Ugh, a woman rowing across the Atlantic solo has a shark in her way
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There's a woman rowing across the Atlantic Ocean and she's trying to clean the barnacles off the bottom of her boat but there's a shark underneath it and I felt the need to tell everyone because I saw it on TikTok.
Miriam Payne is one of six solo entrants to the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge, which holds competitions in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. A real sentence from the official website says:
Sleep deprivation, hallucinations, hunger and the ultimate test of body and mind will be balanced by sighting incredible marine life, witnessing the breaking of a new day and sun sets that cannot be viewed from land. Camaraderie, achievement, self-discover and pride will be among the many experiences delivered by rowing across an ocean."
Sure!
Anyway, back to Miriam's problem:
For those wondering, barnacles are apparently very bad for someone trying to row across the Atlantic Ocean because they increase resistance, and will make Miriam work harder than she needs to. And that appears to be either a Mako or Blue shark according to TikTok commenters.
The good news is Miriam — after sticking her hand in the water to film the shark — was able to clean the boat after all.
Miriam also saw a whale
Much more chill than the shark!
You probably have the same questions I did about Miriam's journey
Here are some answers from her blog and videos:
1. She poops in a bucket.
2. It's more than 3,000 miles from where she started her journey in La Gomera, Spain, to where she'll end it in Antigua.
3. She is expecting to burn more than 5,000 calories a day, so she eats a ton. The stuff she eats is kinda like astronaut food that she re-hydrates with boiling water.
4. She expects to finish the race in 50-to-60 days.
5. There are two indoor areas in her boat she can sleep in since the boat is built for two people.
6. Yes, the boat is going to flip over at some point, but it's made to correct itself.
7. She filters her water through a desalinator.
8. There is a safety yacht in case something goes wrong.
9. You can track Miriam right here! As of 10 pm ET on Tuesday Jan. 3, she was in third place among solo racers.
10. Here's her Instagram.