Row for Hope - 2,950 Miles Across the Atlantic for Cancer Research

Yes, I spammed everyone I know

2011-12-15T23:00:00.000Z

Friends,

Sorry for spamming you, and everyone I've ever met, earlier today. I suggest not opening any suspicious-looking emails that you've recieved from me in the last hour. Whoever hacked me really outdid themselves with nine different junk emails sent from my account, all with brilliant titles - "Its Amazing!", "I Did It!", "As promised", "Yippee!" and the ever-reliable "Link". Anyway, please disregard.

I hope you all are doing well and if we haven't caught up in a while don't hesitate to get in touch.

Merry Christmas!

Paul

Bonnie Hunt Show

2009-04-15T21:54:00.003+01:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I'm in LA today to tape the Bonnie Hunt show. Check out www.bonniehunt.com for more. Looks like it will air Thursday.

Paul

CBS - The Early Show Clip

2009-04-13T15:53:00.004+01:00

My interview on The Early Show aired this morning!

Check it out here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4938856n

Paul

Early Show Bumps Paul Again!

2009-04-09T13:45:00.002+01:00

Paul's been bumped AGAIN from the CBS Early Show.

This time, though, they're taping something for later broadcast. When we have a firm time when it will be shown, we'll post it here. (Or we'll post the video itself.)

Thanks for being patient!

Paul on CBS Early Show This Thursday

2009-04-07T21:03:00.003+01:00

The CBS Early Show will be welcoming Paul for a live interview on Thursday morning, April 9, probably during the 7-8 A.M. hour.

This appearance has been moved several times; check here for the latest information on the exact time of the interview.

Where in the world am I today?

2009-04-05T14:14:00.007+01:00

That's an easy one -- HOME!

I flew in on Sunday night and have started trying to put my life back together. Genuine "real-world" things like finding my car keys, replacing my credit cards and wallet that apparently didn't make the trip back from the Canaries, and standing in line at the DMV for a new driver's license. The culture-shock of returning to real life, especially in Fairfield County, CT, has been completely bewildering, and not as much of a relief as I expected.

I've realized that on the boat I was living literally on the bare essentials -- food, water, and shelter from the elements were all I had and all I needed. Luxuries were limited to an iPod, a sat phone, and computer - all of which helped to keep my mind occupied, but were useless bricks of metal and plastic when it came to keeping me alive.

For the last two days I've been constantly surprised and awed by the excesses of the life that I was so accustomed to only a few months ago. I'm able to provide for the bare essentials that are absolutely critical to life at sea with zero effort or real cost - it's a feeling of incredibly undeserved ease, and one that right now I'm extremely uncomfortable with.

For example, I'm writing from a Starbucks in Greenwich, CT, and out the window I can see half a million dollars worth of cars....Mercedes Benzes, Land Rovers, and countless SUVs. The guy sitting at the table across from me is wearing a suit and tie and furiously typing on his Blackberry. On the Atlantic, my only "currency" was in the form of Ramen Noodles and British Army biscuits that occasionally turned up as I ate my way through food rations and that I would stash away until "cashing them in" when I needed a pick-me-up. With this in mind, you can probably imagine how strange it feels to be back in a world with priorities very different from those that had become my own during my 87 days on the ocean.

I suppose that this feeling will go away soon, but for now I'm wondering "where in the world am I?"

I really miss Liv.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

Taking inspiration from Paul Ridley's incredible solo row across the Atlantic, Bob Glendening has generously offered to match all new donations to www.rowforhope.com from members of the rowing community. His generosity also stems from his family's devotion to rowing and its personal experience with cancer. The Glendening Boat House at Colgate was given by the family in 2004 in memory of his mother, who lost her battle with cancer in 2000.

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com.

Paul

Sad to see her go...

2009-04-04T14:20:00.002+01:00

Well, on Friday afternoon I watched a truck carry Liv away to the container port at St. John's, Antigua on the other side of the island. After a whirlwind of a morning arranging logistics, packing materials, carpentry help, and countless trips by water taxi across English Harbour between Nelson's Dockyard and Antigua Slipway, we had her loaded, braced, and ready to go by 2PM or so.

As the truck was winding its way up the hill one of the dockyard workers caught me apparently watching her disappear into the trees. I've become incredibly attached to her over the last year and particularly over the last few months -- no surprise given that she literally kept me alive for 88 days on one of the most unforgiving environments on earth. She'll be shipped back to New York on a container ship leaving Antigua next Friday and will arrive in New York twenty-one days later. She's due for a thorough cleaning but other than the watermaker needing servicing, she's in fantastic shape thanks in large part to her builder Aquidneck Custom (Bristol, RI).

I had an incredible welcome here in Antigua but can't wait to see everyone back home too, and am looking forward to my first night's sleep in my own bed - something I dreamed about a lot while on the ocean.

I'll keep you all updated on the event schedule that is coming together now. There are events in the works in both CT and upstate NY, and I'll be accepting invitations for other appearances as well. If you're interested in having me meet with your school, club, church, or other organization, please send an email to my sister Joy, at joy@rowforhope.com. I'm based in Stamford, CT, but am willing to travel as my schedule allows.

LAND, and everything that comes with it....

2009-04-03T11:43:00.004+01:00

Wow! Well, it's been an eventful first week on dry land, and I think I'm finally getting used to not living in a 19-foot boat. After being alone for 88 days, one of the strangest adjustments has been getting used to the speed at which I need to be processing things mentally to keep a conversation going. It may sound strange, but on the boat I had all the time in the world to formulate my thoughts in great detail and in a very organized, but not exactly lightning-fast, way. After arriving, I couldn't believe how quickly conversations on land would switch from one topic to another, leaving me struggling to keep my brain moving fast enough to keep up. It was an really weird experience, but I'm happy to report that I'm pretty much back to normal now. Hopefully the people on the other side of my conversations agree!

The days this week have been spent, among other things, walking around English and Falmouth Harbours getting my land legs back. I've been surprised at how sore my legs have been all week -- who would have thought that getting back to land would take a bigger toll on my body than the first couple days of all-day rowing? I feel like I just ran 10 miles after not having run in a while - my legs are stiff and creaky and getting moving is a struggle. Luckily, all of the physical and mental adjustments are well worth making in exchange for the countless joys and comforts of being on LAND.

I'm spending today trying to get the boat packed up and in a shipping container ready to head back to the States. All of the pieces are coming together quickly, and I'm hopeful that this can be done today so I can try to catch a flight back home over the weekend. I feel bad that I'm so much looking forward to leaving such a tropical paradise, but I have many more friends back home that I'm looking forward to seeing again. I hope I can keep up with all of the welcoming festivities that await me in Connecticut and Binghamton!

One other thing to note -- over the next several months I'll be accepting invitations to speak to groups of all kinds about my trip and Row for Hope. If you're interested in having me meet with your school, club, church, or other organization, please send an email to my sister Joy, at joy@rowforhope.com. I'm based in Stamford, CT, but am more than willing to travel as my schedule allows.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

Taking inspiration from Paul Ridley's incredible solo row across the Atlantic, Bob Glendening has generously offered to match all new donations to www.rowforhope.com from members of the rowing community. His generosity also stems from his family's devotion to rowing and its personal experience with cancer. The Glendening Boat House at Colgate was given by the family in 2004 in memory of his mother, who lost her battle with cancer in 2000.

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com.

Paul

Open Water

2009-04-02T00:17:00.008+01:00

Another busy day, with TV interviews in the morning, then a luncheon with government officials, work on sorting out details for shipping the boat back home, and finally in the afternoon my first visit to one of Antigua's many beaches. My goal is to get Liv loaded into a container and ready to be shipped back to the States in time to get home for the weekend, but it'll take a lot of work to get everything sorted out in time. Otherwise I'll be here though early to mid next week -- not the worst thing in the world by any means, but I also haven't been home in almost four months, so I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.

Anyway, as promised, below are some pictures taken by my dad from the boat that carried me in for the last little bit on Sunday. Though almost everyone on the boat was turning green with seasickness (I know the feeling!), they got some pictures of what I looked like rowing on the open ocean. In case you're wondering, the sea state last Sunday was on the smaller side and I expect that I would have made slightly better than average progress that day -- my point being that it often got much worse than what you see!

Here goes:

Every Dream Coming True at Once

2009-04-01T04:04:00.007+01:00

WOW. WOW. WOW!!!

Paul here, and very much on dry land as promised!

There's no way to accurately describe the feeling of stepping out of Liv on Sunday afternoon and having all of the things I'd been dreaming about for the last 88 days handed to me in an instant. It will be impossible to do justice to the experience, but I'll try my best over the next several days, and we'll have lots of pictures and video of the arrival festivities up here for you. I've been swamped with press interviews and welcome activities, and I'm just starting to feel more comfortable on land and getting my schedule sorted out. For a quick glimpse of my schedule, today started with radio interviews with stations in Detroit and Miami/West Palm beach between 8 A.M. and 8:30. Then a break before Fox News (TV) at 11:30 and CNN at 12:30. Incredible! Such great exposure for Row for Hope and the cause!

The welcome I've received here in Antigua has been completely overwhelming, beginning the moment I reached the mouth of English Harbour. After not having seen another human for 87 days, I found myself in the middle of a swarm of dingys loaded with photographers and well-wishers. I could hear the cheers of a crowd on the point marking the entrance to the harbor. The Search and Rescue boat had come out and was spraying a fire-hose rainbow to welcome me to Antigua. A restaurant on the water just inside the harbor off of my starboard side was lined with at least 50 people, all standing and applauding as I rowed by, with "We Are the Champions" blasting in the background. The occupants of the dozens of boats anchored in the harbor were on deck and congratulating me as I rowed by. Then I looked over my right shoulder and saw the crowd at the dock. It was HUGE! I had envisioned being greeted by my friends and family as I got off the boat, but it looked like the whole island had turned out to welcome me. I remember thinking "I didn't think there were this many people on earth!", and yet all were there to see me set foot on dry land.

It's getting late and I have an early interview tomorrow also, so I'll have to write about what it was like to take my first very wobbly steps and how I've spent the last couple of days -- think juicy hamburgers, pizza, steak, ice cream (even for breakfast), wonderful friends and family, constant congratulations from strangers as I walk around town, and incredible hospitality from the Antiguan people.

Thanks so much for all of your support -- sounds like we have a lot of celebrating to do together when I get back to the States, and don't forget that the fundraising push continues as we continue to promote the Row for Hope cause!

Loving LAND!

Paul

P.S. We're working on getting some video up so stay tuned. I was recording a shot of myself rowing into the harbor from the boat. Should be a really cool perspective, and I'll get it up on YouTube as soon as I can. There's also a good video from land and the mob scene when I stepped off of the boat.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com.

1st full day on land

2009-03-31T07:24:00.006+01:00

Hi, this is Paul's sister, Joy, filling in for Paul as he gets his "land legs" back. He had an absolutely incredible arrival in Antigua yesterday afternoon, and was welcomed by what seemed like the whole island. We'll supply video and pictures of his arrival as soon as possible, but for now, I'll give a quick description:

We didn't expect him in until early evening on Sunday, so imagine my surprise at around 12:30 to discover that he was closer than we thought, and closing in fast on English Harbor. Luckily the champagne was already on ice, and although the welcoming committee had been relaxing by the pool, we were immediately running for the harbor. We were able to find a spot on the cliffs at the mouth of the harbor, where we could catch the first glimpse of him. We alternated between cheers and tears at the sight of his tiny yellow speck coming around the corner. The local TV cameras were already on hand to capture every tear, which by that time no one minded.

He looked absolutely overwhelmed as he navigated to the dock, amid cheers from strangers and horns from surrounding yachts. In a moment I will never forget, I was able to make it to the dock in time to grab his hand and guide Liv to the wall, the way I'd done countless times before. Paul will describe the scene in more detail as soon as he's able, but I'll tell you there was an endless procession of hugs, thank-you's, and teary eyes as we were finally able to get our arms around him. He spent the first minute or two on land just surveying the crowd and saying "wow". He eventually composed himself enough to express his gratitude for everyone involved in making Row for Hope a success, and to thank our mom for giving him the fighting spirit to cross an ocean alone. I know how proud she would be of her son, and how much he and I wish she could have been there.

I've gotten endless questions about how he looks and how he's handled the physical stresses of 88 days at sea. He's definitely lost weight, and seems to be trying to make it back by growing an excess of beard and curly locks. He looks a bit like a castaway, and is still a little unsteady on his feet, but is otherwise better than expected. He went straight for Nadine's brownies, followed by an enormous burger and a much-anticipated gin and tonic. He woke up at the crack of dawn this morning out of habit, and spent most of the day enjoying the company of his friends and family, who spent quite a bit of time poking him in the arm to be sure he's really here!

Many more pictures, video, and media appearances are to follow, but for now, here's a couple of shots of Paul's first official reunion with family and friends, at a place appropriately called "Life":

Joy

CNN Coverage of Row for Hope

2009-03-30T12:33:00.015+01:00

Paul will try to do his first blog entry from land some time today.

In the meantime, here's a link to the story on CNN.com (one of CNN's Top 10 Stories at the moment). And here's the clip of yesterday's arrival interview.

CNN was planning another live interview (this one with live video as well), but it's been preempted by an event from the White House. Maybe later this week . . . .

Thanks again for all your support for Paul and Row for Hope!

The Row for Hope Support Team

Day 88: HE DID IT!!!

2009-03-29T20:52:00.002+01:00

PAUL HAS LANDED SAFELY IN ANTIGUA!!! THE ROW HAS BEEN COMPLETED!!!

Hear Paul live on CNN at 4:45 P.M. today (Sunday).

Day 88: They've got him!

2009-03-29T17:37:00.004+01:00

Joy again, not much time to write, as Paul is ONE HOUR from the harbor. After 3 days of constant change in his situation and the water conditions, Paul made a difficult decision last night to accept a tow into English Harbour. He's done what he set out to do, has crossed the ocean and past several points of land that theoretically could have been his destination, and is ready to come home.

This morning at 6:30 my parents, Bill and Karen Tomic (KRock and Wild Bill of blog fame), Chris McNickle of the Row for Hope board, and Kyle and Barb from our boat-builders, Aquidneck Custom, chartered a catamaran to go out and bring Paul in. As I write this, they're all feeling quite seasick, but they have Paul, who is still in his boat, and getting ready to be cut loose at the mouth of the harbour. From there he'll row the last leg into the dock, and we'll all dissolve into puddles of tears. At least that's the plan.

Will try to update again soon, and will post pictures of Paul on land!

Day 87: Spotted land!

2009-03-28T16:22:00.005Z

Hi all! It's Joy this time, taking over the blog again so that Paul can focus on the remaining miles between himself and English Harbour; and those miles are getting fewer and fewer! As I write this he's only 49 miles away -- mind blowing, after thinking of him as so far off for so long. As he came out of his cabin this morning he got his first glimpse of land, and immediately thought "I'm gonna hit it!". He wasn't going to hit it of course, as it was 20 miles away, but it's quite a shock to see anything but waves on the horizon.

As he reported yesterday, he's crossed the longitude of Barbados, which is one official measure of a completed ocean row. Now all he has to do is bring it in, but that's harder than it sounds. Our real celebration will be when he turns into the harbor, and takes his first steps on land. In order to do that, he's got to navigate a somewhat complex system of winds and currents, avoiding the other islands, and crossing the longitude of English Harbour. We've been riding a rollercoaster over the last 48 hours, alternating between planning for a tow to bring him in before he gets blown South into another island, and thinking he'll be able to do it all under his own power. Things change every few hours, but at the moment we're expecting him to make it on his own, and to arrive as early as tomorrow (Sunday) morning.

Meanwhile, the welcoming committee has all arrived safely in Antigua, and numbers a whopping 19 of Paul's friends and family, all anxiously waiting to see Paul's little yellow speck appear on the horizon. They've been whiling away the hours on the beach, which is incredibly beautiful, and testing out the rum punch at the local pubs. My father, on the other hand, is manning the controls, so to speak, monitoring Paul's position and fielding his phone calls. He and Nadine, and today me, are holed up in a hotel room trying to stay on top of to-do lists and information requests from media (we still haven't heard from Oprah, but I'm sure it's because my phone doesn't work down here).

Anyway, Paul plans to row through the night tonight, and we'll likely update the blog again before he lands. Stay tuned -- things are about to get very emotional!

Oh, and while I sit and write, here's what I'm missing out on:

Day 86

2009-03-27T12:09:00.002Z

Quick update from the Atlantic -- my last until I hit dry land!

Lots has happened since I wrote last, but spirits are much improved. Imagine my surprise to learn two nights ago that the recognized "Atlantic Ocean Rowing Crossing Line" line was only 11 miles away at 59º37W, which I crossed early the next morning. This is the line of longitude that Bridgetown, Barbados, lies on and thus is used to make all ocean rows comparable. So, I've done it! All I have left to do now is taker 'er home safely to Antigua!

Easier said than done with these NW winds, but with my Dad and other family and friends on the ground in Antigua and working with the Antigua and Barbuda Search and Rescue people (who are being extremely helpful), I am being very well watched as I make my way to land. It's up in the air as to whether this weather will allow me to row into Antigua under my own power, but once I've officially crossed and passed by some land mass that I could have landed on, I'm not going to be picky about how I get in. Right now I'm 30 nautical miles from the eastern-most point of Guadeloupe, so that will take care of itself as I fight my way north toward Antigua.

So, all is good again out here and I'm optimistic that I'll get in to English Harbour one way or another by Sunday evening. I will write more on this subject later, but I owe lots of thanks to my expedition support team for getting me this far -- my Dad (and his support team, Nadine), sister Joy, and friend Liz Tomic have been invaluable through all phases of the expedition, and without their constant and unflinching support I surely would not have made it this far.

With that, I'll turn the updates over the the team until I'm able to write again from Antigua! I can't thank you all enough for the countless notes of encouragement and advice, as well as donations, over the last 86 days and beyond.

Next time from LAND!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com.

Thanks, Bob!

Paul

Day 85: Guest Post (Updated)

2009-03-26T23:33:00.014Z

Just posted the following "tweet" for those following Paul on Twitter:

"Day 86 has begun. Paul is up, rowing, and pointed STRAIGHT for English Harbour. Unimaginable just a day ago! Only 101.6 miles to Antigua!" Hurrah!!!

(To get brief, frequent updates via Twitter, visit the panel to the right.)

One of the commenters asked, "Can you explain why it would not be good if Paul were to land in Guadeloupe or another island?"

Several reasons:
+ The windward coasts of most of the islands of Guadeloupe provide few if any safe places to land an ocean rowboat. Paul's ocean rowing mentor, Simon Chalk, warned us that if Paul were to come within 30 miles of the eastern coast of Guadeloupe a recovery boat should already be on the way to catch him.
+ The plan is to ship Liv back to the states from Antigua. Landing elsewhere would create a host of logistical problems.
+ A dozen or so of Paul's friends and family have come to Antigua to see him land and give him a big welcome, and Paul is very anxious to "give them their money's worth." The group would either miss his landing or have to find a way to island-hop on short notice.

Thanks for asking!

_____________________________________________

It's Paul's dad again; Paul's sat phone minutes are almost depleted (and so is he), so he's asked me to pinch-hit tonight. We're working to reload the phone, so expect to hear from The Man himself tomorrow.

It's been quite a day, both here in Antigua and out in Liv. For the first half of the day, it appeared that Paul was locked in a combination of winds and currents that would take him away from Antigua and toward the French islands of Guadeloupe (straight into the tiny island of Marie-Galante, to be exact). Here on land, we met with Jonathan Cornelius, of Antigua Barbuda Search and Rescue (ABSAR), to look at possible recovery scenarios. Jonathan was wonderful, providing the perfect mixture of calm presence, knowledge of local waters, and up-to-the-minute computerized wind/current data.

When we met with Jonathan at 10 A.M. local time (and EDT), Paul was still being pushed inexorably S by the winds, so we discussed what measures to take if he had to land in the vicinity of Guadeloupe. But Jonathan predicted that Liv would soon hit a healthy north-tending current, and that Paul would be able to use that current to overcome the winds from the NE and begin making a turn to the NW (and toward Antigua). And he was right!

Beginning at 2 PM (6 PM GMT), Paul began to turn toward the WNW, gaining N ever so slightly. Five hours later, he had made up 3 miles to the N. It doesn't sound like much, but after losing so much mileage to the S, it was wonderful!

As you can imagine, this turn (of events) has transformed the mood here in Antigua and on board Liv. Paul is now on sea anchor for the night, and the current is still taking him NW. A little free mileage (in the right direction) while he sleeps will be very welcome!

As of 8 PM local time, here are the stats: Paul has gone 47.4 statute miles in the last 24 hours; in the process, he's reduced the distance to English Harbour by 43.1 miles. Liv is now 107 statute miles from English Harbour (32.2 miles S and 102.2 miles E of his destination). We are cautiously ecstatic!!!

On behalf of Paul, thanks for all of your comments, prayers and support, especially during these last several days. It's meant the world to him (and us)!

Mark

Day 84

2009-03-25T18:52:00.001Z

Yet another very challenging day with little progress, and what progress was made going in the wrong direction. The "no wind" problem is gone, and now I have wind from the north blowing me south, which at this point can be considered away from Antigua. This is forecast to continue through Friday before becoming light again but more easterly on Saturday. That will make six straight days of bad weather for someone who is trying to row to Antigua (130 nautical miles away).

Other news:
- Arrival on Friday and Saturday is pretty much out of the question, and I've spent the day agonizing over whether I'll make it to land in time to see the friends who will have come so far to meet me. Absolutely torturous to think that I could miss them, having come this far and being so close.
- The fresh water situation is worse than I originally thought, as I found that three of the bottles that were in "deep storage" had cracked and were contaminated with salt water.
- I've pulled the last of my freeze-dried food from the forward compartment. I have five days worth of good stuff before I'll be forced to eat only "rice and chicken" for every meal. Will eat my last breakfast tomorrow before I have to get creative with this meal.

Given the timing of these winds from the north I'm very worried that I won't be able to make landfall in Antigua at all, and instead will have to land somewhere like Guadeloupe (if that's even possible). Today I made 20 nm to the west and gave up 11 to the south. If this pattern persists, by the time things straighten out around Saturday I'll be more than 45 miles south and 90 miles east of Antigua, with the island of Guadeloupe between me and it -- probably too much of a deficit to make up, even with the help of a current from the south I hear will kick in at some point.

Hoping for some good news to report one of these days...sorry to sound so glum, but that's been the mood out here for a while...

Paul

Day 83

2009-03-24T19:42:00.001Z

Last night I lost four miles of progress toward Antigua because of a counter-current I got stuck in that pushed me to the south-west. I thought that I had worked my way out of it, but am now (midnight GMT) drifting north-east despite a light breeze from the north, so there's clearly still some weird stuff going on current-wise. With this in mind, I think the chances of making much western progress tonight are slim. Maybe I should just hope to avoid going backwards too much.

Had a disastrous day on the oars today in my third straight day of rowing on a flat ocean without a breath of wind or shade from the clouds. I made only 20 nautical miles, a dismal performance, despite putting forth maximum effort to keep the boat moving. Rowing on the ocean (or anywhere) for 13+ hours a day without a breath of wind is absolutely punishing, and despite the added discomfort, progress comes at about half the rate of on a good day, which is killing me mentally. On top of that, with water in short supply it is crucial that I make good use of every day spent rowing -- and here I am with three straight days of slow-motion progress in the hot sun, and another forecast for tomorrow.

I've declared the main watermaker down for the rest of my trip. What's maddening is that it will be an easy fix on land with a replacement fifty-cent part, but for now I'm down to my reserve fresh water which is 20 liters or so. I estimate that I use about 6 liters on a normal day, so it seems likely that I'll run out, especially given the terrible progress of the last 48 hours. With that in mind I've started using the backup manual watermaker, with which I can make 1.5L in 20 minutes. I want to avoid being in a position where I'm forced to pump, which would take me off the oars, so I've been doing it for a little while during my afternoon break and before bed. All adds to the fatigue I'm feeling after 83 days at sea.

Suffice it to say that spirits aboard Liv have been higher.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com.

Thanks, Bob!

Paul

Day 82

2009-03-23T19:29:00.001Z

Slow and brutally hot day out here today (similar to yesterday), with next to no wind or waves to help me along, and my rowing taking place across a vast expanse of slowly undulating blue sea. There were clouds all around on the horizon today, but not enough wind to carry any to me, so I baked all day in the sun.

Other facts as follows:
- Today's progress was good (30 nautical miles), but very tough due to the heat/sun and a counter-current that is now pushing me back to the east, away from Antigua. Prospects for good mileage tonight are therefore slim.
- I expect this weather to continue through Wednesday, after which the wind will be back to at least 15 kt for what appears to be the duration of my row. It will be pushing me south fairly quickly at first, so I'm glad to be 5 miles north of English Harbor after all. Hopefully I can make my way back north in time.
- The main watermaker is down again, due to a problem with the same connection as before. I don't want to spend the time to fix it, given how close I am (164 nautical miles as I write this), and the wrench I need has rusted into an unusable lump of metal. It looks like my backup fresh water supply will be enough to get me to Antigua, but it will be close and water will be rationed for the duration, which will be unpleasant given the hot, sunny, windless days like today that are forecast.

All of this boils down to one thing really -- this row, and the many difficulties associated with it, is still far from over.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com.

Thanks, Bob!

Paul

CNN Report on Row for Hope

2009-03-23T12:35:00.003Z

Send this link to your friends:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/03/23/whitfield.row.for.hope.cnn

Day 81: Guest Post

2009-03-22T20:06:00.008Z

Hi, it's Paul's dad, Mark Ridley, filling in for Paul this evening. Paul lost time today doing an interview on CNN (we'll post a link once they put it on their Web site), among other things, so he's putting in some extra time on the oars tonight. I'm happy to give him a break by posting a blog entry for him.

Earlier today Paul hopped into the water once again and scraped the barnacles off Liv's hull (for what we hope will be the last time). It's kind of a scary operation, but it always seems to have a worthwhile impact on his speed. Fortunately for his on-shore team, Paul never tells us in advance that he's going to get out and scrape; we only find out about it when he's safely back in the boat. (It saves on blood-pressure medication!)

Paul also did some housecleaning today. He began the row with the forward cabin crammed with food (freeze-dried entrees, candy, Cliff bars, etc.) and by now he's eaten his way through almost all of it. So he took time today to rearrange ballast and rebalance the boat, for better handling.

Paul's finally allowing himself to think about the reality of landing in Antigua; up to this point, he's tried to keep his focus almost entirely on the challenges of each individual day. It's been fascinating to see him manage the mental game of this row - the guidance and mentoring he received from other rowers and his training team really seem to have paid off. Thanks, everyone!

Beyond the celebrating in Antigua, Paul is planning on recuperating a bit back in Connecticut and looking forward to returning to his job at Greenwich Associates. But he's also thinking about the future for Row for Hope. The fund-raising mission won't end when the rowing ends; he's already thinking about speaking engagements and other ways to keep the cause in the public eye. He's a man on a mission!

Let me just add a word as Paul's father: Paul's family (which includes his sister, Joy, and his step-mom, Nadine) has really been sustained by the knowledge that so many people have been rooting for Paul and keeping him in their prayers. Thank you so much for your encouragement and your care for him. No matter how far from shore Paul has been, he's never been alone. Thank you!

Mark

*****************************************

Thanks to all who have supported this expedition and important research at Yale Cancer Center with a donation to Row for Hope. If you haven't donated, or if you would consider donating again, it would be much appreciated. To donate online use the link in the upper right-hand corner of this page or visit www.rowforhope.com.

Paul

Day 80

2009-03-21T19:21:00.001Z

Day 80...wow, I really have been out here a long time!

Oh well, the number of days I've spent out here isn't seeming as important at this point. Instead, I'm focused on the number of miles to go, which have been ticking down quickly (even by my standards) recently. Yesterday was my best day yet in terms of mileage, and today during the day I did another 39nautical miles, two better than I did yesterday. We'll see what the night brings, but this will go down as a good day either way.

A couple more signs of approaching land today - I saw four frigate birds (the huge black ones) around the boat at the same time this morning, which was pretty cool. There is one around more often than not recently, and they're entertaining to watch. Today I saw one catch a flying fish and eat it whole while in flight. Impressive!

I'm also happy to report that the forecast for the next week looks pretty good for my final approach and landing in Antigua. I had been heading a little North in preparation for some winds coming late next week that I thought would blow me south on Wed/Thurs, but these have lessened so it's time to head back south again.

I don't want to jinx myself, but so far things are still looking good for an arrival sometime next weekend. Fingers crossed!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com.

Thanks, Bob!

Paul

Day 79

2009-03-20T18:59:00.002Z

Long but very productive day on the oars today, and I made 37 nautical miles or so before turning in for the night. I did get some predawn rowing in that helped, but this doesn't explain the good boat speed I had all day. Whatever the cause, things seemed to all be working well with the wind/waves to help me along toward Antigua -- all I can guess is that the last several days of light but consistent winds have helped the seas to organize better than usual, which made for cleaner and faster rowing.

Today's sign of land was that I saw no less than seven planes today -- SEVEN! Two during the day and another five after dark, all one right after another and all seemingly headed toward the NE which I guess is toward Europe? I've decided that there are extra flights today since it's Friday and people are traveling around the weekends. The alternative explanation is that the Caribbean is going out of style and people are evacuating, which would be terrible timing for me.

Either way, I can't wait for Antigua -- 282 nautical miles to go!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com.

Thanks, Bob!

Paul

Day 78

2009-03-19T19:57:00.003Z

Another pleasant day out here today, and I got in 13+ hours on the oars, which I needed to make good mileage in a light wind of 10 kt. My reward was that I crossed 56W just before turning in for the night, and I now have less than seven degrees to go.

Another sign that I'm getting closer to land today - a bug on deck. It was small, no bigger than a dime with legs and all, and resembled a water-spider, or whatever you call those bugs that float around on top of the water. On deck this bug was not terribly mobile, but did hop around a little. Given that I haven't seen a bug since I left the Canaries, I'm pretty sure that if this bug were a stow-away I would have found it long ago, so I'm declaring it a sign of land.

A question from Fred W. about my arrival was timely. The ideal situation is that I'll be able to row into English Harbour without help. This is not at all uncommon for ocean rowboats, so I'm assuming that the wave action on the approach is usually OK. With that said, the forecast for next week calls for wind from various directions from the North-east, which may leave me battling to stay on course and far enough north when I finally make it to Antigua.

I think that the technical finish line is the line of longitude at the eastern-most point on the island, but hopefully someone will check this out before I get there. I'm hoping that a boat will come out (maybe carrying some of my family/friends?) to lead me in and offer a tow if necessary, but I don't know the details at this point. Rowing all the way to land is the goal, but given how far I've come and the number of people that will be waiting for me in English Harbour I'm not planning to go nuts and make landfall at some random place or risk getting blown past the island just so my row will technically be "land-to-land."

Finally, I'm incredibly happy to hear that so many people have booked tickets for Antigua! I wish I could write all of you back individually, but it's been great motivation to hear that I'll have more than a dozen people there to help me celebrate in English Harbour. I can't wait to see you all soon!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com.

Thanks, Bob!

Paul

Day 77

2009-03-18T19:30:00.003Z

It's been a very pleasant day out here today with lot of sun and a nice breeze of 10-15 kt from the east. I almost jumped out of the boat due to my excitement this afternoon when I both had a conversation with a passing French container ship bound for Martinique named Marfret (wild guess, but I bet this name is French) and saw a plane on the horizon at the same time. AND I had a frigate bird around that had been with me for almost two hours. Huuuuuge!

This time the captain was friendly and asked if I needed anything, which of course I replied that I didn't. What else could one want than freeze dried food and gallons of warm Gatorade for three months? I resisted the urge to ask for a tow -- he was doing 18 knots, which I figured would get me to Antigua in less than 24 hours...anyway...he also reiterated that Liv and I are very difficult to see, even after I've made contact on the VHF and described my position.

I have some experience now with the effectiveness of AIS that may be helpful to future ocean rowers. I'll write this up on in more detail from land, but in short the message is that you often won't be alerted of a ship approaching until it's already too close for comfort. So, if you hear the alarm and haven't spotted a ship, act fast! I saw today's ship a long way off but he didn't set off my AIS alarm until he was 11 minutes from his closest point of approach. According to the captain of Marfet, I didn't show up on his AIS screen until 5 minutes before his CPA, which could have been dicey had he not already adjusted his course.

My blogs may start getting shorter from here on in, but I'll be sure that you're all kept up to date in these last few days. If I miss a couple days down the stretch, don't worry -- I'll be blogging away about how great land is as soon as I get there, and will continue to send updates as I adjust to life back home and begin to reflect on this experience.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com.

Thanks, Bob!

Paul

Day 76

2009-03-17T19:03:00.003Z

Another day on the oars and I logged 31.5 nautical miles or so, but I'm still wishing for better "free" mileage at night. Recently it's been in the 5-7 nm range, which could be higher. I've picked up as much as 12+ in the past, which would be the difference between an OK day and a good day. Of course, all this seems to be taking on more importance as I get closer to the finish line!

I'm still trying to find ways to add a couple more hours of rowing to my schedule. Right now I'm doing a 5.5 hour shift in the morning and another at night, putting me at 11 hours every day. I've tried adding a 2 hour "dinner" shift after dark but have found it to be painful and not something I can make myself do on a regular basis. I also tried a middle of the night shift, but given that it's always hard to fall asleep I may have done more harm than good by waking myself fully in the middle of the night and then having to try to fall back asleep again. I think my next idea is a sunrise shift, where I wake up (for good) a couple hours early (I normally wake up 15 mins or so before sunrise...roughly 845AM GMT at this longitude), row, then take a break to eat breakfast, etc...and go out again as normal before 10AM to start my morning shift. Hope it works!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com.

Thanks, Bob!

Paul

Day 75

2009-03-16T18:07:00.003Z

Another day on the oars (I made 30nm, which is good) and I'm running out of ideas for things to write about.

I'm in a weird place mentally, as I'm at a point in the row where I'm still really far from land (440nm or so) but it's supposed to seem close given how far I've come. My philosophy out here has always called for a very short-term outlook, so despite that fact that I should have less than two weeks of rowing to go, my day to day and hour to hour outlook hasn't changed a bit, and technically it shouldn't change at all until the day that I land.

It's tough, because despite the fact that I've rowed so far already, the idea of rowing 440 miles is not much less daunting now than it was before I started -- it's still a really long way, and completing a row of that distance will come with a significant physical and mental cost. Also, while mentally I like to focus on winning lots of short-term victories, I've racked up so many of these little wins that they don't really mean much any more...for example, "survived another shift," or "survived another day," is all I've been doing for months, so what am I celebrating? It's really a tough spot. Not a huge deal, since I'm going to keep rowing, making progress, and eventually will make it to the finish, at which point my current situation will be a distant memory, but until then I feel like I'm in a really strange place when it comes to motivating myself. Oh, well...

On a much lighter note, this afternoon I wore Benny (the pet Man o' War) on my head so that his tentacles looked like dreadlocks and did my best Bob Marley impression. Brooklyn thought it was hilarious. I think she's warming up to him a little..,

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com.

Thanks, Bob!

Paul

Day 74

2009-03-15T18:14:00.004Z

A pleasant and reasonably productive day on the oars today. I dodged some ominous-looking squalls in the morning, but the afternoon was great with 10-15 kt winds and a good mix of sun and the occasional cloud to provide some shade. Mileage was better, and I made 27.5 nm to the West and also took back 4 miles to the North that I had given up overnight. Now all I need is some decent nighttime mileage and I'll have a good all-around day in the books -- we'll see. I feel like nighttime mileage has been spotty for the last couple of weeks, but hopefully this will change with the more consistent 15-20 kt winds that are in the forecast.

That's about it for today -- short update. We didn't learn our lesson after predicting arrival dates a week and a half ago, only to see them go up in smoke after last week's horrible delays. It looks like the new window is around March 27-29th. We'll know better in a few days, when we have a forecast that covers the whole period.

I saw another plane tonight, around sunset. Somehow it snuck behind me and I didn't see it until it was nearly gone, but I still got to watch for a few minutes. With a ship sighting yesterday and the plane today, it feels like Grand Central Station out here....

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com.

Thanks, Bob!

Paul

Day 73

2009-03-14T17:58:00.002Z

Challenging day on the oars today, as I had quite a big swell coming from the North (a result of the two storms that passed North of me last week), mixed with wind from the NE and ENE, which combined to create a confused and choppy sea state that made it really hard to build up and maintain any boat speed. On top of that, I was heading a little bit WNW to try to stay close to 17N, so to sum it up things were all over the place. These winds will gradually turn the swell around to come more from the E, which should help me both maintain some boat speed and stop losing mileage to the South. Until then, I'm just doing what I can to head in the right direction.

It's really impressive how mileage can change by so much with just a small change in the weather. I had lighter winds from the NE but the same swell from the north yesterday, and I went almost 10nm further. Today heavier winds from the NNE and E were slowing me down, though on paper youd' think they would have sped me up. Strange, but true.

I saw a big freighter a comfortable distance away just before dark. Other than it being headed South, red colored, and pretty empty, there' not much to the story. It never came close enough to get picked up on my AIS, and I didn't get a response on the VHF, so I was probably too far away for that, too. With that said, it was good to see something other than ocean for a change, and while rowing I stared at the ship and its stern light for quite a while as it passed behind me.

In other news, I wish I had known that those pink and purple things were dangerous Portuguese Men o' War before I lassoed one to keep Brooklyn company in the cabin while I'm rowing. I call him Benny the Booger and also use him as a pillow at night. Quite comfortable, actually. Brooklyn thinks he's "really gross." I guess they're still getting to know each other.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com.

Thanks, Bob!

Paul

Day 72

2009-03-13T18:08:00.005Z

Whhhoooooooooo Hooooooo! I'm officially on my way again, and had to spend some time this morning talking myself down from the clouds. I never thought I'd be so happy to spend a whole day rowing!

What a difference a day makes! Wind direction and morale on board Liv took at near 180 degree turn today with good progress made on the oars and the fantastic news of the Glendening's fundraising challenge to lift my spirits.

There is still a big rolling swell from the North, which is pushing me a little south, despite the fact that I'm rowing on a heading north of due west. Wind direction is from the north east and helping my rowing for the first time in a week. Best of all, the forecast is teriffic with a mix of good E and ENE winds over the weekend and 15-20 knots of east wind forecast for Monday through Friday of next week. It looks so good that I'm wondering if my dad (who's also my weather guy) doctored it just to cheer me up.

My girl Brooklyn is relieved, too. I think I was starting to get on her nerves...

In honor of another Colgate day, here's some good reading from the Maroon News -- an article by Jessica Blank about the Row for Hope fundraiser put on by Theta Chi Fraternity. I hope it hasnt been posted already...

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Alum Rows Atlantic for Cancer, Theta Chi Hosts Event in Support

On January 1, 2009, Colgate alumnus Paul Ridley '05 set off from the Canary Islands, just off the coast of northwestern Africa, to begin his 3,000 mile rowing expedition. Ridley, who has been rowing without assistance or any form of aid for the past 62 consecutive days, plans to reach his destination, the Caribbean, in approximately 20 days. If Ridley completes this task successfully, he will be the third American in history to row across the Atlantic.

Ridley's goal is not fame, but rather to raise funds for cancer research. After his mother passed away from cancer in 2001, Ridley and his sister, Joy, helped create "Row for Hope," a non-profit organization that raises money for cancer research. By rowing across the Atlantic, Ridley receives donations from supporters all over the nation who believe in his cause. Ridley hopes to raise $500,000 through his excursion across the Atlantic.

After hearing about Ridley's charity organization, his Theta Chi fraternity brothers rallied behind him and held a "Row for Hope" charity event on the night of Saturday, March 1.

While it included catered food and good music, the highlight of the night was the erg races. An 'erg' is an exercise machine that simulates rowing. A complex bracket was created, and students could sponsor any of the 16 Theta Chi brothers who were racing against each other.

When asked about his nerves before the race, sophomore Matt Woodrow said, "I wasn't nervous. It was pretty low-key compared to practice."

Sophomore Janice Yu disagreed. After competing for 30 seconds in a spontaneous erg competition, she appreciated Ridley's efforts much more.

"I couldn't imagine rowing for five hours a day!" Yu said.

Winner of the Theta Chi erg competition was Colgate rowing team captain, senior Willie Fox.

"It was a lot of fun racing my roommate, Marc Cassone, in the last round and I loved how pumped up the crowd got over the competition," Fox said. "I wish they'd come to crew practice sometime."

In addition to the excitement and loud cheering taking place during the races, the brothers' distinct choice of apparel was quite astonishing.

"I really enjoyed the event, particularly the erg competition," senior Bridget Henwood said. "It's pretty hard to beat watching a bunch of guys in goofy colored spandex compete for glory while [senior] Chris Micsak delivers a completely outrageous and scathing commentary, especially when it's all for a great cause."

"The Row for Hope event was a fun, innovative philanthropy for Theta Chi and the Men's Crew Team," senior Katherine Pezzella said. "Even if Paul Ridley ends his trip, I'm sure this is something that will be a big hit for years to come at Theta Chi. If you didn't go, you missed out on a lot of laughs for a great cause!"

Woodrow echoed Pezzella's comments.

"I was really pleased with the turnout. I know he [Ridley] is really appreciative of the efforts of brothers here on campus," Woodrow said.

Ridley commented on Theta Chi's support through his blog Saturday night via satellite software.

"Quick shout-out to the brothers of Theta Chi Fraternity at Colgate University, who are throwing a fundraiser/party on behalf of Row for Hope, complete with rowing machine races by the brothers, which will be entertaining for sure," Ridley said. "For anyone betting on the outcome of these races, my advice is that, no matter the relative size of the competitors, always bet on the experienced rower."

The Theta Chi brothers considered the event to be an amazing success.

"We raised over $2,300," Theta Chi Philanthropy Chair sophomore Will Scheider said. "Based on the success of the event, we are seriously considering making 'Row for Hope' an annual event at Theta Chi. The cause isn't going to go away and we've already started talking about future plans."

When asked through e-mail about his experiences on the Atlantic, Ridley offered fond recollections of the four years he spent at Colgate.

"To pass time during my 5-hour rowing shifts I think back to Colgate all the time," he said. "I've played imaginary rounds of golf at Seven Oaks, remembered my old rooms and roommates in Center Stillman, Drake and the Theta Chi house, checked my mail at the Coop between classes (my mailbox combo was I-E-A and a half), and taken the long walk down the hill for nights out at the Jug, Nichols and Beal and of course Slices (I haven't re-lived the cold walk back up!). It's great to know that while I'm out here, almost as far away from campus as I could possibly be, people back at Colgate are following my progress, pitching in to help raise money for Row for Hope, and cheering me on."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com. Thanks!

Paul

Day 71

2009-03-12T17:50:00.003Z

This is the sixth day of bad rowing weather out here, and this is starting to get old. The forecast was for winds in the 10-15k range from the NW, NNW, and N, which is what I got. I tried rowing first thing in the morning with light winds from the NW, but was making next to no headway and was paying the price physically, so I went back on sea anchor a little before noon.

Interestingly enough, with the sea anchor out I was pulled to the north and slightly to the NE -- into the wind. Very strange, but I must have been in a current of some sort. I guess I'll take it though, as mileage to the North will likely be hard to come by with more winds forecast from the North tomorrow and roughly NE over the weekend and into next week. After today I hope to have seen the last of winds from the West, but as the direction slowly swings over to the North and then East I still expect several days of very challenging weather. It looks like all may return to normal by Tuesday of next week...

On a much more upbeat note, I know you all have enjoyed reading about my trans-Atlantic challenge, but now it's time for all of you rowers to have a challenge of your own! I'm ecstatic about this and hope that the rowing community will step up! Please also remember to forward this to your rowing club or team too...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A Challenge to the Rowing Community

Do you row? Have you rowed? Do you know someone who rows? If so, here's a special challenge to you!

So if you row and you want to show your support for a fellow rower who's crossing the Atlantic solo and unsupported, please consider an online donation to www.rowforhope.com.

Please be sure to add "Glendening Challenge" when completing the Gift Information section online at www.rowforhope.com.

Thanks, Bob!

Paul

Day 70

2009-03-11T17:34:00.001Z

Brutally hot day out here today and little progress to show for it. Not even a whisper of wind in the morning and afternoon, which left the boat feeling heavier than it's ever been and me dripping with sweat after only a few minutes of rowing. The wind picked up some from the North and NW by evening, neither of which helped me, but it still allowed for some slow and sloppy rowing. In all I clocked 17.5 nautical miles to the West, and gave up about 9 (I think) to the South. I gave myself a reprieve on night rowing tonight, as I'm exhausted physically and after all this weather nonsense nearing the end of my rope mentally.

I'm back again to the latitude of English Harbor, so I'll need to be careful again about going too far south. I've gotten all sorts of advice on what latitude I want to be on for the approach to Antigua (if it ever comes). For now I think I'll try to be in the range of 5-10 miles South and slowly work my way up with the help of a weak current that kicks in from the SE at the very end. With that said, winds are still forecast to be more from the North than the East through Saturday afternoon or so.

The forecast is for a couple more days of challenging weather that will include combinations of no wind and wind from the wrong direction, though hopefully not strong or long enough to push me too far backwards from here. With that said, good progress will likely be hard to come by until Saturday or Sunday, when things will finally start to straighten out. Not sure what effect all of this is having on my arrival times, but I would hope that by early next week we'll be able to give a revised estimate.

Now as promised a little on the wild life I've seen recently. First, below is an up-close picture of a flying fish that crash-landed on deck a few nights ago. This one's "wings" look a little bit worse for wear, but you get the idea.

Secondly, below is a picture of this animal (?) that I've seen frequently throughout the trip. I don't know how to describe it really, other than that it seems to float on the surface and get pushed around by the wind that catches its pink and purple "sail." I've seen these in all sorts of sizes, but the one pictured is on the larger side. A closer look shows that it has dark-colored tentacles that trail below it, but other than that I have no idea what to make of it. Can someone tell me anything about this thing?

Paul

Day 69

2009-03-10T20:04:00.001Z

A happy day on board Liv today, as it was spent almost entirely rowing! I woke up to very light winds from the north and pulled up the sea anchor after taking some video of an enormous black bird that I've now seen twice around the boat. This must be the Pterodactyl (sp?) that Cath was referring to, and I'm pretty sure that it could have eaten me if it felt like it. More on this in my wildlife update tomorrow (yes, I know I said it'd be today).

After getting an updated weather report yesterday, I wasn't expecting to get a good day of rowing in until tomorrow at the earliest, and possibly as late as Sunday. Imagine my surprise then to have made 27 nm in a day shortened by my fourth trip under the boat to scrape barnacles (there turned out not too much to scrape, but better to do it too much than too little) and wind from an odd direction and no greater than the 5-10k range. I added another 5 miles in my "overtime" shift to get me to 32 nm for the day and now further West than I had been on Friday before the winds turned against me.

Physically, I felt great early on and my muscle soreness was all but absent from my morning shift. Some has returned by now, but even so I can tell that my three days of rest helped me physically. The salt sores on my legs are starting to look better, too.

Anyway, it's just about 1 AM and I'm spent. Will talk about wildlife tomorrow. Trust me, the picture of the pink floating booger-animal is worth the wait!

Brady C at BHS -- I thought a lot about this today and decided that these two regulars from my rowing play,lists might be good - "How Far We've Come" by Matchbox Twenty and "Thanks for the Memories" by Fall out Boy. What do you think? I could come up with many other favorites but I'm not sure you'd want George Strait in the background of your video!

Paul

Can't Get Enough?

2009-03-10T10:36:00.005Z

Can't get enough of Paul and his expedition? Follow him on Twitter and get brief updates throughout the day. You can check out the latest "tweets" from the Row for Hope Support Team in the column to the right (just under the "Where in the World Is Paul?" map) and click "follow me on Twitter."

The Support Team

Day 68

2009-03-09T17:08:00.003Z

Day Three on sea anchor was utterly uneventful. I'm still holding up fine, so far, and am just living my life, killing time and, of course, waiting for the winds to change direction. Wind was from the West again all day today and in the 15k range. Seas were smallish and not breaking/splashing much, so I was able to keep the cabin cooler during the heat of the day than it had been on Saturday and Sunday. I spent the day on the computer, mostly - writing emails, playing Freecell (my record since Saturday is 47 wins, 22 losses...not great), and watching the occasional episode of Rob and Big, which my sister gave me on a thumb drive for Christmas. It's been a life saver these past few days!

In other news, I've been meaning to write about a moment from last Friday (Day 65) that has been one of the highlights of the row for me thus far. My contact with the ship Pasella on Day 62 was a little bit of a let-down, given that it was my first sign of other human life since 29 days prior. I had really been hoping to see an airplane some time soon, maybe because seeing two of them at once picked me up quite a bit all the way back on Day 13. I figured that since I was getting closer to the Caribbean and am probably also between some point in Brazil and the US I might be due to see one any time.

Soooo, do you know where this is headed? On Friday I had been rowing along in the middle of my evening shift around 6PM. Another beautiful day with a few clouds and otherwise clear skies. Not really much to the story, other than that I looked up and to my left and almost fell off of my rowing seat when I saw a big, beautiful exhaust trail streaking a dead-straight path of the brightest white imaginable through the evening sky. The plane was still overhead when I noticed the trail and at the time it was the most incredible sight to see. It was low enough for me to clearly make out the wings and even the engines, and I had no problem imagining all of the passengers seated in neat little rows sipping warm diet coke out of those plastic cocktail glasses.

To my complete surprise I quickly found myself getting choked up at the sight (I'm not generally a fan of sappy emotions), and I stopped rowing to stare at the trail long after the plane had disappeared over the horizon. It's amazing how 65+ days in a rowboat can change your priorities...

You might have to look closely to see it, but here's a picture of what I saw:

Tomorrow an update on the wildlife I've seen and have some pictures of -- flying fish, a purplish-pink floating booger-like thing, and giant and potentially man-eating birds!

Paul

Day 67

2009-03-08T16:00:00.001Z

Frustrating day spent (wasted?) sitting on sea anchor, checking the wind/seas every hour or so to see if anything has changed. After getting blown to the East (away from Antigua) overnight, the winds shifted to blow toward the South this morning, which I guess is the lesser of two evils.

I tried rowing this morning and made no headway. I had thought that I might be able to make SW progress by taking a 45 degree angle on wind from the N, but the seas were still coming from the NW which stopped me in my tracks. These conditions remained throughout the day, though I presently am picking up a sliver of SW progress that I can only assume is from a current, because the wind and seas are still pointing to the S and SE, respectively. This does not bode particularly well for making any progress on Tuesday as I had hoped, when winds were predicted to come from the North. Even so, I guess that it's a plus that I didn't get blown farther East today, as the forecast predicted, and instead went South.

If I absolutely can't make progress to the West in wind from the North, then it looks like I won't be back out and rowing West until FRIDAY -- which would be almost a whole week lost. Crushing...

OK, I'm done whining!

As promised, a little about the shark sighting on Day 64 that I know many of you have been waiting for. Normal day (back when I spent my days rowing, not sitting) and I was coming out of the cabin after lunch. Immediately upon clambering out, what do I see coming out of the water to my left but a big fin. I assume it's a Dorado, that occasionally will have a tail fin out of he water for a second, but then I realize this is no Dorado at all...it must be something else, and it's headed right for the side of the boat! No time to flip out since, before I knew it, it had passed under the boat and I got a look at it as it came out from under the starboard side. Yup, definitely a shark!

It looked brightly colored (like a dorado) when I first saw it from above but this must have been a reflection or distortion from the water. It took a couple laps around the boat, staying long enough for me to get out my camera before it wandered off. Though I didn't get a great look, it appeared to be about 5-6 feet long and a dark grayish color with no visible markings (no white tips!) that I could see. I have to say, if I haven't already, that I don't really understand everyone's fascination with sharks...

Luckily for all of you shark-lovers out there, I captured this gripping photo of the blood-thirsty razor-toothed monster of the deep!

Keep your fingers crossed that the forecast is wrong and that I'll be able to get rowing again on Tuesday, rather than Friday! For all the past ocean rowers out there, I'd love to hear your perspective on the weather I'm seeing. Did any of you run into such a period of opposing winds in the middle of the trade wind belt or am I just lucky?

Paul

Travel Alert for Friends and Family

2009-03-08T00:37:00.003Z

Hi! It's Paul's dad, with an alert for friends and family who may be planning to meet Paul in Antigua. When I talked with Paul tonight, he wanted me to make sure that everyone is aware of how the wind situation is changing his estimated arrival time in Antigua.

Right now he's about 700 miles from port, and under normal circumstances he could probably cover that distance in 14 days, give or take a day. Unfortunately, there's no way to know for sure when he'll be able to start rowing west again (remember, the only mileage that makes any real difference is mileage toward the west).

Bottom Line: The safest thing would be not to book any reservations until we see Paul making steady progress west again; even then, a lot can happen in the remaining two weeks!

See you in Antigua (eventually)!

Mark Ridley

Day 66

2009-03-07T17:43:00.003Z

Hi from the Atlantic, on a day that is notable for the way I didn't spend it -- rowing!

Well, that's not entirely true, since I made attempts at rowing for parts of three or four hours, but since I made no progress in the right direction it shouldn't count. Winds overnight were directly from the South, and by sunrise when I hit the oars they had shifted to coming from the SW, the direction of Antigua, actually (or, more likely, the Barbados area). As I think I wrote yesterday, they'll be swinging around tomorrow and Monday to come from the West and Northwest before coming from the North on Tuesday, and eventually the normal ENE direction by Friday morning.

The sea anchor went out at 1:30 PM GMT today and has been out ever since. The reality at the moment is that I will likely be on sea anchor and slowly drifting North and East with the wind until Tuesday, unless the forecast improves. That would mean the loss of three days I could have spent rowing and making progress toward Antigua, and arriving three days later than I otherwise would have. Not a happy situation for me, or for my friends/family who are trying to book flights to come meet me!

I could write at length about where this leaves me psychologically, but for now I think it will suffice to say that anyone who's familiar with being human can imagine how I feel about sitting in the cabin going nowhere for three days, after being at sea for as long as I have been.

Like everything else this expedition has thrown my way, I'll deal with it and move on when the time comes. In the meantime, here's hoping I don't drift too far North and East, away from Antigua. I think that Brooklyn would rather I row during the day, too - the cabin is too small for us both to spend much time in, and she hasn't showered in 66 days either. Gross!

I'll talk about the shark tomorrow, along with some other wildlife (and pictures) that I've been meaning to write about. Thanks again for the continued encouragement -- it goes a long way on days like these!

Paul

Day 65

2009-03-06T19:32:00.001Z

Just as the light at the end of the tunnel started to glimmer, the weather forecast has sent the message loud and clear to not get excited just yet, as it seems that I'm in for a battle against the weather for at least the next week.

As I've described in the past, the trade winds in this part of the Atlantic at this time of year are generally predictable and stable coming from the East, which would help me make progress toward Antigua in the West. That's not always the case, however, as it seems I'm about to find out. As you can see from my track and current position, I've been getting blown gradually to the North West over the last several days, and am now around 17 deg 23 mins North (my destination is at 17N exactly). Normally I'd be able to make up these 23 miles easily with the wind coming from the East, but there are a couple storms forming well North of me that will be stirring things up down here and producing winds that seemingly will blow every direction but the one I want to go! Fortunately the storms should stay far enough North to not be dangerous, but they will still be a major headache thanks to their effect on the wind.

Anyway, today I got a taste of what's to come -- wind all afternoon and evening was coming from a South South-westerly direction. Though I've been told to try not to fight the wind too much, I have zero interest in going North-east, so I fought it as best I could and, including my "extra innings" of night rowing, I managed to make 28nm West during the day.

I'm preparing for several days that will really test my resolve, which should make for some interesting updates until the weather improves. Tomorrow I'll write about my first SHARK sighting, which came this afternoon! I think that I even have a picture of a fin sticking out of the water, but we'll see -- I haven't looked at it yet.

Paul

Day 64

2009-03-05T18:40:00.001Z

Hi again, everyone-

First a big thanks to my good friend and roommate Melissa for yesterday's guest blog post. It gave me a short reprive in celebration of crossing 50W, which happened last night. As of this afternoon I'm 650 nautical miles from English Harbor, Antigua! You may remember that I was worried a while back about being blown too far South. Well, as has been a pattern on this expedition, now I'm a little worried about being blown too far North! I really will never be satisfied with what the weather brings. Not a big deal though, as I'm only 20nm North of English Harbor and when the winds come from the usual Easterly or ENE direction I'll be able to take it all back in a day or two.

The crossing of 50W also indicates that this row is entering its final stage -- the sprint to the finish! While in most rowing races the sprint begins 300 meters from the finish line, I started mine last night, which I think was roughly 15-16 days from the end. My goal will be to add two hours, or roughly five miles, of rowing after dark. This will get me up to about 13 hours of rowing a day, which is going to be a challenge both physically and mentally. Last night went well, but tonight was tougher. I'm trying to better organize my chores around the boat (including my writing of blog posts) in hopes of finding a few extra mintues of sleep each night. If I can pull it off, the sprint I describe above will get me into Antigua a full two days earlier than I otherwise would. What better motivation is there than that?

I realized that I never showed you what the cabin looked like from the outside, so there's a picture below. This is my bed, the office from which I send all of these posts, and my home for the last 64 days. The concept for the boat was "minimal accomodation for a single rower" - do you think we achieved it?

Paul

Day 63: Guest Post

2009-03-04T23:36:00.010Z

Greetings from Stamford, CT and more specifically Seaside (the nickname for Paul's residence when not out at sea), where Paul lives with his four, yes count them, four roommates!! I am Melissa (a roommate and frequent blog commenter under the name Melissa M). Paul has been a resident of Seaside for three years, the three years he has been training for this row! We have breathed, eaten, and slept Row for Hope for the past three years… and, quite literally, we have breathed in the air after Paul's three-hour workouts, have eaten the freeze dried food with him for taste-testing purposes, and have slept right upstairs from Paul and can tell you that he is a snorer.

Life Before the Row: Paul's training over the past 3 years has been inspiring - the 5 AM workouts, followed by his full-time job, followed by the night workouts, and the planning for the trip. It made me exhausted just watching and hearing about everything that went into the preparation for the row. My absolute favorite part of Paul's training, and probably my best memories at Seaside, are the nights on our porch and what I would call his training for the mental portion of the row. The Seaside roommates sat out on the porch quizzing Paul about celestial navigation, asking every ridiculous question we could think of about rowing across the ocean, and discussed hope, religion, life, cancer, hard-times, joyous times, and most importantly we laughed together.

Life Back at Seaside while Paul is Rowing for Hope (Current Day): Although we are not battling the high seas over here at Seaside, we are battling some crazy snow! We received about 8 inches of snow this past week. See picture below of our house. Although we are deep in snow, our support for the Row for Hope melts through. Check out that sticker!

I cannot forgot to mention our toy boat (resembling Liv) braving the high seas of Paul's bath-tub!

We, like most of you, read the blog daily, forward the link to others, and talk about Paul whenever we get the chance. We are trying to spread the news about Row for Hope, but need even more help!

Life after the Row: These roommates could not be happier to get their fifth back in a month! Stamford is a home away from home for a lot of us that moved here after college, and we have our own little family here. The Seaside family cannot wait to get their CNN celebrity, front-page-of-theStamford-Advocate hero, NPR radio guest, blog extraordinaire back….but not for those reasons. We want him back to sit on the porch and talk about life after the row, allow us to ask ridiculous questions about what it was like at sea for 80+ days, and most importantly laugh together and appreciate every day, hour, and minute that we have in life!

Melissa

Day 62

2009-03-03T18:32:00.001Z

Excitement on board this morning as not long after crawling out of the cabin in the morning I saw my first sign of other human life in the last 29 days! A ship of an unknown type named Pasella, was heading from Trinidad to Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands of all places. I really wanted to tell him that he had a long way to go, but decided against it. In general the captain seemed rather bored by the whole thing (I was ecstatic), and passed on the pleasantries and just said he'd adjust his course to starboard, though it wasn't really necessary. Apparently a very small yellow rowboat on the open ocean isn't exciting to everyone after all! Pasella stayed too far away (2 miles or so) for me to really get a good picture, and the one below is more interesting anyway.

Ok, by popular demand, more on salt sores. Below is a picture of the two spots on my legs that are really feeling the effects despite my best efforts to keep this seemingly easy-to-clean area free of salt.

GROSS!

I can't believe people wanted to see that and I really hope that picture doesn't make it on CNN!

Anyway, there you go. I'm not a doctor, obviously, but each one of those spots seems to be a tiny irritated and/or infected hair follicle.

Yup, I jump from the glamor of national news coverage to in-depth descriptions of my salt sores. Well, you guys wanted to know what it's like to be out here! More fun topics tomorrow, I promise.

Paul

Day 61

2009-03-02T17:43:00.001Z

Another day in the books, again with pretty good mileage despite my fourth straight day of light winds, which leaves the boat feeling heavy and requires maximum effort on nearly every stroke to keep her moving. I've been lucky to have avoided too much in the way of nagging sore muscles, but the last four days of work on the oars have me sore and wincing my way through the day.

So, since all is well here and I'm in need of a recharge I'll keep this short. It's been great to get so many messages from everyone who saw the CNN interview yesterday. Either it went well or you all are too kind to criticize me while I'm out here on the ocean. I, of course, haven't seen it but am looking forward to watching it when I get to Antigua. Even so, your encouragement and entertainment keeps me going far better than hearing myself talk ever could!

Thats all for now, but I'll have some pictures for you tomorrow. Who wants to see what salt sores look like? I have some great examples on my legs that might need to be shared...

Paul

CNN's Report on Row for Hope

2009-03-02T10:09:00.002Z

Here's a clip of CNN's March 1 mid-ocean interview with Paul:

Day 60

2009-03-01T19:10:00.003Z

Wow, 60 days at sea. I'm pretty sure that I've officially been out here a long time now. And its March, too - I vow that I will not see April from an ocean rowboat!

OK, lots to cover here and it's already getting late.

A good day today considering the light winds and small seas. I made 30 nautical miles West during the day, which was interrupted by a 45-minute squall in the morning (longest to date), and my interview with CNN in the afternoon. Since I've been happy to go 30nm on days with 20 knots of wind, getting the same distance today with only 10k is a huge victory.

FUND RAISING -- I know people are curious as to how we're doing, and I've been meaning to give you an update. My best estimate from the middle of the ocean is that we've collected about 15% of our $500,000 fund raising target. Here's some color on that number:
- We projected that a big percentage of Row for Hope's donations would come from corporations, which hasn't happened in the way we thought it would for a host of reasons.
- The component that we planned for from individual donors like yourselves has been pretty strong. You guys are doing great!
- The current economic environment isn't helping us, but like my each one of days on the oars, we're working hard to make the most of what comes our way.
- We fully expect our fund raising numbers to continue to grow as public awareness of Row for Hope grows. My interview with CNN today is an example of that, and we're picking up steam in the PR area. More national news coverage is in the works and we'll keep you updated, of course, on where you can see us. After the row itself is complete, fund raising will continue as I make speaking appearances back in the States.

So, that's where we are on the fund raising front. Do we wish those numbers were bigger? Yes. How do we feel about raising what we have raised for cancer research? We're ecstatic! Pumped! Thrilled! And we obviously owe a lot of thanks to you as supporters of Row for Hope. Thank you again!

I saw a whale yesterday, but only briefly. It was mid-afternoon, small sea state and light winds (like today). I happened to look to the port side about 60 feet away (three boat lengths) and could clearly see the shape of a whale just under the surface gliding along with a wave. I could only see it long enough to make out the shape, see that it was dark-colored and shaped like a whale (not a dolphin, bigger, wider, with a big whale-like tail), and think to myself "Holy crap, that's a whale!" I ducked into the cabin to get my camera, but it was gone by the time I got back out.

Paul

Day 59

2009-02-28T18:24:00.002Z

Light winds again today, but I made reasonably good progress with what I had, though it came at a price as I had to pick the boat up on every stroke, which make for some grueling hours on the oars. Crossed 47W about an hour before nightfall, which at this point comes a little before 10PM GMT.

I'll be happy to get this quarter of the trip behind me when I cross 50W in a few days' time. The let-down after hitting halfway at 40W was much more troubling than I expected, and I've since had to readjust mentally to return to the outlook that "I'm moving in the right direction, but I still have a long way to go." I'll try to wait to think about Antigua until I cross 60W, which is just about 100 miles from the finish.

OK, on to the stars. I've thought a lot about how to describe them for you, but I'm still not sure I'll be able to do them justice. As many of you know, I probably spend more time than most staring at the night sky (and have since I was a kid) so the landscape is reasonably familiar. With that said, the views I see out here feel like I'm looking at a completely different sky compared to what I've seen at home, even on the darkest nights.

Imagine walking around a familiar room with the lights off. You know your way around, can make out the general shapes of the furniture, and won't bump into things. Then one day as you're feeling your way around someone flicks on the lights and WOW! Amazing! Incredible! All of a sudden you can see the color of the couch, the books on the shelves, and the pattern on the rug. Who knew this room was full of so much stuff?

Well, if that analogy makes sense to anyone but me, that's what it's like looking at the stars out here. The stars blanket the sky completely--enough to convince me that there isn't an inch of sky that doesn't contain at least one dim star.

The constellations are dramatic and dominating. You don't have to look for Orion. He dominates the scene from the very center of the night sky, his arrow pointing West just after nightfall. The big dipper is enormous and swings a wide arc around the north star, which at this latitude is lower on the horizon than I'm used to, having lived in the 40N latitudes all of my life. I find it impossible to look at one star or one constellation without immediately being distracted and drawn to another one nearby--a process that is repeated until I have to give up trying to look at them all.

Hopefully this gives you some sense of the night sky out here. It's really one of the highlights of the trip for me, and a real treat after a long day of rowing.

Quick shout-out to the brothers of Theta Chi Fraternity at Colgate University, who are throwing a fundraiser/party on behalf of Row for Hope, complete with rowing machine races by the brothers, which will be entertaining for sure. For anyone betting on the outcome of these races, my advice is that, no matter the relative size of the competitors, always bet on the experienced rower.

Wow, longest update ever. I might have earned myself a day off with this one. Bed time!

Paul

Day 58

2009-02-27T17:59:00.001Z

Unusual day today - here's what went down:

Started by scraping for barnacles first thing in the morning. Wind and seas were bigger than I would have liked, but it will suffice to say that there was no way Liv was going to blow away from me (I was also tied on with a 50 ft rope) with the death-grip I kept on the grab lines running the length of the hull. In mid-swim I stopped to look around for Atlantic White-tipped sharks. Thanks to my roommate Zack for the heads up. Didn't see any. If I did spot one, the plan was to go with the "barnacle-scraper-between-the-eyes" approach. Actually I probably would have screamed like a schoolgirl...then who knows what.

After scraping I got on the oars around 11AM and rowed for an hour through the first half of the heaviest squall I've seen so far. As I've made my way across the Atlantic, the squalls have become wetter and more numerous, I suppose because the clouds have more time to accumulate water as they too cross the ocean. I finally called it quits around 12:15, soaked and chilled to the bone. I decided to wait the rest of it out and made lunch and did emails early.

By 1 PM the rain had stopped (for the moment), and I hit the oars for what turned out the be a 9-hour shift - my longest to date. Surprisingly, the extra four hours didn't really seem any different from a normal 5-hour shift. I'm not sure what that means. Maybe that I've lost my mind?

The rationale for the long shift was a combination of my morning shift getting cut short and the slow progress of yesterday, which I wanted to at least avoid repeating. Though winds today were light and are forecast to stay light for the foreseeable future, I still did 27.5 nautical miles west today, which is close to what I was making during my stretch of 50-mile days. I won't get as much nighttime mileage with the wind I have now, but at least I've made the most of the day.

That's enough for now. Sorry, but I will have to postpone writing about the stars until tomorrow.

Paul

Day 57

2009-02-26T18:15:00.002Z

Yup, I'm still out here!

Day 57 was a slow one in mileage terms, probably more like 30-35 rather than the 50 I've bee putting up for the last week or so. Not a big deal on its own, but I'm obviously hoping that I can avoid putting together a string of slow days that would put my goal of landing in less than 80 days all but out of reach.

Winds were light all day and I took the opportunity to rearrange some of my food and equipment around the boat in hopes of maintaining the optimal ballast arrangement for both stability/safety and speed. I'm not sure how I did, and hopefully today's mileage isn't an indication. I did claw back some room in the cabin so I'll have a little bit more space to lie down. At the rate I'm going I'll be comfortable (as comfortable as I can get with bedding that's constantly damp) by the time I get to Antigua.

The bad news is that my favorite iPod, an 8 gigabyte nano that I've been using for the whole expedition and all of my training leading up to it, went for a swim around lunchtime today. The battery had died mid-shift and I dropped it onto the deck after taking it out of the waterproof case so I could plug it in. That wouldn't have been a problem except that as usual the deck was awash in more than an inch of water that flows in and out of the scuppers. Luckily I have two remaining backups with the exact same stuff on them, for better or worse.

Will write about the stars tomorrow -- a preview of what I'm going to say...they're spectacular!

Paul

Day 56

2009-02-25T16:58:00.001Z

A short update today, as a poor night's sleep last night has had me exhausted all day. The good news is that I crossed 45W just before lunch, and I'm now in the fourth time zone of the trip, only two hours ahead of the East Coast and one hour ahead of Antigua.

My mileage today was solid and the seas in the evening were mercifully on the smaller side -- a good thing, as in my current state it was possible that one soaking too many would have dislodged my last strand of precious composure.

Hoping for a better night's sleep tonight than last. I'm starting to get the message from my body that it is not pleased with what I'm doing to it. Salt sores are multiplying in general, not just in areas that I sit on all day. More are opening and I'm developing some skin irritation (in places that need not be described in detail) that keep me awake at night.

Back tomorrow with more energy,

Paul

P.S. Thanks to all who have supported this expedition and important research at Yale Cancer Center with a donation to Row for Hope. If you haven't donated, or if you would consider donating again, it would be much appreciated. To donate online use the link in the upper right-hand corner of this page or visit www.rowforhope.com.

Day 55

2009-02-24T17:23:00.002Z

Day 55...more rowing! Much better day today with mostly clear skies, cooler air, and some scattered clouds. Winds were consistently just a little south of west, which still allowed me to pick up 3 miles back to the north, and as I write this I'm about 2 miles south of English Harbor's latitude. Happily, I also checked my distance to English Harbor as I was going back out for my evening shift and it read...

...drum roll...

....999.9 nautical miles!

I haven't been less than a thousand miles from anything in a while, so it's a good feeling to be down to triple digits. Not that 999 nm is a distance I can really get my head around, but still...at least it's a number I can count to!

I was wondering during my last shift -- if I were in the water scraping barnacles and a shark came (whatever kind of shark lives out here), would it actually eat me? I mean, scuba divers and snorkelers must see sharks all the time and they don't get eaten all that regularly (do they?), so I bet I'd have time to climb back in the boat (trust me, it wouldn't take long) and write a good post about it.

Other that that, another day at sea and another day closer to the finish line.

Paul

P.S. Can someone in my Colgate/Theta Chi fantasy baseball league e-mail my roster to me at paul@rowforhope.com ? I'll get keepers to you by satellite phone. Also, please remind me how many, etc... Thanks!

Day 54

2009-02-23T16:56:00.004Z

Tough day today, as heavy and shifting winds kept me fighting to keep on as westerly a course as possible while winds were blowing me almost directly south-west. The result was a good day in terms of mileage, but I expended massive amounts of effort and got regularly soaked in the process, which did anything but help to build morale.

Below is a picture taken at sunrise yesterday of a squall that passed to the south of me. Sights like this always make me get out the soap and shampoo in hopes of a fresh water shower, but I've yet to catch a one. With that said, I did take my first real "bath" of the trip yesterday, which was great. After the water maker issues that I had early in the trip (it's been fine for the last 30+ days), I had been hesitating to use much fresh water for hygiene, other than to wash "problem areas." Anyway, the shower was great, though I'm officially covered in salt again from head to toe after today's soakings. Can't wait for that first real shower in Antigua!!!

Paul

Day 53

2009-02-22T17:29:00.001Z

A good day out here today, with reasonably strong wind and seas but both in the very narrow range that is both good for mileage and comfortable to row in. I didn't think seas and wind existed that I wouldn't be hoping were bigger/smaller/heavier/lighter, but today was pretty close.

I crossed 43W toward the end of my PM shift and am almost a third of the way through my march toward 50W. I'm not sure what happens at 50W, after all of the fanfare around crossing 40W, but every degree is one step closer to home, so it will be celebrated in one way or another. So far I also am still on or ahead of the pace I set to finish by Day 79.

Below is a picture of a big bird that I see almost every day, usually in the afternoon and evening. Maybe someone can help me identify it? Its significantly bigger than a seagull w/a wing span of 3-4 feet, I would guess. Brown everywhere but the underside, which is white. This bird is always seen swooping around really quickly, not far off of the water -- apparently hunting, among other things, flying fish.

A couple of days ago I saw this bird almost pick a flying fish out of mid-air, only to have it fall into the water, where a dorado was apparently waiting. As the big bird went to do another loop around, the flying fish took off again, this time with the dorado close behind leaping out of the water after it with a good three seconds of air time. By this time the bird had circled back around, dodged the dorado, grabbed the flying fish in mid-air, and took off victorious. Amazing!

Paul

Day 52

2009-02-21T17:54:00.001Z

Well, it was "one of those days" out here today that really tested my sanity. Heavy winds in the 25k range and some of the biggest seas I've seen out here greeted me in the morning. First challenge after going outside and getting ready to row (while getting sprayed and splashed) is to turn the bow of the boat downwind, since without anyone steering it will inevitably try to swing sideways. Well, without foot steering getting the boat pointed in the right direction in heavy wind requires eye-popping effort to row with one oar while backing with the other. Slowly the boat will come around, at which point I just have to keep it there. If it doesn't come around after 15-20 strokes I'm forced to stop, rest, and try again, by which point any success I'd had has long since disappeared.

Today it took me at least a half dozen attempts to bring the bow around, and after each try I was rewarded with a five-gallon splash of salt water to the face that was kicked up by a wave and delivered to me by the 25 knot winds. What a way to start your day! Then during the day I took three different splashes in the cabin which means I'm in for a damp nights sleep tonight. Sweeeeet...

Anyway, I obviously got rowing and made some good mileage to the West, though I'm now a couple of miles South of English Harbor in Antigua. I'm not sure how concerned I should be about how far south I am at this point, but since I've been holding on to as much north as the wind/waves will allow over the last week or so I guess there's nothing else I can do but keep making progress as close to due West as I can. The thought did cross my mind though that my family/friends would absolutely kill me if I ended up having to land somewhere other than Antigua and they missed the finish, especially after not being able to see me off from the Canaries!

Ahhh well, tomorrow's a new day...

Paul

Day 51

2009-02-20T17:53:00.001Z

Busy day today as the winds and seas got going stronger and bigger than I've seen in a couple of weeks - pretty consistent winds, I'd guess in the 20-25 knot range, and seas bubbling/breaking in the 15 foot range generally, with some big ones here and there. I think there's a storm to the North of me that was sending some good sized swells my way from that direction, too, which meant I had to be on top of things more than normal all day. Not a bad thing though, as keeping focused and watching the miles tick by makes the day go by faster than normal.

I have the knotted line back out tonight from my stern, which I haven't been doing for the last couple of weeks in hopes of getting better mileage at night. I'm understanding the behavior of the boat better and better as time goes by, and I think I have a general rule of thumb for how she'll steer at night without me to keep her on track.

Without towing a line, it seems like she takes an angle of 20-40 degrees off the wind direction, and I can choose to make it either higher or lower (Northwest or Southwest if the wind is blowing due west, for example) than the wind by setting the rudder slightly to port or starboard before turning in for the night. As long as the wind direction stays constant, the boat direction should stay constant as well at the same angle off the wind, unless its knocked over to the other side by a big wave or something, in which case the boat will travel 20-40 degrees off the wind in the other direction.

With the line out and being towed from the stern, she'll take a course much closer, if not equal to the wind. This makes sense because the purpose of the line is to keep her stern into the waves, and if the wind and waves are coming from generally the same direction, this would point the bow and carry the boat downwind.

All very logical, right? Well it only took me the better part of 50 days to figure that out! Oh well, maybe it will help all of you future ocean rowers out there -- even those of you that don't yet know that you're "future ocean rowers!"

Paul

Day 50

2009-02-19T17:54:00.001Z

Short update today, as a slower morning meant I rowed longer than normal tonight and am now behind schedule for my nightly routine.

The champagne did not live up to the hype, as it turned out either to be really bad champagne or had suffered from too much time in a hot boat. It was pretty disgusting -- room temperature at best and tasted vaguely like fermented apples. Despite my best efforts to enjoy it, and trust me I tried my hardest, I threw it out after a few sips. Oh well, I'm sure the champagne in Antigua is better!

Your comments have been lively as usual, and everyone seems to be worried about the sores. Good news is that I don't think they've gotten worse in the last few days, thanks to a more involved de-salting regimen and a new pad that I made with cutouts for my butt bones. I'll get a picture up tomorrow hopefully -- sorry to disappoint the ladies, but it will be of the pad, not my butt!

Paul

Day 49: Forty West Has Been Crossed!

2009-02-18T17:57:00.005Z

Today was a good day on the ocean, as the big milestone was hit around 11 A.M. EST, and the champagne awaits as soon as I'm done writing. I've flipped over my big map and have the Caribbean staring me in the face, which is a great feeling! Despite the fact that I still have a long way to go, I finally feel like I've gone somewhere! Strangely enough, celebrating too much seems like a bit of a formality as I'm already focusing on the next section of the trip, and there's still an awful lot of rowing to be done.

Here's the game plan -- finish this row on or before March 19th, which is 30 days from tomorrow. With 21 degrees, 45 minutes of longitude left to cover, that's a little bit faster than my target pace of two degrees every three days, but with the trade wind becoming more consistent and a final "sprint" at the end, I think I have a good chance at achieving this goal. One of the great things about it is that thirty days is a number I can, for once, get my head around. I know what 30 days in Liv feels like. I've been there and can do it again. And with all of the incredible things that will await me in Antigua (family, friends, food, a dry bed that doesn't move, and a break from rowing all day every day), my motivation to get there will be higher than ever.

So, that's the plan and the focus from here on out. It will require westward progress of 43-44 nautical miles per day (I think), which is a lot, but more or less what I've been making for the last week or so.

Do you think I can do it?

Paul

Day 48

2009-02-17T17:43:00.002Z

Another day and another milestone out here; this time it's the mid-point from an east-to-west perspective from Gomera to Antigua, which I crossed at around 3PM EST today.

The other excitement today was my second time getting out the of the boat to scrape barnacles off of the hull. In the morning the boat was feeling slow despite good winds and seas. At lunch time when I reached underneath I felt what I can only describe as the bumpy beginnings of barnacles, which is far better than the jungle that was down there on Day 35 when I last scraped. Even so, it was a sunny day with waves that weren't too big (though they weren't too small, either...) so in I went, this time with less hesitation and sitting on the gunwale looking around for sharks.

This time went quicker and though I got gallons of salt water up my nose (which doesn't feel great at all) I declared a success after 10 minutes in the water. This time, according to my map, it was almost 10,000 feet deep. Yikes!

Anyway, as promised I have a picture of myself post-scraping. Unfortunately, I seem to have been caught in a moment of post-barnacle-slaughter masculinity, which I don't usually share with the general public. With that said, enjoy the gun show!

Paul

P.S. The guns were bigger before I left...I swear!

Day 47: BEARD WATCH

2009-02-16T17:25:00.004Z

Big day today as I passed the technical half-way point and am now closer to the finish line in Antigua than I am to the start way back in La Gomera! No champagne just yet, though, as I want to wait till 40W, where I'll really feel like I've turned the page and will literally turn my big map over to the side with Antigua on it. In other news, winds were good again today, and my mileage will probably end up close to yesterday's pace which was in the high 40's, I believe. I'm planning to make some bold predictions and set some personal challenges after crossing 40W, so stay tuned for that!

Below are a couple pictures for your enjoyment. The first, of me looking out of the hatch, is a good example of how I spend a lot of time when I'm not rowing -- sitting indian-style with my head near the door for fresh air, with a stove, food, and water in front of me while cooking/eating. It's always a fun game to see how little or how much I can leave the hatch open to balance my need for fresh air with the risk of a wave jumping into the cabin with me and soaking everything. With both hatches closed (the safest option) the cabin will be absolutely stifling and after ten minutes I'll be dripping with sweat. My approach is generally to leave them closed and open one for a few seconds every 4-5 minutes while listening for oncoming waves. Sometimes this works, other times I get splashed. I'm pretty sure my skills are improving though...

The second shot is a long overdue picture of my hands, which are still in great shape considering the amount of rowing I'm doing. One small painful spot on each, and that's been about normal for the trip so far. Rather than blisters, a bigger hand-related problem is that it's becoming increasingly difficult and painful to bend my fingers in the morning, despite my most creative stretching/massage regimen on my hands and forearms. Eventually I'm able to work this out and have so far always been able to grip the oars by the start of my morning shift -- on the bright side, this is better than "the claw" problem that other rowers have had, where they can't straighten their fingers...

More rowing tomorrow, and I hope to cross 40W tomorrow night some time. Oh, yeah, and the first picture above is your Day 47 installment of BEARD WATCH -- enjoy!

Paul

Day 46

2009-02-15T17:43:00.001Z

Spirits were high today on board Liv as I woke up to an incredible sunrise that turned half the sky a bright orangish-yellow. Progress has also been good for several days now, and I hear that the forecast is for more of the same for the next week, which is great. Made good progress today, but probably won't match the 55+ miles I put up yesterday. I did cross 38 West at the end of my evening shift, and some time tomorrow I should cross the official half-way point of the row (but not the one I'll celebrate), where I'm equidistant from La Gomera and Antigua (1,550 miles from each). This point is around 38 degrees 20 minutes West.

So, that's the good news. Here's the bad news...the pressure/salt sores on my backside are becoming a more serious issue. I'm just running out of ways to sit where I'm not directly on top of, or rolling over, a painful sore every time I take a stroke. For the first time tonight I thought of cutting my shift short by a half hour just to ease the agony of rowing on these sores. Most of the time I've been able to fidget around and eventually find a comfortable way to sit, but this is getting tougher and tougher a time goes on.

The special ibuprofen that I have helps, but doesn't last all day. I could take more, but if I do I'll run out before the end of the row. Tonight I had the following arrangement as far as seat padding goes: wheelchair pad, mini cell foam pad, gel pad, then two layers of sheepskin. Not sure what else I can do here, as my options on top of what I'm already doing seem limited, and there's little to no chance these will heal at all before Antigua.

Owwww!

Paul

Day 45

2009-02-14T17:42:00.004Z

Had my second best day in terms of mileage yesterday, which is great, and crossed 37W this morning. Forecast is for more weather like this through Tuesday, which means that I'll probably cross 40W on Wednesday of next week -- a huge milestone!

I've already written at length about my dislike of the freeze dried food, but I'm actually starting to get over it and enjoy most meals, with the exception of "Chicken with Rice," which I refuse to eat. Anyway, here's a look at my typical diet for one day:

Breakfast:
Granola with chocolate pudding and cheesecake mix

AM shift snacks:
freeze dried strawberries
British army biscuits
Package roasted almonds
energy bar

Lunch:
Macaroni and Cheese freeze dried dinner (double serving)
freeze dried ice cream sandwich (a rare treat)

PM shift snacks:
Snickers bar (king sized)
peanuts
Yorkie chocolate bar

Dinner:
Ramen noodles
Freeze dried lasagna w/meat sauce

Gatorade drank throughout the day mixed with my water at about half strength.

If the adding I did in my head this afternoon is correct, this puts me between 4,000 and 5,000 calories a day, which is far from the 6,000 to 8,000 that I think would be ideal. Even so, 5,000 is pretty good if I can actually get there. Interestingly enough, I was in the same range back home during my training, though of course I got there with much better tasting and less salty meals!

Paul

Day 44

2009-02-13T17:33:00.001Z

Wind and waves are definitely back today, and mileage looks like it will be good, though we'll see what I can make at night. Am starting to get worried about being blown too far south, as I'm only 18 degree-minutes or so of latitude north of the finish line in Antigua. Can't worry about it too much, though; I'll take north as I can get it, which should be more often as the trade winds straighten out to blow due west as I get closer to the Caribbean.

I've realized that I'm never going to be happy with the state of the wind/waves. When it's too little, all I want is more, and now I'm wishing for a little less so I won't get banged around as much at night.

A happy Colgate Day to all! For the Colgate crowd, I unfortunately had to throw out my Colgate gray sweats in Week Two when they got wet and refused to dry. They were my single favorite article of clothing and weren't easy to part with, but maybe someone out there has an in with the powers that be and could get me a new pair for when I get home... With that said, I did row today in my Colgate rowing shorts -- the first ones I ever owned, which were given to me freshman year of college before our first race. Black with red/white stripes down the side. Kinda gross that I still have and wear them, huh? I think they'll be ready for retirement after this row...and maybe I will be too!?

I hear Valentines Day is tomorrow. Brooklyn is upset that I didn't get her anything, but my comeback is that all my friends back home are apparently oogling her body paint pictures in the new SI swimsuit issue, so maybe they'll make it up to her.

Paul

Day 43

2009-02-12T17:23:00.002Z

Today's update is in the form of some Q and A.

Rowing today was tough in the morning, but winds and seas picked up quite a bit in the afternoon and wind is now 15 knots plus. Still blowing a little more south than I'd like, but after three days of slow progress I'll take what I can get! Still focused on 40W, 50W, and Antigua!

> > How much sleep at night?
Hard to tell, 6-7 hours maybe? But I wake up 10 or so times a night when the boat is hit by a big wave or when cramped up from the confined sleeping space.

> > How much "downtime" each day?
If you don't count cooking/eating, it's maybe an hour in the afternoon and an hour and a half at night. A full hour is spent in the afternoon doing e-mails. An hour at night doing emails/blog. Another 20 minutes most nights watching an episode of The Office or Rob and Big

> > How much maintenance time?
Very little -- 20-30 minutes every other day.

> > How much water do you drink per day?
3 Liters or so, not including for cooking. Cooking is about 5 cups/day.

> > How do your planned calories stack up against actual expenditures?
Will count my consumption one of these days. I'm losing weight, so I am running a calorie deficit. Would guess deficit is 2000-2500 per day. The estimated hourly calorie burn while rowing is supposed to be 500-600.

> > What is the daily menu? Is any of the food cooked?
Breakfast is granola plus chocolate pudding mix and cheesecake mix (all from Mountain House), which with some water creates a delicious goopy calorie-packed breakast. Snacks are energy bars, nuts, trail mix, etc...lunch and dinner are cooked and freeze dried. Add two cups of hot water, wait 8 minutes and eat.

> > How is your food holding out?
I've got plenty of freeze dried food, going through the dinners at half the rate anticipated. I'm close to finishing my third week's worth, and have been out here for almost 6. I have 9 more bags, or at this rate 18 weeks worth, I think. Breakfasts are about as expected and should be fine. Candy bars are getting scarce, but I lost 1/2 or them or more due to water in the deck locker. Plenty of other stuff, though, not even touched. Energy bars out the wazoo.

> > How do you manage healing of cuts/blisters in the wet environment?
Everything takes forever to heal. Am able to treat some things, with special attention to backside, hands, and feet. The rest will heal in Antigua.

> > Do you fish?
Not yet. Maybe will later for fun, but usually would rather row towards home than screw around. Would throw the fish back anyway as I couldn't ever eat/use a 20+ pound Dorado.

> > How is that broken water maker working now?
It's been good for the past couple of weeks. I run it for 30 minutes every third day. Fingers still crossed. Don't trust it.

> > How about a daily weather report?
www.passageweather.com is pretty accurate.

> > What is the water temperature?
Not sure - can look it up on www.wunderground.com I think.

> > What is the air temperature?
70's?

> > Wind chill?
Not much.

> > What are you wearing (for weather)?
Shirts and hat donated by Coolibar and are UV proof (thanks Coolibar!) www.coolibar.com). Shorts are only worn between noon and 5PM for sun protection. These are regular JL Racing rowing shorts. Foul weather gear is a North Face Gore-tex shell jacket. No foul weather pants. Do have a one-piece survival suit, but it's really for emergencies only. If it's that bad out there I should be inside anyway.

> > Has it been raining?
Sprinkles are common, but nothing that would get me soaked.

> > How do you protect from sunburn (red heads have a problem with this)?
Lots of sunscreen and Coolibar clothes as described above.

> > What improvements or changes would you like to see on LIV2?
Many ideas, but no major changes. A king-sized bed would be nice!

> > How much electricity can you generate? Is it enough every day, or are you short some days?
Our solar panels are rated for 150 watt max output. Forward panel is 65w, rear is 85w. They provide plenty of power. I'm usually getting 13.0 volts or more from the batteries. I don't want to go below 12.4 or so, but have never been close, despite as much as three straight days of overcast weather.

> > How much battery capacity do you have?
2 x Lifeline brand 79 amp hour AGM marine deep cycle batteries.

> > Why wear socks?
I was getting blisters on my heels and toes early on, but socks prevent this mostly. The shoes are standard Vespoli rowng shoes and are bolted into the boat.

Paul

Day 42

2009-02-11T16:55:00.001Z

Shorter update today, as it's been a draining day on the oars. Sleep last night was pretty terrible, even by ocean rowboat standards and I was a little dehydrated today, which took a little energy out of me. It must be a result of the warmer weather I'm getting now that I'm 600 (or more?) miles south of where I started. Anyway, nothing serious, and I should be back to normal tomorrow, I hope.

Winds weren't great today either, coming from the NW and blowing me SW, which would have been great a month ago but is frustrating now, because I pretty much just need to go West from here. The boat felt slow enough this morning that I spent a good part of the shift cursing the barnacles which must have built up underneath, meaning I should get in and scrape again. At the end of the AM shift I reached under there as far as I could and all was clear, which meant I wouldn't have to scrape, but also that the boat would stay slow for the evening shift, too. Arggg...

I saw a school of fish around the boat today, numbering at least a couple dozen. They were maybe 12 inches in length, half of them grayish with lighter spots and the other half light blue with lighter spots. Interestingly, all had fins both on top and underneath (closer to the tail) that seemed to move side to side, whereas on most fish I've seen they stay straight. Weird...

That's all for now, and thanks again for the continued support! Reading your comments is still the highlight of every day.

Paul

Day 41

2009-02-10T17:47:00.002Z

OK, here's Part Two of my thoughts on mental training. The second phase is "the day to day," phase, which started for me some time in the third week, when the initial shock had subsided and it was time to get to work on rowing across the ocean. Here's a little on how I've been doing it. You'll have to read my book for the full analysis...

The hardest part is getting out of the cabin in the morning, when I still have 10 or so hours of rowing ahead of me. Luckily, I think that years of rowing, especially the last 24 months that were done primarily by myself, have conditioned my body to at least easily get moving in the direction of the boathouse, rowing machine, gym, etc...which is the biggest challenge of all. Once I arrive at the place where I'll be training, I'm always be able to convince myself that, since I've come this far, I might as well get my rowing piece, lift, run, etc...over with so I can go home and not be a quitter. So, it's generally the same unconscious movement that pulls me out of the cabin and onto the rowing seat every morning and afternoon.

OK, I'm in the seat, gloves on, socks on, ready to go. I have to turn the boat stern to the waves or I'll get soaked in a minute or two, so no messing around. Once I've turned the boat around and pointed west (or whatever direction the wind will take me), the rowing has basically begun, whether I know it or not.

I realized early on that ocean rowing, unlike flat-water rowing, is really a defensive sport. I don't ever go out there to show the ocean who's boss; instead I take every oncoming wave individually with two goals: 1) Don't let the boat capsize or take the wave broadside and get soaked, 2) Use the power of each wave to my advantage to move to boat as far as possible. That's it. My rowing out here is more about protecting myself and not missing any opportunity to gain distance from every wave than it is about actually rowing the boat across the ocean.

Does that make sense? It might be like a boxer that blocks every one of his opponent's punches until the opponent finally falls down, rather than throwing punches in an effort to knock the opponent down directly. It's the ultimate war of attrition.

So that's the mindset, but in order to stay focused I have to see progress and hit milestones constantly. I do this by setting dozens of goals during every shift, each with its own reward of some kind. The GPS screen that I'm looking at shows my position down to .001 nautical miles, so that's an easy way to measure my performance. Any time I want to snack, change the song on my ipod, take a break to stretch, go to the bathroom, etc...I won't do it until I've reached a certain easily attainable goal that I'v set arbitrarily. Bigger rewards for bigger milestones, which means for example that I only end shifts at whole numbers of miles rowed. Things like that...by earning lots of tiny victories all the time, the days go pretty quickly and before I really know it I've rowed all day.

Hope all this makes sense! Note to self -- write shorter posts...

Paul

Day 40

2009-02-09T17:58:00.001Z

Today a few thoughts on the topic of the "mental training" that I did to prepare for this row, which I think is serving me pretty well now. Carter in Kentucky, thanks for the post; it got me thinking about all of this during my evening shift. One thing to note throughout - the physical and mental sides of training and rowing (among other things) are very closely linked, and of course each has a massive and constant influence on the other...

When it comes to the mental side of rowing, there are two different stages to think about, with different challenges:

The first 10-15 days - As you can probably tell from my posts, the early days of any ocean rowing expedition, mine included, are some of the hardest. I struggled with how to best prepare mentally for this stage, and what seemed to serve me best was the idea that I could anticipate and therefore take control of some of the mental hurdles I'd have to clear. The biggest one I feared was the feeling, "This isn't what I signed up for, how can I get out of this!?!?" Somehow, by acknowledging in advance that I would probably feel this way, I was able to say "Oh yeah, I knew this would happen" when the feeling came, which it did...often.

The other way I dealt with the "Get me outta here" feeling was borrowed from the British doctor/adventurer Mike Stroud, who wrote a book called "Survival of the Fittest," which was given to me shortly before I left for the Canary Islands (thanks Rick Smith!). There's a passage in the book in which Mike and a partner are on an expedition in Antarctica and are pulling heavy sleds over undulating frozen terrain in 60-degree-below-zero weather on their way to look at penguins (I think). Unsurprisingly, Mike is miserable and spends the first several days trying to think of how he can get out of the rest of the expedition while maintaining his dignity. He finally settles on collapsing in the snow and saying he had a certain type of stroke (don't remember the name) that would require him to be rescued but not have any long-term effects. He goes on for a while just waiting for the right time to put the plan into action.

Before he gets a chance to act it out, Mike confesses to his partner that he'd been planning to fake this emergency so he could be rescued. His partner is shocked, and then proceeds to confess that, while he hadn't been planning to fake an injury, he had just spent the past few days hoping something would happen to Mike so they could both go home!

Haha...love that story. The point is, by admitting they were both looking for ways out, they made it impossible to actually carry out one of these schemes. I don't remember what day it was, but when I found myself in a similar situation (i.e. miserable, seasick, hungry, scared, exhausted, and wishing I could go home), I called my sister Joy and said "Hey, so I just spent all of last night trying to figure out how to get out of this. Anyway, don't let me do it. I'm going all the way."

Problem solved! I never thought of taking the easy way out again. I never did come up with a good "out" though.

I'll have to write about the other mental feats of strength tomorrow. They'll have to be in full effect out here for the next few days, with light winds (10-15 knots) forecast until Friday.

Paul

Day 39

2009-02-08T17:56:00.003Z

Short update today. Winds are lighter (15 knots) than the last few days, but hopefully I can keep my progress in the range of 40-plus miles per day. Daytime mileage was good, but we'll see what I get during the night.

The full moon made for some nice night-time rowing to end the day. I don't generally row much at night, because by sunset I've always rowed 10 or so hours already, but when the moon is full it seems a shame to turn in without enjoying a little bright moonlight rowing.

The highlight today after dark was when a huge dorado that must have been over three feet long leaped out of the water right by the boat, three times back to back to back, with big belly-flop-style splashes in between. After the third splash, a half-dozen flying fish took off from where the dorado had landed and crossed right in front of me, landing 30 yards or so from where they took off. Very cool, as all were silhouettes viewed in the light of the full moon.

Paul

Day 38

2009-02-07T17:54:00.003Z

Today a little on what rowing in big seas is like. To set the stage, when rowing I'm sitting on a sliding seat facing the back of the boat with a big hatch and bulkhead immediately in front of me. I can't see the horizon immediately over it, but can see to either side and also the sky straight ahead. In the seat I'm no more than six inches off the water, so every wave that comes my way of course looks pretty big, and nearly all of them are above eye level.

So, big seas around and a 20-footer coming my way. I can see it approaching behind several smaller waves of 5 or so feet coming from the same direction. When I see a big one coming, I'll usually ignore the small waves and start rowing hard on one side or the other (remember that the toe steering is broken, so no help from the rudder as I go from one wave to the next) to angle my stern into the oncoming wave. When I'm in position, it's simply a matter of rowing up the front side of the wave, where you can usually get a stroke or two in, and taking one hard stroke right before the top, to "pick up" the boat, which will help me get a bigger speed boost as I'm carried down the back side. If I don't get my stern around in time, I'm usually rewarded with either a soaking splash or buckets and buckets of water being deposited in the cockpit.

A big swell will start to pick up the boat and I'll reach the top about five seconds later, at which point the wave will either be breaking, splashing, and frothing its way past me (hopefully without leaving too much water on me and in the boat), or it will pass by without breaking, which is a dryer experience. In general, one wave in four or five will break, but it all depends on the wind, and on any given day all or none of them could be expected to get me wet.

The best thing about bigger waves of course is that I get a bigger speed boost from them. I also get more speed when one breaks around me (or on me!), though of course I'll usually pay for it with a soaking. I've made up to 10.1 knots "surfing" down the back side of a big wave, compared to the 2-3 knots I'd make in flat water.

I hope this is interesting and makes sense!

Finally, a big shout-out to Susan T of my Greenwich Associates family. Susan was one of Row for Hope's biggest supporters at the office and, in addition to tirelessly reminding our colleagues to donate to the cause, on her own initiative Susan organized a great bus trip that took 25 or so coworkers of ours to Mohegan Sun for a day in November, raising more than $1,000 for Row for Hope in the process. Susan, please keep in touch (paul@rowforhope.com after I return) and thank you again for your generous support!

Paul

Day 37

2009-02-06T17:06:00.002Z

A good day yesterday (53.3 miles), and hopefully another good one today, at least in the mid-30's, I would hope. The wind, at least until this afternoon, has been in the 20-knot range, with the larger swells being 20 feet or so. Winds are less now, but shifting more to due west after being a little more south-west yesterday and this morning. Tomorrow I'll write about what it's like to row a small boat in 20+ foot seas...it's pretty wild.

Looking ahead, here are my thoughts on this stage of the row. I crossed 30W on Monday (I should cross 33W tonight or tomorrow morning), putting me in the 2nd quarter of the row, the way I'm thinking about it. Technically, I'm well into the 2nd quarter (as my dad pointed out when I passed the 33% mark a few days ago). Anyway, I'm expecting the quarter between 30W and 40W (this one) to be the most difficult mentally, as it's still very far from the finish line and also pretty void of milestones and such to get excited about. So, the mentality is to just get over it ASAP with no drama.

After I reach 40W (the half-way mark that I'm going to celebrate), things will start to happen more quickly. The actual half-way mark from and east to west perspective is 39 deg 26 mins West, so by the time I cross 40W I'll be over half-way any way you look at it. You might wonder why I wouldn't celebrate the actual half-way point? Well, I don't really know, other than that I'm a "delayed-gratification" sort of guy - this might be obvious!

Starting at 40W, the milestones I can think of off hand are:
- My halfway point (champagne)
- Flip over my big map to the side with Antigua (and other familiar places) on it
- A new time zone (45W)
- Under 1,000 nautical miles to Antigua
- Under 1,000 statute miles to Antigua
- The final quarter of the row (50W)
- The beginning of the end (60W)
- Another new time zone (60W)
- See land for the first time in months
- Last night at sea (more champagne!)
- Antigua!!! (61 deg 45 mins West)

Those last few might not be in order, but you get the idea.

Dan P in Norwich -- Yes, I was in the scouts when I was younger and wish I stayed active longer than I did. I was in Cub Scouts as a kid and Boy Scouts in middle school and enjoyed it. One of my good friends from college, Casey, was an eagle scout and I have tons of respect for his achievement. It took him from the Air Force Academy, to Colgate University (go 'gate!), and now to medical school. I'd love to talk to your troop if we can get the logistics to work. I'll post something with more detail on how to arrange this when I'm closer to land.

Marlene -- Yes, the petrel is still here, and the seagull stops by once or twice every day. Neither are big talkers, though... yet.

Paul

Day 36: A Special One

2009-02-05T17:31:00.002Z

Today is not just another day on the ocean. Eight years ago today, early in the morning of February 5th, 2001, my mom, Kathie Ridley, passed away from malignant melanoma after a brutally short four-month battle with the disease. Despite chemotherapy and consultations with expert oncologists at a major New York City cancer hospital, the treatments available to her were not enough to save her life or even buy her much time.

I was 17 years old in February of 2001, and I witnessed her struggle unfold at a particularly formative point in my life when, as a senior in high school, I was beginning to realize that the decisions I made in the next several years would go a long way toward determining who I'd be as an adult. The impact my mom's death had on me was profound, and is single-handedly responsible for where I am at this very moment -- 31 degrees 35 minutes West, 18 degrees 20 minutes North -- in a 19-foot boat 359 nautical miles from the nearest land (Cape Verde) and 1,736 nautical miles from the end of my journey.

Every year I treat this day as an opportunity to reflect on the progress in my life over the last 12 months, and particularly my most meaningful successes and failures. This year, as you can imagine, much of my focus has been on Row for Hope. Here the jury is still out because, despite the fact that the expedition is going well, there is a lot of progress still to be made on the fund raising front. Unlike other expeditions, the success or failure of Row for Hope will be decided not by miles rowed, but by dollars raised.

Through this row I'm hoping to make a statement in as bold a way as I know how -- that cancer research matters and the pace of life-saving progress must be accelerated with additional funding.

Row for Hope has been lucky to be supported by so many passionate donors and volunteers. We've benefited from bake sales and bus trips, jeans days, Superbowl pool winnings, donors young and old, classrooms, companies, big checks, loose change, and heart-felt encouragement nearly everywhere we go. For this support I am personally very grateful.

If you enjoy following Row for Hope and my expedition, or know someone who has been affected by cancer, today would be a great day to make a donation by visiting www.rowforhope.com. If you've already donated and would consider donating again, please do. Keep an eye out for a post from Peter Lamothe of Yale Cancer Center with more detail on how your donation will be put to work to accelerate the remarkable progress that takes place there every day.

Thanks,

Paul

A difficult anniversary, and the reason why we're here

2009-02-05T12:28:00.004Z

This is Joy, with a personal note from our family. It's been 8 years today since Paul and I lost our mom and since our family lost its center. As the emotional member of the Row for Hope team I've been nominated to mark the occasion. I could write all day about the person she was, and the loss we won't ever recover from, but I know she'd prefer that Paul and I turn our grief into something bigger and better. That is what we've tried to do in creating Row for Hope, and that is the reason why Paul is pulling the oars every day.

As a reminder of why we're all here, we asked Yale Cancer Center to write today's blog and to describe the critical work that they do. Every additional dollar Row for Hope is able to contribute to their programs is one step closer to a cure for the cancer that changed our family and too many others. Thanks to the countless people who have supported us in this incredible journey. Thanks to Dr. Sznol and Yale Cancer Center for the life-saving work they do every day. And thanks Mom, for giving us life, and for making it good. We love you!

Quote from Dr. Mario Sznol, Co-Director, Yale Cancer Center Melanoma Program

Everyone at Yale Cancer Center's Melanoma Program joins me in thanking Paul and Joy for choosing to help others who will face melanoma in their lifetime. It is a wonderful testament to their character and conviction that they travel this incredible journey to benefit patients and families they may never know. Row for Hope's impact will be both immediate and far reaching. By helping to fund today's research, our understanding of the disease and the treatments we provide our patients in the future will improve considerably.

Yale Cancer Center Melanoma Program

The Yale Cancer Center Melanoma Program is a multidisciplinary team of physicians and scientists dedicated to state-of-the-art clinical care and research to improve the outcome of patients with melanoma. Melanoma can be a devastating disease, and although current treatments can cure or delay progression of the disease in a small number of patients, most patients do not benefit from available therapies. Therefore, there is critical need for research to develop more effective and less toxic treatments.
The Yale Cancer Center Melanoma Programis uniquely positioned to take advantage of existing opportunities to rapidly advance the treatment of metastatic melanoma. It was developed over 25 years ago to discover new treatments and provide state-of-the-art treatment for patients with melanoma. In order to achieve its objectives, the Melanoma Program brings together scientists, experts in clinical research, specialists in melanoma surgery, medical oncologists devoted to melanoma treatment, community oncologists, dermatologists, pathologists, dermatopathologists, and radiologists.

Program Co-Directors

The Melanoma Program is co-directed by Dr. Stephan Ariyan and Dr. Mario Sznol. Dr. Ariyan is a nationally recognized plastic surgeon and former Chief of Plastic Surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital, with 30 years of experience in the care of melanoma patients, and a distinguished record in research of surgical approaches and management of patients with melanoma. Dr. Sznol is the current Vice Chief of Medical Oncology and brings to Yale nationally recognized expertise in drug development and development of immunotherapy treatments for melanoma.

Basic Science Research

The basic foundations of the Yale Cancer Center Melanoma Program are basic research, clinical research, and skilled multi-disciplinary care of patients. The basic research is headed by Dr. Ruth Halaban, a molecular biologist who has made fundamental contributions to the understanding of melanoma biology. Dr. Halaban is Director of the recently awarded Skin SPORE grant, one of only 4 in the country, which supports multiple research projects in melanoma that translate basic science into clinical application. Other members of the Melanoma Program have combined clinical and laboratory programs. For example, Dr. Kluger, has a laboratory program focused on tissue microarrays, which provide a means to discover biomarkers for prognosis and response to treatment, and potential targets for drug treatment. Dr. Kluger's program is closely allied with Dr. David Rimm, who leads the Yale Tissue Microarray Program and Yale's efforts to discover prognostic markers for early melanoma lesions.

Clinical Research

Clinical research initiatives are led by Dr. Sznol. The goal of the clinical research program is to introduce and investigate novel treatments for patients with melanoma. Currently, 6 clinical trials are available for patients with metastatic disease, including novel chemotherapy regimens, anti-angiogenesis agents (drugs that destroy or inhibit the formation of blood vessels that feed tumor), and new agents that stimulate the body's immune system to attack the melanoma tumors. In addition, patients with metastatic melanoma who are no longer eligible for melanoma-specific studies may be offered novel cancer treatments through the Yale Cancer Center Phase I Clinical Trial Program.

Clinical Care

Clinical care of melanoma patients is a coordinated effort of the YCC Melanoma Program surgeons, medical oncologists, dermatologists, radiologists, surgical and dermatologic pathologists, and radiologists. Dr. Ariyan directs the weekly conference in which care and management of patients is discussed among the Program members. Clinical history, physical exam findings, surgical procedures, x-ray studies, and pathology slides are reviewed at the conference, and optimal approaches to treatment are proposed and discussed at length. The Program emphasizes communication with all physicians active in the care of patients. Joining Dr. Sznol in the medical treatment of patients with melanoma is Dr. Harriet Kluger, Associate Professor of Medical Oncology. In addition to caring for melanoma patients, Dr. Kluger is involved in conducting studies on patients' tumors and blood samples and incorporating these findings into the clinical trials of the Melanoma Program, further facilitating bench-to-bedside advances.

Private Support

There are two established research areas within the Melanoma Program that benefit directly from new funding like Row for Hope. The first is non-clinical translational research, intended to develop and test drugs (or combinations of drugs) against specific targets in melanoma cells (identified from basic research), and to develop and test drugs that activate the body's immune system to destroy the melanoma. The second is clinical research, intended to test the best drugs and drug combinations in patients and determine their safety and ability to effectively treat melanoma.

Day 35: Swimming with the Fishes

2009-02-04T16:14:00.002Z

After much less deliberation than expected, I went in the water tonight around 7PM and scraped the bottom of the boat. I couldn't see the bottom, but from my map my best guess is that it was between 8,774 feet and 8,869 feet deep (2,675 to 2,704 meters)! I actually didn't plan to go in the water today, as the seas aren't all that calm (10-15 feet, maybe?) and by the time I started thinking about it, it was already getting late in the day.

Here's how it went down... Rowing along in the middle of the PM shift, and the boat's feeling slower than ever. I still haven't scraped barnacles and it has probably been long enough for there to be some growth under there. Maybe I'll see if I can feel anything under the waterline? So I reach under as far as I can and to my surprise the hull is like a shag carpet of barnacles! Bad news...

So I think, OK, well, I hear there are supposed to be light winds next Tuesday; I'll go under then. Then, well, winds are supposed to be good until Monday night; do I really want to waste five days of good winds by not scraping the bottom? Nope.

So I dig out my mask, snorkel, and barnacle scraper (a plastic cement spreader), tie a rope around my waist (other end to the boat, obviously), and I'm ready to go...technically. Then I climb over the grab rail and proceed to sit on the gunwale for at least 5 mins, thinking... "what time of day do sharks typically feed?"...and "don't freak out if you go under and see a Dorado. It's not the same as a shark"...and "it's OK, you can put this off till tomorrow"...

Then finally I'm in the water...first thought is "oh, crap I'm in the water!" Second thought is "scrape like hell'...so I do. All the way around the boat, and barnacle carnage everywhere. Small fish with black and white vertical stripes stuck around to feast on the now-homeless barnacles, but they were the only fish I saw. I even put my head under the water to scope out the hull to be sure I got every last one, bow to stern. At one point I even looked down and saw nothing but bright blue, which was actually slightly reassuring.

I clamber out of the boat wet and cold, but mission accomplished! In hindsight, and based on my terrible mileage numbers for the past week, it seems that I started to slow down around Day 25, which means I need to scrape the bottom about every three weeks. That means I'll have at least a couple more reasons to go for a dip before Antigua.

Paul

Day 34

2009-02-03T16:16:00.003Z

After the big entertainment yesterday, a shorter update today. Everyone's curious about "the swim." Haven't gone for a dip yet, but I'm planning on it next time the wind and waves die down. I actually don't really like swimming where I can't touch the bottom. A little ironic, isn't it? Not to mention the fact that I'm not a particularly good long distance swimmer. Maybe because my leg muscles are bigger than they should be from rowing and my arms are tiny in proportion? If you're curious, my map says that the ocean where I am is 2704 meters (I think) deep!

Biggest excitement of the day was when during my lunch break I was putting some food away (transferring from a week's worth that was in a garbage bag in the forward compartment to the cabin, where I keep food inside my balled-up survival suit, borrowed from Norwalk River Rowing Assn -- thanks Charles!), when I took the biggest splash yet in the rear hatch and directly into the cabin, soaking everything in sight. The biggest concern was the satellite phone, which took a glancing blow, but seems to be OK. If the sat phone where to go down it would be a big, big, problem -- no blogs, no calls to home/media/friends. Note to self: stop being stupid and leaving the hatch cracked open!

I'm headed out shortly to try a short night shift. Hopefully I can work an extra hour or two into the routine after dinner, to help get my mileage up. Seems like the wind's been weak for a while now. What happened to my days of clocking 40 plus good miles? Arggg...

Paul

Day 33 - Liv Meets the Nordic Cosmos

2009-02-02T17:21:00.009Z

Around noon today I'm rowing along in a relatively calm sea, rowing, rowing, rowing...in the middle of contemplating life with some David Gray on the iPod. As I'm rowing along, I think to myself..."was that a beep?"...then again..."Yeah, that sorta sounds like a beep..."

Then I take a glance to my immediate left and..."OH #%@#!"

I'm staring straight at the enormous bow and reddish brown hull of a huge freighter headed right at me and maybe a quarter mile away. Close enough that I can clearly see waves being thrown up from its bow cutting through the water, and I know it's moving fast. Quick, turn on the VHF, channel 16:

"LARGE CARGO SHIP, LARGE CARGO SHIP, THIS IS OCEAN ROWBOAT LIV, OCEAN ROWBOAT LIV, I AM 500 METERS OFF OF YOUR BOW DEAD AHEAD. COME IN CARGO SHIP"

Nothing....

"LARGE CARGO SHIP, THIS IS OCEAN ROWBOAT LIV, I AM DEAD AHEAD AND REQUESTING AN IMMEDIATE TURN TO STARBOARD!"

A few seconds pass...and I see cloud of black smoke coming from the ship's half-dozen smoke-stacks. The captain is gunning the engines to make a turn, and I gradually begin to see more and more of the ship's port side come into view...this is good!

By this time I've poked my head in the cabin to check my chart plotter. I notice that the AIS alarm (which had been beeping) was reading "Closest Point of Approach - 0.00nm". Wow. That's close!

Then from the VHF...

"This is Nordic Cosmos, sorry Liv I didn't see you on the radar and wasn't looking at the AIS. I see you now. Turning to starboard."

My reply, "Thanks! Sorry for the scare, I should have seen you coming. Good to hear from you though, I'm 33 days out of the Canary Islands bound for Antigua and you're my first sign of life in two weeks."

"Wow. Is everything ok? Is there anything you need?"

"No, I'm fine. Where are you coming from?"

"OK. Coming from the United States."

"Do you see me on your AIS?"

"Yes, sorry. I see you now on AIS but didn't see you on radar."

"OK, good to know I'm still transmitting. Well, good to talk to you. Have a good trip."

"OK, Liv. Standby channel 16..."

So, how's that for some excitement? In hindsight I don't know why he didn't have his own AIS alarm set. Who knows how close we would have ended up, but the answer is at least "pretty close" and much too close for comfort. At the closest it got (after making its turn), the boat looked something like a 4-iron's distance away...so 200 yards or so? Yikes!

Well, lessons learned today include:
1) iPod headphones in one ear only
2) If I hear a beep, or think I hear a beep, at least take a look around!
3) Don't get so caught up in contemplating life that I forget my surroundings, even if I haven't seen anything but ocean in weeks.

After the excitement was over I got out the camera and took some pictures. These are not zoomed in, and will serve as the most recent installment of BEARD WATCH, marking just under two months of growth:

Paul

Day 32

2009-02-01T17:51:00.006Z

Shorter update today, since it's getting late and I just spent the half hour I usually use to write playing with my AIS transponder. As I was eating dinner while sitting in front of the main hatch, enjoying the fresh air and the view of the moonlit ocean, a wave hit my starboard side at just the right angle to send a splash of water into the cabin. As I was toweling things off I must have knocked loose the connection from the VHF antenna to the AIS unit, because shortly thereafter it was blinking wrong color lights, which indicates a problem.

AIS (Automatic Identification System) is like a next-generation radar that sends data through VHF radio signals (think walkie-talkies) to other ships up to 25 miles or so away. Where radar would just show me a blip on the screen where there's something to reflect a radar wave, AIS actively sends and receives lots of information that's useful to ships at sea, including the ship's name, call sign, ID number, position, heading (direction it's pointed), speed, rate of turn, etc... With this information, I can tell where a ship is and how close it's going to get to me. When I plug the AIS information into my chart plotter (GPS mapping gadget), it shows other ships on the screen, and sets off an alarm if any are going to come within a certain range of me and Liv. Since I'm paranoid and want to know about every ship out there, my alarm goes off if there's a ship within 25 miles.

AIS also lets other ships know I'm here, and they get the same information about Liv that I get about them. I show up on their screens as "LIV - OCEAN ROWBOAT"... at which point I'm sure they think, "You've got to be kidding me." So far none have come over to take a closer look.

Anyway, I reinstalled the plug that connects the VHF cable and the AIS unit, which I had first installed back in Gomera. As I write this the unit is blinking away all green lights and everything's back to normal.

In other news, lighter winds forecast for tomorrow and Tuesday before picking up again from Wednesday on. Maybe I'll go for a swim to scrape the bottom of the boat in the next couple of days? Will be sure to check for sharks and giant squid before I go in!

Paul

Day 31: Update from Home

2009-02-01T11:22:00.011Z

Here's Paul's position at the end of his first month at sea (click to enlarge). He's almost exactly 1,000 miles from La Gomera, with 2,100 miles to go.

And here's some evidence of the "Row for Hope mania" that's sweeping the country! (And, no, it's not my Blazer....)

Thanks for every sign of support!

Mark Ridley and the Row for Hope Team

Day 31

2009-01-31T17:15:00.006Z

Good wind today on the eve of the Superbowl. It's been cloudy with spotty sunshine for the last few days and today was no exception. Rowed by one of the most spectacular rainbows I've ever seen at the beginning of the morning shift. The picture below doesn't do it justice in the least!

I'm also sending a picture of the seagull that visited yesterday. I think this is when he made an attempt to land on the solar panel that's on top of my forward cabin. This didn't go so well for him, as the solar panels are slippery, on an incline, get really hot in the sun, and are attached to a boat that is tossing and turning. For whatever reason, he didn't go for another landing, though I admit to wishing he did for my own entertainment.

On a less entertaining note, my foot steering went out again this morning. While before it had been jamming in the "all-the-way-to-port" position, this time the push-pull cable itself snapped, which will be tough to fix. I spent some time this morning rigging up a replacement pull-pull system using electrical wire (genius, I thought...), but it didn't hold. My backup hand steering still works fine, so I set the rudder straight and had a fine shift in the afternoon steering with just the oars, so I guess I'll do without the luxury of toe steering for a while, until I come up with a fix. No worries...

I'll be thinking of all of you at Superbowl parties tomorrow - feel free to pour out a sip of your favorite beverage and throw a slice of pizza on the floor for me!

Paul

Day 30

2009-01-30T17:05:00.002Z

Wow, 30 days at sea! I can't decide if that sounds like a long time or not...either way, the wind made a reappearance today, so I'm hoping for some good mileage numbers for the first time in a while. The day's rowing seemed good, and at the tail end of my evening shift I crossed 29W. Given how long I spent between 28W and 29W (3-4 days?), this is a very welcome but still minor milestone. With that said, 30W is not far off now, and with good winds forecast through the weekend I have a shot at getting there by Sunday night/Monday morning.

A couple things I forgot in yesterday's post -- the first thing I do every morning is put up a hash mark for a completed day and night on the ceiling of the boat, right above my head. Right now I've got five sets of five, and a sixth set with 4 marks...soon to be completed come the morning. Right above the day counts are the words "Steady as we go...", a reminder that no one has rowed an ocean in a day and to not rush things...

Was visited by a seagull today and was surprised that in their natural habitat they actually seem pretty graceful and not annoying at all. Then again, I don't have all that much other entertainment out here, so maybe I have lowered my standards. Anyway, this seagull couldn't have cared less about my presence and for half an hour or so flew around the boat, often hovering within arm's reach of me before diving into the water to grab one of the little fish that must be living under the boat. I watched him for a while and took a few pictures, which may be interesting even though everyone's seen plenty of seagulls picking at french fries in the parking lot at McDonald's...I'll try to get one up tomorrow.

Keely -- great timing on your note, as I spent all morning yesterday dreaming about Panera Bread's breakfast sandwiches. The bacon and sausage ones got equal time, and I concluded that I could easily eat four of them in a sitting if given the chance. For the uninitiated, Panera's breakfast sandwiches are better than any deli -- thick, real bread, a slice of sharp cheddar, real eggs, and a delish spicy sausage patty or bacon...all toasted/grilled to perfection!

Mrs. Scalzo -- I'm admitting defeat on your math problem with the 4's. I like to think that with a pencil and paper I could eventually figure it out, but since I can't write notes while I row I haven't made much progress. How about an easier one?

Paul

Day 29

2009-01-29T17:04:00.002Z

OK, on Day 24 I started going through my daily routine out here. I think I got through waking up, tooth brushing, and breakfast. Then what?

After breakfast, it's time to actually get ready to row and get out there without wasting too much time. It usually goes something like this...breakfast over, wish it was bigger so I guess I'll have an energy bar after I've rowed for half an hour. Lie down, wish I didn't hit my head on the hatch so many times (average 3) while eating breakfast/brushing teeth. Need a playlist for the ipod that will last a minimum of 4 hours, hopefully 5. Guh, not easy with only 5GB of music on here. Go through and add to a playlist anything that looks moderately interesting and/or like it will keep me awake. Always include Al Pacino's "inches" speech from Any Given Sunday (YouTube it, it's good...watch out for bad words). Usually cover all genre's...Kanye, Kenny, maybe some Christmas music, an episode of Car Talk from NPR, part of a book on tape (should have brought more of these), plus some random songs here and there that look good -- that would be a typical playlist.

Playlist done, it's time for a "shower." Anti-bacterial baby wipes used to bathe head to toe, with special attention to hands, feet, and anywhere that I've scraped or blistered in the last few weeks (even little things take forever to heal out here). Anti-chafe creme. No need for more detail there. Then time to pick out the rowing shorts I'll wear for that shift. Choices are blue or black -- both are covered in salt and so have many white highlights. Pretty gross. Both are also still wet from hanging to dry overnight from my navigation light on top of my cabin. Better there than inside the cabin with me!

Shorts on, where's my shirt? I've been wearing the same blue and yellow short-sleeved shirt from Coolibar since Day 1 (think it's in the picture Joy posted), which means the same shirt all day every day for a month. Also pretty gross and covered in salt. Oh, well, put it on anyway. Ok, I'm ready. Lie back down for a second. Do I really wanna do this? Another whole day of rowing?....Yup, just get out there! I tell myself "its always better outside the cabin than inside"...and it is. Out I go!

Thanks to all who have supported this expedition and the important research going on at Yale Cancer Center with a donation to Row for Hope. If you haven't donated, or if you would consider donating again, it would be much appreciated. To donate online, use the link in the upper right-hand corner of this page or visit www.rowforhope.com. Thanks!

Paul

Day 28

2009-01-28T17:01:00.002Z

Second straight tough day on board Liv, both physically and mentally. Light winds of 10 knots (and often less) left me wondering throughout the day if I had dropped an anchor and forgotten to pull it back in. With little wind to keep boat speed up between strokes, and small waves (4-5 feet?) that can't really be surfed, it feels like I've been pulling a Mac Truck through the sand.

Even with eye-popping effort on every stroke, the GPS repeater in the bulkhead facing me has only occasionally in the last two days shown more than 3 knots per hour. Compared to the regular 5-6 knots, and sometimes higher, that I can make surfing down waves in 20-knot winds, seeing less than three knots for two days is mind-numbing, even before considering the massive effort required to get the boat moving from nearly a full stop after every stroke.

So, days like these are when I earn it, I suppose. Yesterday's progress was 26 miles and change, which in the grand scheme is dismal. Today probably wasn't much better. There are bright spots though -- on the ocean there's no scenery to remind me how far I still have to go. No mile markers to show that I've covered only 26 of the more than 3,000 miles that it will take to complete this journey. Thankfully, the ocean looks more or less the same and the day-to-day routine is unchanged, whether I've gone 26 or 50 miles in a day.

Tomorrow's winds are predicted to be back in the 20-knot range, and the slate will be wiped clean again by the morning. Needless to say, I have more rowing planned!

Paul

Day 27

2009-01-27T17:18:00.003Z

More confirmed flying fish sightings today, this time two different schools of them in flight. Bright, silvery, hot-dog shaped bodies with blue highlights up close to the wings. They make a little pop when they fly out of a wave and you can hear their whirring fins/wings beating like mad as they go by. One school of 6-8 of them must have flown 200 feet as I watched, and I'm pretty sure that at one point they went up, which I didn't think they could do. Maybe it was an illusion caused by a wave dropping out from underneath them?

Winds are again light today (10 knots), and I missed my goal of crossing 28W before nightfall by a few miles, though I should cross it overnight. I'm also very close to crossing 20N, which will be a nice milestone too. With that said, my sights are set on 30W, which marks the end of this quarter of the row (in my mind), and the beginning of the second quarter, which I think will be the toughest for me mentally -- more on this in the next couple of days.

Am feeling some fatigue, maybe due to the more strenuous rowing required when the wind is light. Has also occurred to me that I'm not getting enough rest, or that the calorie deficit I'm running every day is starting to take a toll, though I doubt it because I've got plenty left to burn. I am losing some weight, but not enough that it I should feel it, I think. Will try to get pictures of my hands tomorrow (they're really not bad, though), as long as I can figure out how to operate the camera with my teeth. Nothing to it!

Fred -- you and I are on the same page I think. The only thing I run from the bow is the actual sea anchor (nine feet in diameter), which I've had out twice in heavy weather. At night I regularly trail the knotted line from the stern so as to keep boat speed up, which seems to average about 1 knot or so while I'm asleep. Regarding my availability as crew for a crossing in a bigger boat, sign me up on one condition -- there must be more wind than I usually see on the Long Island sound on Friday nights in the summer!

Paul

Day 26

2009-01-26T17:01:00.000Z

After being on the ocean for weeks, I saw my first big fish today - a 3-foot dorado that jumped out of the water by 3-4 feet in the trough of a wave. Miraculously, I happened to be looking in the right place at the right time because the petrel (smallish black bird) was pretty close to the boat on the same side. He came down with a big splash and was gone...or so I thought.

When I was coming out for my afternoon shift the sun was out (the only time all day). I happened to glance into the water next to the boat and there was another (or the same one, who knows...) big fish swimming leisurely under Liv. From the top this one looked like a dorado too and was also probably three feet in length. I've heard other ocean rowers talk about fish living under their boats for the "safety" that a big, slow moving thing like Liv would provide, and I've actually been surprised that its taken me until day 26 to notice one of my own.

I believe that Dorado in the Atlantic are the same as Mahi-mahi, in which case they're delicious. Maybe its time to break out the fishing tackle?

Paul

Day 25

2009-01-25T17:33:00.000Z

WOW! Ok, so I just got all of your comments from the past few days and man were there a lot of them -- fantastic!

I had planned to go through some of the physical and mental prep that I do in the morning to coax myself out of bed and into the rowing seat, but first I'll respond to some of your questions/comments from the past few days. Here goes...

Lori H - re snickers melting - it's actually been noticeably hotter out here the last few days, which is expected now that I'm 600 miles or so farther south from the Canaries. With that said, my candy/chocolate stashes are in compartments below the deck which stay cooler because they're close to the water. So, the problem isn't as much with them melting as it is with sea water getting into the compartments...

Donna - the idea on heading south first then west is to get into the east to west trade wind band that, at this time of year, can be found around 21 degrees north or so. If I was in a powerboat I'd head straight for Antigua, but since I don't have as much ability to power through headwinds and such, its a better bet for a solo rower to go S first then West.

Margaret - Pepe's should definitely be on my list. White clam pizza all the way. Mmmm

Zack - I'm still not sold on Nady but will give him a chance. Melky's a bum!

Patti - e-mail from me tonight or tomorrow, I promise!

Alexander - Great! Ask your mom to remind me when I get back about coming into your class. I'd be happy to!

Mike from Nirchi's - Deal. I spent some time today thinking about what toppings I'd have. Chicken spiedie, pepperoni, and tomato bacon all are in the mix...

Marlene - believe it or not, I actually don't have duct tape on the boat. I know...terrible job! I do have gorilla tape, whis is stronger but not very good when wet, electrical tape, masking tape, packing tape, and medical tape though. No peanut butter but lots of peanuts! Wish I head peanut butter cups!

Dave and Leslie - The wind is helping more than hurting now, as I'm comfortably in the trade wind belt. Ideally I'll have 20-25 knots of wind from the east (blowing me west) all the way to Antigua. Right now the forecast is for 20k for the next week plus, which is great. In regards to the sea anchor, in heavy seas it keeps my bow into the waves which smooths out the ride a bit, but also stops me from drifting (because its basically a 10-foot parachute that holds a lot of water). Better to use in a storm to prevent being blown backward than for resting. I still tow a 50 foot knotted line from my stern when I sleep. This keeps the stern from getting tossed around as violently in the waves, which is convenient because I sleep with my head all the way aft, basically on the boat's transom. The line isn't enough to keep me from getting mileage in the right direction while I drift though.

Kyle - Believe it or not I don't have "row row row your boat" on my ipod! Next time I'll remember to get it. Could definitely use Henri for the water maker....or better yet to help with the rowing! Btw, the toe steering that you guys worked up is one of the most useful things on the boat -- I steer up and down every single wave and save TONS of effort when it comes to orienting myself to the seas. Bravo!

Guys at Aquidneck - Glad to hear you're keeping an eye on me. Every day with this boat makes me more impressed. I can't overstate my confidence in Liv -- a good thing when its blowing 30k out there at 3AM in the middle of the Atlantic! Many thanks for a stellar final product!

Ok, the fact that I can't see straight must mean its bedtime.

Thanks again for all of the support and for spreading the word about Row for Hope!

Paul

Day 24

2009-01-25T11:35:00.010Z

Paul's having intermittent email problems again (this time he suspects the connection between computer and sat phone), and he'll post as soon as he can. Meanwhile, he's doing well and logged his second day covering more than 41 miles. He seems to be hitting his stride!

Here's his map, as of the end of Day 24:

Day 24

2009-01-25T04:07:00.000Z

Another day in the books and another day closer to Antigua. I'm happy to be getting more comfortable with the environment and am getting better at reading waves to determine which I need to worry about and which will pass by without soaking me, which takes my stress level when rowing down quite a bit.

A little on my routine out here -- the hardest part of the day is in the morning between when I wake up and when I actually start rowing. I generally wake up around sunrise, which is roughly 8AM GMT or maybe 7AM in the time zone I'm in right now. For the first couple weeks my first though after opening my eyes was always..."Where am I? Wait..don't tell me I'm in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean..no no no..." By now I'm pretty aware of where I am and am thinking something along the lines of "its morning already?" which I suppose is pretty normal.

So once I'm awake the fun begins. Grab some water, brush my teeth, think about whats for breakfast, which is usually granola but sometimes clif bars/chocolate or other snacks. I eat breakfast sitting up with my head near the big hatch watching the waves to get a sense of what I'm in for that day. Not that it matters really, because I have no choice but to row, but still...

Ok, enough for now. More on "getting ready to row" tomorrow. This is actually alot more involved than it sounds!

Haven't seen your comments in a few days (not to nag you or anything, Joy!), but when I do I'll get back to people if anyone has questions, etc...

Paul

Day 23

2009-01-23T17:02:00.000Z

Short update today since I'm exhausted from a long day on the oars and lots of work around the boat. Big project today was to find the source of a small leak coming from somewhere near my head that was allowing a few drops of water into the cabin -- enough to keep my pillow (a fleece jacket) constantly damp, which has made for bad sleep the last few nights. Turns out that there is a gland for the toe steerng cable that had worked its way loose and hopefully will be water-tight now that I've given it a couple of extra turns.

Afternoon shift was a tough one today, maybe because I havent been sleeping well. We'll see if tomorrow's any different. Either way I've broken out my medical kit and extra extra strength ibuprofin so maybe that will at least take my mind off of the sore muscles for a while. Hope to cross 26W overnight.

Over the weekend I'll get into what my routine is like out here, typical day, etc...and maye even some water/boat/rower pictures with my fancy camera mounting bracket.

Hope all is good back home - when's the superbowl?

Paul

Day 22 - Flying Fish?

2009-01-22T16:57:00.002Z

Beginning of week number four at sea, and winds have been good, helping me to the West. This morning I crossed 25 degrees West, which is a minor milestone in that it's halfway to 30W, which will mark the first quarter of my march across the Atlantic (remember the real rowing started at 20W and Antigua's a little past 60W). Right now I'm just about due North of the Western tip of Cape Verde, which means that there's nothing but ocean between me and Antigua, which is a good feeling...until I realize just how much ocean it really is!

Today I concluded that a few bottles of hot sauce would have rocked my culinary world, and I'm annoyed that I didn't bring any Frank's Red Hot. I also forgot to mention that I'm craving steak, and that I could probably put down a dozen of those 6 oz. filet mignons right now. Medium, please, with A-1 sauce and potatoes. And a double bombay sapphire on the rocks with two limes...mmmmm.

No, really, I do have a few highlights when it comes to food. One is astronaut ice cream, which I have in both Neapolitan and ice cream sandwich form. Both are delicious and have been eaten with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The other treat is Jolly Ranchers, which are remnants from my Christmas stocking. Unfortunately, the two that I have left don't have a chance of lasting past the weekend.

Now you're wondering, "What does this have to do with flying fish?" I almost forgot that I was gong to tell you that I saw my first flying fish for the trip this morning. Though I hear there'll be tons of them at times, I only saw a couple today. I was rowing along, and all of a sudden out of the side of one wave to my left come two long, thin fish with their fins beating their fastest, "flying" past my face and splashing down in a wave to my right. It happened so quickly that I could have imagined it, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't. It also was very clearly not birds and certainly came out of the water. Unfortunately, the only other flying fish I've ever seen were years ago in Super Mario 3 for Nintendo, but what I saw looked like them, so who knows...

Thanks for the continued support and encourgement - it makes the days go by much faster!

Paul

Day 21 - FOOD!

2009-01-21T17:01:00.005Z

[NOTE: Paul's Day 19 blog was posted late because of email connection issues; see separate entry below.]

All day today I dreamed about food...I'm pretty sure that after three weeks this freeze-dried stuff is finally driving me bonkers (but in some ways I'm surprised it took this long). Though I have a little variety, the variations are apparently all within the "chicken-with-rice" food group.

In the last few days I've had Mexican Chicken with Rice, Oriental Chicken with Rice, and the most hated Jamaican Style Chicken with Rice. Oh, and how could I forget plain old Rice with Chicken (seriously), which I had for dinner tonight? Seriously, who dreams this stuff up? Then there's good old Beef Teryaki...sounds good, right? Nope, its simply Oriental Chicken with Rice, but with little beefy chunks instead of chicken chunks!

Here's a rundown of the Greatest Hits of the food I've been craving today. If you live anywhere near one of these fine establishments, please stop by to see if they deliver to 21N 25W:

Nirchi's sheet pizza with pepperoni (Binghamton)
Dinosaur Barbecue chicken wings (Syracuse)
Ye Olde Pizza Pub chicken wings/pizza (Hamilton)
Speidies from anywhere (Binghamton)
NY City street vendor salted pretzel
Sierra Grill chicken burrito and shrimp taco (Norwalk)
Two Door chicken parm sandwich (Greenwich)

Michael -- I unfortunately never knew "Rock Dog" while I was rowing at Colgate. Creative name though...! And yes, I do turn on the power every now and then but almost never for 10 straight strokes. It's usually when I see a wall of water to my left/right that will be breaking over my boat unless I stand on it with one oar or the other to swing the stern around. That's better motivation than even the best coxswain could provide! More often I'll take one hard stroke just before a wave is breaking in front of me, to help get a little extra "surfing" speed down the front. This too is a not a dry event...

Anon -- I do brush my teeth out here. I have lots of snickers packed somewhere, but I haven't eaten my way to them yet.

Pete- -- Wow, I struggled with this one, but finally concluded that I'd rather be me with the brain of a chimp than a chimp with my own brain. At least if I looked like myself, people might take me seriously (not too seriously I'm sure) from far away, whereas no matter how brilliant your brain is if you have the body of a chimp you'd just be silly. And you couldn't ride anything at Six Flags.

Oh, and I rowed more today. Same plan for tomorrow!

Paul

Day 20

2009-01-21T04:10:00.003Z

Sorry for the spotty updates, but I've been having trouble getting a data connection with my sat phone. Anyway...

Just after I wrote on Day 19 about how it finally feels as if I've made a little progress, I got my daily mileage text from my dad saying that I made 29.7 miles yesterday.

29.7?!?!?! Terrible! I guess spending time playing with the watermaker has kept me from rowing some this week. But, still...29.7! Ugh...

With that said, it's good to hear that I'm through 20% of the distance, and history would suggest that I'm through more than 20% of my time at sea, as the second half (or three-quarters) of the trip is in the trade wind belt where, I should be making more like 40 miles a day. The way I figure it, a good (fast) pace would mean that I'd cross two degrees of longitude every three days when I have the trade winds helping me. That would get me to 30W in 8 days, and to 60W in another 45 days. This would put me at 73 days, plus another couple days for the last degree-and-a-half to Antigua, plus a few more days if I can't keep up the pace above....so that's right around 80 days. Can you tell I've thought about this a little bit? Yeah, I have lots of time on my hands...

In other news, great to hear about President Obama! I also made almost 10 liters of water yesterday with the repaired watermaker before...believe it or not...it stopped running, due to some other unknown problem. Unbelievable...

Paul

Day 19: From Paul's Dad

2009-01-19T23:40:00.013Z

Hi! It's Paul's dad, filling in once again for the "hometown hero." Paul has been tinkering with the water-maker in his spare time today (apparently the warranty doesn't include on-site service calls!), so he asked me to handle this post for him.

Paul's discovered one of the paradoxes of ocean rowing. The big waves and big winds can make rowing out there quite a bit hairier, but they can also push you along pretty well, assuming they're going in the right direction (as they have been). Conversely, when the seas calm down, you've got to row that much harder to make mileage. Today was one of those calmer days, and between that and his time spent on repairs, it won't be a stellar day, mileage-wise.

Still, the water-maker is working at the moment. Paul managed to get about a day's worth of water out of it and then turned it off, rather than have it blow its hose again. Like a banged-up baseball player, its status is what they call "day-to-day." But then, as Yankee broadcaster John Sterling is fond of saying, "We're all day-to-day!"

Among my Support Team duties, I'm the expedition's statistician and map-keeper. I'm happy to report that, within the last hour, Paul has now reached the 20% mark on his row - he's exactly 627 miles from La Gomera, and 2,493 miles from English Harbour, Antigua. While he's still got a long way to go, that's real progress!

Map fans might appreciate this Day 18 snapshot from Google Earth (click on it to enlarge). As you can see, Paul's near 21 degrees N latitude and 24 degrees W longitude. His destination is off the map, at about 17 N and 62 W.

It seems like an impossible distance, but there's real mileage between each of those little blue daily squares. Put enough of them together, and he's in Antigua!

I know how much Paul depends on your encouragement; I can hear it in his voice, over the sat phone. Keep it up!

Day 19

2009-01-19T17:33:00.005Z

Progress? Well, I finally redecorated the cabin with a new map covering Africa/the Canaries, south past Cape Verde and as far west as 40 degrees W, roughly the half-way mark of my row. Though the ocean always looks more or less the same, aside from waves of varying heights, seeing my current position on a map made me feel for the first time like I'm actually going somewhere! Although my first real milestone will be when I cross 30 degrees west, it's good to see that I'm actually not very close to the Canaries any more. Wish I had champagne to celebrate every 1/4 of the trip rather than just halfway.

Spent some time trying to brace the hose on the watermaker that's been blowing out, with little success. Finally got 1.5 liters of water out of the thing (takes about 5 mins), but I don't feel very confident in this holding up for the duration of the trip. Will try to make a real batch (10 liters) tomorrow.

Waves pretty good sized again today and still windy out there now. Wave height is 15+ feet -- maybe closer to 20. Makes for wet rowing. Wind is maybe 20k, and is predicted to be stable around there for the next week or so.

Gary M -- I'm using an Iridium 9505a sat phone (a newer model just came out I think, but it's just as slow for data) with software from GMN called Xgate, which works pretty well. I don't get internet, just e-mail.

Zack -- Please provide updates on the Biggest Loser if possible. Also, who won last season? Is Jillian back for the current season? What about the blond trainer?

Glad the beard is getting good reviews, and thanks again for all of the support!

Paul

Day 18: Beard Watch!

2009-01-18T15:59:00.006Z

I have no idea what day of beard-growing I'm on; it must be somewhere in the month-and-a-half range. After seeing this picture I'm glad I don't have to look at myself too often -- as you can tell, I'm slightly less clean cut than my usual "high and tight"/freshly-shaven look.

Not a bad day of rowing today, with lighter winds last night than I've had in the previous few. Started winding up again this afternoon and the waves had really built up by the time I crawled into the cabin tonight. I can hear it blowing out there now, which of course makes me glad I'm inside! Fingers crossed for some sleep tonight, though...

The water-maker is back down again, but I have some creative ideas to try in the morning. The same high-pressure connection blew out after only a minute of so of use this afternoon. Came up with a couple potential solutions during my afternoon/evening shift, so we'll see tomorrow if they work.

Stay tuned!

Paul

Day 17, Part 2: Paul's Position

2009-01-17T18:52:00.006Z

For those having trouble managing Paul's Event Tracker, here (courtesy of Google Earth) is his position and destination as he begins Day 17 (click on map to enlarge).

Day 17

2009-01-17T16:42:00.002Z

Another day in the books. Less wind so a more comfortable day on the oars, but I probably didn't go as far as yesterday, when I hear I made 52 miles.

Now that I've been on the water for more than two weeks my body is starting to show signs of wear and tear. The general theme is that everything's always wet, so it's harder to treat small cuts and scrapes and get them patched up before my next turn at the oars. I actually have more recovery time for sore muscles, blisters, etc...than most ocean rowers, because my break at night is so long -- rowers that do "two hours on, two hours off" must end up more sore than I do. I can only imagine what the 50-year-old ocean rowers have felt like!

My hands are still good, but I'm developing lots of sore muscle in my upper body -- shoulders, forearms, between my shoulder blades, etc... My back is holding up well, except for the occasional stiffness/fatigue at the end of a 9-10 hour day of rowing. I use a massage roller on my legs at night, which helps, and my legs seem fine other than that my shins, which are bruised and scraped from getting smashed by my oars/handles by mis-timed waves.

Pretty good winds forecast (more or less like today) for the next week or so, which hopefully means I can log some good mileage toward Antigua.

Thanks again for all the support!

Paul

Day 16, Part Two

2009-01-16T16:28:00.004Z

After the watermaker drama of yesterday and this morning, I was anxious to get some rowing in -- it's a privilege to be able to row after all, rather than having to mess around with a watermaker.

The swells today were absolutely huge -- 25 plus feet would be my guess, with many bigger. My vantage point is a rowing seat roughly 4 inches off of the water, and looking up from the trough of a 25-foot swell is a sight to remember. Had a few really wet encounters, with waves breaking from the side into the deck and temporarily filling it with water, which is a real wake-up call. For the most part though, all went fine, and the 25-30 knots of tailwind should have really helped my mileage for the day.

I was happy to get into the cabin after sunset (there's no way I'm rowing in the dark in these seas...yet) and to continue to try my new approach of eating inside. The downside is that all my meals inside are cold, but the upside is that I get to stay dry and relax a little while I prepare them. I guess I'm still perfecting my approach, because today's meals left me with lasagna on my pillow and ramen noodles at the foot of my bed (don't forget, my bed takes up the entire cabin!).

Forgot to mention that yesterday in the beginning of my morning shift I saw another ship, this time the "B.W. Phoenix." It looked like a tanker of some sort and was traveling SW at 12 knots. It got within 2.5 miles of me, but again couldn't make radio contact. These big ships must not be monitoring ch 9 this far out at sea...

Slightly less wind is forecast for the weekend, so maybe these waves will get a little smaller. At this early stage in the trip I'd be happy to give up a little bit of speed for some peace of mind... We'll see if the weather agrees.

I'll send some pictures over the weekend... another BEARD WATCH for sure.

Paul

Day 16

2009-01-16T05:09:00.000Z

A quick note as of 10AM GMT I have the watermaker back up and running. Still a little hit or miss, but we'll see. Made 10 liters of water just now. Tube blew out after three minutes the first time then held for 15+ after being reconnected. Fingers remain crossed.

Big seas out there right now (15+ feet?) and consistent winds of 25+ knots. Time to make up for lost mileage yesterday with some hard rowing!

Paul

Day 15

2009-01-15T16:11:00.001Z

A tough day for me and Liv. After a morning shift that was pretty good, other than being wet, I went inside for lunch/rest and to make some water, which I need to do about every two days. Well, 5 minutes in...BANG! Loud noise from the starboard side of the boat.

I open up the water-maker compartment and find that everything's wet. A bad sign. One of the high-pressure (~80 psi) hoses that goes from the pump to the membrane that actually filters out the salt had been ripped from its fitting on the pump end. Not good, as broken watemakers have forced the premature end of several past expeditions, and this is a risk I had hoped to minimize by going with a more expensive but reliable unit, a Spectra Ventura 150.

A handful of calls (orchestrated by my Dad -- thanks!) to the company in Massachusetts that did the install and still no solution. The part in question is a compression sleeve/nut assembly that fits over the hose and connects it securely to the pump. Well, once its been compressed it doesn't want to be loosened or compressed again, which makes for a tough fix after a blowout.

More phone calls to Simon Chalk at Woodvale to see about my options -- his response is, "we'll get something figured out, no worries." No worries...I'll work on that! I do have a solid backup that could potentially get me across the ocean (a PUR Survivor 35), but I don't have as much faith in it as I had in the Spectra. With that said, it's fantastic to have someone like Simon who's willing to help in situations like this without asking for anything in return.

So, I can't do much now in the dark, but will be back at it again tomorrow, so it probably won't be much of a rowing day while I work to fix the big water-maker or set up the backup for long-term use.

In the meantime, fingers crossed! Thanks again for all of the support and encouragement in your comments! Great to know that all of you are rooting for me out here.

Mrs. Scalzo - well, 100 divided by 7 is 14, with two days left over (right?). So if today's Tuesday, 100 days from now it will be Tuesday plus two...so, Thursday! Did I get it? Whew...that took a lot outta me...

Alexander -- Great to hear that your class is interested in my trip! Thanks! There are probably sharks near me but I havent seen them because they're probably hiding underwater. If they come out to play I'll tell them you say "hi" and let you know.

Paul

Day 14

2009-01-14T15:49:00.000Z

Two weeks on the ocean in the books (after tonight), and things are starting to settle down into a routine a little. My long morning and evening shifts with a two hour break in between seem to be working. Tonight I'm going to try an early morning shift 6AM-8AM, which will include sunrise which will be nice. Was planning to do two hours after sunset but decided against it because the moon won't rise for a few more hours. If I can get a sunrise shift in regularly it'll get me up around 12 hours of rowing a day which is where I'd like to be.

Few days in a row of progress to the west which has been nice, though never as far as I'd like of course. Saw another big sea turtle today, this time swimming East.

Aunt Jane, I haven't been able to get the Petrel to show me his feet so i can tell if they're webbed or not. Maybe if he's still here at the halfway mark a little champagne will loosen him up?

Lastly, the philosophical question of today was "How long has it been since I've worn briefs? I wonder if my grandparents generation was on to something with this and now I'm really missing out? Hmmmm..."

Paul

Day 13

2009-01-13T15:47:00.001Z

Hi again, everyone,

Thanks to Joy for filling in for me yesterday. Before I get into what's going on today, a little about yesterday.

All started well yesterday morning and I came out of the cabin to see two bright airplane exhaust trals running perfectly parallel to each other against a blue sky -- almost as if to say "You're not alone out here!" After that little tidbit of warmth and fuzziness, I got down to rowing and had a pretty good morning, with time to contemplate some of life's pressing questions, including "Would I rather have popsicles for toes or Pez dispensers for fingers?" (thanks, Anna).

Uneventful lunch break then in the afternoon shift the wind and seas kept building and building, which meant I was going faster but also getting exponentially wetter and more intimidated by the growing waves. After a particularly big wave broke right next to and into the rowing position, filling it with water (again), I finally called it a day around 6 and put out the sea anchor in hopes that things would quiet down overnight, as they often do.

I crawled into the cabin last night cold and soaking wet (which guaranteed that the cabin would be wet all night, too), skipped dinner, made a couple phone calls back home, and tried to ignore the pounding that the boat and I were taking from the waves outside. Despite the fact that the sea anchor keeps my bow to the waves, they don't all come from the same direction, so I can take a few pretty solid glancing blows from the side as the boat corrects. No fun, but thankfully the boat is designed for just these sorts of situations, so its more uncomfortable than it is unsafe.

Morning comes and the waves haven't shrunk and instead have gotten larger. My dad somehow is awake at 4AM EST and texts to say that the wind will be moderating little in the next day or so, meaning I can wait around for another 24 hours and things might be better outside -- not the most appealing scenario. I tried a phone call to four-times ocean rower Simon Chalk at Woodvale Challenge (who's also doing weather for me) to see when the storm that's blowing through and causing all these waves would settle down. Despite the shaky satellite connection, the answer was clear: "This isn't a storm, this is the trade winds and it's like this all the way to Antigua." Shows what I know.

The lesson: get used to the bigger waves and to rowing soaking wet, and both will get you to Antigua faster. So today I salvaged about a half day of rowing and hope to be back on track (and faster) tomorrow.

Paul

P.S. I had my first sighting of phosphorescent plankton tonight. I've been trailing a knotted rope to help keep my stern to the waves at night when I'm trying to sleep. When I stuck my head out of the rear hatch tonight I had a 50-foot trail of greenish-blue-lighted water following me.

Day 12

2009-01-13T03:11:00.009Z

Hi from Minneapolis -- it's Joy's turn today. It's 6 whole degrees here, and it's been snowing all day. I spent most of the morning cursing the cold and feeling sorry for myself, until I talked to Paul. Don't worry, he's fine! But he is riding out some weather on sea anchor. He was pretty cold and wet when I talked to him, but he's now hunkered down in his cabin watching "Rob and Big" on his laptop. Not being able to row is frustrating, but it will be good to get some rest.

He's been making some westward progress the last couple of days, which is encouraging. There's something satisfying about turning in the direction of home! He says the rowing is still going well, and his body's holding up so far, so no real complaints. He just wishes the winds would calm a bit so that he could row again. For now you can picture him belted into his bed (literally -- he's got seatbelts) and belting out bad country music. He's hoping Brooklyn what's-her-name will come to life and burst into song, but so far no luck.

Paul posted some pictures of the inside of his cabin the other day, so I thought I'd add a few to give it some perspective. These were taken during various stages of boat construction. More pictures are available through the Flickr link at the bottom of each page of www.rowforhope.com.

This is the interior of Paul's living space, as it looked during construction. The holes lead to storage compartments which are now stuffed full of freeze-dried food, vitamins, and a solar-powered desalinator to create drinking water (that takes up the entire right-hand compartment). The walls are white now, and covered with maps of the sea near the Canary Islands, and the approach to Antigua.

The boat was designed to match Paul's specifications, including allowing just enough headroom for him to sit up...

...and just enough cabin length to stretch out flat. I'm the one in the photo below, and Paul's got a few inches on me, so imagine this as an even tighter fit. Then add a medical kit, a life raft, 2 weeks worth of freeze-dried food and a bag of sheepskin (I'll let him explain what that's for). Suddenly he can't quite stretch out anymore...

This was the first (albeit imaginary) thousands and thousands of strokes...

Stay tuned, Paul should be able to write personally more often in the coming week. For now, thanks for all the support -- Paul's been overwhelmed by your encouragement. Thanks especially to the school classes who are following the expedition! Among others, hi to Patti Raub's Kindergarten class, Alice Kiereck's 8th Graders, Denise Scalzo's 8th Graders, Teddi Black's 2nd grade class, Al Penna and everyone at our alma mater, Binghamton High School, and to the McElligott family, who are in our prayers.