Down But Not Out

As many of you dot watchers will have seen, Status Row have unfortunately been stalled for a few days with very little progress. Don’t worry… Nothing scandalous or tragic has happened, it’s just a bad few days of weather. It’s always tough for the team when we see our miles slow and feel our grip on a world record slipping away… especially after having such a great run for the previous few weeks.

After being pushed south for a whole day we discussed options with Ian and Lee, our duty officers, and decided that we should avoid going any further that way and a session on the para anchor was our best plan of action. It’s always hard to put out that underwater parachute and know you’re actively choosing to not move but strategically it was the only option. A few hours on anchor were spent doing cleaning, drying our soaking wet clothes and towels and catching up on sleep. Once the weather let up a bit we pulled in the anchor and happily headed off, excited to be on the move again.

However, eight miles later the team were aching from the effort of moving the boat against the waves and, exhausted, we made the decision to return to para anchor for a few hours. Disappointingly we woke in the morning to even stronger winds and bigger waves pushing us south. A few moans and miseries later we decided to buck up and make the most of it. Breakfast, lots of coffee and some much needed singalongs got us back into a positive headspace when our whale friend from a few days made another appearance! It was incredible! There are no words for the wonder of watching a gentle giant carefully circle you, keeping an eye on us and occasionally diving right underneath the boat. We were a little worried that she might get caught up in the para anchor but she’s a clever girl and, despite staying with us for well over twelve hours, never had any problem.

As soon as the weather seemed to have an inkling of letting up we pulled in the anchor, waved goodbye to our whale buddy and are currently on the move and making decent progress. It’s not our fastest but it’s steady in the face of adverse conditions. We know we might have to go back on anchor but are going to keep pushing towards Antigua, bit by bit, for as long as possible. We may be down and delayed but we haven’t given up yet.

We do have a favour to ask of everyone reading this though. Being out here is getting harder every day. We’re all ready to return to land, hug our families endlessly and get back to those everyday luxuries such as uninterrupted, stationary sleep. We know it’s more exciting when we’re going fast, trust us we prefer it that way too, but you can help us make this time more meaningful. We are surrounded by a gorgeous ocean and are constantly reminded how important our cause is. If you’re reading this please share our website with your friends, family and colleagues. Let’s get more people invested in the issue and working towards cutting down on their plastic use. If you’re in a position to donate we have links on our support page and every little bit helps the MCS do their vital work. If not, just keep fighting the good fight and keep us up to date on what steps you’re taking to reduce your impact. Knowing our actions have inspired change really does help get us through these difficult days. We have the greatest supporters and can’t thank you enough for sticking with us on this adventure.

Much love from 623 miles from Antigua,

Status Row