Week 1 of the Expedition brought some serious mental and physical challenges. Planning and mentally preparing for this journey was one thing, but adjusting to the actual conditions has been another story. The mental adjustment to being out here and tackling Expedition 2 was a bit daunting, especially after dealing with a shoulder injury, a broken oar, and a leak in my water maker. Overcoming these hurdles has helped me establish routines and push through. And despite everything, the majesty of nature and the ocean is truly undeniable.
With the fast seas, I hit my next milestones quickly! Since I’m not getting enough power from the boat’s built-in solar panels, I’ve had to roll out a backup panel. One of my main goals for Expedition 2 is to contribute to citizen science, so this week I started collecting water samples for Scripps. I’ve also continued to encounter incredible ocean creatures—I’ve seen a lot of sperm whales this week!
The intensity of the first two weeks left me feeling overwhelmed by the scale of the task. Rowing for 12-14 hours a day is exhausting, but witnessing amazing sights like fields of feeding tuna and huge pods of sperm whales helps keep my spirits up. I wish I knew more about the different types of birds I’m seeing. It’s blazing hot and clear, so the solar panels finally managed to get fully charged! I even did my first ocean swim of the Expedition to clean barnacles off the boat. I’m trying to get south as fast as possible, but the heat and calm seas are making that a bit challenging.
