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A student from England is taking part in a race to row across the Pacific to raise awareness about plastic pollution.
A female rower from England is taking part in the first-ever Great Pacific Race to help document plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean.
Elsa Hammond is taking on the tough personal challenge of rowing single-handed from California to Hawaii in just three months.
A 28 year-old English literature PhD student from Bristol University in the UK, Ms Hammond expects to row 3,800 kilometres from Monterey Bay to Hawaii in a specially equipped boat.
Her boat will be one of 19 boats taking part but only five will be solo boats and, of those, only two will be rowed by women.
Ms Hammond told Pacific Beat she has been training hard for the race, which starts in early June, although she is yet to pick up her custom-made boat.
"I'm doing gym session, weight sessions, trying to build up some bulk and some muscle, swimming, rowing on the rowing machine, some running," she said.
During the race, Ms Hammond will be relying on just water and packaged food to fuel her body.
I'm skirting around the southern edge of the great Pacific garbage patch which is a notorious example of plastic pollution.Elsa Hammond
"Water... will be from a desalinator so it converts sea water into drinking water. It's not supposed to be very, very delicious but it does," she said, adding that she will have freshwater on standby in case the desalinator does not work.
"In terms of food, I'll be eating mainly freeze dried rations... where I will rehydrate it with hot water.
"Mainly because they are light and you can get quite a lot of calories in one session.
"And I will supplement that with chocolates and dried food and nuts and proteins as well."
Ms Hammond says the biggest danger while being out at sea is coming in the path of large ships which may not spot a small boat like hers.
She also says she has a fear of sharks and deep sea creatures.
Photo: Elsa Hammond has been training for months ahead of the first ever Great Pacific Race in early June. (Supplied: Elsa Hammond)
To ensure her safety, Ms Hammond will have an emergency distress vehicle on standby.
During the three-month race, sleep deprivation is something she has to get used to as she will be sleeping in short bursts of three to four hours.
"One end of the rowing boat is a small 7-foot cabin, it's a like small one man tent, I can lie down and sleep in that, I've got my sleeping bag there," Ms Hammond said.
"I will sleep in shorter bursts... and I'll be checking relatively frequently to check everything is as it should be."
Elsa Hammond, a Phd student from England, is planning to row around the Pacific in just three months. (Credit: ABC licensed)
Audio: Elsa Hammond speaks to Pacific Beat (ABC News)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-07/elsa-hammond-speaks-to-pacific-beat/5187512
For Ms Hammond, this extreme adventure is inspired by the plastic pollution that exists in the world's oceans.
"I'm skirting around the southern edge of the great Pacific garbage patch which is a notorious example of plastic pollution," she said, adding that she expects to see evidence of such pollution during her race.
Post to be found at:
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2014-01-07/female-student-to-row-across-the-pacific-to-raise-awareness-about-plastic-pollution/1243772
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