Team Northern Atlantic 2011

Looking for an open water rowing boat to fit my personal rowing requirements has quickly led to analysis paralysis.  I don’t remember deliberating nearly as much or long about buying my Van Dusen single from Composite Engineering back in 1993.  Open Water rowing is such a different field of rowing with such a rich history.  It’s hard to take it all in.  I am really enjoying learning about Dory’s, for example.  They seem like the workhorse boat design of open water rowing; they seem safe in wild water and can carry a heck of alot of stuff.  I am fascinated by these old-school Dory builders and their boat design.  The problem (for me) is that they seem to usually come with fixed seat rowing, and without outriggers.  As a competitive sweep rower, at first blush, this seems like something I would not consider.  But maybe I’m missing something the oarsmen of old knew very well?

Here’s an interesting discussion on fixed seat vs. sliding seat rowing.  I can’t help but think that sliding seats are standard kit on most, if not all, modern ocean rowing vessels, so I’m wondering if this discussion is even worth pondering.  Nevertheless, it makes me think a bit:

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=003gpP

I went over to the AOR Website to start a discussion with those in the know on the subject of sliding vs. fixed rowing positions in ocean rowing craft.  Interesting discussion:

http://www.oceanrowers.com/aor/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1125#1125

I took particular interest in an email received from the rowing masters newsgroup today.  Sometimes rowing on flat water can be an adventure too!

NOTE THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT MESSAGE.

For the filming of a TV pilot, there will be a simulated explosion on
Wednesday, March 25 between 9:30 a.m. and noon near Key Bridge in the
District. The explosion will produce a 20 to 30′ fireball that will last for
approximately 2 minutes.

Please pass along this information to others appropriate. The Department of
Homeland Security and D.C. Police and Fire departments have been notified,
along with the Washington Airports Authority. The Virginia State Patrol and
Arlington Police Department will be contacted.

The explosion will take place on the Potomac River just north of the Key
Bridge and Jack’s Boathouse (K / Water Street, NW under the Whitehurst
Freeway). In the scene to be filmed, there will be six (6) sculling boats on
the Potomac River and one of them blows up.

CBS Paramount television is filming a pilot titled “Washington Field.” This
is a new television series about the elite Washington field office of the
FBI and a team of agents with exceptional and diverse skills who are called
together for only the most critical cases.

Office of Public Affairs
Metropolitan Washington
Washington, DC 20002

I found this great Flickr Group containing lots of interesting open water rowing pictures.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/12455467@N00/

I follow Nick Jaffe on Twitter (‘bigoceans’) and have picked up a few interesting tid-bits from his Twitter Feed:

• First, is a reference to a sat2twitter.com service, which takes your SPOT updates and updates your twitter status with your last SPOT location.  Pretty sweet!  I want to remember that one in case I get to do some long rows this summer.
• Another interesting tid-bit is a reference to a web site called BlueMapia, which facilitates mariner posted information with location context.
• Also discovered an interesting maritime-oriented blog, ‘Messing About in Ships‘, which has a podcast posted containing an interview with Nick Jaffe half-way through the podcast.

While investigating coastal and ocean rowing boat makers, I stumbled upon a rowing/sailing competition/event called a raid.  I’m not sure how long the idea of a raid has been around, at least in the modern sense of the term and competitive application, but they are brand new to me.  I discovered this web site describing an annual raid up in British Columbia spanning a week and approximately 170 km of rowing and sailing competition.  Sounds extremely fun!

http://www.shipyardraid.ca/

Apparently, if your boat supports the dual functionality of rower and sail, then you have a potential advantage in these races as you are not guaranteed a stiff wind during the entire duration of the race, in which case you can make way under oar power.

Here’s a promotional video of a Whitehall boat design and owner participating in a raid in Finland:

http://whitehallatraidfinland.com/watch_the_movie.html

Whitehall makes some nice, and stable looking, open water rowing craft: www.whitehallrow.com.

When I first discovered the sport of Ocean Rowing, about two years ago, I was really surprised there was such a thriving community.  I had read the book, ‘Daring the Sea’, by David Shaw, about Harbo and Samuleson’s Atlantic row in the 1800′s, but had not heard of anyone rowing an ocean since.  Since reading that book, however, I’ve discovered a rather large community of active ocean rowers, and am finding a whole host of books about ocean rowing out there (and I can’t seem to get enough of them)!

I just finished reading ‘A Fighting Chance’, by Captain John Ridgeway and Sergeant Chay Blyth, about their Atlantic row West to East in 1966.  They left from New Jersey in June of 1966 and landed on the coast of Ireland in September of that year.  What a long time at sea in their smallish Yorkshire dory boat named English Rose III.  It’s a very interesting read, although not quite as compelling as ‘Daring the Sea’; but, that might be due to me reading ‘Daring the Sea’ first and becoming somewhat acclimatized to what to expect an ocean row might entail.  I like how the book is told from alternating perspectives of both rowers.  Their story is told with great honesty and integrity and a true picture of life at sea is depicted.  It’s easy to be empathetic with these two rowers as they near their objective, yet still have so long to go, and how they near the ‘end-of-their-rope’, so to speak, both physically and emotionally, yet ultimately endure.

Three things about this book really struck me: 1.) Their honesty about the hypocrisy of their souls as they make the crossing, praying to God daily to save them from the sea, but not thinking about setting foot in Church for weeks after the end of their row. 2.) I wanted to hear about how they (Blyth and Ridgeway) reacted when they heard that the Puffin, (the boat being rowed by Johnstone and Hoare across the Atlantic at the same time), and her crew were lost at sea during the crossing.  3.)  The depressing picture of the pair landing at Kilronan, Ireland, in the rain, on a wharf with a single lamp illuminating a small crowd of onlookers.  That after rowing so far for so long.  You really have to want such an adventure!

I’m now reading a book about Maud Fontenoy’s Pacific row along the Kon-Tiki Route in 2005 – ‘Challenging the Pacific’.  I found this book in the library.  I had not heard of her before.  She also rowed the North Atlantic solo in 2003.  Her web site: http://www.maudfontenoy.com/.

There seems to be quite a bit of Ocean Rowing activity by Americans as of late.  There’s Paul Ridley, who is less than 1000 nautical miles from Antigua as I type.  I had a brief email chat with Katie Spotz who is planning to row this December from Senegal, West Africa to French Guiana, South America.  She relayed to me that she had just taken part in an ocean rowing training activity somewhere on the West Coast on March 2-8, 2009.  It seems, also, there is a strong US contingent in the Indian 8 boat Simon Chalk and Ian Couch have put together to cross the Indian Ocean this April.  Wow, the Indian Ocean Race is in a few short weeks!  Safe passage to all entrants, especially Simon Prior, who was in my boat at the Woodvale Training Row in Plymouth last September – which, incidentally is the closest I’ve come to rowing any ocean so far.

I have to admit a twinge of envy as I read about all the folks preparing to row an ocean this year.  It’s such a monumental accomplishment to get to the starting line of an ocean rowing race, and even more so if going it alone.  I’m envious and in awe of the people who are able to pull it all off!

Here is a good source of nautical charts online for the US Region:

http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/mcd/OnLineViewer.html

Here’s a good chart relevant to a row out to Tangier Island:

http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/12280.shtml

I was curious who built Roz Savage’s boat, ‘Brocade’, so I sent her an email.  She quickly responded and said the following:

‘Hull built by Justin Adkin, cabins added by Woodvale. She was originally built for Simon Chalk of Woodvale but he never used her.’

I’ve never seen her in person, but the ‘brocade’ looks like a really well-built boat.  This year, Roz Savage plans to continue on the second leg of her Pacific row from Hawaii to Tuvalu.  I wish her safe passage!

A rowing friend of mine tipped me to an email from a Finnish team of rowers making plans to row the Intracoastal Waterway on the Eastern Seaboard from the Florida Keys up to New York.  As things stand now, they plan to leave in February of 2010 and arrive in New York in May of the same year.

Says Sepi Soutaja: ’Our boat is traditional old Finnish wooden rowboat from Europeans biggest lake area, lake Ladoga. Measurements are approx. 20 feet long and 5.25 feet wide. We use traditional wooden oars up to 11 feet long. The basic idea is: respect the tradition and old Finnish way of moving on waters. So far we have planned to start the trip beginning of February and arrive to NY later part of May.’

Here’s a picture of their boat:

Traditional Finnish Row Boat

If you have any knowledge of the waterway along this route, they would appreciate your input.  Feel free to comment on this post.

It’s been an interesting period following my visit to the UK last September, where I took part in a training row in Plymouth organized by Woodvale.  I traveled to the UK because of my intent to get acquainted with members of the ocean rowing community, ocean rowing boats, and to get some experience rowing them.  Since then, I’ve entertained the idea of rowing the Indian Ocean as well.  Unfortunately, however, I’ve failed to convince my wife and family that rowing an ocean was a good thing and I failed to get support for the effort.  Frustrated, I decided to take this blog down and give up the idea of ocean rowing all together.  As the global economy continues to decline, it seems too selfish for me to think about ocean rowing plans right now.  Nevertheless, I continue to find that I cannot put the idea behind me.  Like Dave Clarke once said to me, once I get the idea in my blood, I’m knackered.  Perhaps I am.

So as of today, I’m not sure I will be able to participate in Woodvale’s Atlantic ’09 Race this December; I just started a new job – and feel fortunate to have a job.  I won’t have any vacation time built-up for at least 6 months, making planning for an ocean rowing race this December slim to none.  I am, however, thinking about other possibilities, like a possible solo, unsupported row E to W across the Atlantic in 2010, or maybe work toward Woodvale’s 2011 Atlantic Race.  Who knows.  I’m also thinking about doing some coastal rowing this summer, in order to get some shorter ocean rows under my belt first.  Not sure why that never crossed my mind, but it seems to make alot of sense – do some short coastal rows first before trying to tackle an ocean.  Duh!

I’m thinking about maybe buying a Dory type of boat and going for a row between Bamboo Island (Lat:  37°53’14.38″N. Long:  76°14’15.90″W) on Virginia’s Eastern Shore to Tangier Island (Lat:  37°49’46.77″N, Long:  75°59’46.57″W) in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay.  By my reckoning, this will be about a 14 mile row.  I’m still in the thinking stage of this; I’ll post more as I firm-up details, or abandon it completely  There are also some long rowing races on the East Coast I’d like to do, like the BlackBurn Challenge.

I’m currently reading ‘A Fighting Chance’, by Capt. John Ridgeway and Sir Chay Blyth, chronicling their 1966 row across the Atlantic W to E.  It’s a great read so far.  The passages where they talk about missing their wives and lives and promise never to do such a crazy thing again are not lost on me…