(And no, we’re not talking about my backside again – this is about posterity, not posteriors!)
Thursdays are my multimedia day. I record my segment for the regular weekly RozCast and email it to my editor in California for her to slot into our prepared recording, and I record my live podcast with Leo Laporte. It takes time and a considerable amount of money (my satellite phone doubles as my data modem for uploading content, and I expect the bill to be over $10,000 for this stage of my row) but to me it’s worth it. I can’t imagine doing my adventure without the support and participation of my wonderful Rozlings!
So today, with matters multimedia in mind, I’d like to put out a plea for help. It may seem a little premature, but we are optimistically starting to think about plans for my arrival on Island X – either Tuvalu or Tarawa. And we’d like to make sure that the event is recorded for posterity. It’s not something we can come back and recapture at a later date!
There is a talented young filmmaker in Hawaii, called Conrad, who did some work with us before my departure. He is willing to come out to Island X to film my arrival, and has generously offered to donate his time and use of his expensive pro camera equipment free of charge if we can just manage to cover his flights and accommodation.
We have received an offer of $2,500 from an individual in the US, but only if we can match it with fundraising of our own. The resulting $5,000 total would cover Conrad’s costs, and would also help towards Nicole’s flights – oh, and mine, so I can get off Island X in time for my book tour!
So there is $2,500 there for the taking, IF we can find contributions to match it. Some of you are already contributing, either occasionally or on a regular basis – which I appreciate HUGELY – but I hope that if you have enjoyed my blogs, Tweets, videos and/or podcasts, you might feel moved to make a donation, whether you are a regular donor or not. I am very much looking forward to making landfall, and I’d love to be able to share this special moment with you.
Also, Conrad and Nicole have been discussing a shooting schedule, and in addition to my arrival they are planning interviews with government officials, adults and children on the island to capture eyewitness evidence about how they are coping with the effects of climate change. We plan to share this footage with officials at the United Nations Environment Programme, so that they can share these important testimonials with world leaders at the upcoming climate change summit in Copenhagen this December.
So, much as we Brits hate to talk about money, I’m holding out my sun-bleached, seawater-stained baseball cap and asking if you would please chip in with a few dollars to help me out. No contribution is too small – it all adds up!
Thank you!!
(To donate, please go to rozsavage.com and click on the PayPal button in the top right. All donations received from now until we reach our target, and/or the end of my row, will be counted towards the gift match.)
[photo: Distant dolphins – see below]
Other Stuff:
Just when we thought I might have broken free of the ITCZ… Today has been dismal. Weather-wise and mileage-wise. Even the appearance of several dozen dolphins failed to lift spirits much – they were too far away for me to see them properly.
I woke this morning to find my world grey and dank, and all around the horizon I could see big black clouds with legs of rain. As the sun set the view was much the same. The only variation during the day has been the occasional thunderclap and flash of lightning, and the wind, which has been blowing intermittently from the southeast (not good) and south (even more not good). The dolphins seemed to catch the mood of the day. They surfaced briefly and slowly, showing none of the joie de vivre that sometimes makes them leap and cavort like at Sea World. I filmed them for a while but they didn’t come close so most of my footage will be of grey sullen sea, and grey sullen sky. As I write the south wind is strengthening and eroding some of the progress towards the Equator I made yesterday.
Here’s to a brighter day tomorrow – or some donations would cheer me up
too! 
Speaking of being cheered up, thanks to Roz’s Rowsters for a bumper crop of great comments! I’m glad you enjoyed my Austen-ish dialogue yesterday – I had fun writing it, so I hoped you’d have as much fun reading it!
Thanks also to Richard in Austin, TX, for the update on Johnny Depp. Ah, to be on a chat show sofa with JD… sigh! Fuel for happy rowing daydreams!
Rozta’ Bill – hope you enjoy the Larabars! And I suppose I do get a kind of commission, as they generously provide me with my supplies of bars for my voyages. But yes, for sure, I do mention Larabars on a very regular basis and I know I’ve won over a lot of converts!
Kristen – lovely to hear from you. Thanks for the link about Tuvalu – we were actually talking about that on the Roz Rows The Pacific podcast this morning. It would be ideal if I could make it to Tuvalu – but even Tarawa will be seriously impacted by climate change, as will all the islands of the south Pacific – and Australia, which is the most likely destination for displaced islanders. So wherever I land up, I’m sure I’ll have some stories to take to the climate change conference in Copenhagen this December.
Serendipity/Law of Attraction – so I stand corrected, but will use my lack of a ship’s dictionary as an excuse! But I still hold that they are not opposites, because with the Law of Attraction I don’t think you can EXPECT to bring these things into your life. It’s more creative than that. You wish for them, you form the intention of receiving them, but then you let it go, and trust to the Universe to provide. As someone once said to me, you don’t take your broken watch to the watchmaker and then tell him how to fix it. Likewise, you take your intention to the Universe and then trust it to figure out the best delivery mechanism – so the end result may often appear serendipitous. IMHO.
Weather report:
Position at 2130 HST: 02 15.317N, 176 31.523W
Wind: 0-15kts, E-S
Seas: 1-4 ft, E-S
Weather: totally overcast, no sunshine. Frequent rain, occasional
thunderstorms.
Weather forecast courtesy of weatherguy.com
Latest tracker reported your position as: 02 16N 176 22W as of 06Aug 1107HST.
As of Thursday morning 6 Aug 2009. According to measured data, there have been Eerly winds up to 20kts and rainshowers in your area, which might help explain your gain in westward longitude. Eerly winds extends to the Equator then shift to SEerly 0-12kts. Winds will be very shifty next couple of days becoming Serly 0-15kts by 1600HST 06Aug. Then shifting back to Eerly 0-12kts by 08Aug 0000HST. Forecast aids indicate Eerly winds 0-15kts persist for remainder of the forecast period. Uncertainty remains in the forecast, as previously discussed.
According to satellite imagery, there remains moderate convection with rainshowers and squalls overhead and to your north. Minimal cloud activity south of 01 00N.
Sky conditions: Partly to mostly cloudy. Scattered moderate rainshowers, squalls, and possible thunderstorms.
Forecast (low confidence due to extreme variability in equatorial regions and naturally occurring small scale fluctuations in direction/speed in the Doldrums) Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft) est 06/1800-08/0000 S 0-15 2-5 08/0000-11/0000 E 0-15 2-5
Next Update: Monday, 10 August
