It’s day 22 for the Mermaid Atlantic team crossing the Atlantic in a Rannoch 45 rowing boat, and having rowed 1,165 nautical miles they are getting closer to the half-way mark which they hope to reach by the end of the week.
Xavier Baker, Chris Mannion and Paul Berry took on the challenge to raise awareness and cash for three ocean preservation charities, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Surfers Against Sewage and The Seahorse Trust.
Show your support
The lads have been training for the last year, and put themselves in dangerous and gruelling conditions, and have so far raised £3,627.90 – nearly half their £7,500 target.
We appreciate that times are tough for many, but if you can spare anything to support their cause, we’re sure that seeing the coffers heading closer to the target will help spur the lads on.
You can donate by heading over to the GiveWheel website.
Follow the journey
You can see almost daily updates via social media by heading to their Facebook and Instagram accounts.
If you are not on social media, here’s one of the latest updates:
Christmas and new year looked a little different for them this year, but they were still in good spirits, watching the sunrise on 2024 and tucking into their cold baked beans, keeping cool under the burning rays.
They stayed on para anchor for a few days due to strong southernly winds, losing a few miles but managing to conserve energy whilst waiting for it to pass.
Paul was hit with a bout of sea sickness – even the most strongest of Navy stomachs can become unsettled – without a daggerboard to steady the boat.
With the warmer weather, they’re managing to stay dryer and are now beginning to head south to make the most of the trade winds which should carry them through, closer to the finish line.
They’ve also had company, a little suckerfish stowaway latching onto the bottom of the boat, keeping her clean between hull dives.
A few key moments from the team over the last couple of weeks:
- Day 11 – Paul’s birthday
- Day 12 – Christmas Eve the team lost all power meaning their electronic displays disappeared and they no longer had the use of the auto helm which resulted in them having to hand steer and use old fashioned compass navigation. This was all manageable for a short period of time, however power was essential for making water. After a satellite phone call to Cowes Marine Electrical on the Isle of Wight they were talked through how to fix the problem
- Day 12 – Christmas Eve saw calmer weather too which meant that they could jump in the water and scrub the bottom of the boat to alleviate any drag. Whilst underneath the boat they spotted Tuna swimming by which gave them a huge morale boost
- Day 18 – they started to row forward after a few days on and off the Para Anchor. A bird has been spotted keeping them company too circling them but not brave enough to land
- Day 19 – New Year’s Eve they hit a huge milestone having rowed 1,000 nautical miles
- Day 21 – the team report a little stowaway on board, or under-board in the form of a sucker fish which will stay for the duration of the journey if the Blue Marlin don’t attack it. The second battery is now fully charged and going steady. Due to decent weather conditions they are now able to row ’two up’ all day so are making good progress and climbing up the leaderboard
- Day 21 – it is particularly hot and whilst making good progress on the rowing front, one of the team, Paul is finding food a challenge. With the loss of the dagger board early on in the race, the boat is very unbalanced in the side winds making Paul’s stomach very unsettled.
Article edit
9.50am 4th Jan 2024 – Key moments added
