THEY made it to their first stop-over despite a battery failure which left them on the water for five days without power.
Lowri Boorman and first mate Elin Jones continue their epic journey as they compete in the prestigious Royal Western Yacht Club Round Britain and Ireland Race 2022.
Lowri and Elin recently made it to Galway – the first of three stopovers.
Incredibly the team made it there with no power. This meant they had no GPS, radio or nav lights so other boats could see them.
For five days they were on the water sailing on just their wits with Elin having the added issue of fighting a cold as they made their way up the coast.
When Lowri eventually got into Galway she spoke to Radio Galway FM about the battling start the two crew members had to contend with.
“It was just down the coast from Plymouth that we lost power all the way to Galway,” said Lowri.
“The batteries died. We had no electrics at all, no GPS, no nav lights, no radio, no other boats could see us.
“We had five and half days without any power systems and had to sacrifice the fridge so our food went a bit bad – but we still ate it because we were hungry.”
Despite this the team made it to Galway and are now on their way in the next leg of the race, heading to Lerwick in Shetland.
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Pembrokeshire born Lowri has extensive experience sailing having been a part of the British National Squad at the age of 15.
In 2018 she was crowned Female British National Topper Champion at the National Championships.
She worked at Valero Oil Refinery and at Withybush Hospital to pay for her yachtmaster qualification which qualifies her to captain yachts up to 24m and 150 miles offshore
Lowri has also delivered newly-purchased yachts to clients across Europe and is an instructor at Pembrokeshire Performance Sailing Academy, Pembroke Dock.
The Tiers Cross native has a lot to thank the county for in realising her sailing ambition.
Lowri and Elin were gifted a yacht for the race from a syndicate of four men who own a Contessa 32 called 'White Knight'.
The team also made a mention to Shirley Anne Morris who has a mooring outside the Jolly Sailor pub in Burton, which she let them use for free.
Lowri is doing the race to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society after her grandmother died due to the disease at the start of 2022.
Their GoFundMe page has raised over £4,500 so far for the charity.
Lowri, 19, and Elin are making history in the Round Britain and Ireland Race being the youngest skipper (male or female) to ever compete in the race and youngest female duo in its history, breaking the current record age of 21 set in 1988.
The race, which began in May, starts and ends in Plymouth and has three mandatory stop-overs at Galway, Lerwick and Blyth.
Travelling around 2,000 nautical miles, the event only takes place every four years.
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