At long last, Liv is getting her first taste of the open ocean today. That is, if you count being strapped down inside a 20-foot freight container packed in the belly of a big cargo ship as "tasting the open ocean."
Anyway, Monday, November 3rd was a big milestone as I dropped of a fully-loaded boat in Port of Newark, NJ to be loaded into a container and shipped to Liverpool, UK. The Atlantic Container Lines freighter will leave New York today (Nov 8th) and arrive in the UK on Nov. 18th. It'll be turned around by my UK shipping agent, PA Freight, and loaded on another ship for the trip from Liverpool, to Tenerife, Canary Islands. After one more ferry from Tenerife to La Gomera, she'll be in place and waiting for departure. Whew!
Coincidentally, I had a dream last night that I was rowing around in Liv (up a river for some reason) and after a while I realized that the forward solar panel had been stolen. Then I looked for all of my food, and that was gone too. Then I looked around the rest of the boat disintegrated underneath me, leaving just a blanket of yellow and white paint on top of the water. Do you think I'm a little paranoid about something happening to the boat during the shipping process???
Shout-outs and thanks this time to:
- Liz Tomic, for her help replacing Liv's old leaky deck hatches last week and weekend, and for helping with the inventory and loading of the boat on Sunday night.
- Tony at Select Plastics in Norwalk, who whipped up some custom deck lids and oar mounting brackets on short notice, and for an EXCELLENT price. Tony and company treated me incredibly well throughout and turned around six custom deck lids and four custom brackets in less than 24 hours.
- Bob at Bob's Equipment in Norwalk, who donated his time and expertise by welding some "feet" on to the backstays of my oarlocks, without which the new oars wouldn't have fit into the oar stowage tubes in the forward bulkhead. Incredibly, his work was fast, free, and always friendly.
- Brian Nathanson, of New England Physical Care in Norwalk, who has generously donated his time and expertise to Row for Hope and my expedition. He'll spend the next couple of weeks ruthlessly working out all of my muscular kinks, knots, and stiffness, to be sure that I'm in the best possible shape when I set off in December.
More soon,
Paul
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Oh, the hypocrisy! Haha...well, though you'd never know it from my updates here, I'm still very much alive and am now only 37 days from departure (give or take). There have been a massive amount of exciting developments going on with my expedition and Row for Hope, so here's a quick update:
- Last weekend the Row for Hope team was at the Head of the Charles regatta in Boston (picture above). We talked to tons of people, sold lots of tickets for a raffle where we'll give away a weekend of sculling instruction at Craftsbury Sculling Center in Vermont (generously donated, thanks Sheldon!) as well as a recently-developed oar case from Concept2 (also donated, thanks to Jon Williams).
- Shooting has begun for a documentary that will cover my expedition. Matt Heineman is in the process or rigging the boat with all sorts of camera equipment that will record everything that happens in days leading up to and during my Atlantic crossing. He's also training me to talk int a camera (a lot harder than it sounds), and get comfortable checking in daily with updates on my thoughts, feelings, etc...Check out his last documentary called The Young Americans Project here: http://www.tyap.com/.
- I'm up to my eyebrows in final boat preparations to get the boat ready to ship on October 31st. I have a few projects left to complete, then its just a matter of packing Liv with all of the equipment that I won't be able to carry on the plane to the Canaries, which is basically everything.
- FOOD - Wow, 8,000 calories a day for 95 days is a lot of food! I have almost 500 freeze dried meals on the way to me from Mountain House, who was kind enough to give me wholesale pricing (~40% discount). I also have almost 400 energy bars sitting in my living room (I won't promote the brand, because the bastards turned down my request for free bars.) The rest of my food is mostly snacks, etc...and will come from Costco where I'm headed tomorrow.
All I have time for, for now...but expect more from me in the next few weeks. Also don't forget that I'll be posting every day from the Atlantic starting in a little over a month.
Paul
Monday, August 11, 2008
111 Days
I've always been annoyed when an ocean rower I've been following has gone a long time without updating their blog-- and now I've gone more than a month without updating my own...oh well...
There's lots of news to report, as Row for Hope has made several well-received appearances in the Northeast including a long weekend in Binghamton, NY where we promoted Row for Hope and showed off the boat at an art festival, a golf tournament, and a Binghamton Mets (AA) baseball game. Another weekend we had the boat in Gloucester, MA for the Blackburn Challenge, a big open-water rowing regatta north of Boston. The reception that we got in both places was fantastic and reinforced what we already knew -- that the Row for Hope story is one that inspires.
The next several months are going to be crazy, and the team's list of t0-do's is more than a hundred rows long at this point. Often times it feels like every time we accomplish one thing two more pop up...luckily the growing pile of ocean rowing equipment in my living room is always a reminder that with every piece of the puzzle we put in place I get one step closer to the starting line, and consequently, the finish line in Antigua.
Come talk to us and see the boat on Saturday, August 16th in Greenwich, CT on Greenwich Ave in front of the Senior Center (299 Greenwich Ave, Greenwich, CT 06830).
Sunday, June 29, 2008
More Training
South Norwalk to Milford - 7 hours, 22.4 miles
My training in Liv continues, and I seem to be falling into a pattern of several short rows (1-2 hours) in mornings during the week, capped off with a long row on Saturday or Sunday.
I spent Friday night on the boat (a first) and though I was tied at the dock the night was pretty uneventful. I was off the dock by 5:30 and had cleared Norwalk harbor by 6:30 when I stopped for a breakfast of granola, blueberries, and milk.
It turned into a hot, muggy, and hazy day, and the 10-15 mph W to SW winds that were forecast never showed up. At 9:30AM I put on a shirt and some sunscreen (70 spf), which was a good idea as the temperature topped out over 90 degrees.
After breakfast, I made the mistake of rowing almost six hours straight (until 12:30), which was a mistake. The water I had brought tasted like it had sat in a rubber hose for a while (it had), which along with the heat left me feeling on the verge of puking for most of the trip. I also should have eaten much more while I was rowing, but the food I had needed to be cooked, and I didn't feel like stopping to boil water...not a good combination.
Notes for next time:
- Rest more
- Eat more
- Drink more
- Bring food that's easier to eat
- Bring cleaner water
- Don't fight the tides and Housatonic River after 7 hours of rowingThursday, June 19, 2008
Melanoma Study Offers Cautious Hope
By KEITH J. WINSTEIN June 19, 2008; Wall Street Journal, Page D5
Doctors in Seattle cured a late-stage cancer patient after tinkering with his body's defenses against infection, leading to cautious optimism about treating late-stage melanoma, a deadly skin cancer.
The surprising result, published in this week's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, is the latest hopeful finding from the 30-year-old field of "adoptive immunotherapy," which theorizes that the body can be taught to fight off its own cancers.
Researchers published several promising studies in the 1980s, but translating the findings into successful cancer treatments has been slow. Treatment requires extracting a patient's own white blood cells that are particularly adept at fighting a tumor, breeding the cells in a Petri dish, and then re-injecting them into a patient.
"This is the ultimate personalized medicine, because literally we create a new drug for every patient out of their own cells," said Steven Rosenberg, chief surgeon at the National Cancer Institute, who has published several studies on such treatments. But "it's a labor intensive kind of treatment, and it doesn't lend itself well to commercial development," he said.
Earlier this month, Dr. Rosenberg discussed the results of his experiments at a Boston conference of microbiologists. Out of 93 patients treated, 52 experienced a positive response, Dr. Rosenberg said. At least four patients saw their cancers disappear completely. The complete test results haven't yet been published.
"Pharmaceutical companies have been a little reluctant to pick this up, because they want drugs they can make and put in a vial and sell the vial," Dr. Rosenberg said. "It's very frustrating to me. I lose a lot of sleep over it."
Cassian Yee and other doctors at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle treated a 52-year-old Oregon man with melanoma that had spread to his lungs and groin.
The cancer had persisted even after several doses of chemotherapy, meaning his chances of survival were very slim. But after the researchers injected him with five billion of his own, specially bred white blood cells, the man's cancer disappeared completely and has stayed away for more than two years.
The New England Journal article discusses just one patient, who was the only one out of nine to be cured. The other eight melanoma patients haven't had as positive a response to the treatment, Dr. Yee said.
"This is not something we're going to use to cure a lot of patients. This is one patient," he said. The next step is to "treat a lot more patients and see if this is real," Dr. Yee said. "I think in five to 10 years, this will become much more mainstream."
Dr. Yee's and Dr. Rosenberg's research differs in the particulars.
Dr. Rosenberg's studies have focused on one kind of white blood cell, called "killer T-cells," which attack a tumor. Dr. Yee's study instead looked at "helper" T-cells, which are thought to recognize infections and tumors but mostly summon other cells to do the attacking.
In both cases, treating a patient costs roughly between $30,000 and $50,000 and requires specialized biological equipment that is found in only a few laboratories, making the treatment impractical right now for widespread medical use.
Doctors in Seattle cured a late-stage cancer patient after tinkering with his body's defenses against infection, leading to cautious optimism about treating late-stage melanoma, a deadly skin cancer.
The surprising result, published in this week's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, is the latest hopeful finding from the 30-year-old field of "adoptive immunotherapy," which theorizes that the body can be taught to fight off its own cancers.
Researchers published several promising studies in the 1980s, but translating the findings into successful cancer treatments has been slow. Treatment requires extracting a patient's own white blood cells that are particularly adept at fighting a tumor, breeding the cells in a Petri dish, and then re-injecting them into a patient.
"This is the ultimate personalized medicine, because literally we create a new drug for every patient out of their own cells," said Steven Rosenberg, chief surgeon at the National Cancer Institute, who has published several studies on such treatments. But "it's a labor intensive kind of treatment, and it doesn't lend itself well to commercial development," he said.
Earlier this month, Dr. Rosenberg discussed the results of his experiments at a Boston conference of microbiologists. Out of 93 patients treated, 52 experienced a positive response, Dr. Rosenberg said. At least four patients saw their cancers disappear completely. The complete test results haven't yet been published.
"Pharmaceutical companies have been a little reluctant to pick this up, because they want drugs they can make and put in a vial and sell the vial," Dr. Rosenberg said. "It's very frustrating to me. I lose a lot of sleep over it."
Cassian Yee and other doctors at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle treated a 52-year-old Oregon man with melanoma that had spread to his lungs and groin.
The cancer had persisted even after several doses of chemotherapy, meaning his chances of survival were very slim. But after the researchers injected him with five billion of his own, specially bred white blood cells, the man's cancer disappeared completely and has stayed away for more than two years.
The New England Journal article discusses just one patient, who was the only one out of nine to be cured. The other eight melanoma patients haven't had as positive a response to the treatment, Dr. Yee said.
"This is not something we're going to use to cure a lot of patients. This is one patient," he said. The next step is to "treat a lot more patients and see if this is real," Dr. Yee said. "I think in five to 10 years, this will become much more mainstream."
Dr. Yee's and Dr. Rosenberg's research differs in the particulars.
Dr. Rosenberg's studies have focused on one kind of white blood cell, called "killer T-cells," which attack a tumor. Dr. Yee's study instead looked at "helper" T-cells, which are thought to recognize infections and tumors but mostly summon other cells to do the attacking.
In both cases, treating a patient costs roughly between $30,000 and $50,000 and requires specialized biological equipment that is found in only a few laboratories, making the treatment impractical right now for widespread medical use.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Oarlock Issues Resolved
A few weeks ago my ongoing sea trials paid off for the first time when I snapped in half my port-side oarlock pin, the threaded piece that holds the oarlock itself vertical and allows the oarlock itself to rotate.
This gave me a good opportunity to rationalize the oarlock/rigger system as a whole and, with guidance from three-time ocean rower Simon Chalk, I'm back up an running with a much stronger setup that consists of a custom built 3/16" stainless steel plate on the gunnel and a backstay of the same material. I've also added beefed-up oarlock pins (12mm) that I think are made for Alden boats.
This gave me a good opportunity to rationalize the oarlock/rigger system as a whole and, with guidance from three-time ocean rower Simon Chalk, I'm back up an running with a much stronger setup that consists of a custom built 3/16" stainless steel plate on the gunnel and a backstay of the same material. I've also added beefed-up oarlock pins (12mm) that I think are made for Alden boats.
Special thanks to Bob Mills at New England Fiberglass in Norwalk, CT, who donated several hours of his time to the project and installed the new system free of charge. Bob's wife is a breast cancer survivor and he donated several hours of his time to the project by installing the new oarlock system free of charge.
Days to Departure: 169
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
New Equipment Sponsor - Fiorentino Para Anchors
I'm happy to announce that Fiorentino has come on as an equipment sponsor of Row for Hope and my 2,950 mile trans-Atlantic row for cancer research. For everyone who has asked the question "What happens if there's a storm?", the answer is that I'll be deploying a Fiorentino paraanchor and then retreating to the cabin to get some rest.
A paraanchor is basically an underwater parachute that when deployed will keep me from blowing backward too much during a storm or when the winds aren't blowing in the direction I want to go. It will also keep Liv's bow pointed into the waves which will keep her from rolling and/or capsizing.
Zack at Fiorentino has some ideas for a customized approach and, at the same time he'll be building a similar setup for NASA's space capsules (really) he'll build something for Liv. More information from Fiorentino's website is below:
"Established in 1958, Fiorentino is the exclusive manufacturer of the patented Offshore Parachute Sea Anchor with Para-Ring®, The Para-Ring Drogue and the Fast-PAK® Stowage System. Fiorentino's latest breakthrough in advanced para-anchor technology comes from extensive experience and a significant investment in research and development. Fiorentino parachute sea anchors are engineered by real-life offshore experts. Produced with exceptional quality, each para-anchor is meticulously manufactured and inspected by our master rigger before every shipment. Fiorentino parachute sea anchors delivers the type of performance and reliability that you would expect from your offshore and coastal survival equipment..."
Days to Departure: 173
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