Normally a bit of water wouldn’t bother me. After all, I’m about to row across a couple of thousand miles of the stuff. But today there is a lot of water and it’s falling from the sky in torrents and it’s very inconvenient.

Until yesterday my boat was under a shelter at the Marine Training Centre here in Tarawa, but as today is Saturday and we needed plentiful manpower to move the boat out, we had to move Brocade yesterday before the marine cadets went home for the weekend. So now she is out in the open.

If the weather was dry, this would be perfect. Most of the things that remain to be done required the boat to be out from under the shelter. For example, I can’t set up the bimini until the short antenna masts are up, and I couldn’t put them up under the limited headroom of the roof. But I’d rather work in the dry than in a monsoon. And other things, like applying sponsor stickers, can’t be done in the wet – nor can they be done once the boat is in the water, which is scheduled to happen this afternoon.

So far, though, Liz and I have had plenty to keep us busy indoors – sorting and packing, testing technology, doing a few final emails and interviews. But if this weather continues for the rest of today and into tomorrow, we’re going to be up against it to be ready in time to leave on Monday morning (bearing in mind that we are already into Saturday local time). This rain started at 5am this morning, and 7 hours later shows no signs of relenting.

Unfortunately this deluge is set to continue. I believe it is a side effect of El Nino. I had considerable experience of wet weather rowing on the Atlantic, and I don’t like it. Wet skin chafes more. It’s impossible to keep the cabin dry when I’m going in and out soaking wet. Electronics fog up and fail. It’s generally more challenging.

But what’s to be done? Am trying to be philosophical about it, but El Nino looks set to be El PITA.

Other Stuff:

I would like to extend an enormous thank you to the Marine Training Centre for taking such good care of Brocade over the last 7 months. It was a huge relief to find the boat and equipment in such good shape. The MTC is an oasis of good order in the bustle of Tarawa, and the cadets could not have been more helpful. My eternal gratitude to the Captain Superintendent, Boro Lucic, and his staff and students.

Thanks also to John and Linda Anderson of Kiribati Video for making arrangements for Monday morning. They will be filming my departure from Emile’s boat – the same boat that came out to greet me in last year. AP London have already asked for the footage, so hopefully it will go online fairly soon after the event – internet connections permitting.

Last night Liz and I had dinner with Tessie Lambourne, Secretary for Foreign Affairs, who I had last seen in Copenhagen. We compared notes on developments since Copenhagen, and hopes for Mexico. Time is running out for Kiribati if predictions of sea level rise are correct. Here it is not a “one-day-maybe” issue. It is here and now. I hope you will join our Eco Heroes campaign at http://ecoheroes.me and do your bit to help.

I am posting this using the latest version of EpicTracker. Normally it will have GPS coordinate attached, but at the moment the GPS cables are at the MTC and I am at Betio Apartments. Full functionality will start as soon as I get all my technology in one place!

Yesterday afternoon I attended a side event hosted by the delegation from Kiribati, to issue their Call To The World (watch the video here). I was a few minutes late, having dashed to the Bella Center from an earlier meeting at the Klimaforum in central Copenhagen, and it was with a slight sense of trepidation that I pushed open the door to the meeting room. Would they have a good attendance, or would this tiniest of countries (pop. 100,000) have failed to register on the COP15 radar?

An I-Kiribati dancer cheering up the proceedings

So I was relieved to see the rows of seats almost full, and many more people standing around the sides of the room. But the presentation got off to a slow start as two members of the delegation ran through rather dry Powerpoint presentations on the effects of climate change and their planned defence measures. Then some light relief – an I-Kiribati dancer in traditional dress, beaming broadly, strutted her hip-waggling stuff onstage to a toe-tapping beat that got the crowd clapping and the cameras flashing.

So after this display of wonderful Pacific joie de vivre the contrast was all the greater when Dr Robert Kay got up to show a computer-generated simulation of what will happen by the year 2100 to the islands of Kiribati – the home of this joyful dancer, the members of the delegation, and their compatriots. The satellite image on the projector screen showed the capital island, Tarawa, at first blemished by a few small outbreaks of blue around the edges of the atoll, representing localized areas of inundation in 2020. As the decades passed the isolated patches grew and merged, until by 2100 not much of South Tarawa was left. The island where my boat currently resides would have become a shadow of its former self, its freshwater lens long since rendered brackish and undrinkable.

Then, as if the news were not already bad enough – an outbreak of pink blotches, showing the areas that would be vulnerable to flooding in the kind of storm that might hit once in 10 years. The island of South Tarawa, with a population of around 40,000, now disappeared under an almost continuous patchwork of blue and pink.

Dr Robert Kay presents the 2100 scenario - bad news for Kiribati

[Important note: I need to emphasize that this simulation reflected the worst case scenario projected by the UNFCCC. Also I heard no mention of coral growth, which has the potential to mitigate the effects of rising oceans if the rate of growth can outpace the rate of sea level rise – provided, of course, that the ability of the coral to grow is not seriously reduced by ocean acidification.]

The simulation had a huge effect on the audience. The high spirits that had accompanied the dancer vanished faster than barbecue partygoers in a rainstorm, leaving the room in stunned silence. When my friend Tessie Lambourne concluded her part of the presentation by saying, “We don’t want to be environmental refugees – we want to relocate on merit, with dignity,” there was an immediate round of heartfelt and sympathetic applause.

How the people of Kiribati feel about their fate

I hope that the Kiribati gets the dramatic cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases that they seek from COP15. But the problem here is that a global problem is being discussed on a nation-by-nation basis.

What is the ideal level for decision-making? National? Local? Global? We have this illusion of separateness, but we are all linked by our shared dependence on this planet.

Physically, the only things that separate countries are manmade borders, or oceans. But the oceans, like the atmosphere, also connect all countries. One country’s pollution will affect its neighbours, near and far.

Economically, too, we are all linked. Britain may have reduced its carbon emissions, but largely by exporting much of its manufacturing processes to China. Same goes for the United States. So there is a kind of karmic justice in the fact that 25% of the air pollution in Los Angeles originates in China – environmental chickens coming home to roost.

Unfortunately this example of instant karma is rare. Most of the effects of environmental evils are felt far from their point of origin. At his presentation to the Climate Riders in September, Dr Ben Strauss gave this example: if climate change was local to each country depending on its own emissions, 20th century America would have seen a rise in temperature of a dramatic 22.5 degrees Fahrenheit. This would give Boston similar July temperatures to Phoenix (95-96 degrees) and would make Phoenix practically uninhabitable. This would no doubt focus the American mind marvellously.

However, in the real world, the effects of environmental abuse are distributed globally – although not equally. In fact, it will be primarily the world’s poorest countries that will feel the effects first, while the developed countries are able to “export” much of their impact.

Long hours evidently anticipated as the negotiations move into their final stages next week

So we have a situation where the developed countries have limited incentive to change, many of the fast-developing countries prioritize a short-term increase in standard of living over long-term sustainability, and the slow-developing countries – like Kiribati – are left to foot the environmental bill.

What is to be done? We have organized our human society around strong national identities that discourage global thinking. And our dominant system of electing governments is democracy, which discourages long-term thinking. Yet here we are faced with a global, long-term problem. Have we set ourselves up for disaster, or can we quickly switch to a new way of thinking, more appropriate to the challenge we now face?

Other Stuff:

Pretty insignificant in the overall scheme of things, but I can’t help feeling a bit cranky about being listed among the Daily Telegraph’s “Misadventures” of the last decade for my failed attempt on the Pacific in 2007. Of course they utterly fail to mention my successes on the Atlantic in 2006, and on the Pacific in 2008 and 2009. Please feel free to post your comments on this omission on their website!

Margo and me at last year's Ocean Champions reception. Photo courtesy of Doug DeMark.

I can’t believe that it’s still less than 3 weeks since I arrived in Tarawa. Already the 104 days I spent on the ocean seem like a fast-fading dream as I get back up to speed and start looking forward in earnest to Copenhagen.

I was delighted with the way that things worked out in Tarawa. Thanks to Nicole, Ian, Conrad and Hunter, I was able to leave the Brocade clean, shipshape and fully functioning, and safely ensconced in the Marine Training Centre.

Getting to meet the President of Kiribati was a very special occasion. We had a long chat about his hopes and concerns for his country. Kiribati really is on the edge of existence, literally and figuratively. Few countries are more remote, and with no point of land higher than 6 ft above sea level, few countries are more vulnerable. It boggled my mind to think how I would feel if my own country was expected to disappear in the next 40 years – the places where I had been born, gone to school, made friends and created a life, all gone. Yet the President is facing this challenge with courage and pragmatic realism. If only all heads of state were as clear-sighted about the impacts of climate change.

The President and I now find ourselves in the same place yet again, half a world away from our last meeting. He is in New York for the UN General Assembly. We’ve been trying to coordinate another meeting, but his schedule has been packed so far – as, indeed, has mine.

Roz Savage with Rep. Lois Capps. 23rd District, Calif, at Ocean Champions reception

It was a last-minute decision to come to New York for Climate Week, but well worth the mad dash to get here. At the Age of Stupid premiere I was able to do a couple of media interviews and also met Ed Miliband, the UK’s Minister for the Environment. Last night I was in DC for the Ocean Champions reception – a fun chance to catch up with friends and fellow ocean campaigners including Margo Pellegrino of Miami2Maine paddling fame. Thanks to David Wilmot and all the Champs for a great evening, and to Shaw Thacher, tireless activist and kind provider of a couch for the night. Great also to see Doug DeMark there, the photographer who earlier this year took some great pictures of a rather tubbier me by Chesapeake Bay.

I am writing this blog on the train on the way back to New York to meet with my editor at Simon & Schuster as we prepare for my book tour. You might have noticed we have a new section on the website for upcoming events. You’ll see details there of the book tour, as well as my forthcoming presentations – one for the Ocean River Institute at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and for National Geographic in Washington, DC. Both are open to the public, so I hope to see you there!

Tonight I’m having dinner with Naomi, one of Roz’s Regulars. This will be the first time we have met in person. We’ll be eating at Pure Food and Wine, a rawfood restaurant in Irving Place, NYC. Looking forward to it. See you tonight, Naomi!

Tomorrow I’ll be packing for the Climate Ride, a 300-mile bike ride from New York to Washington DC which starts on Saturday. I’m a bit worried about it – I’ve been pounding the exercise bike in the gym this week, trying to rediscover my cycling muscles, but I think I lost them somewhere mid-Pacific! I’ll be blogging and Tweeting from the road, so you can find out how I get on.

With Dave Wilmot of Ocean Champions and Rob Moir of Ocean River Institute

Assuming I survive the ride, the event culminates in a bike rally in front of the Capitol next Wednesday. All are welcome to come and join me and the other 150 riders. Attendees include Bracken Hendricks, senior Fellow at Center for American Progress; an architect of clean-energy portions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; founding executive director of the Apollo Alliance, Betsy Taylor, founder and President of the Center for a New American Dream, co-founder and now President of the Board of Directors of the 1Sky Education Fund, and various Members of Congress (TBA).

So life is hectic – but very good. No time to rest on my laurels when we have a planet to save!

Pacific Stage 2 Highlights

The highlights of Stage 2 – 104 days condensed into 1:40 mins. If only the voyage had been this easy!

It’s pretty dynamic, so get ready, brace yourself, pay attention, sit back and enjoy – here we go….!

Roz Savage Pacific Row Stage 2 Highlights

All due credit to Dawn Pasinski – hasn’t she done an amazing job?! Huge thanks also to ScubaDrew and Ray Hollowell for the stunning underwater and aerial shots, and Conrad Wade for the beautiful arrival footage.

I always enjoy, at the end of a chapter of my life, to look back and reflect. What were the highlights? What were the moments of drama? What went well? What could have gone better? And so, as I draw the line under Stage 2 of the Pacific row, here is the ocean-rowing equivalent of my Oscars speech…

Special thanks to:

1. The animals – for making this such a memorable voyage. I will forever remember the Hawaii-Tarawa voyage for the incredible number of wildlife encounters – and how close the wildlife came to my boat, as if they were making a personal visit to say hi and welcome me to their domain. I saw more pelagic critters on this leg than I have seen on both my previous major rows – combined and multiplied by ten. The final tally was something like this:

- whale shark (1)

- other sharks (dozens – thankfully not too close, apart from one that swam right under my boat)

- whales (a dozen or so, species unknown)

- dolphins (dozens)

- turtles (3)

- squid (3, on deck, very messy)

- remoras (any remoras is too many)

- pilot fish (regularly hanging out in the shade of Brocade)

- brown noddies

- booby birds (how could I ever forget? They came, they saw, they pooped)

2. The Rozling community – for being such active participants in my adventure. On this voyage, more than ever, it felt like we had a real dialogue going, rather than me being permanently in “transmit” mode. I could really feel the love, support and positive energies pouring through the slender umbilical of my satphone/data modem. Thank you so much for making the last three and a half months so special. I love you all!

3. TeamRoz – how could I have done it without them? I might have managed the rowing bit alone, but there is so much more to an ocean rowing voyage than just rowing. Nicole, of course, gets special mention, for putting in an amazingly productive and effective summer’s work. She always gives 110%, and I cannot find the words to express how much I appreciate her support in all shapes and forms – logistical, administrative, and emotional. And a good therapeutic laugh from time to time as needed. Enormous gratitude also to Mum, Rick Shema, Ricardo Diniz, Hunter and Traci Downs, Evan Rapoport, Ian Tuller, Conrad Wade, Daisy Hampton, Dawn Pasinski, Leo Laporte, Laureen Hudson and Sinead Martin for their energy, time and support over the summer.

Over the course of the next few blogs I’ll be posting more retrospectives on Stage 2 of the Pacific row – favorite memories, favorite Rozling moments, dramas, triumphs, frustrations, favorite foods, favorite books and lessons learned. I hope you’ll join me as I look back over this summer’s success!

Other Stuff:

TeamRoz left Tarawa on Tuesday. Just before we left I had a meeting with the President of Kiribati (of which Tarawa is the administrative center), who told me about the impact that climate change is having on his people, and what he intends to do about it. I’ll be blogging about this in due course. Stay tuned. It was a fascinating opportunity to find out at first hand how climate change is a very real and immediate threat to these fragile islands on the edge of the world.

Apologies for the lack of blogs and Tweets recently. Trying to get online in Tarawa was problematic, to put it mildly. I was still having to Tweet from my satphone, just as I did on the boat, and blogging would have challenged the patience of a saint.

We are now in Fiji for a few days – an unavoidable stopover while we wait for Friday’s flight to Hawaii. I was in culture shock last night when we arrived. After the extreme simplicity (and poverty) of life in Tarawa, Fiji is a big step back towards a US standard of living. In some ways it is a relief to be back within reach of a decent internet connection and decent fresh produce, but I wouldn’t have missed my Tarawa experience for the world.

I will tell more when I blog about my meeting with the President, but for now I would just like to express my huge gratitude to all the wonderful people that we met in Tarawa, who gave me such a warm welcome and made our time in their country so memorable. Thank you for the memories.

APOLOGY: I am profoundly embarrassed. I have been unavoidably offline for the last week, so had no idea of the row brewing over something I wrote in my last blog. I was not at all familiar with the US connotations of “Aunt Jemima”, and am horrified that some people interpreted this as a racial slur. Nothing could have been further from my intentions. During my all-too-brief time in Tarawa I developed the greatest respect and love for the people there.  Apologies for any offence caused.

Remembering the huge problems we had trying to find a suitable place in Hawaii for Brocade to hibernate last winter between Stages 1 and 2 of my Pacific row, it is nothing short of miraculous that Nicole has been able to find an ideal spot here on the tiny, densely populated island of Tarawa. Brocade’s new home is at the Marine Training Centre, and we will be forever indebted to Captain Superintendent Boro Lucic, the smiling Montenegran who runs the Centre.

To give you some idea of just how miraculous this is, here were our criteria for Brocade’s temporary home:

-       facilities for lifting a 1200lb boat out of the water

-       under cover storage for boat

-       something on which to store Brocade (her trailer is still in Hawaii)

-       separate storage for boat’s contents

-       security

The MTC has been able to supply all this – and more.

I spent all day there yesterday with Ian and Hunter. Conrad filmed us while we worked hard to empty the boat of every last food ration, waterbag and marine flare.  There was an astonishingly large pile of stuff on the ground next to Brocade by the time we had finished. Then everything had to be sorted – stuff to store, to go back to the US, to be discarded. Many things had to be cleaned and/or dried. In the baking sun water evaporated quickly – from our bodies too, and we had to beware of heatstroke. Finally Boro loaned us some new recruits to help carry everything to the cool store room where it will spend the next few months, safe from rats, ants and the intense heat. Apparently Jason Lewis’s supplies were largely destroyed by rats. They don’t kill them here because they are supposedly the spirits of ancestors, but I am keen to avoid having my oatmeal eaten by somebody’s Great Aunt Betty.

It was a long, hot, sweaty day, but now Ian has clear space so he can work on the things that need to be repaired or enhanced before Stage 3. Today he is trying to fix the watermaker. No luck so far. Other things on our To Do list include:

-       connect cable to external satphone antenna

-       improve storage of sea anchor line (needs to be more secure, as Stage 3 will likely be rougher than Stage 2, with higher risk of capsize)

-       add struts to bimini so it doesn’t flap in high winds

-       replace stereo (Lazarus was working more consistently towards the end, but is clearly not in perfect health)

-       plus, of course, get the boat shipshape and Bristol fashion, all lockers cleaned and bleached, decks scrubbed, and hull de-slimed.

So Brocade’s physique is on the way to recovery – but how is mine? I’ve regained 4lb in 4 days, which is no bad thing. My perception was that I’d eaten more and lost less weight this time around. So you could have knocked me over with a feather (possibly literally) when I stepped on the scales to find that I was 107lb  – exactly the same weight as when I arrived in Hawaii last year, and representing a total loss of exactly 30lb in 104 days.

My skin is still rough and sunburned. I suffered from heat rashes and spots the whole way across, but they are diminishing gradually. I also have some nasty areas of sunburn on my face, which are peeling pinkly now. Hmmm, attractive. I am going to be one wrinkly old lady. Anybody know a good dermatologist? I’m not joking!

My hands, though, are the area of my body still showing the clearest evidence of my recent endeavours. I can’t fully extend my fingers nor clench them into fists – the skin is too tough, tight and callused to allow full movement. But they will recover in time. The calluses are already peeling off now that they are no longer needed.

Someone made a comment that I don’t look like someone who has just rowed 3,000 miles, but I’m not sure what such a person should look like. Maybe he expected me to have shoulders like a Russian shotputter’s. But unless I was taking muscle-enhancing steroids all the way across that wasn’t going to happen. I just don’t have enough testosterone in my body to get that kind of muscle growth. I’m sunburned, scarred and skinny – and hopefully a little bit wiser. And that will have to be evidence enough of my latest ocean adventure.

Note: I still have very limited internet access. The technical infrastructure here on Tarawa is not up to US standards, nor is it ever likely to be. We were told that many of the Pacific islands are going to benefit from new cables being laid across the ocean floor to deliver high data speeds and communications links. But Tarawa is truly in the middle of nowhere… and on the way to nowhere. So for the foreseeable future they will have to rely on satellite connections.

For me personally, this means I have not been able to download my emails, and accessing websites or webmail is slow or sometimes impossible. I still haven’t had the opportunity to have a proper look around my own website, which went live while I was out on the ocean. So please bear with me. Thank you!

A HUGE THANK YOU: From what I hear from Mum and others, there has been an amazing outpouring of congratulations in the Rozling community. I just wish I had the connectivity to be able to play a more active part in the celebrations. I feel a bit like the corpse at the funeral – a great party being held in my honour, and I can’t be there! But hopefully I will clamber out of my internet coffin shortly and get back to full online life – and we’ll just have to celebrate all over again then!

Check out the first video of Roz arriving in Tarawa!

Here is the first set of photos from Roz’s arrival in Tarawa!!! Many more to come soon…

Read Roz’s blog

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I stepped ashore, setting foot on dry land for the first time in 105 
days. This was now my third arrival after prolonged periods at sea, so 
I wasn’t surprised when the ground seemed to lurch beneath my feet. My 
brain had adapted to being on a constantly pitching boat, so now it 
was over-compensating when I stood on terra firma. I looked up at the 
crowd of several hundred people that had come to greet me, and 
wondered if my first act on arriving in Tarawa would be to topple over 
like a drunkard.

Then two big hunky men in traditional island outfits approached and 
knelt in front of me, forming a cradle with their arms. “Thank heavens 
for local tradition” I thought, as I sank gratefully onto the 
proffered cradle.

I was carried to a plastic chair, and the hunky men were joined by 
several more who performed a local dance of traditional welcome. I 
felt like visiting royalty as I smiled appreciatively. They presented 
me with a coconut, its top lopped off so I could drink the cool, 
refreshing, sweet coconut water inside. It was exactly what I needed. 
I was feeling a bit woozy after my exertions. It had been an 
exhausting 3 days.

As I approached Tarawa from the south on Sept 4th, I hadn’t been sure 
if I would manage to make landfall under my own steam. Given the 
strong easterly winds that had prevailed over the previous few days, I 
thought it much more likely that I would get close to the island but 
miss it by several miles, and would need a boat to come out to catch 
me as I whizzed past.

But finally Neptune decided to give me a break. I had already made it 
safely past the island of Abemama (where Robert Louis Stevenson lived 
for a while). I was making good progress in a northwesterly direction, 
but there was a problem. Unless I managed to shift course to north- 
northwest, I would run slap into the island of Maiana. I had to choose 
whether to go south of it, which would mean I had no chance of getting 
to Tarawa under my own steam, or else east of it – which was the way I 
wanted to go, but was it possible? Under present wind conditions, no, 
it wasn’t.

Then, finally, the long-awaited southeasterly wind arrived. Woohoo! 
Now I was in fine shape. The wind only lasted a few hours, but I was 
able to ride it all the way up the east side of Maiana, which lined me 
up nicely for Tarawa.

I rowed late into the night until I was reasonably sure I was clear of 
Maiana and its reefs. Then I tried to grab a quick nap, but I kept 
opening one eye to squint at the GPS to make sure I wasn’t going to 
shipwreck. At one point I got up and rowed some more, just to make 
doubly sure. It would have been a real shame to get this far only to 
end up on a reef within sight of the finish.

So as I approached the final 20 miles into Tarawa, I had had less than 
6 hours of sleep in the previous 48 hours, and the heat was brutal. 
The wind had dropped away to nothing and the sun was intense. When I 
got to 9 miles out, I really wondered if I was going to make it. After 
rowing 3000 miles, the last 9 seemed to loom very large. I put some 
good rocking music on to help me through.

And finally, mile by mile, I crossed off the final hours of my voyage. 
After each mile I posted another Tweet and had a bite of food. A boat 
arrived to escort me the last mile or two to land. On board were 
Nicole, Hunter (from Archinoetics) and Conrad (our cameraman). Also 
Rob, the New Zealand High Commissioner, who put his sea kayak in the 
water and paddled alongside me.

But I could feel that I was getting depleted. As I always seem to do, 
I get over-excited on my final day and push myself too hard. I arrive 
on land dehydrated, sunburned and exhausted.

The last mile was really tough. I wondered if it would ever finish. 
Rob told me I was rowing against the incoming tide. I was reduced to 
counting tens. Just ten more strokes. Then another ten. Then another 
ten. As I crossed my finish line of latitude, I collapsed backwards 
off my rowing seat.

But nothing that an ice cold beer wouldn’t cure (oops, ignore this 
bit, please, Dr Aenor!). Nicole knew what was needed. I heard some 
splashing as I lay on the deck with my eyes closed, and then Nicole’s 
head popped up over the side of the boat. She had jumped off the 
escort boat into the water and swum over to Brocade, beer in hand. It 
was a bit warm after its time in the water, but tasted pretty darned 
good regardless. Now that’s what I call a dedicated Program Director!

So now I am on Tarawa, quite possibly one of the most remote places on 
the world. I’m dying to tell you all about it, but this blog is long 
enough already, and the Solicitor General’s wife’s aunt is waiting to 
give me a much-needed massage. So I’ll sign off now, but will tell 
more tomorrow. I intend to blog every day until we leave Tarawa, 
probably Sept 17th. But internet access here is very limited, so 
please forgive me if I miss a day or two.

Photos and videos coming soon. Stay tuned!

Photos of Roz Arriving in Tarawa!

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The trickiest bits of any ocean row are the beginning and the end. Of course it is not all that easy in the middle either, but at least there is no land to bump into there, so that’s one less thing to worry about. My main concern right now is trying to make a safe landfall. At the moment I am only twelve miles from land, but unfortunately that is not the land I want to go to.

It is Abemema Atoll*. I don’t know what’s there, but probably not very much. Certainly no airport, and definitely no members of my team. They are on Tarawa which is 90 nautical miles away from me, at an increasingly challenging angle. I need to be about 50 miles further north ideally, but I’m being whisked rapidly west by the winds and current. It looks as if I might run out of west before I make enough northern progress.

We do have a back-up plan: we’d already intended to have a pilot vessel to guide me through the reef . It is apparently very difficult to navigate even for those who know it well. So it would be very hazardous for said rowboat and rower better adapted to the mid-ocean. So if needs be, the pilot boat can come out a bit further and lasso me as I whizz past to the south of the island. The only problem being that we don’t yet have a pilot boat. But Nicole is working on it and I can only hope that she succeeds before I disappear past Tarawa into the great blue yonder.

So I am doing everything I can to hang onto those precious westerly miles. For every mile west I want to be making a mile north and I’m using the sea anchor to try and hold ground while I sleep. Last night this resulted in a very sad loss. It was about 10pm and I was just putting out the sea anchor for the night. As I untied the main line from a D-ring on the boat, there was a small clink and a gentle splosh. I looked in disbelief at my wrist. My watch was gone – my lovely, trusty, beloved G-shock Pathfinder watch. Solar powered, given to me by Casio a few years ago. It and I have been through so much together It had survived the airlift of 2007 and my row from San Francisco to Hawaii . I once thought I had killed when I went caving with my sister . Some grit and mud got into its buttons but it rallied even from that, only to be lost at sea just days before the end of this passage.

I still don’t know quite how it came to vanish . It had a metal wristband of the sort that should still remain around your wrist even though the clasp might come undone. So when I hooked it on the D-ring the strap actually parted company from the watch . It was like that horrible feeling that you get when the front door slams behind you and you realize that you have left your keys on the inside. Just too late to do anything about it. I would have given anything to rewind and replay the last three seconds. There are not many possessions that I am attached to: my laptop, my iphone and my watch are the three that come to mind. I loved the watch for the fact that it was solar-powered and never needed a new battery. It just lived on my wrist, telling me time, date, the day of the week, should I need it, the altitude, not that relevant at the moment living mostly at sea level, compass bearing, and barometric pressure. No fuss, no bother, just dependable. I even wear it quite conspicuously in the photo on the front cover of my book. But now it is no more, well it is, but by now probably 2 miles away under the sea. I hope that it doesn’t get eaten by a shark or a sea creature it wouldn’t do them much good at all. Having survived all that it has, I wonder whether it will ever turn up on a fish-monger’s slab somewhere, still working.

Oh well, watches can be replaced. It was only a thing, I keep reminding myself. Only a thing.

*Editor’s note: This was added by TeamRoz. We suspect Roz called it Bike, which is an islet on Abemema.

[photo: Tarawa from the air, taken by Nicole]

Update from Nicole:

It’s been a very busy day here in Tarawa, and I’m going to keep this short because I’m absolutely beat and I know that it will probably take at least 10 minutes just to upload this blog. The Internet connection here has been…well…let’s just say a challenge. Everywhere we go on the island, we whip out the laptops hoping to snag a signal, even for just a few moments, but with the exception of a couple of hours this afternoon, we’ve largely been unsuccessful. Believe me, the irony isn’t lost on us that Roz is at sea and has marginally better connectivity than we do on dry land!

In short, we have accomplished a lot, but there remains much to be done. Tarawa is a place where you have to know people to get anything accomplished…and we’re getting there. Here’s how it works: we meet one person, who will introduce us to someone else who works for the person that is exactly the person we need to know to accomplish X. This all happens on Tarawa time, which FYI is even slower than what we’ve all come to know as “island time.” The good news is that we’ve been getting really lucky. We’re meeting exactly the right people that can make miracles happen, and our new friends are bending over backwards to help us – we are so fortunate.

Today we had lunch with a wonderful Australian gent named David. He is the Attorney General of Kiribati and has been tremendously helpful. His wife is the Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Immigration, and she essentially made it possible for all of us to enter the country and has also fast-tracked the necessary approvals for Roz’s arrival. She reports directly to the President, so now we know that we’re legal! David also invited us to sit in his air-conditioned office and avail ourselves of the very best Internet connection on the atoll, so for a few sweet hours this afternoon, we were able to get much-needed work done online.

Another big thank you to our Kiwi friend, John who gave up an entire day guiding us around the island and making important introductions. He helped us secure the assistance of the merchant marines – they have generously agreed to help us extract Roz’s boat from the water and provide safe storage for us during the months between Stage 2 and 3. Roz’s boat weights about 1200 pounds and has a custom-built trailer, which we couldn’t transport to Tarawa. We’ll have to put something together here before we can take it out of the water, and the merchant marines are helping us assemble a crew to custom build a “cradle” for Roz’s boat – something that will be absolutely necessary for storing it safely.

The other very important piece of this puzzle is a safe landing area. We’ve consulted a number of on-island experts about the exact approach Roz needs to make to arrive here safely. It won’t be easy – there are tricky currents and shallow waters with boat-busting reefs that she’ll need to navigate, so my top priority remains lining up an escort boat in the next couple of days that can safely guide her in. The boat needs to be able to go at least 20 miles out to sea (just in case) and finding an able vessel on Tarawa is proving to be a challenge. I have a good feeling that today this piece of the puzzle will lock into place. Cross your fingers for us!

There seems to have been quite a bit of hubbub the past few days about the timing of things on Tarawa so I feel it’s necessary to make something absolutely clear: asking Roz to slow down was MISSION CRITICAL. It is not for party planning or PR purposes. When Roz made the call the call that Tarawa was the destination, we had less than 24 hours to move. We are in a third world country right now, and while the people here are incredibly warm, generous and accommodating, making the necessary preparations for Roz takes time. She can’t just show up. If she did, she’d be putting herself and her boat in very real danger. Roz has plenty of food and water, and is not at all in harm’s way by slowing down a bit to allow us time to make the absolutely necessary arrangements. I should also point out that since she’s changed course for Tarawa, she’s logging record mileage, so she’s not actually slowing down at all. Please know that this Team has nothing but Roz’s safety and best interests at heart. I would hope you’d also have some faith in your heroine – over the past few months, you’ve gotten to know her through her soul-bearing blogs. Do you really think she’d do something doesn’t want to do? There are a lot of moving pieces here, so I just ask that you be respectful of the process and the people that are working hard to make this happen.

Speaking of the team, many of you have been asking how we’re holding up. We’re okay, but definitely dealing with a few little health issues. Today I woke up feeling lousy with a bad headache, a terribly sore throat and blocked nose. Hunter managed to get conjunctivitis, which is really unpleasant. We managed to track down the US Navy doctor who is here through Saturday on a special project and he gave Hunter the medicated drops he needs to fight this off. I’m hoping my little bug buggers off soon too!

Well, that’s it for now. Roz and I will now be speaking every day at 10 am on our satphones. From now until she arrives, Roz and I will alternate days on the blog, so you can be kept up to date on both the land and sea parts of this grand adventure. Thanks all for your continued support and best wishes!

Nicole

[photo: amazing sunset captured on the lagoon side of Tarawa]

I’m back! Well, sort of.  I’m having technical problems with my email which is how I post my blog. So I’m reading my blog over the satphone and I hope that Mum gets my message asking her to transcribe it for me, and I gather that I am not the only member of Team Roz having technical difficulties. I haven’t heard from Nicole since she arrived on Tarawa so they must be having problems there too (PHOTO: From Nicole, as she was flying into Tarawa).

I spoke to Evan today who is back at base on Hawaii and he says he has just had the one email from her since she left, so they were having some issues. So all in all it has been a challenging day for the Rozters. Right this minute, though, email is far from the biggest of my worries. My much greater concern is trying to hit Tarawa. Such a tiny speck in such a huge ocean and my boat is so difficult to maneuver with any precision so reaching Tarawa was always going to be like trying to land a parachute on a penny from 40,000 feet, Oh and given that I am not due to arrive there until September the 9th to give my team time to assemble. It is like trying to land a parachute on a penny at 3.23 and 35 seconds on a Wednesday.

If the weather was nice and calm as predicted with a gentle 8 knot wind from the east, this might be looking quite do-able, but as I speak at sunset on Wednesday – I’m on Tarawa time now – I am looking out at some of the roughest conditions I’ve seen on this stage so far. The wind is blowing at 20 plus knots and the seas are rough and steep. So life is erm  . . . interesting.

Hopefully soon these communications issues will be resolved and this reminds me of Shackleton and his men when they had to split up the team. Some of them had to set out across the Antarctic to try to raise a rescue mission. The ones left behind had no idea whether the rest of the party had succeeded or perished in the attempt.

Obviously in the early days of the 20th century they had no satellite phones. So suddenly Nicole has been thrust back several decades into a world without internet. Ironically, even though she is now just 150 miles away from me, closer than at any other point in the last three months  its never been more difficult for us to communicate with each other.

I left a message with Evan that I will try to call Nicole at 10am tomorrow so hopefully we can manage to make contact then. Meanwhile there is this wind to worry about . . .

Signing off now, next blog from me in a couple of days. Hopefully Nicole will manage to get on line to post her blog tomorrow. In the Meanwhile, thank you Rozlings for your ongoing support, love and encouragement, and its going to be an interesting final week, that’s for sure.

All the best for now. Roz.

Bula from Fiji…and from the other side of the international date line!

Team Roz arrived safe and sound at Nadi International Airport just before 3:00 pm local time. Please forgive my mistake on the blog this morning – I said we were arriving on Monday, September 1^st and of course, I meant Monday, August 31^st. That blog entry was rife with errors, and I can only ask your forgiveness – it was a rather hasty entry written at the airport gate and I was a bit sleep deprived!

The 7 hour flight was great – very smooth and the plane was practically empty. As you can imagine, the view from the sky as we descended into Fiji was pretty spectacular. Conrad got out the camera and did some filming – I hope the video captures the incredible colors from the various depths of water. Just stunning!

We breezed through customs and were all relieved that none of our food rations were confiscated. (I think I brought enough granola bars and dried fruit to feed all of Tarawa for a week!) We waited for about 20 minutes for a shuttle to our hotel, which is just a few minutes down the road. We checked in quickly, unloaded our bags in the rooms and headed immediately for the restaurant – we were all famished. Cold beers and a good lunch was just what the doctor ordered.

Sitting outside, we all remarked how similar this part of Fiji is to Hawaii –  Hunter noticed that the plants surrounding us are just like the ones in his backyard at home. The hotel has a lovely little pool surrounded by a nice garden, and since our flight to Tarawa isn’t until noon tomorrow, I think we might get a little dip in the morning.

So, I know this is all terribly fascinating stuff (wink, wink) but the reason you’re all here is Roz and you’re itching to hear more about her! Our girl is doing great, not to worry! Many of you are wondering why her position is no longer being posted to the RozTracker, and why she’s not blogging and Tweeting anymore. Don’t worry – this is just temporary. Roz is taking a few days to collect her thoughts and just enjoy some peaceful, contemplative time alone before arriving on Tarawa. She’ll be back to blogging in just a couple of days.

It’s important to point out that I’ve asked Roz to grant her Team one really big favor. In fact, it’s a huge favor. I’ve asked her to slow down. That’s a big ask of someone who has been alone at sea, rowing for nearly 100 days. But I had to make the request – I only found out on Thursday that we’d be going to Tarawa and as you know, we’re scrambling to make all the necessary customs and immigration arrangements for both Roz and her boat.

The other reason I’ve asked her to slow down is for her Team. The earliest we could get the rest of them to Tarawa is Tuesday, September 8^th. They’ve been a huge support for Roz throughout this amazing mission of hers and are now coming halfway around the world to support her and toast her arrival – it would be an incredible shame if they missed it by just one day! So Roz has graciously agreed to slow down.

One last great piece of news that I just received: Roz is featured today on CNN! You can take a look at the excellent story by journalist Matt Ford here. Okay, I’d best run, my battery is just about to die. More to come tomorrow…from Tarawa!

Nicole

UPDATE (8/31): Just got an email from Linda in Tarawa and learned that we won’t need visas after all – whew! ;o)

Up and at ‘em everyone! Today’s the big day! Team Roz is on the move…

Saturday was a fantastically busy day. I raced around getting clothes and gear packed for Roz and myself, and spent lots of time on the internet and on the phone, tying up last minute details. New contacts and very helpful information from Tarawa continued to trickle in about clothing requirements, accommodations, phone service, and immigration. As the updates came in, I forwarded it all on to the other members of Team Roz so we could accommodate accordingly. Finally, I packed up the Yellin’s studio where I’ve been staying since Roz and I arrived in February.

I was all ready to go, but…did I mention that my car chose this week of all weeks to explode? Well, it did. Billowing smoke on the highway, followed by a powerful explosion and my little Corolla’s pathetic end. But I digress. This inconvenient turn of events only meant that I was marooned on the North Shore without a ride into Honolulu. It’s about an hour away. I finally managed to convince two lovely friends to give up a prime Saturday night and schlep me into town – hooray!

At Hunter and Traci’s house, we opened up our cases, spread everything out and downsized in a big way. I ended up leaving half the clothes and half the dried nuts and granola bars behind. We exchanged emergency contact details, scanned our passports and booked our hotel in Nandi, Fiji, where we’ll arrive at about 1 pm on Monday, September 1^st. Whew! We said our goodnights and set alarms for 5 am. After a much needed shower, I popped open the laptop, ready to type up the day’s blog, but I couldn’t get on the password-protected wireless network. Everyone had gone to bed exhausted and I just didn’t have the heart to be a pest. My apologies to all of you for not getting a blog posted on time!

That brings us to today. Check in at the airport went perfectly and we’re now waiting, bleary-eyed but excited, at the Air Pacific gate. Some new information came in overnight from our new friend Linda in Tarawa: apparently we may actually need visas. Yikes. According to the information we found on the state department website, visas aren’t required, but Linda says she’s seen Americans get sent back on the very same plane on which they arrived. Ugh. I’m really hoping we get lucky…in any case, we’ve scanned all of our passports and emailed them on to Linda. She’s very graciously offered to take these to immigration for us straight away and get the process started. She and her husband John have even offered to pick us up from the airport in Tarawa! We are so grateful for their help.

They’re getting ready to board, so I’d better get this posted. I’ll write more on the plane…that is, if I don’t pass out from exhaustion within five minutes of boarding!

Aloha from Honolulu – we’ll update you again once we get to Fiji.

Nicole

[photo: L-R Conrad, Nicole and Hunter waiting at the gate in Honolulu, just before boarding...yes, we look SLEEPY!]

UPDATE (8/31): Just learned that we won’t need visas – whew! ;o)

HONOLULU, HAWAII

“Whatever I say in the next 10 minutes, please promise me you’ll still be my friend…that you won’t hate me?”

When you hear such a plea, you just know that whatever follows will be some pretty serious news. The fact is, I knew it was coming. Wednesday’s rowing conditions were so wretched for Roz that I was certain she’d call me very soon to discuss a different strategy.

The call came the very next day. Roz agonized over the decision, but with a broken water maker, leaky reserves and dwindling food supplies, attempting the Herculean effort necessary to hit Tuvalu seemed to be far too dangerous. We just had no way of knowing how long it would take for Roz to push far enough south and east, or frankly, if it was even possible. Beyond the safety issues, Roz’s very first book tour is just around the corner – and come on, she just can’t miss that!

Yes, truthfully, I was a bit crestfallen to hear the news. I wanted to see her reach that goal of getting as far south of the equator as possible on Stage 2, because I’ve learned just how important that will be for setting her up for a successful Stage 3. I suppose it’s selfish to admit, but I was bummed that we’d have to start from square one – especially because after so much time and effort, things had finally just fallen into place with Tuvalu. The country was positively buzzing about Roz’s impending arrival. She was to be given the warmest of welcomes along with safe haven for her boat until Stage 3. But that’s how these things go. It really only took me a few seconds to get over the disappointment. I didn’t have time to mope about it, anyway – there was far too much to be done!

The minute I hung up with Roz on Thursday morning I hopped on Skype with her weatherman, Ricardo, in Portugal. He informed me that with the currents and winds now totally in Roz’s favor, she could easily average 40 miles each day and make landfall as early as September 5^th. My stomach twisted into knots and my palms started to sweat. I had little more than a week to get Conrad the cameraman and myself there and make all the necessary arrangements for Roz’s arrival. That may not sound like such a big deal, but with only 2 flights each week into Tarawa, I knew this wasn’t going to be easy…

Today (Friday) was unbelievably hectic. I managed to find flights for us after all, on Air Pacific, the only airline that flies to Tarawa. After much rather enjoyable back and forth with a heavily accented Fijian named Alex, I was able to book the seats just before the office closed for the weekend. Hooray!

At noon, I met up with a former Peace Corps volunteer named Darin, who lived on Tarawa for three years and is now married to an I-Kiribati woman. What an amazing font of knowledge he was! I took copious notes, the details of which I’ll share with you tomorrow. Trust me when I say that the information gleaned from Darin is worth a blog on its own…

Shortly after my meeting with Darin, I raced over to Bank of Hawaii before the close of business to collect all the Australian currency I’d ordered the previous day. We need to take loads of cash because there aren’t any ATMs on Tarawa, and in fact, none of the businesses there even accept credit cards. As the teller counted out the rainbow colored bills (it looks remarkably like Monopoly money) I started to exhale. Things were falling into place…at last.

I must say here that ever since Thursday, I have been thanking my lucky stars (several times a day) for J. Maarten Troost. Maarten’s first book, The Sex Lives of Cannibals, is about his life on Tarawa. He was there for two years while his wife worked for a nonprofit organization. He is a brilliantly funny, exceptionally talented writer – I can’t recommend his books highly enough. If you’re a regular to Roz’s blog, you may remember that earlier in the voyage, she listened to an audio book called Getting Stoned with Savages. After reading her blog, Roz’s friend in California decided to contact Maarten and let him know that Roz just might end up on Tarawa, and perhaps we should all connect. Lo and behold, he replied! I’ve been picking his brain ever since. He’s been so gracious, not to mention an absolutely priceless resource for Team Roz. He’s made invaluable introductions to people living on Tarawa that can help me arrange logistics for storing Roz’s boat, and he’s given me very helpful tips on dress, social norms, telecommunications, and transportation around the island. Please join me in sending a huge thank you to Maarten!

One last piece of excellent news: the Team Roz contingent on Tarawa is rapidly growing! Hunter Downs, CEO of Archinoetics (the company that developed the RozTracker) will be accompanying Conrad and me on Sunday morning. What a relief…his wife Traci, COO of Archinoetics, will join us a week later. The entire Archinoetics family has been an absolute rock for me and Roz the past couple of months. Their unwavering support of time, resources and most importantly, a whole lot of love, is so gratefully appreciated. Rounding out our happy little team is Ian Tuller, our dear friend from San Francisco. He was here with us in Hawaii before Roz’s departure in May to oversee the refurbishment of the boat, and will resume his role as director of boatworks. We absolutely could not do this without this amazing group of people…and it certainly wouldn’t be nearly as fun, even if we could!

So buckle your seatbelts, kids! Off we go, to one of the most remote places on planet earth. (Really, before Roz, had you even heard of Tarawa???) Yes, we’ve had to scramble to accommodate the new game plan…that’s an understatement. But it’s going great so far, and no matter what, this promises to be one heck of a spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime adventure. I’m so glad you’re all coming along for the ride!

~Nicole

By the way, I’ll continue to send updates from our journey. If you want to follow me on Twitter, my handle is @nics_dolcevita.

[Photo: Roz and Nicole aboard the Brocade in San Francisco in 2007]

It seems to be my karma in this lifetime to be faced from time to time with tough decisions – and this one is up there in my Top Ten Tough Decisions Of All Time. I spent most of last night agonizing over it. The
night seemed hotter than usual in my cabin, and I was – literally and metaphorically – sweating over my options.

It had been just a week since I declared my intention to head for Tuvalu. My weatherman had assured me it was possible, although certainly not easy, requiring me to cut directly across the prevailing winds. And
I wanted to believe it was possible, not least because Tuvalu has become synonymous with the human impact of climate change, which is the key message of this stage of my row as we approach the crucial summit in Copenhagen. I knew getting to Tuvalu would be challenging, but I was prepared to put in the hard work to make it happen.

However, a few things had changed during the course of the last week. I had discovered that the coordinates I had for Tuvalu were for the westernmost island, not the capital Funafuti, which is the easternmost island. This would make it much harder to reach the capital than I had realized. Then some brisk easterly winds had halted my progress for 36 hours while I waited on the sea anchor – this had two implications. First, it would only take a few more days of such winds to put Tuvalu beyond my reach. And second, if I had to use the sea anchor on a regular
basis to stop westward drift, it would take me much longer to get to Tuvalu. And time was limited – by my water supply.

Since my watermaker stopped working I’ve been relying on my reserves of water, but some of my water bags had leaked. And my water consumption is much higher than it has been on my previous rows, due to the heat. So less water supply + higher water requirement = bad news. I do have a backup manual watermaker, but I was already going to have to row 16 hours a day to maintain the necessary tight control over my course, so then pumping water for 2 hours a day (manual watermakers produce water drop by drop, rather than a steady stream) was not an attractive option.

So the worst case scenario was pretty bad. There was now a substantially increased risk of running out of water, and possibly missing Tuvalu altogether and spinning off into the great blue yonder. Oh, and the food situation wasn’t looking too good either. I was concerned.

After churning all this over and over in my head for half the night, part of me still resisted changing my mind. I wanted to go to Tuvalu! My imminent arrival had been announced on the radio, I was due to meet with members of the government, we had storage arranged for my boat… and of course I wanted to find out more about how they plan to be the world’s first carbon neutral nation.

I was unbearably hot in the cabin, so I went out on deck to cool down. I looked up at the stars and the setting moon. They helped me get a sense of perspective on the issue. Ultimately, although the message is important, it helps if the messenger is a) alive, and b) has not had to rely on some fossil-fuel guzzling means of transport to come rescue her if/when she seems in danger of disappearing over the horizon with no water and no food. So, it seemed, the choice was clear. The sensible, responsible thing to do would be to change course for Tarawa. I could reach it relatively easily (or as easy as ocean rowing ever gets) well
before I ran out of sustenance – and without having to rely on outside intervention.

So I swallowed my pride and admitted to myself that it made sense to change course. First thing this morning I rang Ricardo, my Lisbon-based weatherman, and we talked it through. He was totally supportive of my decision. Then I spoke with Nicole, my program director. She, too, fully supported me – even though this meant that a lot of the fantastic preparations she’d lined up for Tuvalu were now moribund, and she’d have to start over again with Tarawa. By the end of today she had already worked miracles – people had been informed, flights were booked, and plans were coming together.

I feel hugely relieved by this decision. It has been a tough one, but the cold dread and anxiety of what might happen if I missed Tuvalu has been lifted from me. It would otherwise have hung over me every day until I made – or failed to make – landfall.

So now it is all suddenly very imminent, and the energy levels in TeamRoz have skyrocketed. With just 300 nautical miles to go, I am hoping to arrive in about 2 weeks, around Sept 9th, so this doesn’t leave much time – and lots to do. On Sunday Nicole and Conrad (our filmmaker, who by the grace of the many generous Rozlings is going to come out to Tarawa to film my arrival) will leave Hawaii for Tarawa to start lining up the multitude of logistical arrangements.

I’d like to take a final opportunity to enjoy some “alone time” before I make landfall. Call this my Walden time. So I’m going to go incommunicado and take a few days out from social media, and hand over to Nicole to do the blog. Her life is going to be much more interesting – and hectic – over the near future anyway. She will be posting updates on this blog from tomorrow until Sept 2nd, when I’ll return from my self-imposed exile, and from then until my arrival Nicole and I will blog on alternate days. Amongst the trials and tribulations of an expedition program director, she’ll be sharing details of the preparations for my arrival, her first impressions of Tarawa, and how she is being assisted by celebrity contacts (thank you to author J Maarten Troost!).

I hope you’ll enjoy these final stages with us. I’m really excited to see how everything develops over the coming 2 weeks. Nicole and Conrad are going to have their work cut out – to find boat storage, boat transport, accommodation, even internet access – and, of course, a source of ice cold beer! So join with me in wishing them huge amounts of good luck in pulling all this together in an impossibly short timescale. They are going to need it, but if anyone can pull off a miracle, it’s TeamRoz!

[photo: Go west, young woman! Tonight's sunset was a bit drab, so here is one from the archive…]

You can have a project done:
a) cheaply
b) quickly
c) well
Pick two.

So the corporate saying goes, and generally it’s true. Do something
quickly and cheaply and the quality suffers. Do it well and to a tight
deadline, and it will cost you. Do it at low cost and high quality, and
it will probably have to be fitted in around more lucrative projects and
will take a long time.

And today I realized that something similar applies to ocean rowing. You
can do a voyage:
a) quickly (relatively speaking, ocean rowboats not being renowned
speed machines)
b) easily (again, relatively – it’s never easy, but we’re talking
10 hour days vs 18 hour days)
c) accurately (i.e. to a very specific destination)
But you only get to pick one, not two.

The inevitable conclusion from this realization was that I was going to
have to take a more flexible approach.

The trouble with going quickly, i.e. downwind, is that downwind may not
take you anywhere you want to go. If I go downwind from here I’d end up
in the Marshall Islands, which would make Stage 3 very tough.

And I don’t want to put in 18-hour days at the oars. This would be
brutal, and would leave me no time for blogging, videoing, etc – and I
regard sharing my adventure online as a high priority.

So I would have to consider compromising on destination. I realized I
had become fixated on Tuvalu, stressing if conditions were pushing me
west making a Tuvalu landfall more difficult. I was spending time on the
sea anchor going north, obsessed with keeping as much east as possible.

But by mid-afternoon today I was bored with being on the sea anchor, and
fed up with seeing my hard-won miles south ebbing away. Something had to
give. So, with wind and currents conspiring to push me away from Tuvalu,
the time had come to reconsider Tarawa as an option. I pulled in the sea
anchor and started rowing, a southwesterly course the best I could
manage in the conditions. I certainly haven’t given up on Tuvalu as a
destination – it may still be possible – but by considering Tarawa I was
able to break the stalemate that I’d got myself into.

As I rowed, the wind lessened and I was able to make a better course. So
I haven’t regained much – I’ve ended today at about the same latitude as
I was this morning – but at least I’ve stopped feeling that I was
banging my head against a meteorological brick wall – and it feels good!

[photo: Double rainbow from yesterday morning. I will probably post some
another picture of a whale tomorrow, which I hope might identify it as
Minke vs Sei vs Pilot vs False Killer Whale – thanks for all the
comments about yesterday's visitors!]

Other Stuff:

*What’s in a name?*

My seven little birds are the subject of conflicting opinions – storm
petrels, or brown noddies?

Storm Petrel sound really cool. Like an avian superhero, maybe like one
of the X-Men. X-Bird Storm Petrel.

Whereas Brown Noddy sounds terminally unglamorous. Reminds me of Noddy
and Big Ears – a little children’s character with a round face and
pointy hat. And not even an interesting color. Just… brown.

Given the choice I know which I would rather be. But it could be worse.
Even being a brown noddy is surely better than being a booby.

*Update on the Website*

Following our problems with the new version of Internet Explorer (which
has affected quite a number of websites, not just mine) our Geek
Superhero Evan at Archinoetics has been slaving away to create a new
version of my website on the WordPress platform. It will go live soon –
hopefully within the next week. I am amazed at how quickly he has been
able to turn this around, despite a heavy workload. I will let you know
when the transition to the new site has been completed. Thank you,
faithful Rozionados, for your patience!

Eco Champ of the Day! At long last, UncaDoug, after many eco-comments,
has acquired real life champ status!
“Until several months ago, ]soup in my work cafeteria] was served in
styrofoam bowls, until … the good news … they switched to
biodegradable bowls. Normally (in my town of Hayward) to recycle dirty
food containers (plastic or fiber), you just have to wash the food away.
I learned that this building or this town where I work (Sacramento) does
not recycle plastic or fiber food containers, period.

So I now take my own washable porcelain coffee cup and save a quarter,
too! Next tasks: talk to the food service management to post the option
and savings, and talk to the City about recycling policy.”

Ellen/chep2m – lovely to hear from you. I’ve missed you!

Naomi in NY – wow, sounds like you’ve got some serious momentum going
there – keep it up!

Weather report:

Position at 2245 HST: 03 36.278N, 175 25.053W
Wind: 20 knots this morning, decreasing to 8 knots now, ESE
Seas: 6 feet decreasing to 3 feet, ESE
Weather: sunshine and some clouds. No squalls or rainshowers. I think I
am out of the ITCZ now.

Weather forecast, courtesy of weatherguy.com:

Feedblitz blog email reported your position as: 03 36N 175 08W as of
29Jul 2200HST (6hrs ago). Eastward motion is the preferred direction
while in the equatorial counter current.

As of Thursday morning 30 July 2009. According to measured data, there
is ESE-SE winds 7-17kts in your area with moderate to light rainshowers.
South of the equator, more of the same. Uncertainty remains, as
previously discussed. Forecast is for wind direction to shift more
ENEerly 5-15kts today then, SE 5-15kts on 01 Aug becoming light and
variable and possibly SW 5-15kts.

According to satellite imagery, there is light to moderate convection
with heavy rainshowers and squalls overhead and south to the equator.

Sky conditions: Mostly cloudy. Scattered heavy 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
30/0600-01/0000 E-ENE 5-15 2-5
01/0000-02/0000 ENE-SE 5-15 4-6
02/0000-02/1200 Variable direction 1-5
0-10kts
02/1200-03/1200 SW 5-15 2-5

Next Update: Monday, 03 August

At the end of today, after a hard day's rowing, I am further away from
my goal than I was at the start. This does not make for a happy rower.

This morning I was in fine fettle. I had come to a decision on Tuvalu vs
Tarawa. Tuvalu would undoubtedly put me in a better position to get to
Australia next year, and was starting to look increasingly do-able. I
did some calculations based on my progress through the northern
hemisphere trade winds, and reckoned that if I could cross the Equator
between 175 and 176 degrees West, then I had a pretty fair chance at
being able to reach Tuvalu if the southern hemisphere trade winds were
roughly the same strength.

And I am already between 175 and 176 degrees West, so all I needed to do
was row due south, and we'd be golden. Right? Wrong.

This morning was no problem. The wind was light, allowing me to make
some useful southerly progress. I was being pushed east, but that was
okay – all the better to line up for Tuvalu. But then a series of
squalls around lunchtime changed everything, and the rest of the
afternoon was very frustrating.

Part of the problem was that the wind was coming from the wrong
directions – anywhere between due south and due west, neither of which
were good. I can row with the wind. I can row across the wind. But I
can't row into the wind. This boat is too bulky and I just can't make
any headway.

And the wind speed kept changing, so I had to keep adjusting the rudder
just to stay pointing in the same direction. It made it very hard to get
any rhythm going, and as you'll know if you've tried running in a big
city marathon where for the first few miles you're having to duck around
people, speeding up, slowing down, it's far more tiring to exert
yourself when you can't find your rhythm.

So I got pretty cranky. I've definitely been spoiled. So far this stage
my progress had unusually predictable – a pretty consistent 30+ miles a
day. On the Atlantic, and Stage 1 of the Pacific, were very different
stories. I was often blown backwards, despite use of the sea anchor to
mitigate the effect of adverse winds. In fact, on Stage 1 of the Pacific
it took me 6 weeks and 3 attempts to break free of the California coast.
I kept crossing 124 degrees West, only to get blown back again. Out,
back, out, back, and then finally out and free. So today should be no
big deal for me really. But it's amazing how soon I'd started to think
of favorable conditions as a right rather than a privilege.

By tonight I was fed up with the whole charade, so I cheered myself up
by having my first hot meal of the crossing. I haven't wanted hot foot –
the temperatures have been sweltering. But today has been overcast and
almost cool by comparison, and I decided some comfort food was in order.
So I dug out the cook stove and kettle and boiled up some water to mix
with my freeze-dried chilli con carne. It may not be consistent with my
rawfood detox diet, but I have to say, it absolutely hit the spot. Funny
how much better life can seem with a bellyful of hot food.

[photo: another pic of yesterday's visitor, with his little entourage.]

Other Stuff:

Do you see the thin fish that has attached itself to the top right of
the turtle's shell in the photo? I think that's the same creature that
latched onto my bottom a few weeks ago when I was cleaning barnacles off
the hull. I'm not sure I'd pick him out in an identity parade, but I'm
pretty sure. Any idea what he is?

Nicole and I recorded our last podcast together today, before Leo
returns from his trip to China next week and we resume our usual
Thursday format. Nicole and I had a good chat about all kinds of stuff,
particularly the challenges of trying to land on a tiny dot in a very
big ocean. You can find the podcast (30 mins approx) via the RozTracker.

Speaking of the RozTracker, I gather it has a load of cool new features,
including latitude and longitude, and a streamlined way of presenting
the tweets, blogs etc. Thanks, Evan! I just wish I could see it too!
Can't wait to get back to dry land and get a decent internet connection.

You might be interested to learn (and Naomi in NY, I'm thinking of you
in particular, and your walk across England) that we are planning to
market the Tracker product to people who are planning their own
adventures, to enable them to share the experience through social media.
It's too early to be specific, but we hope it will be available from
early next year. I'll keep you posted.

Due to a technical hitch I haven't received the comments from
yesterday's blog. So I'm sorry I can't respond to any of them here – but
I'll try to catch up tomorrow. So I'll sign off for now, get an early
night, and hope that the weather has come to its senses by morning…

Weather report (I don't really want to talk about it, but if you really
want to know):

Position at 2100 HST: 05 06.243N, 175 44.780W
Wind: S-W, 3-12kts
Seas: 2-5ft
Weather: mostly overcast, some squally showers

Weather forecast, courtesy of weatherguy.com

As of Thursday, 15 July 2009. Wind predictions will be with an added
level of uncertainty due to the naturally occurring variable conditions
in the equatorial regions. From satellite data, it appears enhanced
convective activity was centered along 170W extending past the dateline
to 170E. Winds mostly NEerly direction shift to Serly by 18 Jul
noontime, then back to Nerly by 19Jul0900HST. Speeds should be in the
5-10kt range with periods of calm. Seas 1-4ft.

Sky conditions: Mostly cloudy to overcast with low level clouds.
Scattered rainshowers, squalls, and possible thunderstorms. Wind speeds
in these systems 40kts.

ITCZ: The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) has once again become
more active over your rowing area. Southern edge of the ITCZ axis trails
off at 180E/W and 00 30S.

Ocean Current: North Equatorial Counter Current (NECC). No change from
earlier discussions. You are approaching the northern boundary of the E
flowing current. Northern boundary is about 05 00N extending to the
southern boundary near 00 30S. Current speeds increases to Eerly 0.1 to
0.2, then builds to a maximum near 0.6 to 0.8kts from 02 30N to 01 00N
then fades to 0.1 to 0.2 near the southern boundary. There are periodic
fluctuations in these dimensions.

Forecast
Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft) est
16/1800-17/0600 NE-E 5-15 2-4
17/0600-18/1200 E-S 0-10 1-3
18/1200-20/0600 S-N 5-10 2-4
20/0600-21/1800 N-S 0-7 1-3

Next Update: Monday, 20 July

RozTracker junkies might have noticed that today I've dropped like a
stone, heading due south. Wind and currents were conspiring to help me,
so I've made the most of the opportunity. I'm keeping my options open
for either Tarawa or Funafuti, and heading south is the best way.

I asked Mum to do some research for me by reading through the blog of
Erden Eruc, who rowed from California to Papua New Guinea in 2007. He
didn't mean to row to PNG – he wanted to go to Australia. So if Erden
managed to miss something as big as Australia, you get some idea of how
difficult it's going to be for me to hit a teeny weeny little coral
atoll.

I read the extracts from Erden's blog that Mum sent me, and it was not
encouraging reading. He got to 7.5 degrees North in mid-November 2007,
at 159 degrees West, heading happily for the Equator. Then he ran into
the counter current. And the ITCZ. He crossed in the International Date
Line in late January 2008, still 3 degrees north of the Equator.

He finally crossed the Equator – wait for it – on May 8, 2008. SIX
MONTHS LATER! By then he was at 144degE, nearly 3,500 miles west from
where he first encountered the conditions that I am now facing. Eeek.
And that despite putting in some brutal 18-hour rowing days.

Of course, winds and currents are different every year. My boat is a
different design from Erden's so may hold its course better (or worse).
He may just have been really unlucky. I might get lucky (or unluckier).
Only time will tell.

Mountaineers say that climbing the mountain is the easy part – it's
coming back down safely that's the challenge. I'm starting to feel the
same way. Anyone can set out to row across an ocean (although funnily
enough, not many do) – it's making landfall that's the tricky bit. It's
going to take careful navigation, likely some hard rowing, and most
definitely an enormous amount of luck.

[Photo: Birdbrain booby getting in a flap on the poop deck]

Other Stuff:

I was really pleased I was able to make so much progress south today.
Problem is, I don't fully understand why! I thought it must be because
the wind from the East and the current from the West were equally
balanced so I could just kind of navigate down the middle. But now the
wind isn't blowing at all – dead calm out there – and yet I'm heading
SSW, which is good, but mystifying. Blows my theory about the
counter-current.

I don't like it when there's no wind. Whether on dry land or sea, I find
a good strong breeze bracing and energizing. Combined with the heavy
overcast and frequent showers today, the calm conditions feel rather
oppressive. Plus the wind carries away the pungent pong of the poop deck
– so without it the smell hovers in a cloud around the boat. Pheweee.

I shot some video of the boobies today, behaving in typical birdbrain
fashion. Rather amusing. Watch out for it in tomorrow's installment of
my Pacific RozCast on YouTube!

Mum is having problems viewing the RozTracker. Is anybody else having
problems, or is the gremlin infestation local to Cookridge, Yorkshire?!

I've got a lovely blurb for my Atlantic book (imaginatively entitled
Rowing The Atlantic) from the wonderful Lynne Cox, author of Swimming to
Antarctica. She writes:
"It's a grand adventure, mind boggling, inspiring, and a book that I
just couldn't put down. A fantastic read!"
Thank you Lynne! (The book is published by Simon & Schuster on Oct 6,
but is available now for pre-order on Amazon.com. Errr, hope I make
landfall in time for the book tour!)

UncaDoug – no wiggling westerlies today – just streamlined southerlies!
Alas, your idea about the wind generators is probably not practicable.
Great in theory, but they would have a bad effect on my boat's center of
gravity, and after my washing-machine simulations of 2007 I'm very aware
of keeping the Brocade bottom-heavy. Liked your thoughts on the
collective noun. Booby Nights made me laugh – but I'd rather be having
Boogie Nights!

Sindy – no, not scared by the squalls. They're just inconvenient as I
have to take down the sun canopy because of the strong winds they
generate. But at least they do wash the solar panels on the poop deck –
like going to the carwash!

Aquaphoenix – thanks for the Emerson quote. I hadn't heard that one
before.
And Gregory, thanks for the Churchill quotes. He's one of my very
favorite quotables! Didn't notice the tsunami, so I guess it must have
been not much more than a ripple by the time it got here…

Heather from Wiggly Wigglers – thanks for the comment, and the awwwwful
joke! Let me know if you decide to do a Wiggly Roz special. I would be
honored!

Ami – spooky! I was thinking of you just the other day too! NY – sounds
exciting! I'm probably going to be in Portland in October on my book
tour, but will be in NY too, so hope to see you in one or the other!

Rozheads. Rozrowers. The Roz Crew. Boobie Bunch. Rozlings. Rozettes.
Brocadaderos. Crew Roz. Savages. The Rozter. Rozcales. I like them all,
but Rozlings has a nice ring to it. Sounds like goslings though – does
that make me Mother Goose?!

Quick answers to quick questions:

Q: Are there any similarities between being a consultant (or a
solicitor, for that matter) and rowing across the Pacific?
A: I never practiced law, so I wouldn't know about being a solicitor. As
for management consultancy vs ocean rowing, the project management
experience is really useful in the preparation stages. I couldn't manage
without my spreadsheets to keep it all organized. But when it comes to
the rowing itself…. No, not so much!

Q: Roz- what do you do about storms?
A: Retreat to the cabin, hunker down, and wait for them to pass. But it
hasn't been an issue on this leg of the Pacific. Long may that last!

Weather report:

Position at 2010 HST: 05 37.080N, 175 54.689W
Wind: 0-15kts, mostly E
Seas: 3-6ft, mostly E
Weather: frequent showers, cloud cover, some outbreaks of sunshine

Weather forecast, courtesy of weatherguy.com

As of Monday, 13 July 2009. Wind conditions should be highly variable
the next several days. Winds may have shifted to slightly south of east
today. As of this morning, winds over your position were E 10-20kts.
There is a slight chance the wind could shift to light Nerlies, in the
next five days, which should assist in pushing you southward across the
equator. Wind speeds from calm to 15kts. Seas flat to 3ft.

Sky conditions: Partly to mostly cloudy with low level clouds.
Scattered rainshowers, squalls, and possible thunderstorms. Wind speeds
in these systems 40kts.

ITCZ: The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) has been quiet these
last few days as indicated by the absence of convective clouds. Still
you are in the prime generation area for heavy squalls and
thunderstorms. Southern edge of the ITCZ is drifting between 02 to 03
00N.

Ocean Current: North Equatorial Counter Current (NEEC). Still looking
for the current to become ENE or Eerly flowing south of your position.
Northern boundary of the NEEC is about 05 00N extending to the southern
boundary near 00 30S. Current speeds increases to Eerly 0.1 to 0.2, then
builds to a maximum near 0.6 to 0.7kts from 02 30N to 01 00N then fades
to 0.1 to 0.2 near the southern boundary. There are periodic
fluctuations in these dimensions.

Recommendation: The light winds, lack of convective activity, and Eerly
flowing current provide and excellent opportunity to move eastward to
enhance an equatorial crossing. Suggest maximum effort to try to stay in
the Eerly flowing current as long as possible by rowing eastward. Or if
you have decided on Tarawa as destination, suggest rowing southwest
towards Tarawa to avoid the maximum NEEC current. You probably will have
an opposing current of about 0.5 kts.

Forecast
Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft) est
13/1800-15/1800 E NE-E 5-15 1-3
15/1800-17/1800 E-NW 0-10 1-2
17/1800-19/1800 NW-N 5-12 2-4

Next Update: Friday, 17July

Today has been a hard grind at the oars. Everything has gone a
bit wiggly. Conditions are conspiring to push me north and west, when
I'm trying to head south. So the wind and I are in a tug of war. Every
time I stop rowing the wind and current take over and undo the
pathetically small distance I have worked so hard to gain.

Regardless of whether I am aiming for Tuvalu or Tarawa, it is important
to get south as quickly as possible. The southern edge of the ITCZ is
like a barrier running from east to west, but it is a barrier with
holes, so I will have to keep attacking it, probing it while the winds
push me westwards until I find a weak point in the barrier where I can
get through. The sooner I get to the barrier and start this probing
process, the greater my chances of finding an opportunity to get through
to the promised land beyond.

If I extrapolated from today's wiggly-line progress I would be in
despair and trying to arrange a welcoming committee in the Philippines.
But the one sure thing about oceans is that conditions change, so I can
just hope they change sooner rather than later and let me get back on
course. Wiggling is a lovely word, but wiggles on the ocean wave are not
welcome.

Meanwhile the good news is that the fragile truce with the boobies
continues. This morning was rather noisy, as two birds bickered over who
was top booby, but by this afternoon one of them had established
supremacy and spent the rest of the day quietly preening his feathers on
what is now known as the poop deck.

Once again trying to raise the tone of this blog from bottoms, boobies
and bird poop, I've started picking out some of my favorite quotes from
a list I compiled for the Atlantic row. I found the laminated sheets in
the Aquapac where I keep the ship's logbook and a few other documents.
Here are three goodies for you.

In honor of the boobies:
Endure what can't be mended.
(Isaac Watts)

In reference to trying to stay on course for a landfall this side of
Christmas:
The future depends on what we do in the present.
(Mahatma Ghandi)

And to remind me to try and hold it all together:
What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared
to what lies within us.
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Post Script: Since I started typing this blog entry my course has
moderated slightly from a very alarming NW tilt to a more westerly
course. I'm hoping nothing too disastrous happens overnight. So as
always, the only constant in life is change…

[photo: today's track on my GPS – looking rather like a chart of average
yearly global temperatures…]

Other Stuff:

Eco Champ for Day 50! Beverly G posted this comment yesterday, which
really gave me a boost.
"Roz, following your adventure has caused my family to make some life
changes to reduce our impact on the Earth. Along with the things we've
read about on your website like getting reusable shopping bags and water
bottles, we have also stopped using our electric clothes dryer. We now
dry our clothes on a line. I was shocked by how much we were spending to
run it. We now give the money we're saving to our 10-year-old son in
exchange for hanging the clothes on the line and taking them down. He
loves the extra spending money, and we love the outdoor-fresh smell of
our clothes, all while reducing our impact on the Earth. It's a
win-win-win solution. Thanks for opening our eyes to environmental
responsibility, Roz. We're spreading the word to all of our friends and
family."

Great job, Beverly, and hi to the rest of your family too. Tell Kevin
that in answer to his question we'll post photos of me when I arrive at
Island X and he can judge the size of my muscles for himself!

Congratulations to Mick Dawson and Chris Martin
(www.goldengateendeavour.com) on having crossed the International Date
Line. Their last blog showed their position to be 34d 7m 41"N 178d 26m
14"W. I was very sorry to hear that Mick's father lost his battle with
cancer yesterday. It must be very tough for Mick to be so far away from
his family at this time. My thoughts are with them all.

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions about my feathered foes. I had
already tried the water deterrent, but it was literally water off a
duck's back – not a blind bit of difference. Jack – loved the idea about
putting Rick Astley on the stereo! But of course I don't have any with
me… and wouldn't admit it if I did!

I doubt if I'll ever come to regard the smelly old boobies as friends,
but we have now achieved a reasonable state of acceptable co-existence.
As to naming them, the one most persistent resident is now known as
Birdbrain – which was the politest amongst the options that sprang to
mind. When there were the 3 of them, I considered naming them Dumb,
Dumber, and Dumbest ****ing ****er Ever. So Birdbrain is positively
affectionate by comparison, and a sign of my increasing acceptance of
the invasion of the boobies. I am zen(ish).

And finally, back on the subject of wiggling, if you're into eco stuff
and particularly composting, please check out the Wiggly Wigglers link
from my store at www.rozsavage.com. WW do a great range of eco products
including their signature product – the Can o Worms for adding to your
compost heap. Wiggle your way to a greener world! (BTW, they do a
fantastic podcast too – it's cult listening in the UK!)

Weather report:

Position at 2200 HST: 06 06.241N, 175 48.969W
Wind: very variable today. 5-20kts, E-ESE
Seas: 4-6ft
Weather: hot, sunny, some cloud, no rainshowers today

Weather forecast, courtesy of weatherguy.com

As of Monday, 13 July 2009. Wind conditions should be highly variable
the next several days. Winds may have shifted to slightly south of east
today. As of this morning, winds over your position were E 10-20kts.
There is a slight chance the wind could shift to light Nerlies, in the
next five days, which should assist in pushing you southward across the
equator. Wind speeds from calm to 15kts. Seas flat to 3ft.

Sky conditions: Partly to mostly cloudy with low level clouds.
Scattered rainshowers, squalls, and possible thunderstorms. Wind speeds
in these systems 40kts.

ITCZ: The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) has been quiet these
last few days as indicated by the absence of convective clouds . Still
you are in the prime generation area for heavy squalls and
thunderstorms. Southern edge of the ITCZ is drifting between 02 to 03
00N.

Ocean Current: North Equatorial Counter Current (NEEC). Still looking
for the current to become ENE or Eerly flowing south of your position.
Northern boundary of the NEEC is about 05 00N extending to the southern
boundary near 00 30S. Current speeds increases to Eerly 0.1 to 0.2, then
builds to a maximum near 0.6 to 0.7kts from 02 30N to 01 00N then fades
to 0.1 to 0.2 near the southern boundary. There are periodic
fluctuations in these
dimensions.

Recommendation: The light winds, lack of convective activity, and Eerly
flowing current provide and excellent opportunity to move eastward to
enhance an equatorial crossing. Suggest maximum effort to try to stay in
the Eerly flowing current as long as possible by rowing eastward. Or if
you have decided on Tarawa as destination, suggest rowing southwest
towards Tarawa to avoid the maximum NEEC current. You probably will have
an opposing current of about 0.5 kts.

Forecast
Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft) est
13/1800-15/1800 E NE-E 5-15 1-3
15/1800-17/1800 E-NW 0-10 1-2
17/1800-19/1800 NW-N 5-12 2-4

Next Update: Friday, 17July

Am I overreacting to the battle of the boobies? I wondered to myself
last night as I tried to get to sleep, still very aware that my
uninvited houseguests were on board and speculating as to what state I
would find the boat in the morning. After all, I've endured much worse
things at sea. I've put up with injuries, capsizes, running out of water
and equipment failures galore. What's the big deal about an infestation
of large smelly, noisy birds?

But actually, I decided, my resentment of their intrusion was justified.
After all, this boat is my home. And how would YOU feel if three
complete strangers barged into your living room without so much as a
by-your-leave, and proceeded to argue loudly with each other, shoving
each other around and bickering endlessly. Oh, and these rude strangers
are also doubly incontinent, and relieve themselves copiously all over
your furniture.

I suspect that you wouldn't be too happy about the situation. And
neither am I.

This morning I was not much happier, as I scrubbed bird poop off the
deck, the strong ammonia smell making me gag. The situation was even
affecting my appetite – and normally nothing comes between me and my
food. But it's hard to work up enthusiasm for your breakfast when your
surroundings smell like a public toilet.

I was at my wits' end. It was clear that I was never going to be able to
get it through the boobies' thick birdbrained skulls that they are not
welcome. Repeatedly hitting them with the dustpan had no effect
whatsoever, other than a fleeting sense of satisfaction as I sent them
somersaulting into the ocean. But they just came back again. Nor do I
have any way to physically prevent them from landing on the boat, other
than what I had already tried with the ropes.

If I'd had a gun on board they might have been in real trouble. I
entertained dark thoughts about trying to shoot them with a marine
flare. I seriously considered trying to catch one and wringing its neck,
but eventually decided it was excessively harsh to kill them when they
are just too plain stupid to know any better. So I seemed to have run
out of options. Would I have to put up with their antisocial behavior
for the next 800 miles? I felt rather despondent.

But by this afternoon I had arrived at a more philosophical state of
mind. I realized that I can't get rid of them, so I either have to
accept the situation or drive myself crazy. So I've given up blatting
them away with the red dustpan. They only come straight back again, and
it sets off another round of rowdy squawking as they repeat their
jostling for prime position. The fore cabin is filthy, but I can't reach
it to scrub it. I'm even gradually becoming immune to the stink.

So I have more or less accepted that for the foreseeable future I will
have to tolerate my unwanted hitchhikers. It really is amazing what the
human animal can adapt to when (written with gritted teeth) she really
has absolutely no choice.

[photo: Booby completely oblivious to my anti-booby measures, standing
proudly in his own mess. Smart? I don't think so...]

Other Stuff:

Maybe my zen acceptance is partly due to my choice of audiobook for the
day – James Herriot's Vet in Harness.– beautifully told stories of the
travails of a young vet in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1930's. All very
earthy, with lots of muck and blood to put my current issues in
perspective. Also made me feel, unexpectedly, rather homesick. Resolved
to spend more time in English country pubs when I next have the
opportunity.

Made better rowing progress today. The wind spent some time in the
northeast, which was welcome. Got another email from Jason Lewis which,
while giving me invaluable information, also fed my lurking anxiety
about what might happen between 6 and 3 degrees North. But there's no
point worrying about it. It will be what it will be. At least the battle
of the boobies has provided me with some distraction from the rather
more substantial concerns that lie ahead.

As I write this blog there is a torrential downpour going on. I hope it
washes away some booby poop.

Karen Morss, you are a legend. So J Maarten Troost wrote back to you –
unbelievable!! Can't wait to hear what his thoughts are on Tuvalu vs
Tarawa – although ultimately it will probably be the ocean, not me, that
makes the decision.

Thanks for all the other comments – on boobies, plastic pollution,
everything. All much appreciated.

For those who have written to say you are giving up using plastic bags –
THANK YOU!!!! This is such a big win. If you check out the store at
rozsavage.com there are some super eco-friendly re-usable bags, made
from recycled plastic and themselves recycleable, and bearing the
inspiring message: IF WE ALL PULL TOGETHER, WE CAN SAVE THE WORLD.

Weather report:

Position at 2120 HST: 06 10.727N, 175 32.155W
Wind: 5-20kts, E-ENE
Seas: 3-6ft
Weather: mostly sunny and hot, some clouds. Towards sunset several
rainstorms visible around me.

Weather forecast, courtesy of weatherguy.com

As of Thursday, 09 July 2009. Expect widely variable wind speeds and
direction while in close proximity to the ITCZ. NEerly trade winds
continue around the 10-15 kts, but veer to ENE 10kts by tomorrow
morning, then back to NE 10kts by tomorrow night. Periods of lighter
winds. Seas to 2-6ft.

Sky conditions: Mostly cloudy with low level clouds. Isolated
rainshowers, squalls, and possible thunderstorms. Wind speeds in these
systems 40-50kts.

ITCZ: The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) has heated up just
south of your present location. Convective clouds have increased
producing squalls and thunderstorms. The axis of the ITCZ is centered on
05 00N between 170W and 180E/W. The northern ITCZ edge is about 06 30N
and the southern edge near 02 00N. As of this morning, winds south of 07
30N to 03 00N were from the NE direction at about 7-22kts. In squalls
and rainshowers winds were 40kts.

Ocean Current: Still looking for the current to become ENE or Eerly
flowing at about 06 00N in the North Equatorial Counter Current. This
current extends to about 01 00N. There are periodic fluctuations in
these dimensions.

Forecast below is for a SWerly course.
Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft)
09/1800-10/0000 NE 10-15 4-6
10/0000-10/1800 ENE 7-12 3-5
10/1800-11/0900 NE 7-12 3-5
11/0900-13/0000 E 2-7 2-4
13/0000-14/1800 ENE-NE 5-10 3-5

3

I realized, after I'd posted my blog last night, that I had done you a
disservice. I'd had a really nice day, and had not shared it with you.
Instead I'd chosen to focus on the one negative aspect of the day – my
worries over where I will land up. It was as if I felt guilty about
having a good time out here, as if adventure has to be hard work –
blood, sweat and tears – instead of sometimes just relaxing and enjoying
the ride.

So, slightly belatedly, here is my account of My Good Day At The Ocean
Office.

7am: Wake up at dawn. Rain is drumming on cabin roof. Decide to stay in
bunk and wait for it to pass.

7.15am: Get up. Update logbook while munching breakfast Larabar.

7.30am: Row

9am: Phone call with Nicole. Exciting updates and good news on our
land-based projects.

9.45am: Row. Finish J Maarten Troost audiobook. Really enjoyed that one.
Switch over to Wayne Dyer.

11am: Take break to video birds swooping at leaping fish

1pm: Lunch – Beansprouts with trimmings.

1.30pm: Siesta. Cabin is hot as hell, and the wind is light, so I put up
the sun canopy and snooze on deck in the shade, enjoying the breeze on
my skin. Only the third or fourth time it has been calm enough for me to
do this, so it's a real treat.

2.30pm: Row, taking a break at 5pm

8pm: Watch sun set while I brush my teeth on deck. Am surprised by a
fish swimming out from under my boat right under where I am crouching at
the side. Watch the fish as it does several laps, under my boat, out a
bit, back under the boat. Get rather mesmerized. Teeth get very well
brushed.

8.30pm: Retreat to cabin for blogging and emails. Write blog while
watching last vestiges of light fade colorfully from the western sky.
Find out about being Outside Mag Adventure Twitterer, plus other updates
and news. All good stuff.

10.30pm: Retire to bunk, feeling content. I may not be sure where I'm
going, but at least I'm having a good time getting there.

[photo: She knows not where she's going, for the ocean will decide. It's
not the destination, it's the glory of the ride. (adapted from Zen Dog)}

Other Stuff:

Crunch time turned out not to be quite as crunchy as I'd expected. I'd
thought I needed to make my decision before entering the No Man's Land
of the ITCZ, and if Tuvalu head south, if Tarawa head west. But on
re-reading Jason Lewis's blog, I saw that he'd cut south through the
ITCZ and North Equatorial Counter Current, and then skimmed along just
north of the Equator to reach Tarawa. So whichever I choose, for now the
plan of action remains the same – to push south.

Today I got a great email from Jason, packed full of helpful information
about how to navigate the ITCZ and into Tarawa – but in it he sounded a
note of warning about the challenge that lies ahead: "Getting down to 5
or 6N shouldn't be too bad. It's punching out of the southern edge, 6N
to 4N, where the water funnels up from the southern hemisphere, that it
gets tricky. It's when you're asleep that you lose ground, of course
(can you just not sleep ." Hmmm, interesting times ahead.

I posted my new weekly RozCast video today. Probably by the time you
read this Dawn will have edited it and posted it to YouTube. Look out
for it via the RozTracker!

A special thank you – because it's been a while since I said it – to
TeamRoz. Mum, Nicole, Laureen, Sinead, Daisy and Dawn – thanks for
keeping the show on the road. And thank you too to Hunter, Traci and
Evan at Archinoetics for the incomparable RozTracker – and I'm looking
forward to working with you in the future. And to Dr Aenor for her
ever-alert medical radar. An ocean rowing gal couldn't wish for a better
support team – thank you!

Thanks also to Karen Morss for writing to J Maarten Troost on my behalf.
Karen, is there anybody in the world whose email you can't lay your
hands on?! I take my hat off to your enterprising spirit. You don't
happen to have Johnny Depp's phone number, do you??!

Thanks for all the comnments, and especially the Tweets about my Outside
Magazine ranking. Made me laugh! Also for all the input about Tuvalu vs
Tarawa. Weatherguy and I are in discussions….

UncaDoug – Re the ideas about stopping the sun canopy flapping – yes, I
do have the means to secure the canopy to the spare oars. Stops it
flapping. Works a treat – except that then there isn't enough headroom
underneath it for me to row! Don't concern yourself over it – I know
what I have on board, and I'm pretty good at improvising. If it was
possible I would do it. If not, I have a plan for Stage 3. Thanks for
the good news from G8 – that is really encouraging! 350ppm gets my vote.

Sindy – love the t-shirt!

Special hello to Sue at Green People. I'm now on my fourth tube of
SPF22! Great stuff – the suntan is coming along nicely. Thanks for the
excerpt from the Blogger blurb. Wow! I do actually feel quite famous!

Michelle U – I'm embarrassed to admit that I wouldn't recognize the
Pleiades if they punched me on the nose! I know they're the seven
sisters, but not quite sure how to pick them out. Sorry!

Meg – thanks for the prediction. I hope you're right!

Quick answers to quick questions:

Q: Are you able to try to hit the Equator and the International Date
Line at the same time? That would be one heck of a feat, and something
interesting to see on the GPS receiver!
A: It would indeed be interesting – but not sufficiently interesting for
me to make that detour and blow my chances of making landfall!

Weather report:

Position at 2115 HST: 07 01.350N, 174 43.949W
Wind: 5-20kts, E-ESE
Seas: 5-8ft
Weather: extremely variable. Mostly sunny and hot with clouds, but wind
all over the place. No showers today.

Weather forecast, courtesy of weatherguy.com

As of Thursday, 09 July 2009. Expect widely variable wind speeds and
direction while in close proximity to the ITCZ. NEerly trade winds
continue around the 10-15 kts, but veer to ENE 10kts by tomorrow
morning, then back to NE 10kts by tomorrow night. Periods of lighter
winds. Seas to 2-6ft.

Sky conditions: Mostly cloudy with low level clouds. Isolated
rainshowers, squalls, and possible thunderstorms. Wind speeds in these
systems 40-50kts.

ITCZ: The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) has heated up just
south of your present location. Convective clouds have increased
producing squalls and thunderstorms. The axis of the ITCZ is centered on
05 00N between 170W and 180E/W. The northern ITCZ edge is about 06 30N
and the southern edge near 02 00N. As of this morning, winds south of 07
30N to 03 00N were from the NE direction at about 7-22kts. In squalls
and rainshowers winds were 40kts.

Ocean Current: Still looking for the current to become ENE or Eerly
flowing at about 06 00N in the North Equatorial Counter Current. This
current extends to about 01 00N. There are periodic fluctuations in
these dimensions.

Forecast below is for a SWerly course.
Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft)
09/1800-10/0000 NE 10-15 4-6
10/0000-10/1800 ENE 7-12 3-5
10/1800-11/0900 NE 7-12 3-5
11/0900-13/0000 E 2-7 2-4
13/0000-14/1800 ENE-NE 5-10 3-5

It's crunch time. I need to decide which way to turn: Tuvalu or Tarawa?

Originally I set my sights on Tuvalu – mostly for environmental reasons.
It is one of those unfortunate countries being most impacted by rising
sea levels, and has already started to relocate its population to New
Zealand. What better way to illustrate the impact of climate change?

But unfortunately Tuvalu has significant drawbacks apart from the
obvious one that it is disappearing. With a population of only 10,000
and limited infrastructure, it is difficult to get to or away from, and
the chances of finding anywhere satisfactory to store my boat are
minimal.

Tarawa, on the other hand, while hardly a seething metropolis, does have
reasonably good flight schedules, and rather more in the way of
infrastructure. It is also where Jason Lewis and his crewmate dropped in
on their way from Hawaii to Australia, which gives me some faint
reassurance that winds and currents might allow me to get there.

Because this is the deciding factor: which is the safest option
navigationally? Both are tiny targets in a very, very big ocean, and if
I miss landfall it's a long way to the next possible pitstop. The worst
situation would be to dither and procrastinate and end up falling
between two atolls. That would be just plain embarrassing, not to
mention extremely inconvenient.

It would have been nice to get south of the Equator on this leg, but at
1 degree and change north of the Equator, Tarawa is at least below all
the tricky stuff of the ITCZ and the counter current – just about –
hopefully leaving me a clear run for Stage 3. So I may just have to
celebrate crossing the International Date Line on this leg, and leave my
Equator crossing until next time around.

So hopefully by this time tomorrow, after a final round of consultation
with weatherguy, I will have a decision.

[photo: This morning a load of these fellas were chirping noisily near
my boat, swooping for fish. I see them most days, and I've never yet
seen one catch anything. But they seem to be having a good time anyway.]

Other Stuff:

Today was a slightly odd day weatherwise. I was woken by the sound of
rain pounding on the cabin roof, and treated myself to a lie-in while
several showers passed by. I don't mind if a shower soaks me once I'm
out and rowing, but it's not nice to be on a wet seat cushion from the
get-go. For most of the rest of the day there was barely a breath of
wind, and when it revived it was coming from a new direction – northeast
rather than the east. This was rather disorienting – I've got so very
used to the east trade winds.

It was this that focused my mind on the Tuvalu/Tarawa decision. If I'm
about to enter the mysterious world of the ITCZ, I need to be absolutely
sure which way I want to go. If the weather is going to be all over the
place, somebody around here needs to know what's what.

Quick bit of blowing my own trumpet – Nicole tells me that in this
month's edition of Outside Magazine (American publication, very popular
with all kinds of outdoor enthusiasts) I have been chosen as one of the
Top Five Twitters, alongside the likes of Lance Armstrong and Michael
Phelps. Honored, I'm sure.

But don't worry – I won't get big-headed. Two things keep stop me
growing out of my hats.
1. My Dad. He died 5 years ago, but I can still hear his voice.
Like any true Yorkshireman he was never over-impressed with anybody's
achievements, his own or anybody else's. Or not that he let on, anyway.
2. The ocean. The Pacific couldn't care less about Adventure
Twitterers, 8-time Olympic gold medal winners or 7-time Tour de France
winners. To the ocean, we're all just flotsam.

Eco Champ of the Day:
Ocean Girl: "Our household had been on reduced plastic bag but after
following your blog, we moved to NO plastic bag completely."
FANTASTIC!! Thanks, OG. Let's hope after reading this a few other people
will do the same.

Joan – thanks for the tips on viewing the eclipse. Hmmm, the arts and
crafts locker – let's see!

And thanks for all the other great comments and gruesome grub stories –
all very entertaining!

Quick answers to quick question:

Q: What is your degree from Oxford in Roz?
A: Jurisprudence (aka Law). But in fact I really specialized in rowing
and drinking beer.

Q: Any insects out there?
A: No – bliss!

Weather report:

Position at 2115 HST: 07 29.366N, 174 24.380W
Wind: 5-8kts E this morning and afternoon, 5-20kts NE this evening
Seas: 5-8ft
Weather: variable – see above

Weather forecast, courtesy of weatherguy.com:

As of Monday, 06 July 2009. The easterly trade winds have turned more
northerly still around the 15-20 kts range with periods of lighter
winds. Wind speed gradually abates beginning 08July to become 5-12kts by
10July. As the winds abate they shift to ESE-SEerly direction, which may
make it harder to row southwards in headwinds. Seas abate to 3-5ft.

Sky conditions: Mostly cloudy with low level clouds. Isolated
rainshowers.

ITCZ: The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) has quieted since last
report so maybe the passage through will be less dramatic. Convective
clouds have become fewer. The northern ITCZ edge has become diffuse but
the axis is along 170W to 180W between 03 00N and 04 00N. As of this
morning, winds south of 08 30N to the Equator between 170-177W were from
5-17kts with only isolated rainshowers of moderate strength.

Ocean Current: Still looking for the current to become Eerly flowing at
about 06 00N in the North Equatorial Counter Current. We will see how
this can aid your passage across the Equator.

Forecast below is for a SWerly course.
Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft)
06/1800-07/1800 ENE 15-20 6-8
07/1800-08/1800 NE 15-20 6-8
08/1800-09/1800 NE-E 10-15 5-7
09/1800-10/1800 E-SE 7-12 4-6
10/1800-11/1800 SE-E 5-10 3-5

Next Update: Thursday, 09July

It's crunch time. I need to decide which way to turn: Tuvalu or Tarawa?

Originally I set my sights on Tuvalu – mostly for environmental reasons.
It is one of those unfortunate countries being most impacted by rising
sea levels, and has already started to relocate its population to New
Zealand. What better way to illustrate the impact of climate change?

But unfortunately Tuvalu has significant drawbacks apart from the
obvious one that it is disappearing. With a population of only 10,000
and limited infrastructure, it is difficult to get to or away from, and
the chances of finding anywhere satisfactory to store my boat are
minimal.

Tarawa, on the other hand, while hardly a seething metropolis, does have
reasonably good flight schedules, and rather more in the way of
infrastructure. It is also where Jason Lewis and his crewmate dropped in
on their way from Hawaii to Australia, which gives me some faint
reassurance that winds and currents might allow me to get there.

Because this is the deciding factor: which is the safest option
navigationally? Both are tiny targets in a very, very big ocean, and if
I miss landfall it's a long way to the next possible pitstop. The worst
situation would be to dither and procrastinate and end up falling
between two atolls. That would be just plain embarrassing, not to
mention extremely inconvenient.

It would have been nice to get south of the Equator on this leg, but at
1 degree and change north of the Equator, Tarawa is at least below all
the tricky stuff of the ITCZ and the counter current – just about –
hopefully leaving me a clear run for Stage 3. So I may just have to
celebrate crossing the International Date Line on this leg, and leave my
Equator crossing until next time around.

So hopefully by this time tomorrow, after a final round of consultation
with weatherguy, I will have a decision.

[photo: This morning a load of these fellas were chirping noisily near
my boat, swooping for fish. I see them most days, and I've never yet
seen one catch anything. But they seem to be having a good time anyway.]

Other Stuff:

Today was a slightly odd day weatherwise. I was woken by the sound of
rain pounding on the cabin roof, and treated myself to a lie-in while
several showers passed by. I don't mind if a shower soaks me once I'm
out and rowing, but it's not nice to be on a wet seat cushion from the
get-go. For most of the rest of the day there was barely a breath of
wind, and when it revived it was coming from a new direction – northeast
rather than the east. This was rather disorienting – I've got so very
used to the east trade winds.

It was this that focused my mind on the Tuvalu/Tarawa decision. If I'm
about to enter the mysterious world of the ITCZ, I need to be absolutely
sure which way I want to go. If the weather is going to be all over the
place, somebody around here needs to know what's what.

Quick bit of blowing my own trumpet – Nicole tells me that in this
month's edition of Outside Magazine (American publication, very popular
with all kinds of outdoor enthusiasts) I have been chosen as one of the
Top Five Twitters, alongside the likes of Lance Armstrong and Michael
Phelps. Honored, I'm sure.

But don't worry – I won't get big-headed. Two things keep stop me
growing out of my hats.
1. My Dad. He died 5 years ago, but I can still hear his voice.
Like any true Yorkshireman he was never over-impressed with anybody's
achievements, his own or anybody else's. Or not that he let on, anyway.
2. The ocean. The Pacific couldn't care less about Adventure
Twitterers, 8-time Olympic gold medal winners or 7-time Tour de France
winners. To the ocean, we're all just flotsam.

Eco Champ of the Day:
Ocean Girl: "Our household had been on reduced plastic bag but after
following your blog, we moved to NO plastic bag completely."
FANTASTIC!! Thanks, OG. Let's hope after reading this a few other people
will do the same.

Joan – thanks for the tips on viewing the eclipse. Hmmm, the arts and
crafts locker – let's see!

And thanks for all the other great comments and gruesome grub stories –
all very entertaining!

Quick answers to quick question:

Q: What is your degree from Oxford in Roz?
A: Jurisprudence (aka Law). But in fact I really specialized in rowing
and drinking beer.

Q: Any insects out there?
A: No – bliss!

Weather report:

Position at 2115 HST: 07 29.366N, 174 24.380W
Wind: 5-8kts E this morning and afternoon, 5-20kts NE this evening
Seas: 5-8ft
Weather: variable – see above

Weather forecast, courtesy of weatherguy.com:

As of Monday, 06 July 2009. The easterly trade winds have turned more
northerly still around the 15-20 kts range with periods of lighter
winds. Wind speed gradually abates beginning 08July to become 5-12kts by
10July. As the winds abate they shift to ESE-SEerly direction, which may
make it harder to row southwards in headwinds. Seas abate to 3-5ft.

Sky conditions: Mostly cloudy with low level clouds. Isolated
rainshowers.

ITCZ: The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) has quieted since last
report so maybe the passage through will be less dramatic. Convective
clouds have become fewer. The northern ITCZ edge has become diffuse but
the axis is along 170W to 180W between 03 00N and 04 00N. As of this
morning, winds south of 08 30N to the Equator between 170-177W were from
5-17kts with only isolated rainshowers of moderate strength.

Ocean Current: Still looking for the current to become Eerly flowing at
about 06 00N in the North Equatorial Counter Current. We will see how
this can aid your passage across the Equator.

Forecast below is for a SWerly course.
Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft)
06/1800-07/1800 ENE 15-20 6-8
07/1800-08/1800 NE 15-20 6-8
08/1800-09/1800 NE-E 10-15 5-7
09/1800-10/1800 E-SE 7-12 4-6
10/1800-11/1800 SE-E 5-10 3-5

Next Update: Thursday, 09July

Ferocious tropical sun, roaring wind, steep breaking waves. Today was
not an unusual day, but nor was it my favorite kind of day for rowing.
It was too windy to put up the sun canopy, which in wind speeds over 20
knots flaps around and biffs me around the head. So without the canopy I
was exposed to the full force of the sun. And the steep contours of the
waves made it difficult to get a good connection between oar and water,
exacerbated by a strange phenomenon: The sound of the wind and waves
seem to send a message to my limbs, saying – bad rowing conditions,
hence bad rowing.

I've found from experience that on days like this the best way to avoid
rowing like a moron is to insulate myself from the elements as much as
possible, ignore what the conditions are doing, and put my body on
autopilot. It rows much better without my brain interfering.

I do this by making like a teenager. I pull my baseball cap down low and
stick the earbuds in and plug myself into my iPod. Apologies to those
purists who would have me commune with nature in all her moods, but in
present circumstances I feel justified in doing whatever gets me through
the day.

Today, my choice inspired by podcast partner Leo Laporte's vacation
destination, I chose the audiobook of "Lost on Planet China" by J
Maarten Troost. And he has thoroughly put me to shame. I absolutely take
my hat off to him as the champion of intrepid eating. He succeeded where
I wimped out and failed. When faced with a potential squid dinner oozing
to death on my deck, I discarded the notion as too gross to contemplate.
Not Troost.

Throughout his travels in China he struggled with the language barrier,
especially in restaurants. On one occasion he finds himself presented
with a bowl full of 10 live squid. He contemplates his lively dinner. He
asks the waitress what he is supposed to do. She tells him. He braces
himself, wondering if he can do it. Yes, he can. One by one, he takes
the live squid out of the bowl of water and pulls their heads off, then
dips their bodies in vinegar and eats them. Every last one. Leaving just
a pile of squid heads on the side of his plate.

Wuuuhhhuuuuu. Eeeewwwww. Eeeeessssshhhh. I thought I was a brave eater,
pickled jellyfish being probably the weirdest thing I've ever eaten. But
raw live squid absolutely trumps that.

He also packs a lot of interesting facts into the book. Such as:
- 1 in 40 Chinese have a car, vs 1 in 1.25 Americans
- The Chinese burn as much coal as the USA, Japan and the whole of
Europe combined
- In 2005 they built enough new power stations to power the whole
of the UK. In 2006 they built enough new power stations to power France
- One third of the particulates polluting the air in California's
Central Valley comes from China.

This makes for sobering reading. It's clearly essential that any global
initiative on CO2 emissions needs the buy-in of China and the other
rising industrial superpowers. But that is going to require some
seriously impressive feats of diplomacy in Copenhagen this winter. Can
it be done? I think it can, but will need an approach that shows empathy
with China's economic goals. I am no diplomat or politician, but it
seems to me that all countries need to find a vision of a sustainable
long-term prosperity based on sustainable long-term energy sources. It
would be challenging, but very impressive, if the developed countries
can hold hands with those still developing, and move together towards
that vision of the future, working with them to solve the problems that
affect us all.

An afterthought on J Maarten Troost. Now there is a man I'd like to get
on the end of the phone right now. He knows all about the islands of the
Pacific, having lived on several of them, including Tarawa and Tuvalu
(presumably Funafuti). If anybody in the world can tell me which of my
potential destinations has the best beer, I'm sure it would be him – and
probably a wealth of other more essential information besides. One of
his earlier books was called "Getting Stoned With Savages". I wonder if
he'd be amenable to Getting Phoned By Savages …

[photo - earbuds in, and the "ocean feral" look]

Other Stuff:

Today I was rowing straight down the pink line – the line on my
chartplotter that leads from where I am now to Tuvalu. But as I get ever
closer to the ITCZ and the NECC, things could still change. We're busy
researching all aspects of our options right now.

Sandy – thanks for the mention in the blog roll. Not often I find myself
in a list alongside Demi Moore and Angelina Jolie!

Michelle – thanks for the offer of the house in Hood River. It might be
a bit too tempting to socialize instead of write, but otherwise that
would be perfect. Can I let you know nearer the time?

Special hello to Sandra and Ian Williamson in Oxford – glad to hear
you're well and Facebooking! Ahhh, happy memories of college days,
especially the beer cellar!

Quick answers to quick questions:

Q: What brand electric watermaker would you recommend on an ocean
crossing?
A: I use the Spectra Ventura 150 – still the same one I used for the
Atlantic voyage. I run it for about 45 mins a day and it produces enough
to fill a 10 liter jerrycan and a bucket. Works great.

Q: Why are you a Mac on land and a PC at sea?
A: I prefer the Mac, but when I did the Pacific Stage 1 I needed a PC to
interface to the Iridium satphone so I could upload blogs. There is now
a product called OCENS that allows a Mac to talk to Iridium, but I'd
still rather trash a PC than risk my precious Macbook!

Q: Do you see many airplanes overhead?
A: No, none at all.

Q: If you had a can or bottle of beer couldn't you attach it to a line
and sink it a 100 feet or so to chill it? Would the water temp 100 feet
down or more be much colder than the surface water temp?
A: Oh, I'll just go hop over the side and check….

Weather Report:

Position at 2110 HST: 07 49.416N, 174 03.477W
Wind: 20+ knots E
Seas: 6-9ft E, choppy
Weather: rough night last night – probably roughest yet. Hot and windy
day.

Weather forecast, courtesy of weatherguy.com:

As of Monday, 06 July 2009. The easterly trade winds have turned more
northerly still around the 15-20 kts range with periods of lighter
winds. Wind speed gradually abates beginning 08July to become 5-12kts by
10July. As the winds abate they shift to ESE-SEerly direction, which may
make it harder to row southwards in headwinds. Seas abate to 3-5ft.

Sky conditions: Mostly cloudy with low level clouds. Isolated
rainshowers.

ITCZ: The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) has quieted since last
report so maybe the passage through will be less dramatic. Convective
clouds have become fewer. The northern ITCZ edge has become diffuse but
the axis is along 170W to 180W between 03 00N and 04 00N. As of this
morning, winds south of 08 30N to the Equator between 170-177W were from
5-17kts with only isolated rainshowers of moderate strength.

Ocean Current: Still looking for the current to become Eerly flowing at
about 06 00N in the North Equatorial Counter Current. We will see how
this can aid your passage across the Equator.

Forecast below is for a SWerly course.
Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft)
06/1800-07/1800 ENE 15-20 6-8
07/1800-08/1800 NE 15-20 6-8
08/1800-09/1800 NE-E 10-15 5-7
09/1800-10/1800 E-SE 7-12 4-6
10/1800-11/1800 SE-E 5-10 3-5

Next Update: Thursday, 09July