Mr Blake, the son of New Zealand yachting legend Sir Peter Blake, is a University of Otago masters in science communication student and one of a four-person team rowing across the Tasman Sea from Sydney to Auckland.
Mr Blake turned 25 on Saturday, halfway through the Team Gallagher transtasman bid, which has been going backwards as the rowers battled wild seas and heavy winds during the past week.
Team Gallagher organiser Rob Hamill said a forecast change in the weather had provided a cause for celebrations, alongside Mr Blake's birthday.
"The boys have been sitting like caged animals on ... sea anchor for the last seven days at the mercy of the weather."
However, a "window of opportunity was opening" to give the team a "chance to make a dash for Cape Reinga" before they turned south on the homeward run to the Hauraki Gulf and Auckland.
"The wind is abating, the current is favourable, the boys are rested, it's time to come home."
As the rowers celebrated Mr Blake's birthday, "we hope and pray that the Tasman will come to the party", Mr Hamill said.
The bid to cross the Tasman is part of a move to raise funds and awareness about the environmental threats faced by the world's oceans and coral reefs.
The rowers want to raise funds to build a "live" artificial reef off the coast of Borneo, which will be used to document and study coral species and marine life.
