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.
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
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!
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14 comments:
Nice!!! I have been keeping track of your progress at work and you are getting pretty close to under 1000 statute miles as well. Which is amazing because you are putting up about 50 of those a day! Great job man, we will see you in Antigua before you know it.
Hiya,
My other half kept good track of me while I was rowing across, he predicted my arrival date correctly by contantly working our averages & mileages etc. He says as of yesterday, you were on track for a 80-81 day crossing. Have a few more good days & this will easily come down to your 79 days !!
Keep paddling & please say hi to the see for me
Cath, Atlantic '07/08
Good Morning Paul!
I had printed out your Day 37 posting that had all your milestones so here's another one I can check off! The next one is 45 degrees and a new time zone which we'll check off today. I'll keep a close watch on your progress so I don't miss it!
Keep up the great job you're doing. You're amazing and I'm sure quite an inspiration to the many people who are following you.
You're constantly in my thoughts and prayers!
A Friend of K-Rock
love where your head is at in regards to fantasy baseball....
and I am pretty sure that is the first time someone has talked about possibly getting eaten by a shark and asking someone to send them their league roster in the same post...ha
glad to see your NM's are under 1,000 bud...pumped to hear about everything
keep it up
chucky
I don't know much about sharks firsthand, but from what I've read in books and seen on the Discovery Channel, they'll be curious about your splashing about. Healthy fish don't splash; distressed ones (i.e., easy to catch and eat) do. They'll probably spend enough time checking you out to give you an opportunity to escape. Of course, the great white shark in jaws ate a much larger boat than Liv! I don't think they'll attack without warning unless you're bleeding profusely.
So, have I scared you enough to forego barnacle scraping for the last 1K nm?
999.9 miles!!! When I started following you - from the beginning actually, the journey was beond comprehension. Here you are, two-thirds of the way!! How proud we all are of you. Be well, be safe (don't be testing that shark theory! :)) and row hard!
Hi Buddy - Milestones abound! Who would have thought we would ever say 'ONLY 999.9' to go - as if that's a mere pittance of a distance. It all continues to be AMAZING. Now if we could match that with $999.9 to meet the challenge for YCC...Keep hunting for those donations folks! On the shark subject, your buddy Johnny K spends a lot of vacation time watching Shark Week on History channel. They really only feed in fairly shallow water - where there's stuff for them to grab easily. You're not there yet - so even if one came along, you'd be only a curiosity, not a snack. Take that info for what it's worth - Johnny also spends a lot of vacation time drinking - we certainly don't want you to be an episode next summer! Stay focused - it's still one day at a time - don't neglect any part of your mental or physical routines - stick with the game plan that got you this far! xxoo-
go paul go. u r an animal!!!
go gate!
regards,
tighe p. sullivan
Paul,
You'd be amazed how quickly reading your post has become the highlight of my day. What you are doing is truly remarkable! As a fellow alum, not only of the 'Gate (Class of 2000), but also of the crew team I can only imagine the effort you put forth on a daily basis. Your positive attitude should be admired by all, as should your cause. Best of luck and stay safe!!
Until tomorrow's post.
Go Gate!
Hey buddy-
First of all, great job getting to where you are right now. I know 1,000 miles is a long way to go, but at least you can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel; enormously strong cocktail at the end of the ocean; whatever cliche you want!
As you know, because of my shark phobia and the fact that I'm terrified of them, I've learned a lot about them as well. Plus, shark week rules! Anyway, while nothing will happen to you, there are a couple of pros and cons about being where you currently are in the Atlantic.
The Pros: Most sharks will not go ahead and outright bite you. They will circle the area and will probably be more curious than anything. You are in open water, deep in the atlantic and won't have to worry about the unpredictable behavior of those shallow water Bull sharks! This is good thing!
The Bad news: You are in an area that happens to be the home of the feared, Oceanic White Tip! These are dangerous. They are about 13 feet in legnth and you will at least see one coming as they are slow moving. They are the sharks that dominate feeding frenzies and they are the sharks who more or less, don't like people. Think of Perlman with white tipped fins, after yet another Mets Collapse. They will bite you just to bite you as they look for anything big and movie to feast on.
However, like I said, I doubt you'll see anything, but to be safe, if you see anything with white fins or bigger than you moving in the area, get back in the boat!
Now you know!
Yanks start their quest to #27 today!
One more note; this is in regards to The Biggest Loser. There might have been more crying in last nights episode than ever before. Bob was crying like a baby at one point too. SOme of his team had to switch and train with Jillian; you would think there was a death...
http://primetime.tv.yahoo.com/
Another milestone - a new time zone!! Three cheers for Paul!
I figure you're now 3 hours ahead of eastern time. We'll have to see where you are on 3/8 since that's when we go on daylight savings time. Do you go on DST less than 1000 nm from Antiqua? Something new for you to ponder!
Keep up the great job!
A Friend of K-Rock
Hey Paul,
Congratulations on your incredible progress, keep up the great work. Me and the other guys here at Theta Chi are really excited and inspired by what you're doing. In case Matt hasn't told you, the big fundraiser event goes down this Saturday and we're very excited about it. We've already started to raise a good amount of money and hope its going to be a real success (200 people are already signed up to go). We'll make sure we take some good pictures for you and let you know how it goes. I'll also have Matt send you a bracket of the guys erging against each other, its a pretty funny lineup, we'll see how the non crew guys fare.
We wish you the best, thanks again for all your great work, we're all behind you 100%.
Mike Carini & the other men of Tach.
Hi Paul,
I heard about your across-seas adventure through the Colgate network...and though I don't know you personally, we were 2005 classmates! What a STORY you will have to tell at our 5-year reunion!
Can't wait to read your book, one day, when you let us all in on 'what one thinks about' for 80+ days on the ocean, alone. You are impressive and inspiring!
I never thought I'd say this, but your adventure truly makes a person think about achieving the 'unachievable.'
Best of luck on the remainder of the trip. I hope the winds are in your favor!
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