Today is a very special occasion for me – it’s the official publication day of my first book, Rowing The Atlantic, Lessons Learned on the Open Ocean. It also signals the start of my US book tour, with two radio interviews and a book signing.

The book signing is tonight, at Barnes & Noble on New York’s Upper West Side at 2289 Broadway @ 82nd St, from 7:00-8:30 pm.

If you’re not in the New York area, you might still be able to catch me on one of these radio shows:

West Coast: I’ll be joining Kelly Fuller by telephone on KVON-AM “Kellie in the Morning” at 7.15am Pacific Time – DOH! UPDATE! No sooner had I posted this blog than my publicist from Simon & Schuster called to say that this interview has been rescheduled to Oct 12 so I can get a longer timeslot on air. So no need to tune in today. Sorry! All very hectic here, with new opportunities opening up and other ones being upgraded. I’ll keep you abreast of developments as they happen!

East Coast: I’ll be in the studio with Leonard Lapate of WNYC-FM for the “Leonard Lopate Show” between 12:40-1:00 pm Eastern Time. This is a PBS affiliate, so hopefully the interview may be more widely broadcast.

Must run – the West Coast interview is about half an hour from now – and I still need to have my post-workout shower! Not that you can tell on the radio, of course, but it’s going to be a busy day, and I want to be ready and raring to go and feeling on tippy top form!

Just before I go – if you have already received your copy from Amazon or bought it from your local bookstore, please do post a review on Amazon. It really helps to boost sales, so I’d hugely appreciate it.

And thanks for your patience in waiting for your limited edition Larabar bookmarks. The empty Larabar wrappers are now on their way to my dear mother in England, and she will be getting busy assembling and laminating. But she’s a one-woman operation so it may take a bit of time. I know you’ll be understanding – and rest assured we’ll get them to you just as soon as we can!

Available in your local bookstore now! Also on Amazon.com.

In the fourth retrospective on Stage 2 of the Pacific, I’m considering two of my favorite subjects – food and books. Both played a significant role in my voyage – mostly as bribes to myself to get through the next rowing shift. We all need our treats!

Favorite foods:

1.    Wilderness Family Naturals products – a new sponsor – turned out to be a real winner. Loved the fact that the nuts were all sprouted and then dehydrated at low temperatures – super healthy. The chocolate syrup was a sweet treat, and the Coconut Powder was a fantastic addition to freeze-dried curries.
2.    Also a huge fan of the Living Nutz donations – Bodacious Banana Bread walnuts, Passionate Pesto walnuts, Zesty Almond Bliss, and Absolute Chi Teriyaki Almonds.
3.    The rawfood crackers made for me with love and pride by Marlene Depierre were fantastic. My favourites were the mock turkey (minced cashew nuts and cranberries), walnut pumpkin crackers (Mexican flavor), and “cookies” made with mango, banana, goji berries, dates, sunflower and pumpkin seeds – and the latest superfood, chia.
4.    A few special treats bought for me in Hawaii by Lorrin Lee – Kopali Organics Dried Mango, Go Raw Spirulina Superchips, carob energy nuggets, and Sun Power Natural Chocolate Chip Cookies. All utterly delicious.
5.    Plus, of course, my faithful Larabars. New favorite flavor is Peanut Butter Cookie, with Pecan Pie, Cinnamon Roll and Banana Bread following very close behind. With strategic rations of Jocalat Chocolate Coffee bars to get me through late evening rowing shifts.

Favorite books:

I listened to a total of 73 books on this voyage, thanks to Audible.com and Audible.co.uk – and Leo Laporte, who gave me his iPod with his own selection of books. Worthy of particular mention – in no particular order:

NON-FICTION

1.    Long Walk to Freedom, by Nelson Mandela
Inspiring autobiography of a legend.

2.    Lost on Planet China, by J Maarten Troost
Informative and amusing, a very personal view of contemporary China as it appears to the outsider.

3.    Around Ireland with a Fridge, by Tony Hawks
An entertaining tale of eccentric British adventure.

4.    Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortensen
An uplifting story of a man with a mission. If you liked Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracey Kidder, you’ll love this too.

5.    Vet in Harness, by James Herriott
The entertaining adventures of a vet in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1930s. Provoked a strong yearning to live in a simpler time.

6.    Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts
Epic – lasted me for days. Sometimes teeters on the brink of an ego trip, but generally a great story full of colourful characters and some interesting philosophical asides.

7.    Hemingway Adventure, by Michael Palin
I listened to all of Michael Palin’s books, but this was my favorite for its insights into the fascinating character of Hemingway, coupled with Palin’s usual excellent travel writing.

8.    Predictable Irrationality, by Dan Ariely
A fascinating insight into human psychology.

FICTION

9.    The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho
Life-changing, and something new to discover every time I read it.

10.    The Risk Pool, by Richard Russo
I love to lose myself in the small town dramas of Richard Russo’s books. Great characterisations.

11.    The Time Traveller’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
A page-turner of a story, with thought-provoking themes of free will versus fate.

12.    Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
An offbeat story of an underground London peopled by weird and wonderful characters. I will never again be able to stand on Earls Court station without thinking of the Earl and his court.

13.    Siddartha, by Herman Hesse
A beautiful story of a quest for enlightenment. If you’ve read and enjoyed The Alchemist, try this one too.

Other Stuff:

And speaking of books, today a momentous occasion. I held a copy of a book in my hands, gazing at the cover. It read, Rowing The Atlantic, by Roz Savage. My baby. Very exciting. Book tour starts October 6, the official publication date.

Lots of travel at the moment. Thank heavens for those carbon offsets. Just arrived in Hawaii this morning on the red-eye from Fiji. I had planned to spend a week here, but there is just too much cool stuff happening in New York for Climate Week – the premiere of The Age Of Stupid, the Climate Ride from New York to DC, and the president of Kiribati there on an official visit. So I’m going. I just can’t stay away with so much eco-action going on. So tomorrow night I fly to San Francisco to exchange my warm weather clothes for autumn clothes, then straight on to New York. It’s all a bit crazy, but with Copenhagen just around the corner, there is no time to lose!

This is a digest of today’s Twitter postings.

• 00:08 Roz’s Day – Postings from Twitter ff.im/2xFss #
• 10:59 Ooh! My book is available on Amazon.co.uk as well as Amazon.com! bit.ly/2yfBT #
• 12:44 Darn it, a lot of the books I wanted to "read" during my row aren’t available as audiobooks. #
• 13:36 A steady procession of friends swinging by our "uptown office" at Haleiwa Coffee Gallery today. I am in my happy place! #
• 15:34 The World Wide Wonder ff.im/2yAFc #
• 19:35 Busy afternoon filming with Conrad Wade of Thrive TV. Few issues with sound when the ocean was crashing just a bit too noisily… #
• 19:51 In answer to many inquiries – no definite plans for audiobook of Rowing The Atlantic yet, but I’m pushing for it! Read by me, I hope…. #
• 21:35 The more deeply I go into myself, the more I am not myself, and yet this is the very heart of me. (Alan Watts) #

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04 December 2005 | 2725.290N,1921.777W,0M

4 Dec, 05 – 21:21

Latitude: 27? 25′ N
Longitude: 19? 21′ W
Miles from La Gomera: 138
Miles to Antigua: 2425
Miles since last dispatch: 30ish
Position in race: not known

It had been two and a half days since I last had a conversation (not counting conversations with myself or with Monty). The last proper-ish conversation was a 3 minute chat with Lin on the Woodvale yacht Aurora when they swung by on Friday morning. I’ve discovered the joy of talking books (currently listening to Douglas Adams book recorded for me by the Kiwi Sun Latte crew – thanks, guys) but it’s not the same as a proper natter.

So although I am quite enjoying my self-imposed isolation, it was really good to hear Mum’s voice when I rang her tonight. She told me about Andrew Morris’s concussion and their consequent withdrawal – gutted for them – and also gave me an update on my official mileage.

I’m a bit puzzled by this – my GPS did a weird and demoralising leap backwards last night on my trip log, which now contradicts my mileage from La Gomera. And both are different from the figure on the Woodvale site. So I’ll go with the Woodvale figure because it’s the most flattering…

138 miles in 4 days. Not bad, but considerably behind schedule for my performance-related bonus from ParadiseBet (see my home page). But no need for despair yet – I got off to a slow start due to seasickness, and am now settling into a more productive routine, so hopefully daily averages will improve. (But not if I spend too long writing dispatches…)

Everything is aching at the moment – back, shoulders, neck, forearms. What wouldn’t I give for a good massage right now – line me up with the finest masseur Antigua can offer – but today was a good day. Can’t believe I’ve been out here just 4 days – feels like forever my life has been the glittering blue ocean and this little silver boat.

Wind: almost none
Weather: sunshine
Sea state: flat
Hours rowing: 14
Hours sleeping: 6
Thought for the day: Pain is temporary, pride is forever

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Roz Savage

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02 December 2005 | 2726.670N,1809.949W,0M

Monty in his new lifejacket

Miles from La Gomera: 64
Miles to Antigua: 2490
Position in race: not known

After yesterday’s whinge-fest I have now rediscovered my sense of humour. Well, what else can you do but laugh, when you find yourself naked except for hat, trainers and kangaroo skin gloves, paddling sedately across 3000 miles of ocean and singing along to Abba?

In fact. I’m thoroughly ashamed of myself. I’d promised myself I wasn’t going to whinge at all. I’ve chosen to do this lunatic thing, so I thereby relinquished any right to complain about this supremely surreal situation in which I now find myself.

Today has been a dramatic improvement. I treated myself to 8 hours of sleep last night, and woke up feeling like a new woman. Put in a solid 4 hours of rowing before breakfast (porridge – camping stove problem now overcome). And have spent the rest of the day getting into what feels like a sustainable routine of rowing, eating and resting.

And getting naked.

I am usually modest (and since pre-race bulking up have much to be modest about) and not given to exhibitionism, but previous ocean rowers have found that rowing naked helps prevent salt water boils. For me, the impetus to try it was because it’s easier to apply suncream without having to work around garments.

And it felt rather good to feel the sun and wind on my skin – it felt healthy and wholesome, rather than strange or embarrassing.

I’m now sitting on my deck watching the sun set – I’ve washed and dressed for dinner, which is rehydrating in a thermos flask. The sea is calm and I’ll put in a few more hours at the oars before retiring to my cabin. I feel well cared for and in control of my little world. Life is good.

Monty’s Dispatch

Hmmph! Thank heavens she’s in a better mood today. I’ve never heard so much whining and whingeing. ‘My hands are sore, my ribs hurt, I feel sick.’ Blah, blah, whinge, blah, blah.

Seems it was just a few teething problems and she’s quickly got used to her new lifestyle.

Me? I’m happy. I’ve got a smart new lifejacket made by Roz’s mother to keep me safe. No seafaring teddy should be without one!

Wind direction: 70?
Wind speed: 5 kts
Weather: fair
Sea state: calm
Hours rowing: 12
Hours sleeping: 8
Thought for the day: Know that you are not alone

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