Update

So far, I have covered 423.507km of the 1148km - so over a third of the way! Out through the Beagle Channel, past scattered islets and Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, past the borders of Chile and Argentina, and into the Drake Passage, considered one of the most treacherous of the world's seaways, where waves can reach 40ft in height. Except my row is a virtual one, and any storms I encounter are metaphorical. I have been humbled once again by the endurance of real explorers as I have erged past key dates: the deaths of Scott, Wilson and Bowers in their tent approximately 12 miles from the next depot of food which could have saved them (c.29/03/1912); Shackleton and his men setting out in the James Caird from Elephant Island (24/04/1916); their arrival 800km later in South Georgia (10/05/1916) after an astonishing piece of navigation by Frank Worsley. In 2019 a six-man crew became the first to row across the Drake Passage for real, arriving at their Antarctic destination on Christmas Day. I am in no way comparing my attempt on the distance between Ushuaia and Port Lockroy with these feats of physical prowess, but I am making my way there slowly between all the other things which have to be done. 

My Story

The furthest south I have ever been is Ushuaia, and I am going to row the distance between there and Port Lockroy - 1145km - on a rowing machine to raise money for the Food Foundation in Peebles and the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust. It will not be a feat of endurance but of persistence - I will cover the distance by rowing an average of 4km a day until it is complete. 

Why am I doing this? Twenty five years ago in February my father died; he worked in Port Lockroy, Antarctica, between 1959 and 1960. My mother visited shortly after it was opened as a museum, but after years of travelling, now suffers from dementia and is in a care home.  Every Wednesday when Mum was living on her own in Peebles, and I was seven hours away, someone from the Food and Friendship initiative would arrive with a hot cooked lunch, and instead of leaving her to eat it by herself, would stay and chat for an hour. The Food Foundation is currently supporting people isolated as a result of COVID-19, but once the pandemic is over, this excellent organisation hopes to roll out their service on more than one day a week.  I would like to raise money in support.

The UKAHT is an organisation dedicated to the preservation of heritage sites in Antarctica, including Port Lockroy.  The UKAHT runs a range of public programmes to engage and inspire people of all ages, not just with the Antarctic past but with an understanding of the importance of Antarctica to our planetary future. Because tourists are not travelling to Port Lockroy as a result of the pandemic, the UKAHT has lost its main income stream, and needs to find other ways of raising funds to support their educational, environmental and conservation work.United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust 

https://www.ukaht.org

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ElizabethLewisWilliams