Zara Lachlan has officially hit the half way point, on her epic world first solo and unsupported row across the Atlantic.
The 21-year-old university student has faced wild weather, Orca, sharks and even a near miss by a tanker.
She has covered more than 2,050 miles of her record breaking 4000-mile solo and unsupported row across the Atlantic.
However the journey has been hampered by dangers and setbacks including injuries, and a broken oar.
Vicious weather has caused her boat to roll extensively and has, damaged some of her communications equipment. She has encountered Orcas and sharks and narrowly avoided a collision with a larger vessel.
Explaining setbacks, Zara said: “In the past 24 hours I had a small cut that just bled a lot. I’m fine, but when I was washed blood off in the sea a shark appeared a couple of minutes later.” She added, “It hung around for quite a while – about an hour.”
Near miss
Then in the early hours of the following morning whilst it was still dark, she encountered a very large ship on a collision course. She said, “I could see them on the AIS called them on the radio. Then I used a white flare to attract their attention but they still didn’t alter course. They missed me by 0.1 of a mile, which in an open ocean is far too close.
“I’m really angry with them because I can’t do anything about that. I’m very grateful that I’m OK.”
Zara is still making good time. She is rowing 16 and a half hours a day as she heads towards her end goal of the coast of French Guiana.
Zara added: “I rest from 9:00 PM to midnight, 3am to 6am and then 1pm to half past two. That way I can do stuff whilst it’s still hot. Like clean the hull. I don’t want to get in the water whilst it’s still cold, and I also need to eat!”
As Zara is not a strong swimmer. One of her fears going into the challenge was cleaning the bottom of her boat regularly. This is to reduce drag. It requires her to dive under the boat in the middle of the ocean.
End of challenge
At the end of her challenge, Zara will be the first woman and youngest person ever to complete any mainland trans-Atlantic crossing. She will become a world record holder.
Through this challenge Zara is hoping to inspire women and girls into sport. And she is also planning to host a talk from the ocean for schools across the UK.
“It seems like an extreme way to inspire other women to get into fitness, she said. But I want people to realise their potential. If I can complete this challenge having never rowed on the ocean before, then other women can attempt a challenge of their own. Albeit probably not a cross-Atlantic row!”
Having completed her physics degree at Loughborough University, Zara, will join the Army on her return as a technical officer.
She is raising money for two charities through her record-breaking trip, Team Forces and Women in Sport.
Zara is carrying 800kg of supplies in her boat. That includes 5,500kcal of meals and snacks per day.
The only assistance permitted throughout the challenge is meteorological, from onshore weather routers.
To follow Zara’s adventure, visit Zara Lachlan – Team Forces
You can also follow her journey via her Instagram channel here