Thursday, June 18, 2009

Day 25 - With A Little Help From My Friends

Seems that so far this voyage's blog has been dominated by boobies,
bums, and bird poo. I felt it was time to raise the tone a bit, and talk
about my boat – or, more specifically, some of the people who have
worked on her.

I often feel like a bit of a fraud when I claim to be a "solo ocean
rower" because although the rowing bit is totally down to me (sigh… if
only it COULD be delegated, at least a bit of it!) there are countless
other people without whom I couldn't do what I do. Literally hundreds of
people give me support – financial, technical, psychological and moral.

Today I'd like to single out a few who have given very practical
support. I hope they don't mind. I know they didn't do it for the
recognition – and certainly not for monetary reward, because there
wasn't any.
I think of them often as I look around my boat, and see the evidence of
their contributions.

Ian Tuller is a retired educator living in San Francisco. He emailed me
some time back to introduce himself and offer some help. As well as
letting me stay on his boat and drive his car while I am in the Bay
Area, he came out to Hawaii to help work on my boat. Twice.

Ian is an amazing can-do kind of guy. He just gets on with it. I was
being a bit of a wimp about stripping all the defunct electrical
equipment off my boat – a clutter of stuff had accumulated over the
years, most of which had worked briefly before falling victim to
saltwater corrosion. "But we might be able to fix it," I pleaded. "We
might," he said, "but if it broke the first time it's going to break
again." The logic was irrefutable. The broken kit was duly stripped and
went to the next boat jumble.

I think of Ian each time I admire the clean lines of my newly
uncluttered cabin roof, where much of the dead stuff used to live.

And each time I look at my nice clean deck, newly painted in Seattle
Grey, I think of Liz Fischer, who I met for the first time only about a
month before I left from Waikiki. A professional woman and enthusiastic
paddler, Liz connected with me via Facebook. I don't know how we'd have
been ready in time without her help. No task was too big - or too small.
Sometimes it's easier to find someone to paint a deck than to find
someone to do the mundane, unglamorous jobs like buying batteries. Liz
would just dismiss all proffered thanks with a brisk "Girls gotta help
girls."

And last but not least, huge thanks to Scott Burgess, who I met at the
Ala Wai Paddling Challenge earlier this year. As well as being the
possessor of the most distractingly amazing set of abs I've ever seen,
Scott has been incredibly generous with his time and energy. During the
couple of months that I was away on the mainland, Scott toiled away in
his spare time in the Black Hole of Calcutta that was Pier 21 – the only
place we could find to store my boat at the time, a gloomy, grimy
warehouse - chipping away at the long To Do list. He also stored the
unbelievable quantity of stuff that came off my boat in his small
apartment. I think I had more possessions there than he did.

Scott got the worst job of all, the one nobody wants to do – sanding and
repainting the bottom of the boat. Covered in blue paint dust and
wearing a white paper overall, he looked like a hard-working Smurf. A
Smurf with great abs. Did I mention those already? (Sorry to embarrass
you, Scott!)

I can't possibly name everyone else who helped out, but would just
quickly like to acknowledge Morgan Kavanaugh, Ellen Petry Leanse, Aenor
Sawyer, Melinda Griffith, Nancy Glenn, Lyla Kempker and Brian Bilodeau,
all of whom contributed their unpaid labor during those last frenetic
days on dry land. I see little signs of your care and affection all
around me on this boat, and it helps keep me motivated to know that you
all believe in me.

And if any of you can remember seeing my shower gel on board…. Let me
know where to find it!

[Photo: I think my trusty old Pentax Optio WP is on its way out. This
photo I took today is looking decidedly psychedelic. And the ocean
wasn't. Sigh. That's the second camera I've killed so far this trip….]

Other Stuff:

32 miles today – not bad. Conditions rough but I've been in worse. Heat
continues to be the main issue.

Nicole sent me some extracts from the blog of GoldenGateEndeavour.com –
my two friends Chris Martin and Mick Dawson who are rowing the north
Pacific from Japan to San Francisco. They are suffering from the cold –
woolly hats and warm socks being their most cherished items. While I
swelter. Funny to think we're on the same ocean. But also quite
reassuring, in a way. They're a couple of thousand miles north of me,
but nice to know I'm not the only lunatic out here!

Thanks for a great batch of comments on my last blog. Too tired to reply
to all (and need to get off my bum – still taking good care of it), but
here are a few hellooos:

Sindy – so my average is up to over 30 miles a day. Woohoo! (not in
danger of breaking any water speed records any time soon though!)

Beau – getting a bit crowded on this rowing seat. You might have to take
the night shift!

Pegola – hi to all in Hood River. And have fun at the Guac Off! I hope
to be there in October on my book tour – see you then?!


Daniel Dion – I can't believe I've managed to connect with someone in
Gravelbourg! Your town, I'll have you know (with a smile) was the bane
of my planning exercise. About 1000 miles out of my way, the back end of
beyond, on the way to nowhere. Exactly the kind of place I would LOVE to
visit! I will be sure to look you up if I get around to my Johnny Cash
adventure.

Weather report:

Position at 2120 HST: 14 18.444N, 165 05.104W
Wind: 10-20kts ENE
Seas: 6-8ft ENE, breaking, rough, generally inconvenient
Weather: some welcome cloud towards the end of the day, otherwise hot,
hot, hot

Weather forecast, courtesy of weatherguy.com:

As for Monday. New forecast arriving tomorrow.

21 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:41 am GMT

    One day at a time Roz, for your trip and your bum :)

    Sue.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Roz,

    Amazing what people will do for somebody they believe in, isn't it?

    I'd like to thank all the those who helped to create your web site, so we all can follow you on your journey, live from the Pacific.

    Dale

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  3. What Dale said !!!

    RozSavage.com, SavageTracker and the assembled behnd-the-scenes technologies are pulling together a great virtual community ... pun intended ;-D

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  4. How many cameras do you have with you? We would hate to lose the privalage of your wonderfull pictures. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous2:38 pm GMT

    Joining in the shoutout to Scott – I've never met anyone who knows how to do as many things as you do, Scott. Thanks for showing the way on rigging ocean-style and so much more...and I'll always cherish the photographic evidence of our yoga-like antics (not to mention memories of poke ahi). And Roz: thank YOU for the unwavering inspiration.

    Oh, and I'm with Dale on thanking your web and Tracker team. Love it!! e.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You go, girl! Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Marvin Hood3:14 pm GMT

    Roz, how about a blog describing the technical gear on board? Radios, computers, beacons, GPS, sat phones, radar reflectors, cameras, guages, batteries/chargers, etc. You must have a good bit of kit on board, and it would interest us geeks to hear about it in detail. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The Roz Savage Film Festival:
    Part 1 might be compared to an independent film that did well due to the raw emotion of learning your limits and how to excede them.
    Part 2: is more like a studio production with excitement, danger, rescue and sticking it out to a grand climax arriving in a paradise.
    Part 3: Is taking on the aspect of a sequel that is falling flat. The problem is this is real life, and although a battle with a cyclone or giant squid would crank up the plot, no one wants anything bad to befall Roz because we all love her for one reason or another. New followers may not see the connection between her adventures and a series of films like El Mariachi, but it's there. In the end, if Roz gets to AU. It will be a nice record for row boating, but I hardly see it boosting her rating as a motivator. Maybe folks think I do not respect Roz, but that's not so. I'm just saying the series or rowing sequels one and two had a lot of real time adventure and ethos while #3 seems flat on it's butt.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Truly psychadelic. I wondered about that one.

    And...great abs, huh? Always a plus.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous7:47 pm GMT

    Seems it is the perfect opportunity to share this quote from Theodore Roosevelt:

    It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who in the end knows the triumph of high achievement and who at worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who never knew neither victory nor defeat.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous8:31 pm GMT

    Hi Roz
    Been away since 31st May with work so just managed to catch up on your adventure (although RozTracker has kept me going!) - I see your sense of humour hasn't disappeared!
    Hope your botty gets better soon!
    Karen Douglas-Toop

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Roz,
    I'm so glad to hear you got some good, practical help from people in your proximity and they're getting their due (even if they're feeling modest). Money alone is just not enough:(

    ReplyDelete
  13. John Kay11:01 pm GMT

    Texino - stop being such a wet blanket. What are you trying to achieve? If Roz isn't inspiring you sufficiently then away with you to find someone who does.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous11:21 pm GMT

    Texino-
    Speaking as someone who starting following Rox at the very end of the first leg of her Pacific Row, I can tell you this is the best so far. I am inspired and motivated by Roz on a daily basis. If you are not inspired enough - go row an ocean!

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  15. Texino, if you ever do my film I would like an unexpected love interest in the middle of the ocean! Maybe see a volcanic island rise up out of the ocean that's inhabited with at lease one desirable. Then a paddle (or sail) off into the sunset with sea mammals following until the next sequel. (Those El Mariachi films were pretty funny.)

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  16. Very interesting blog. Very interesting comments. You must have some real strength.

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  17. Good job Evan ... http://twit.tv/roz47
    Latest podcast ... http://twit.tv/roz48

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  18. Roz, have you seen http://vimeo.com/2032854 ... and ... http://www.climateeducation.org/ ... maybe Evan et al can figure a way to beam these up Scotty

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  19. "We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can't think what anybody sees in them," said Mr. Baggins.
    - J.R.R.Tolkein
    The Hobbit

    ReplyDelete
  20. I am amazed that bird poop can be such an interesting topic.

    ReplyDelete

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