Today was a bit of a scramble to get things finished, but I’ve started to notice a pattern emerging on my departure days. It’s very difficult to say how I feel – there is a kind of numbness that settles over me. By this stage most of what can be done has been done, and it’s too late to push to achieve more. So I just drift through the day in a kind of haze, biding time until the hour of departure arrives.

Having said that, there was quite a buzz at the Waikiki Yacht Club today. My team of helpers had been on hand all day, all working hard on boat, medical kit, last-minute purchases, laundry, technology, etc. But at 6pm approached a new contingent arrived – press, cameras, and so on. Tom Stone, the kahuna (Hawaiian priest) blessed my boat.

But the memories that will stay in my mind the longest are of the departure itself. So many people on land and sea there to wish me well. People standing along the harbour wall on Magic Island holding up big signs to cheer me on. A flotilla of paddlers (both seated and stand-up), sailboats and powerboats. The big media boat. The helicopter swooping overhead to get aerial footage.

One by one they turned around and headed back to shore, and after all he noise the silence of the ocean surrounded me. I rowed for a while longer, and had just popped into the cabin to post a Tweet when a familiar voice accosted me. It was Barry Pickering, Mike Marsh and Cindy on board the Blue Lady, a small sailboat I’ve enjoyed some memorable Friday nights on. A final goodbye, and then I was really alone, watching the bright lights of Honolulu recede behind me as I rowed out into the inky darkness of the open ocean.

I’d planned to row a bit longer tonight, but I’m bushed. It’s been a long day. So I’ve just had a sponge-and-bucket bath to rinse away some of the sweat of the day, and soon I’ll get my head down for a short sleep. Conditions are calm tonight – dead silent and only the slightest swell – so I hope I get some good zzz in between waking up to check for shipping. I won’t be able to relax until I get out of sight of land, and well away from shipping lanes.

Just finally, I’d like to say a HUGE thank you to everybody who came down to see me off. I didn’t get the chance to say thanks and goodbye to everyone – so please forgive me. Thanks especially those who came from the mainland, and to Captain Vince of the White Holly and his new wife Joanna – they got married today, but still found time to come and wish me well. Congratulations, and very
best wishes for the future!

First, a quick brag:
Voted #3 in Top Ten Adventure Twitters by Outside Magazine – woohoo!

Now, on to the news…

The Brocade is now comfortably ensconced in her new home at Pacific Shipyards International on Pier 41. I had spent much of the last 8 months, almost ever since I landed in Hawaii, trying to find somewhere suitable to store her – with absolutely no luck. But like London buses, after none for ages, two come along at once…

Yesterday afternoon I was holding the fort in our “downtown office” at Waikiki Yacht Club while Nicole and Joel took the truck to tow Brocade from Pier 21 to Pier 41 so she could be repainted. Pier 21 was supposed to be for storage only, and we had already been pushing our luck by doing so much boatwork there. I had just received a rather terse note from the owner, asking me to move all my “crap” (his word) from the area around my boat. So painting there was definitely out of the question – and besides, the warehouse was so filthy that her pristine post-painting appearance would not have lasted for long. No point making her all pretty if she was just going to metaphorically roll in the mud. So as I Tweeted yesterday, a new location was urgently needed.

As I was catching up on my emails I came across a suggestion from Sindy Davis, blog reader, supporter, and now an in-person “real” friend as well, who suggested aircraft hangars. We had already tried a few such leads, but she sent me a link to Air Service Hawaii, which we hadn’t tried before. Not an immediate win, but a relatively short trail (only 4 phone calls) led me to Dan Espiritu, who immediately offered me space near Honolulu Airport at a huge discount.

My text to Nicole, celebrating the good news, crossed with a text from her saying that the guys at Pier 41, Pacific Boatyards, had welcomed the Brocade with open arms and offered her accommodation for as long as she needed – plus paint, under cover storage space, crane services, etc etc. This rather trumped the airport option, as the extra manpower and free paint would save us loads of $$$. Fantastic!

So now Joel is busy at work, prepping and painting the boat (see pictures), while Nicole and Conrad, local filmmaker and our new best friend, shoot footage of the works in progress. And I try to figure out if I have everything I need to sustain me for 100+ days at sea. Ocean rowing is almost unique amongst expeditions in that it is impossible to pop down to the corner store for anything that I have overlooked. I know of a crew of two guys who had to share a toothbrush the whole way across the Atlantic….

So here is my packing list so far – let me know if you see any omissions, but within reason, please. Every pound of weight is another pound I have to row across 2,600 miles of ocean!

Sawyers oars (4)
Rowing seat + spare wheels
Cushion pads and packtowel covers
Para anchor x 2
Leecloths for bunk
Manual bilge pump (in addition to fixed bilge pump)
Tripod mount
Handheld VHF radio x 2

Compass x 2
GPS x 3 (plus the one in my iPhone)
Toughbook PC x 2
Iridium satellite phone x 2
Tracking beacon
Aquapacs
iPod x 5
iPod headphones and waterproof bag
Pelicases
Spare batteries for everything
Inverter (US)
Pentax waterproof camera
Ricoh 500SE waterproof camera with geotagging

Foghorn
Axe (don’t ask – was required by Atlantic Rowing Race rules, and is now part of the furniture!)
Marine flares
EPIRB
Searchlight
Immersion suit
Liferaft
Lifejacket
Grab bag
Type-4 Coast Guard Approved Flotation Device

Vitamins, minerals, supplements
Nuts and seeds
Seeds for sprouting
Larabars
Freeze-dried food
Tinned fish

Pillows for bunk
Ocean Sleepwear sleeping bag
Silk inner sleeping bag
Pillowcase
Rowing shoes
Sun shades for hatches
Red ensign
Hawaiian flag

Charts
Scissors
Grease pencil (for marking up miles on whiteboard)
Sharpie
Pencils
Reading glasses & case
Log book
Knife and sharpening block

Knife, fork, spoon, teaspoon x 3
Mugs with lids
Water bottles
Seed sprouter
Measuring jug
Wooden spoons/spatulas
Hand pump for jerry cans x 2
Bungee cords
Assorted food storage jars
Jerry cans for water
Spare water bags for extra ballast
Thermos flask
Clips for sachets of food
Drybags for storing rubbish
Ziplock bags

Washing powder
Washing up liquid
Hospital-grade antibacterial cleanser
Funnel
Windproof lighter x 4
Matches
Brush and dustpan
Cloths and pot scourer
Bottle brush for water bottles
Clothespegs
Scrapers for scrubbing bottom of boat
Bedpan
Bucket x 3

Baseball caps
Fleece and long trousers for evening shift
T-shirts, shorts, sports bras
Rowing gloves
Anti-UV sunglasses & case

Cord (lots)
Headtorches
Sewing kit
Karabiners
Snorkelling mask
Waterproofs

Soap/shower gel
Moisturiser
Dental floss
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Alcohol/tea tree oil wipes
Cream to prevent chafing
Body lotion
Body scrubber/ chamois leather
Towel
Sun lotion by Green People

… and cuddly toys!

Grab Bag containing:
4 chocolate bars
4 small bottles water
Anti seasickness tablets
First aid kit
Fishing kit
Glucose sweets
Emergency rations
Grab bag
Knife
Lightsticks (6)
Personal EPIRB
Pocket strobe light
Red hand flares (2)
Signal mirror with whistle + float
Silva compass
Spare torch bulb
Thermal foil blanket
Tool kit
Waterproof torch
Foghorn
Handwarmers
Fishing line and weight
GPS

Toolkit comprising:
10″ mole grips
5 piece screwdriver set
6″ adjustable spanner
6″ pliers
Alum keys
Any specialised tools for equipment on board
combination spanners 94 – 10mm
glue
Hammer
junior hacksaw and blades
Stanley knife and blades
marine sealant
Amsoil Heavy Duty Metal Protector
epoxy repair kit
pack of metric drills
penetrating oil, WD40
reflective tape
self amalgamating tape
duct tape
small hand drill
set of metric drills
cable ties
Wet & Dry Sand Paper
Woodglue
Tape Measure
Alligator clamp, C-clamp
Leatherman
Electrical spares:
20 by 5mm 2 amp Fuses x 3
10mm nylon P clips x 4
10 amp fuse x 3
Twin pole plug ( cigar ) x 2
Nav light and bulb
Spare bulb for internal light
5 amp fuse x 3
Insulated Crimps x 5
Yellow Male Crimps x 6
20 by 5mm 1 amp Fuses x 3
Liquid Electrical Tape
20 by 5mm 3 amp Fuses x 3
20 by 5mm 5 amp Fuses x 3
Ties 3 sizes x 40
Mini Torch
Female Crimps x 4
Fuse wire 10m
spares for bilge pump
spares for watermaker
spares for steering system
spare seat
spare rowing gates
spare CO2 bottle for lifejacket
spare batteries
spare rudder pintles

First Aid kit:
Anti inflammatories
Dioralyte (for seasickness)
Ibuprofen gel
Micropore (tons!)
Painkillers
Seasickness patches
Biofreeze
Deep Heat
Ice packs
and a lot more besides – thanks to Expedition Doctor Aenor Sawyer!

Other stuff:

Happy Shiny Boat

Thanks to all who took part in a lively debate on Twitter and Facebook about what colour to repaint the Brocade. I took all these votes into consideration, but in the end had to come down on the conservative side and go with silver again because:

- it looks good with any colour sponsor stickers …
- it doesn’t get too hot to the touch
- if we have to do any creative editing with the video, using bits out of sequence, it will avoid having glaring continuity errors
- and, ultimately, I just couldn’t imagine her being any other colour!

But there will be little “accents” of colour (she says in her best camp-interior-designer voice) with sponsor logos, seat cushion (orange), and so on.

Pacific Paddler

I went paddling with the outrigger canoeists of the Waikiki Yacht Club last night – earning ourselves a beer or three (and WHOSE idea was the tequila?!) in the yacht club bar last night. And paddling is meant to be good for your health?!

About to dash out of WYC to go do a live interview with Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central – catch it here!

I hadn’t advertised a situation vacant, but if I had it might have been similar to Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 advert:

“MEN WANTED: FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS.”

My version would have been: “Extra pair of hands needed: job security non-existent, boss excessively demanding. Those needing stability – geographical, financial or otherwise – need not apply.”

Many times over the last few years I have wished that I could clone myself. Organizing a 2,500 mile ocean row takes a staggering amount of organization, plus there are all the other activities that go on around it – writing books and articles, giving presentations, film-making, raising sponsorship, designing and maintaining the website – plus the time-consuming social media habit which helps me share my adventures with people all around the world who are kind enough to take an interest in the life of a nomadic ocean rower.

But technology has not obliged. There remains just the one of me – which some might argue is more than enough…

But short of a clone I now have the next best thing – or actually, an even better thing, because she’s smarter than me – a new right hand woman who is intelligent, business-minded, and uniquely qualified to help me out.

As of yesterday Nicole Bilodeau (pictured) is going to be my PR agent/ sponsorship manager/ speaker agent/ all-round Woman Friday. She used to work for Ogilvy PR, and did a great job on my account in 2007 when Ogilvy were working for my title sponsors Brocade. It was a small miracle that our paths crossed. Nicole had only just joined Ogilvy, Ogilvy had only just been taken on by Brocade to manage their PR (and are now no longer working on that account), and Brocade had only just come on board as my title sponsors. In the sliding doors of life, things could easily have been very different.

Originally from Massachussetts, Nicole has also lived in Britain (during which time she was involved with the ocean rowing scene), Ireland, Belgium, Canada and South Africa, so she’s comfortable with the global perspective. Since leaving Ogilvy last year she has done a stint at MySpace, and moves confidently through the world of social media. And as you can tell from the photo, we are also both Mac girls. Technological compatibility may not be essential, but it certainly helps.

In the UK Daisy Hampton and my mother both continue to provide indispensable support – although with Daisy expecting her first baby in a couple of weeks, and Mum going into hospital for a hip replacement, they are going to have other things on their minds for a while.

Nicole and I have hit the ground running, with a hectic program for the remaining 3 months between now and my May 15 launch.

I am delighted to welcome Nicole to the team. And so far, one day into the job, she seems pretty happy to be here – bringing a new recruit out to Hawaii as a first assignment might prove to be a smart move on my part. Job satisfaction is definitely enhanced by warm weather and tropical office environment. We are pictured here in our two places of work, both of which have free broadband and convenient access to food. Nicole is shown in our “uptown” office on the North Shore (the Coffee Gallery in Haleiwa) and I am in our “downtown” office at the Waikiki Yacht Club.

No grey office cubicles for Team Savage!

THE MORNING AFTER:
On Rick Shema’s Weather Update – do go and have a look – is a good report of yesterday’s events. My personal thanks to Rick and his family for allowing me to stay there in the run-up to Roz’s arrival.

(You can find Rick’s information by clicking here. Rita.)

It is now just after 5pm Hawaiian time and Roz has just called with her latest position. From now on she will call every two hours. Likely to arrive tomorrow some time in the middle of the day.

21 15.140N 157 28.608W 5pm Hawaii time

21 14.389N 157 31.692W 7pm Hawaii time

21 14.719N 157 34 625W 9pm Hawaii tme.
Roz describes the conditions as interesting – rough, windy and dark. However she can see light on Oahu, and things have improved since she started singing along to her CDs. She is taking a rest, but checking in again at 11pm.

21 14.580N 157 36.907W 11pm Hawaii time.
During Roz’s rest she has drifted well – she says she is a good drifter.

21 12.585N 157 47.227W 4.30am Hawaii time.
Roz has gone too far south for the photo opportunity at Diamond Head, but still on target for her objective and arrival.

0900 Hawaiian time September 1st 2008, Roz has crossed the line that she considers to be her finish line. 21 13.096N, 157 47.570W.

Roz is now awaiting a tow boat to take her nearer to Diamond Head for a photo opportunity for the press. Following that she will proceed to the Waikiki Yacht Club for the welcomes, the hugs, celebrations and interviews.

Roz is feeling great – happy, cheerful and not too tired.

Aiming for:Waikiki Yacht Club: 21 17 17N 157 50 31W

There are still some days left of the Atlantic Crossing, and I can’t leave the story unfinished.
Day 101 When Will Roz Arrive?
Day 102a Nearly there
Day 102b Hitch a Ride?
Day 103 She is Nearly here!
Day 104 I DID IT
Day 106 Antigua Paradise

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Countdown to Roz’s Arrival – Possibly Monday September 1.

On Thursday I flew over the Pacific from California to Hawaii for nearly five hours, at a speed of about 500 miles per hour. The ocean appeared to be so vast, so empty, so endless. Involved as I have been with Roz since she departed on May 25th, I still find it incredible that my daughter could choose to row, alone, across that distance. It will be so good to see her again.

On Friday morning talking briefly on the phone, she promised to ring me Saturday morning at 7.30am. Friday afternoon, Dane Golden, cameraman, called me to ask me to be at the Waikiki Yacht Club at 7am Saturday, to be part of Leo Laporte’s thrice weekly phone chat with Roz on Twitlive.tv. Friday evening I sent an email to Roz to tell her not to phone on Saturday morning as “it was not convenient.” That left her puzzled and intrigued. What was I going to be doing at that time of the morning?

At sunrise on Saturday Rick Shema and I faced the cameras at the WYC while Leo waited in California for Roz to call him from the boat. He began his usual chat with her, then brought me in to say hello to Roz. She was astonished to hear me, and then knew the answer to the question. Anybody watching Twitlive.tv on a computer would have seen us. (This is all experimental computer wizardry.)

The air is alive with messages flitting to and fro as we make plans to welcome Roz when she arrives. Roz needs to arrive in daylight hours for filming and photographic opportunities. Rick, the Weatherguy, who has done such an excellent job for Roz on this voyage, will be putting some of the finer details of her approach in his weather report – look for the link to it underneath the Marine Track box.

The plan is that as Roz approaches the Molokai Channel, and Honolulu, I will update her blog every couple of hours so that you, the readers, can be involved. It may even be possible to watch some of the exciting events live on Leo Laporte’s twitlive.tv.
Talking to Roz yesterday morning on the phone, we shared the excitement of knowing that we would be meeting up pretty soon – with a big hug. After our initial welcome, there will be a blur of activity with the media, interviews, filming, greeting friends, champagne, before Roz can indulge in a long hot shower.

I suggest that you check this website from time to time on Sunday and Monday; 10am Hawaii time would be 1pm in California, and 9 pm in the UK.

Position at 2015 HST: 21 25.800′N, 157 00.099′W. (6.15 UCT)

If you have not yet VOTED for ROZ on the AMEX site, please, please do so. time is running out, and we need more votes. See the MEMBERS PROJECT link on this page, sign up as a guest, and vote for Roz’s ocean rowing project. (Please do not vote more than once – it will cancel out your vote.)

Rick shema will be updating the weather forecast for Roz’s area from time to time. Do remember to check his messages on the website. The link is underneath the MarineTrack box on this blog page.

Click here to view Day 100 of the Atlantic Crossing 9 March 2006: The Tide is Coming In – messages for Roz – but it would be another 3 days before she finally arrived, delayed by an obstinate sea anchor.

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.Not saying I’ve missed these things, because it is just a different existence out here – but they are all things I enjoy that I haven’t been able to do for over three months now: And now that the end of my voyage is drawing near, I am starting to think about my “other” life again – my life on dry land.

– bathing in fresh, not salt, water – washing my hair – getting dressed up and putting on makeup – eating out – having a drink with friends – walking – trees – massage – freedom to do a lot more things than can be done alone on a small boat – NOT rowing – curling up in a comfortable chair with a good book – the internet – emailing my friends – not just my team – people – chance meetings – serendipity – using my Macbook rather than a PC – my coffee-shop-and-journal therapy sessions – going to see a movie (is “Sex and the City” still showing anywhere? I left a week before the premier!) – a glass of something nice – champagne (Veuve Clicquot), wine (chenin blanc or pinot noir), beer (English) or margarita (straight up with salt) – depending on mood – and, of course, caramel lattes!

I am not wishing my time away (much), but the ocean is a tough environment and I am looking forward to being somewhere where the sun is high and the living is easy (or at least easier).

Other stuff:

Position at 1945 24th August HST, 0545 25th August UTC: 22 01.106′N, 153 46.358′W.

Today has been a bit poor on the mileage. The wind is good now, but for most of the day it has been very variable due to squalls. And it was very light last night – normally I would expect to make about 9′ of longitude overnight, but last night I only got 4′, so that was not a flying start to the day.

But the weather varies quite a bit from day to day, so with a bit of luck tomorrow will be an improvement. But we may now be looking at Sept 1 or 2 rather than August 31. It doesn’t matter too much one way or another – so long as I get there safe and sound.

Thanks to Karen and Megan for the kind donations – much appreciated, and Karen, I promise I will put it towards my day of massage and pampering. I can’t wait!

To Texino and anyone else who is concerned about the safety of my arrival in Hawaii: please don’t worry! It will be, errr, challenging, but my weatherguy and I (and various other helpful people, including the wonderful folks at the Waikiki Yacht Club) are all on the case and will make sure that my landfall is as safe as possible. Worry ye not! That’s OUR job!

And thanks for all the other lovely messages of support too. Each and every one is read and appreciated.

Click here to view Day 92 of the Atlantic Crossing 2 March 2006: Has she or hasn’t she? About drinking ballast water.
(Tomorrow these details will be rather late in the day as I am travelling to San Francisco from the UK – Rita.)

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After yesterday’s rant about the environment and human irresponsibility, I was going to write a low-key blog about how I train for an ocean crossing. But then I was brought up short when I saw this eloquent and moving email sent to me by a friend in Oregon. I haven’t had time to ask for her consent, but I hope she won’t mind me passing it on to you. She is a wise and wonderful woman, and her words really resonated with me. I hope you enjoy them too. Happy Independence Day!

Roz,

So daily, as I read your blog, I not only wish you well and safety, I also wish all of us “Independence” from whatever it is that holds us back!

Other stuff:

Strange weather here today. At one stage, all around me I could see grey clouds close to the horizon, while I was bathed in glorious sunshine and above me were the wispy cirrus clouds (hopefully a signal that I am getting close to the trade winds). At times I ran into the grey clouds, which settled in around me like a San Francisco fog. When this photo was taken, the sun and the fine drizzle interacted to produce a faint smudge of a rainbow, its colours muted.

Rowing-wise, an excellent day. I’ve now passed 127 degrees west, and the trade winds are getting closer! Woohoo!

FREE! BLUE PLEDGES

In answer to some concerns, Blue Pledges are FREE!! You don’t have to pay a thing – in fact, most Blue Pledges will save you money because most things that are good for the environment are also good for your wallet. So do it now!

Go to www.theblueproject.org and click on the Make a BLUE Pledge button.

BE COOL, BE BLUE!

I’ve received a load of questions that we’re going to cover in the podcast tomorrow (you can listen live at 10am Pacific time, or download the podcast at your convenience). Jeff King, Joan in Atlanta (and thanks for your Blue Pledge!), Michael Faulkner, Ray Davis – listen in!

Alison C – thanks for your message. You’ve got it figured – one day at a time. I just try not to think about too much outside of my boat – if I thought of all the days between here and Hawaii, or all the places I would rather be, it would drive me nuts!

Jenny – thanks for the reassurance on the wildlife front. If you haven’t seen Jenny’s comment, she wrote: “the ocean is a very huge place, wildlife is not abundant throughout all over it, but in certain hotspots. The ocean is dynamic minute to minute as you well know and oceanographic processes affect food distribution. you happen to be crossing a great desert to Hawaii where likely sightings will be slim unless you cross over a seamount. I bet you will be a landing area for seabirds at times! take pics, such a cool opportunity to share with the world what truly is pelagic.”

Again concerning wildlife – Pippa, I see birds often, but so far no landings on board the Brocade. At least once a day a couple of birds will come and circle my boat – often one flying clockwise while the other goes anticlockwise. Not always the same birds, but usually this same pattern of behaviour. I always say hi!

Carol – don’t worry too much about the Marinetrack position sometimes getting out of date. I send my position to my mother and my weatherman twice a day, in addition to the MT reports – and I don’t move so fast that the positions go out of date!

Dick deVries – am aiming for Waikiki Yacht Club, but I’ll take whatever dry land I can hit!

Dana – no worries. I haven’t seen them, but I suspect that I might have been sympathetic!

Ben Eadie – thanks for your kind message. Definitely a vacancy in that department, and I’d love to talk when I get back to dry land. Thank you!

HELLOOOO! To Gus and Cathy. Nice to know you’re following. Be warned – I plan to give you a shout next time in London, and would love to see you for dinner. Errr, you’re paying!

Ron in Texas – thanks for the kind message, and for the great quote: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” (Ambrose Redmoon). By that definition, I will admit that maybe I do have some courage.

Eric Krueger – a chance to dance? Not really – would probably fall overboard!

Special hi to Sinead in NZ. Think of you often, facing your first Dunedin winter. Lots of love – and stay warm! And a special thank you to Cousin Russell for his message too.

Position Friday evening: 28 25 593N 127 02 628W
Nautical Miles rowed yesterday: 25.06

Click here to seeDay 41 of the Atlantic Crossing 10 January 2006

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