14 Aug 2007, Pacific Ocean
Video blog - possibly the first ever to be sent from a rowing boat at sea. It began as a video clip was sent out into space by satellite phone; picked up by a passing satellite and beamed down to a computer somewhere in England; uploaded to YouTube; embedded in this blog. Of necessity it has to be brief. Enjoy!
|
Comments [0]
12 Aug 2007, The Brocade
This morning at 6:49 Brocade and I left the guest dock in the harbour of Crescent City, and set out for Hawaii. A small crowd had gathered to see me off, and there was a smattering of applause as I took my first strokes.
I rounded the corner, trying hard to look good.. And promptly ran aground on a sand bank lurking just under the surface of the water. The hazard of leaving at low tide. So ten minutes into my big adventure I was standing in shallow water with my leggings rolled up above my knees, trying to heave the Brocade off the sand bank. After a bit of a struggle I succeeded and we were on our way again.
It was perfect conditions for the start. The wind rarely blows offshore here, so the best I could realistically hope for was minimal wind - and that is what I got. All day the wind has been slight. I quickly lost sight of land in the fog that closed in around me.
The silence was broken only by the noises of a few marine visitors - all morning sea lions were surfacing around my boat, popping up from the water like gophers. They would arrive in posses of 4 or 5, snuffling and blowing and generally larking around. There were whales too - large dark finned lumps breaking the calm waters fifty or so yards away from my boat.
This afternoon I listened to an audio book of Robinson Crusoe, which seemed appropriate in the circumstances. It helped to listen to a story where everything happens at snails's pace - it takes him about month just to make a table - as it helped me lapse into the slower pace of ocean life.
Progress has been slow too. Although the wind isn't against me, it isn't helping me either. I've rowed for 10 hours already, and need to do several more if I am going to reach my target of 20 miles today.
Better go and get on with it.
|
12 Aug 2007
At 3.45pm BST (GMT + 1 hour) today, Sunday August 12th, I received a position report from Marinetrack showing that Roz is now at sea. She is thus beginning the first part of her voyage across the Pacific Ocean. Now begins the time of watching and waiting . . .
|
The Line of Death (aka the Line of Rainbows, Happiness and Rainbows, depending on whether you focus on this side or the far side of it) has now been redrawn for my new point of departure. This is how it now looks.
I have to try and cross this line as soon as possible - beyond it I can sleep well at night, but this side of it I am in constant danger of being swept onshore. Not good.
Ideally I would head due west from here, but it looks as if the weather may have other ideas. A bit of north, a bit of south, and a fair bit of rain are forecast.
|
