Thursday, May 28, 2009

Day 4: Sisyphus Eat Your Heart Out

Mileage for Day 2: 26
Mileage for Day 3: 13
Mileage for Day 4: -6

Yet I've rowed the same number of hours each day. That's just the way it
goes. Reward is rarely proportionate to effort. Today I've had to row
just for the workout rather than for the progress.

The problem has been the headwind coming out of the south-southeast -
not a strong one, but enough to grab hold of my big bulky boat and push
her the wrong way. The trade winds are supposed to blow from the
northeast, and weatherguy.com assures me that normal business will be
resumed shortly, but meanwhile my track on the chartplotter is a
complicated squiggle. I row forwards for a while until I get too
tired/hot/sunburned/hungry - so I take a break, and get unceremoniously
dumped back to where I was before.

I can't remember how long Sisyphus was pushing his rock up the mountain
(and my onboard bandwidth doesn't allow me to Google from here, alas)
but it was probably 7 years, or eternity, both being favored periods in
Greek mythology. Either way, I'm hoping my Sisyphean struggle will be
considerably shorter.

Other stuff:

Nicole and I have been having some communication problems. We rented a
satellite phone for her because it's much cheaper to call from Iridium
to Iridium than to a landline or mobile. But whenever I try to call her
I get put through to the Iridium messaging service. And ditto she hasn't
been able to call me.

But I was dying to hear how things are going on land post-launch, so I
called her on her mobile, trying not to think about the $$$ rapidly
evaporating. She tells me that there has been a lot of excitement about
the RozTracker, created by Hawaiian R&D company Archinoetics, which has
received extensive coverage in the media.

Also that Ryan Ozawa (Twitter handle "hawaii" which may give you some
idea how much of an early adopter he is) has created a lovely montage of
scenes from the video-stream he broadcast live online on Sunday. I don't
know the full details, but hopefully a member of my shore team can add
some links at the bottom of this blog.

And finally, second in the new season of the Roz Rows The Pacific
podcast with Leo Laporte will go out at 1.30pm PST tomorrow.

And finally finally, even though my oar count on the RozTracker may not
have gone up much - as it's based on an average number of strokes per
mile - you can be assured that I've been putting in my 10,000 a day. So
if you haven't already, please take a look at pulltogether09.org and see
what it's all about. <sigh> At least when you walk 10,000 steps a day
you tend to actually get somewhere...

[photo: blisters not too bad yet - only 3 per hand. If any one can read
palms and tell me how much longer I'll be rowing hard to stand still,
let me know!]

Time: 2042 HST
Position: 20 48.608N, 158 19.796W
Wind: 5-8 kts SSE
Weather: hot, hot, hot, one brief rainshower
Sea: 4ft swell from SSE
Intentions: carry on trying to get S

16 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:19 am GMT

    Kids saw your launch and are eagerly checking up on your progress. Keep on chugging along.

    Al&Kai

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ryan Kawailani Ozawa http://is.gd/HYZ6 and ScubaDrewVideo http://is.gd/HZaZ did good, Roz

    ReplyDelete
  3. I know it must be frustrating to Row 1o or more hours a day and make no progrss. At least the brief shower gave you some releif from the sun. Keep the faith.

    ReplyDelete
  4. we'll try and get Guy Hagi to fix the weather for you. He can do anything! Keep the faith and keep rowing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous1:26 pm GMT

    From the OS X Dictionary:

    Sisyphus: the son of Aeolus, punished in Hades for his misdeeds in life by being condemned to the eternal task of rolling a large stone to the top of a hill, from which it always rolled down again.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous2:36 pm GMT

    If you're on Facebook and you want to see Ryan's beautiful video, you can find it here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=572611405186&ref=mf

    Keep pulling, Roz. You are my hero. xo

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous2:43 pm GMT

    Totally found out by accident that the 2nd leg had started.

    The kids and I will be listening to the podcasts again.

    Go Roz Go!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous3:27 pm GMT

    Is the weather going to get hotter or will it be around the same temp for the duration of your row? I'm hoping you get to see dolphins and whales and all sorts of interesting marine life! Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Roz,

    I am happy I met you on May 20. Went to your party on May 22. Then, saw you depart on May 24. And, on May 27 I completed a video on you. See it at http://lorrinlee.com/rozsavagevideo ...enjoy!

    I wish I had brought you more delicious, organic food for your journey of a lifetime. Things will get better and better each day.

    Have you considered sticking duct tape on your hands to help prevent blisters?

    Your temporary setbacks remind me of my life. I feel like I am rowing your BROCADE along with you. All of your fans are pulling along with you. We are now part of your family. We'll be with you all the way to TUVALU and AUSTRALIA. No matter how many days it takes.

    Thank goodness for this blog and twitter so we can be with YOU on this memorable ADVENTURE.

    A heartfelt ALOHA and LOVE,

    Lorrin

    ReplyDelete
  10. Go Roz! Thanks for the mention. It was an honor to be a small part of your historic voyage. And indeed, Hawaii should be proud of its contributions to your mission. The Roz Tracker is fantastic!

    Thanks, UncaDoug and chep2m for posting the URL to my video. I loved ScubaDrew's video, too, from on the water!

    ReplyDelete
  11. A question for you Roz: I know that you have at least a couple of water makers but do you ever try to capture rain water to add to your water supply??

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous7:53 pm GMT

    Hello Roz! You have no idea know how many of us simple citizens from all over the world think of you on a daily basis and worry if you are well and holding up... You are truly amazing! Stay safe,
    Nancy from Hollywood, FL

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous5:17 am GMT

    Kids (3yrs old and 6 yrs old) asking some curious but very practical questions like "Does Roz take a bath with the dolphins?" and "How does Roz go potty?"

    Al&Kai

    ReplyDelete
  14. Aloha, and Bon Voyage Roz,

    Wishing you the strengths (physical, mental emotional, psychological) you need to see you through this leg of the journey.

    Was connecting some mental dots from your blogs and was wondering about you using the ocean as a cooling system to chill your drinking water. Your thermometers should be telling you how much cooler the water temperature at 1 meter deep relative to the air temperature?

    Although it's probably a bit late to McGyver up some Rube Goldberg doohickey, you and your fans are resourceful. Some solar (or Roz Row) powered pump to pull in cool sea water and run it through a jerry-rigged chiller surrounding a fresh water container. Perhaps others out there have some experience or other ideas to help keep you a bit cooler?

    Brian

    P.S. Did you bring any Jimmy Buffet tunes to listen to on the trip ?

    Brian

    ReplyDelete
  15. This may seem daft, but I have followed the Atlantic and Pacific crossings, and every time I get a pang of jealousy for the great adventuer you are having, despite all the hardships ( which I guess make it an Adventure ). Go Ross Go!! On On On

    ReplyDelete
  16. There, I get so excited I can't spell adventure ( or I'm just hopeless with computers! )

    ReplyDelete

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