Late on Sunday 26th May, I managed to sustain an injury to my left shoulder.

I knew immediately that it was a serious enough injury to have to make a call to my expedition Dr back in the UK, to gain his assessment. The Dr gave medical advice, which included taking some painkillers and resting up for a while.

Having taken the advice, I rested and used this time to assess my situation. I was going well, Blossom was performing admirably. Together we had covered significant mileage in a short space of time, but... I was just a few days into what would be a 5-6 month voyage (more than 5,000 miles still to go), where two fully working arms and shoulders are an absolute must.

Having assessed my situation, the incredibly difficult decision to call an end to “Row Pacific 2019” was made. My Shore Support Team put into action our extraction plan, which involved the Japan Coastguard (JCG). The JCG despatched the vessel “Kurikoma” to my position and extracted me from Blossom. Unfortunately, JCG were unable to recover Blossom.

I am now back on Japanese soil and we are busying ourselves with how to recover Blossom.

The support I have received from my sponsors, you my followers and supporters, family and friends has been incredible and I am deeply disappointed that this, my second attempt to achieve something extraordinary, has been brought to such an early end.

A more detailed statement will follow in due course.