly jump to $70,000. How would that be for a welcoming gift?!

You can donate now by clicking here and going through a few simple steps.

This is undoubtedly an ambitious goal and will take some effort. But hopefully a little bit of Katie has rubbed off on all of us these past few months – challenges are there to be met. After all, isn’t that what Katie’s about to do?

[For further information about why every single donation is invaluable, please look at the Guest Blog by Lisa Nash and the Blue Planet Run Foundation website. Please pass this to as many people as you can. It's amazing what can be achieved when we all get involved!]

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Day 66 — Ahoy matey!

March 9, 2010
Katie ... ready to fight!

Today was one of the few days where I relished in my decision to wear clothes. Let me take a step back…
First: no, I’m not an exhibitionist, but salt has a way of making any fabric rough. With rowing and moving my entire body all day, chafing can be prevented by not wearing anything. [...]

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Guest blog by Jack Lesyk, Sports Psychologist

March 8, 2010
Jack Lesyk

I first became aware of Katie and her adventure through a newspaper article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer in February 2008. She was still in college and in the early stages of dreaming and planning the adventure that has now become a reality. As someone who has spent a professional lifetime helping high-level athletes mentally [...]

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BIG NEWS — Did I say Cayenne? Well, I meant Georgetown…

March 6, 2010
Katie is heading to Georgetown

I set off from Dakar on January 3 to complete a solo, unsupported, mainland-to-mainland row across the Atlantic Ocean. That’s still what I intend to do and I’m going to do whatever I can to achieve it. Even if that means rowing an extra 400 miles!
Some of you may have noticed that I’ve started to [...]

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Day 62 — Behind door number one…

March 5, 2010
Playing hide and seek with a tanker

Behind door number one is … Holsatia Express. Door number two … Omega Emmanuel. And number three … Jose Breeze. I have officially entered tanker territory! With larger waves around 7 to 10ft, it makes for a slightly unnerving experience. My boat can easy tuck away so that I am barely visible. Even with the [...]

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