Friday, May 29, 2009

Day 5: Waterworld

Only Day 5, but already land seems like a dim and distant memory, and
I'm starting to get into the rhythm of life back on board my boat. As I
said to Leo Laporte in our podcast this morning, switching between my
land-based life and my ocean life is maybe a bit like switching between
driving on the right and driving on the left - the more times I make the
switch, the easier it gets.

There were a few times in the weeks immediately before my departure when
I wondered just how I would cope with the transition. Life on dry land
was eventful, hectic, social, and stimulating. Life on the ocean is,
well, none of those things.

But it's ok. And today there were three signs that I'm settling in.

1. When this beautiful bird (see photo) landed on my boat, I quite
happily spend half an hour just watching him. The pink and blue of his
beak are spookily reminiscent of the color scheme of my website, so I
hope his photo blends in in an aesthetically pleasing manner (!). He was
busy cleaning his feathers while balancing on the cleat on the bow of my
boat (and his sense of balance was much better than mine). I can't
imagine taking half an hour to do nothing but watch a bird when on dry
land - but here it was the highlight of my day. He hitchhiked for about
45 minutes before spreading his wings and flapping languidly away.

2. I saw a boat not far away - some kind of fishing boat maybe, with a
haze of black diesel smoke belching from its engine. It briefly flitted
across my mind that they might have some cold drinks - as in
refridgerated cold, maybe even a beer! - on board, so maybe I should
hail them. But then I decided, on balance, I was in ocean mode, so I
wouldn't. So I just carried on rowing, and they carried on belching
diesel fumes, and we went our separate ways.

3. I'm getting into my Zen Dog mode. I've got a drinks mat on the wall
of my cabin, courtesy of my friend Romy, and it has a picture of a dog
chilling out in a little boat. The words say:

Zen Dog

He knows not where he's going
For the ocean will decide
It's not the destination
It's the glory of the ride

And that's how I'm feeling at the moment. I have no idea what the coming
weeks and months will bring in the way of excitement, danger, challenges
and learning experiences. But whatever happens, it's the glory of the
ride. Feel free to remind me I said that if/when I start whingeing about
how long I've been out here!

Other stuff:

I recorded my first podcast of Stage 2 with Leo Laporte this morning.
Nice to talk with him, as always. Find the podcast on iTunes, called Roz
Rows The Pacific (or we might be linking to it from this site too - I
will check with Nicole tomorrow).

I'm also uploading my first videocast from the ocean. Trying to coax it
up over the painfully slow Iridium connection at the moment. It goes
first of all to my wonderful video editor Dawn Pasinski in Lafayette,
CA, who will pop it into a video shell that we created while I was still
on dry land, to make it into a 2-minute piece. It's a right royal pain
uploading these video clips, so I hope you find them worthwhile! Once
she's edited it together, it will appear on YouTube, with a geotag on
the RozTracker. And we'll probably embed it into a blog as well.

Enjoy!

Thanks to Lorrin Lee for all the lovely food you got for me just before
I set out. The sweet potato chips went down very well today! And the
apple bananas were yummy, but now, alas, finished.

Crave of the day: anything cold

And finally, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Evan, genius creator of the
RozTracker. Thanks, Evan, for all your hard work - it's been a pleasure
working with you, and I'm only sorry I can't be there to a) have a
birthday drink with you and Alannah, and b) actually see the RozTracker
in action!


General report:

Time: 2145 HST
Position: 20 29.387N 158 24.538W
Wind speed: a blissful 2 hours this afternoon of N wind, 5-8kts,
otherwise almost dead calm
Weather: overcast, hot
Sea: varied between choppy and dead calm


Weather forecast, courtesy of weatherguy.com

NE to Eerly trade winds should begin to fill in later today. May see
some
ESE direction for brief periods. A low pressure system north of Hawaii
disrupts the high pressure ridge once again so the winds won't be high
as usual. When the wind speeds gets to be less than about 5kts,
direction is very uncertain. Towards the end of the forecast period
winds become more trade like with wind speeds around the 15kt range.

Forecast below is for a SSWerly route at 1.25kts (30nm/day):
Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft)
28/1200-28/2100 E-NE 3-10 2-4
28/2100-29/1200 NE-ENE 10-17 3-5
29/1200-30/0000 NE-ESE 7-13 3-4
30/0000-30/1800 ENE-ESE 5-12 3-4
30/1800-31/1800 ENE 4-15 3-4
31/1800-01/1200 ENE-E 10-17 4-6

Sky conditions are mostly cloudy with mid to low level clouds. Isolated
to scattered rainshowers.

14 comments:

  1. I am glad you got in the "ocean mood". You made an amazing distant today compared to yesterday. Stay focused.

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  2. Take care Roz. Can not wait to hear your hopefully regular podcasts with Leo Laporte...

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  3. Anonymous11:50 am GMT

    hu roz,,,gary moore from norwich.Gonna have apint of CHB at Tinys pub later to honour you! God bless. Liked your awning....custom made?
    gary

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  4. its great to see how far you've come already! I'm alternately envious and glad that you're the one brave enough to do it! good luck!

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  5. Caroline12:34 pm GMT

    Awesome mileage, Roz. Glad to see you're out of that backwardly wind! The Roz Tracker is great. And glad you've had some company in bird form. Much better than diesel fumes, although the beer would have been good. Any chance of the Royal Navy dropping some in for you ....?!

    I think of you when I'm doing my weights exercises in the mornings. This doesn't of course compare with rowing an ocean, but the thoughts help to keep me motivated!

    Take care out there ...

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  6. Anonymous12:52 pm GMT

    congrats on breaking out of the doldrums, rockstar. It's good to see you back on your way. xo

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  7. Great snapshot, Roz ... bet your forgot to stow your copy of the "National Audubon Bird Book"

    Are there any ornithologists out there who can identify and tell us about this little fellow?

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  8. Hey Roz, Steve from PMdJ. Tried to get a few more Island relatives to your launch, but they showed up in Ohio unanounced! Odd coincidence. Keep on rowing, keep on rowing, keep on rowing. The Roz Tracker is a great thing. If you have some time to think up a good quote, we would love to feature it again on the Pure Moxie du Jour.

    I just checked out the Tuvalu population is just over 12,000, so when you get there you will have the chance to meet every last one of the Tuvalu-ians!

    Steve

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  9. Aww shucks, thanks for the birthday wishes, Roz! None of my friends have any excuses for forgetting if you remembered from the middle of the ocean!

    Beutiful photo and awesome blog, what a feeling knowing you're on your own schedule and taking 30 minutes to watch a bird without any guilt. Enjoy the wonders of the ocean!

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  10. Hi Roz, thanks for the mention...now, I only wished I had brought you more of my favorite organic Apple Bananas from Down to Earth in Honolulu.

    It's been a joy meeting you on May 20 at the Waikiki Yacht Club. Actually, I was searching for your BROCADE at the Ala Wai Yacht Boat Harbor. I did not how you much about you then. Now, I know more.

    Wow! You are inspiration. We have a similar philosophy of life. I've told people to write their obituaries ...now. Then, make changes in their life as to how they want it to be written. And. Then, to LIVE those changes. You are right on. Another thing is one my quotes that you follow:

    "Your life is your message. Make it inspiring."

    You, ROZ... are doing this. Your life is your message. The world is a better place because of how you choose to live your life. What you are doing speaks louder than any words you could speak or write.

    Your LIFE is inspiring. If we all live our life in our way as you do, imagine the miracles that can happen.

    Thank you for coming into my life. You are an inspiration for me to do even more than I had planned to do with the rest my life.

    Fondest Aloha from Hawaii,

    Lorrin
    lorrin@lorrinlee.com
    http://lorrinlee.com/rozsavagevideo

    P.S. Next time, I'll get you more Apple Bananas. :-)

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  11. Wow! That RozTracker is fantastic! -Sindy

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  12. that's a Red Footed Booby, and a really handsome one. probably from the Galapagos. nice hitchhiker!

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  13. Anonymous3:18 am GMT

    Roz, you did GREAT today! Way ahead on the stroke count, rock it! Congrats. And that's my sis, by the way, identifying your companion for you. xo xo me

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  14. What wonderful lessons and wisdom these voyages bring to all of us. Thank you, Roz! We cheer you on from distant desks but our
    hearts are out there with you. Enjoy the journey, my friend.

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