Open Water

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

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.

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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.

1st full day on land

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

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!!!

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!

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!

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: