Last time we checked in with the Arctic Row team they had been waiting out a massive Arctic Storm in Elson lagoon off the shore of Barrow, Alaska.
That was back on August 9.
They have since left Elson, Lagoon and continued on their southerly journey, rowing for four days before they were forced to hole up in another cove for another, smaller storm.
Rare at this time of year, the storms have drawn the expedition out much longer than expected.
But according to the most recent blog posts, their spirits are high. The updates have them nearing Point Hope, Alaska, which Joy called in the blog post “a major milestone” along the journey.
The big trouble now is that their water-maker has been acting up. If they are unable to get it functioning properly, they trip could come to an untimely end, because without fresh water they will be unable to continue.
Here’s that portion of the update from the blog:
“This seems to be a recurring theme in ocean rowing, and though not an immediate safety crisis, has been known to end more than a few ocean rowing expeditions. We’re certainly not at that point, as the Arctic Row crew has a hand-held backup which is very time consuming, but does produce drinking water. They also have a fresh-water ballast in the hull of the boat, which they can tap in to, then refill with salt water, if need be. The whole thing is an unnecessary annoyance, though, to say the least.”
