tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-284349972024-02-19T02:02:26.961+00:00Roz Savage, Ocean RowerRoz Savage is a British ocean rower, author, motivational speaker and environmental campaigner.
After 11 years as a management consultant, she embarked on a new life of adventure by rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic. Her unlikely transformation from office worker to ocean rower, described with humor and soul-baring honesty in her blogs, captivated a worldwide audience.
Roz is now attempting to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific.Roz Savagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198436930162690881noreply@blogger.comBlogger166125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28434997.post-63949609956553938422009-09-08T21:55:00.000+00:002009-09-08T22:06:10.942+00:00Massage Me Like a Pina ColadaThere is a lot to do while I'm here in Tarawa, but – lazy cow that I <br>am (?!) I grabbed the opportunity for a day off yesterday. By a "day <br>off", I mean an opportunity to stop, think, and clarify before <br>hurtling on regardless. I suppose you'd think I'd had all the time in <br>the world to think while I was rowing – and I did – but I always do my <br>very best thinking when I have my pen in hand, blank page of my <br>journal in front of me. And ocean thoughts don't always make so much <br>sense on dry land. It was time to get real.<p>But first let me tell you a bit about the sheer pleasure of being back <br>on dry land. One of the best things about spending long periods of <br>time out at sea is that it makes me appreciate the simple things of <br>land life so much more. To wake up in a comfortable, clean, soft bed… <br>to feel the warmth of the shower jets on my skin… to open a fridge and <br>take out a bottle of refreshing cold water…<p>So it was with an immense feeling of wellbeing that I woke up in my <br>hotel room yesterday morning. I lay on the floor to do my morning <br>stretch-and-breathe routine, trying to remember how it goes. I went to <br>sit out on the balcony overlooking the lagoon, which is actually very <br>polluted, but from a distance it's a gorgeous light blue, so different <br>from the deep blue of the open ocean.<p>I flipped through my trusty spiral-bound notebook while I ate a <br>breakfast of granola bars. I am a great maker of lists and notes, and <br>it was half-full of the lists I'd made in the month or so before my <br>departure from Hawaii. I felt the need for a fresh start, so I tore <br>out the used pages, neatly trimming away the perforated edges before <br>archiving them. Now I had a book of blank pages, ready for the next <br>chapter of my life.<p>Continuing my theme of simplicity and fresh starts, I next cleared out <br>my backpack. I'd been shocked when I took it off the boat, safe in its <br>drybag, to feel how much it weighed. Did I really used to carry this <br>around on my shoulders all day, every day?! No wonder I'm getting <br>shorter! I found all kinds of junk that had accumulated in its many <br>pockets – useful junk, put there "just in case", but now some cases <br>seemed too unlikely to justify the weight. Simplify, simplify, said <br>Thoreau. So I did.<p>Feeling fresh and organized and ready to face the day, I joined up <br>with TeamRoz and we got going. We headed over to the office of David <br>Lambourne, the Solicitor General, to use his relatively good internet <br>connection so Nicole could post the press release and Conrad could <br>upload his video footage of my arrival for the media. The poor guy had <br>been up all night editing 6 hours down to 6 minutes.<p>David, originally from Australia but now a permanent resident of <br>Tarawa is fast becoming our local angel, as well as being a local <br>mover and shaker. His wife, Tessie, is the Minister of Foreign Affairs <br>for Kiribati. Somebody (oops, could it have been me?) made mention of <br>massage, and he said that one of Tessie's relatives does a great <br>traditional Tarawan massage. A quick call to his house, and it was <br>arranged. It was definitely one of the more unusual massages I've ever <br>had. I was introduced to a multitude of David's wife's relatives, <br>sitting in a row of small shady thatched cabanas on the lagoon side of <br>the island, whiling away the hot hours. Two of them tended to me, <br>while a small audience of aunts, sisters and children watched nearby. <br>I sat on the palm matting under the thatch while I was rubbed down <br>with oil and water, and my aching back muscles soothed with long, <br>gentle strokes. Then I was sponged down with a wad of coconut wrapped <br>in muslin and dunked in hot water. Coconut milk ran down my skin. A <br>gentle breeze wafted in from the lagoon. It was all very nice indeed. <br>I smelled like a pina colada.<p>My masseuse and I chatted as best we could across the language <br>barrier. She is the same age as me – 41 – but has 8 children and 3 <br>grandchildren. Her eldest child is 26 and the youngest is 7. Her <br>husband died of cancer 4 years ago. What different lives.<p>I spent the rest of the afternoon communing with my journal in the <br>cabana, covering several pages with thoughtful handwriting while the <br>relatives around me chatted amongst themselves in the melodious <br>language of Kiribati, played dice, crocheted, ate and snoozed in the <br>shade. A litter of new puppies slept in a furry heap underneath the <br>cabana. A pig lay in its pen, also comatose. Island life.<p>Towards dark David's wife Tessie came home, and David himself arrived <br>with Nicole, Hunter and Conrad. We sat in the cabana drinking toddy, <br>the diluted sap of the palm tree. It's unlike anything else I've ever <br>tasted, but very delicious. It smells strangely of hot dogs, but <br>tastes much better – sweet and fresh. David told us they gather it by <br>climbing to the top of a palm tree and shaving the bark at the site of <br>a new palm frond to get to the rising sap beneath. As you drive around <br>the island you can see the jars they attach to palm trees to gather <br>the juice.<p>After sunset we sat on the beach under the palm trees, watching the <br>moon rise over the lagoon as we ate a dinner prepared by the <br>relatives. This is how their household works – David and Tessie work <br>to support the relatives, in return for which the 20 or so members of <br>the extended family provide them with cooking, cleaning, and massage <br>services. Everybody's happy.<p>The food was the best I'd had so far on the island. There is nowhere <br>on a coral atoll to grow vegetables, so they are in scarce supply. <br>Cabbage is about the only fresh veg available. So we had coleslaw with <br>local tuna and chicken, and the ubiquitous white rice, washed down <br>with coke, cold beer or a very nice New Zealand Pinot Noir according <br>to choice.<p>Conversation was varied and interesting – including a lot of talk of <br>climate change, which is very much on the minds of the Kitibati <br>government. But more of that later. This blog is too long already. <br>Ciao for now – more tomorrow. We have to go to the airport to collect <br>Ian, who is arriving from San Francisco to help with the boatworks.<p>[Note: All travel by members of TeamRoz is balanced by carbon offsets <br>to maintain our carbon neutral status.]<p><br>Other Stuff:<p>Just so you know… I still have very limited internet access. Tarawa is <br>progressing fast, but its infrastructure is still a way behind US <br>levels. David's office has the best data speeds, but it still took <br>Conrad 7 or 8 hours to upload his 6 minutes of video footage. I'm <br>still having to post blogs via email, and Tweets via my satphone, and <br>it's not easy for me to see comments and other responses. So please <br>forgive me if I seem a bit remote from the online dialogue. A more <br>normal service will be resumed once I leave Tarawa in a couple of weeks.<p>Some facts on Tarawa – as gleaned by Nicole from the internet:<p>Tarawa Overview<p>Latitude: 1° 25' North, Longitude: 173° 00' East<p>Tarawa atoll is the capital of Kiribati, previously capital of the<br>former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.<p>Tarawa is not a single town but a group of 24 islets (of which at<br>least 8 are inhabited) surrounded by a coral atoll. Apart from the<br>south where causeways link the islets, one needs a boat to<br>navigate around the main features.<p>The largest islet (South Tarawa) extends from Bonriki (southeast<br>corner of the atoll) along the entire south side of the lagoon to<br>Bairiki. A causeway now connects Bairiki to Betio (Japanese causeway).<br>The largest town, Bikenibeu, and the only airport on Tarawa, Bonriki<br>International Airport, are on the southeast corner of Tarawa.<p>Betio island, the chief commercial center of the country, is a port of<br>entry. The main hospital is located at Bikenibeu. The central<br>Government offices, Parliament building, President's Office and<br>Residence, Central Post Office, Telecommunications Services Kiribati<br>Limited (TSKL), Library and Archives, and various other official<br>buildings are all on Bairiki islet.<p>The population is mainly Micronesian. Tarawa was occupied by the<br>Japanese (1941-43) and fell to U.S. marines after a bloody battle. In<br>the early 1990s the southern part of the capital, particularly Betio,<br>had one of the highest population densities in the world, leading the<br>government to resettle residents on less crowded islands.<p>They are 2 hours behind Hawaii Standard Time. (ie when it is noon in<br>Hawaii, it is 10 am in Tarawa)<p>Travel<p>Flights: The only flights into Tarawa (TRW) are Air Pacific flights<br>from Nandi, Fiji (NAN). They leave twice a week, on Tuesdays and<br>Thursdays.<p> From Honolulu (HNL), there are a few more carrier options. Air<br>Pacific flies from HNL to NAN as does Qantas, American, United,<br>Hawaiian and Air New Zealand.<p>Ships: Supply ships occasionally go to Fiji and Tuvalu.<p>Accommodations<p>There are a few options for lodging on Tarawa but we are staying at <br>Hotel Otintaai. It is the main hotel in Kiribati. Fully owned by <br>Government, the hotel is on South Tarawa with a good view of the <br>lagoon. It is about a 10 minute taxi ride from the hotel to the <br>airport. They have a restaurant, running water, clean rooms and<br>Internet (ish).<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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One of the best things about spending long periods of <br>time out at sea is that it makes me appreciate the simple things of <br>land life so much more. To wake up in a comfortable, clean, soft bed… <br>to feel the warmth of the shower jets on my skin… to open a fridge and <br>take out a bottle of refreshing cold water…<p>So it was with an immense feeling of wellbeing that I woke up in my <br>hotel room yesterday morning. I lay on the floor to do my morning <br>stretch-and-breathe routine, trying to remember how it goes. I went to <br>sit out on the balcony overlooking the lagoon, which is actually very <br>polluted, but from a distance it's a gorgeous light blue, so different <br>from the deep blue of the open ocean.<p>I flipped through my trusty spiral-bound notebook while I ate a <br>breakfast of granola bars. I am a great maker of lists and notes, and <br>it was half-full of the lists I'd made in the month or so before my <br>departure from Hawaii. I felt the need for a fresh start, so I tore <br>out the used pages, neatly trimming away the perforated edges before <br>archiving them. Now I had a book of blank pages, ready for the next <br>chapter of my life.<p>Continuing my theme of simplicity and fresh starts, I next cleared out <br>my backpack. I'd been shocked when I took it off the boat, safe in its <br>drybag, to feel how much it weighed. Did I really used to carry this <br>around on my shoulders all day, every day?! No wonder I'm getting <br>shorter! I found all kinds of junk that had accumulated in its many <br>pockets – useful junk, put there "just in case", but now some cases <br>seemed too unlikely to justify the weight. Simplify, simplify, said <br>Thoreau. So I did.<p>Feeling fresh and organized and ready to face the day, I joined up <br>with TeamRoz and we got going. We headed over to the office of David <br>Lambourne, the Solicitor General, to use his relatively good internet <br>connection so Nicole could post the press release and Conrad could <br>upload his video footage of my arrival for the media. The poor guy had <br>been up all night editing 6 hours down to 6 minutes.<p>David, originally from Australia but now a permanent resident of <br>Tarawa is fast becoming our local angel, as well as being a local <br>mover and shaker. His wife, Tessie, is the Minister of Foreign Affairs <br>for Kiribati. Somebody (oops, could it have been me?) made mention of <br>massage, and he said that one of Tessie's relatives does a great <br>traditional Tarawan massage. A quick call to his house, and it was <br>arranged. It was definitely one of the more unusual massages I've ever <br>had. I was introduced to a multitude of David's wife's relatives, <br>sitting in a row of small shady thatched cabanas on the lagoon side of <br>the island, whiling away the hot hours. Two of them tended to me, <br>while a small audience of aunts, sisters and children watched nearby. <br>I sat on the palm matting under the thatch while I was rubbed down <br>with oil and water, and my aching back muscles soothed with long, <br>gentle strokes. Then I was sponged down with a wad of coconut wrapped <br>in muslin and dunked in hot water. Coconut milk ran down my skin. A <br>gentle breeze wafted in from the lagoon. It was all very nice indeed. <br>I smelled like a pina colada.<p>My masseuse and I chatted as best we could across the language <br>barrier. She is the same age as me – 41 – but has 8 children and 3 <br>grandchildren. Her eldest child is 26 and the youngest is 7. Her <br>husband died of cancer 4 years ago. What different lives.<p>I spent the rest of the afternoon communing with my journal in the <br>cabana, covering several pages with thoughtful handwriting while the <br>relatives around me chatted amongst themselves in the melodious <br>language of Kiribati, played dice, crocheted, ate and snoozed in the <br>shade. A litter of new puppies slept in a furry heap underneath the <br>cabana. A pig lay in its pen, also comatose. Island life.<p>Towards dark David's wife Tessie came home, and David himself arrived <br>with Nicole, Hunter and Conrad. We sat in the cabana drinking toddy, <br>the diluted sap of the palm tree. It's unlike anything else I've ever <br>tasted, but very delicious. It smells strangely of hot dogs, but <br>tastes much better – sweet and fresh. David told us they gather it by <br>climbing to the top of a palm tree and shaving the bark at the site of <br>a new palm frond to get to the rising sap beneath. As you drive around <br>the island you can see the jars they attach to palm trees to gather <br>the juice.<p>After sunset we sat on the beach under the palm trees, watching the <br>moon rise over the lagoon as we ate a dinner prepared by the <br>relatives. This is how their household works – David and Tessie work <br>to support the relatives, in return for which the 20 or so members of <br>the extended family provide them with cooking, cleaning, and massage <br>services. Everybody's happy.<p>The food was the best I'd had so far on the island. There is nowhere <br>on a coral atoll to grow vegetables, so they are in scarce supply. <br>Cabbage is about the only fresh veg available. So we had coleslaw with <br>local tuna and chicken, and the ubiquitous white rice, washed down <br>with coke, cold beer or a very nice New Zealand Pinot Noir according <br>to choice.<p>Conversation was varied and interesting – including a lot of talk of <br>climate change, which is very much on the minds of the Kitibati <br>government. But more of that later. This blog is too long already. <br>Ciao for now – more tomorrow. We have to go to the airport to collect <br>Ian, who is arriving from San Francisco to help with the boatworks.<p>[Note: All travel by members of TeamRoz is balanced by carbon offsets <br>to maintain our carbon neutral status.]<p><br>Other Stuff:<p>Just so you know… I still have very limited internet access. Tarawa is <br>progressing fast, but its infrastructure is still a way behind US <br>levels. David's office has the best data speeds, but it still took <br>Conrad 7 or 8 hours to upload his 6 minutes of video footage. I'm <br>still having to post blogs via email, and Tweets via my satphone, and <br>it's not easy for me to see comments and other responses. So please <br>forgive me if I seem a bit remote from the online dialogue. A more <br>normal service will be resumed once I leave Tarawa in a couple of weeks.<p>Some facts on Tarawa – as gleaned by Nicole from the internet:<p>Tarawa Overview<p>Latitude: 1° 25' North, Longitude: 173° 00' East<p>Tarawa atoll is the capital of Kiribati, previously capital of the<br>former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.<p>Tarawa is not a single town but a group of 24 islets (of which at<br>least 8 are inhabited) surrounded by a coral atoll. Apart from the<br>south where causeways link the islets, one needs a boat to<br>navigate around the main features.<p>The largest islet (South Tarawa) extends from Bonriki (southeast<br>corner of the atoll) along the entire south side of the lagoon to<br>Bairiki. A causeway now connects Bairiki to Betio (Japanese causeway).<br>The largest town, Bikenibeu, and the only airport on Tarawa, Bonriki<br>International Airport, are on the southeast corner of Tarawa.<p>Betio island, the chief commercial center of the country, is a port of<br>entry. The main hospital is located at Bikenibeu. The central<br>Government offices, Parliament building, President's Office and<br>Residence, Central Post Office, Telecommunications Services Kiribati<br>Limited (TSKL), Library and Archives, and various other official<br>buildings are all on Bairiki islet.<p>The population is mainly Micronesian. Tarawa was occupied by the<br>Japanese (1941-43) and fell to U.S. marines after a bloody battle. In<br>the early 1990s the southern part of the capital, particularly Betio,<br>had one of the highest population densities in the world, leading the<br>government to resettle residents on less crowded islands.<p>They are 2 hours behind Hawaii Standard Time. (ie when it is noon in<br>Hawaii, it is 10 am in Tarawa)<p>Travel<p>Flights: The only flights into Tarawa (TRW) are Air Pacific flights<br>from Nandi, Fiji (NAN). They leave twice a week, on Tuesdays and<br>Thursdays.<p> From Honolulu (HNL), there are a few more carrier options. Air<br>Pacific flies from HNL to NAN as does Qantas, American, United,<br>Hawaiian and Air New Zealand.<p>Ships: Supply ships occasionally go to Fiji and Tuvalu.<p>Accommodations<p>There are a few options for lodging on Tarawa but we are staying at <br>Hotel Otintaai. It is the main hotel in Kiribati. Fully owned by <br>Government, the hotel is on South Tarawa with a good view of the <br>lagoon. It is about a 10 minute taxi ride from the hotel to the <br>airport. They have a restaurant, running water, clean rooms and<br>Internet (ish).<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script></div>Roz Savagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198436930162690881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28434997.post-2379999431700640132009-09-07T01:15:00.000+00:002009-09-07T01:26:07.727+00:00Arrival Day + 1: HELLO TARAWA!I stepped ashore, setting foot on dry land for the first time in 105 <br>days. This was now my third arrival after prolonged periods at sea, so <br>I wasn't surprised when the ground seemed to lurch beneath my feet. My <br>brain had adapted to being on a constantly pitching boat, so now it <br>was over-compensating when I stood on terra firma. I looked up at the <br>crowd of several hundred people that had come to greet me, and <br>wondered if my first act on arriving in Tarawa would be to topple over <br>like a drunkard.<p>Then two big hunky men in traditional island outfits approached and <br>knelt in front of me, forming a cradle with their arms. "Thank heavens <br>for local tradition" I thought, as I sank gratefully onto the <br>proffered cradle.<p>I was carried to a plastic chair, and the hunky men were joined by <br>several more who performed a local dance of traditional welcome. I <br>felt like visiting royalty as I smiled appreciatively. They presented <br>me with a coconut, its top lopped off so I could drink the cool, <br>refreshing, sweet coconut water inside. It was exactly what I needed. <br>I was feeling a bit woozy after my exertions. It had been an <br>exhausting 3 days.<p>As I approached Tarawa from the south on Sept 4th, I hadn't been sure <br>if I would manage to make landfall under my own steam. Given the <br>strong easterly winds that had prevailed over the previous few days, I <br>thought it much more likely that I would get close to the island but <br>miss it by several miles, and would need a boat to come out to catch <br>me as I whizzed past.<p>But finally Neptune decided to give me a break. I had already made it <br>safely past the island of Abemama (where Robert Louis Stevenson lived <br>for a while). I was making good progress in a northwesterly direction, <br>but there was a problem. Unless I managed to shift course to north- <br>northwest, I would run slap into the island of Maiana. I had to choose <br>whether to go south of it, which would mean I had no chance of getting <br>to Tarawa under my own steam, or else east of it – which was the way I <br>wanted to go, but was it possible? Under present wind conditions, no, <br>it wasn't.<p>Then, finally, the long-awaited southeasterly wind arrived. Woohoo! <br>Now I was in fine shape. The wind only lasted a few hours, but I was <br>able to ride it all the way up the east side of Maiana, which lined me <br>up nicely for Tarawa.<p>I rowed late into the night until I was reasonably sure I was clear of <br>Maiana and its reefs. Then I tried to grab a quick nap, but I kept <br>opening one eye to squint at the GPS to make sure I wasn't going to <br>shipwreck. At one point I got up and rowed some more, just to make <br>doubly sure. It would have been a real shame to get this far only to <br>end up on a reef within sight of the finish.<p>So as I approached the final 20 miles into Tarawa, I had had less than <br>6 hours of sleep in the previous 48 hours, and the heat was brutal. <br>The wind had dropped away to nothing and the sun was intense. When I <br>got to 9 miles out, I really wondered if I was going to make it. After <br>rowing 3000 miles, the last 9 seemed to loom very large. I put some <br>good rocking music on to help me through.<p>And finally, mile by mile, I crossed off the final hours of my voyage. <br>After each mile I posted another Tweet and had a bite of food. A boat <br>arrived to escort me the last mile or two to land. On board were <br>Nicole, Hunter (from Archinoetics) and Conrad (our cameraman). Also <br>Rob, the New Zealand High Commissioner, who put his sea kayak in the <br>water and paddled alongside me.<p>But I could feel that I was getting depleted. As I always seem to do, <br>I get over-excited on my final day and push myself too hard. I arrive <br>on land dehydrated, sunburned and exhausted.<p>The last mile was really tough. I wondered if it would ever finish. <br>Rob told me I was rowing against the incoming tide. I was reduced to <br>counting tens. Just ten more strokes. Then another ten. Then another <br>ten. As I crossed my finish line of latitude, I collapsed backwards <br>off my rowing seat.<p>But nothing that an ice cold beer wouldn't cure (oops, ignore this <br>bit, please, Dr Aenor!). Nicole knew what was needed. I heard some <br>splashing as I lay on the deck with my eyes closed, and then Nicole's <br>head popped up over the side of the boat. She had jumped off the <br>escort boat into the water and swum over to Brocade, beer in hand. It <br>was a bit warm after its time in the water, but tasted pretty darned <br>good regardless. Now that's what I call a dedicated Program Director!<p>So now I am on Tarawa, quite possibly one of the most remote places on <br>the world. I'm dying to tell you all about it, but this blog is long <br>enough already, and the Solicitor General's wife's aunt is waiting to <br>give me a much-needed massage. So I'll sign off now, but will tell <br>more tomorrow. I intend to blog every day until we leave Tarawa, <br>probably Sept 17th. But internet access here is very limited, so <br>please forgive me if I miss a day or two.<p>Photos and videos coming soon. Stay tuned!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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I apologize for the radio silence from me…the lack<br />of a decent Internet connection has been maddening, especially in such<br />a critical time. I tried uploading Tweets and Facebook updates<br />yesterday to keep you looped in on all the great developments, but to<br />no avail.<p>So, here's the scoop:</p><p>Yesterday was a hugely successful day at the office. My top priority<br />since we arrived was finding a reliable boat that would be willing and<br />able to go a good distance out to sea (just in case) and help escort<br />Roz safely in to Tarawa. As I mentioned in my last blog, things move<br />slowly here and I was never discouraged, but knew we were running<br />short on time.</p><p>Following a lead, Conrad and I headed over to the Tarawa Sports<br />Complex and pretty much hit the jackpot. The US Navy was wrapping up a<br />2-week humanitarian project (called the Pacific Partnership 2009) with<br />a closing ceremony. We'd met several of the American, Australian and<br />Canadian soldiers since we arrived – after their work was done each<br />day, some of them would head over to our hotel for dinner and a beer<br />before heading back to their ship. They were all really wonderful<br />guys, and the Navy doctor is the one who gave Hunter the eye drops he<br />desperately needed for his conjunctivitis. In any case, we went to<br />their closing ceremony and the President of Kiribati was there! We<br />could hardly believe our good luck. After the ceremony was over, the<br />Australian High Commissioner introduced me to the President and I was<br />able to tell him that Roz would be arriving in the next few days. I<br />told him about her mission – raising awareness for climate change –<br />and he was so pleased, as this is an issue that is of the utmost<br />importance to him. He was warm and welcoming, and delighted that Roz<br />is coming to Tarawa.</p><p>After the ceremony, we were invited to drinks at the Australian High<br />Commissioner's residence. We had heard through the grapevine that the<br />High Commissioner of New Zealand is a world-class champion rower and<br />that he had a boat that might work for us, and we were eagerly trying<br />to connect with him throughout the day. Lo and behold, he was at the<br />party, so we were able to chat with him and he graciously offered up<br />his boat to help escort Roz in safely. We were then introduced to a<br />lovely guy named Emil who also has a large boat, and he offered up his<br />time and assistance as well. Both gentlemen gave me their phone<br />numbers and said all we'd need to do is call. Hooray! Mission<br />accomplished. Uh, well…not quite. We still need Roz.</p><p>Today at 10 am, Roz phoned in to give me her update. She was really<br />struggling with the currents. They were whisking her hard and fast to<br />the west, making it increasingly difficult for her to head north to<br />Tarawa. Not good. I gave her the excellent and<br />just-in-the-nick-of-time news about the escort boats, and she was both<br />delighted and relieved. She said the winds were due to change to south<br />easterlies and wanted to carry on trying for Tarawa, but thought that<br />most likely, she wouldn't be able to get north of Maiana, which is<br />just 20 miles to the south of Tarawa. Roz thought the most prudent<br />thing to do was to schedule a rendezvous point on the south west side<br />of Maiana, and asked if we could arrange that for 9 am tomorrow. Still<br />hoping those south easterlies would kick in, Roz and I agreed to speak<br />again at 4:30 pm to course correct if necessary.</p><p>At 4:30 Roz called and gave the final confirmation. Yes, let's<br />rendezvous at 9 am tomorrow in Maiana. It's a bit surreal. Roz has<br />been at sea for 104 days now, and as she hung up she said, "thanks so<br />much for everything Nicole – I'll see you in the morning." Wow. It's<br />rather funny to hear her say that after so long!</p><p>I called Emil and Rob – the gentlemen who have offered up their boats<br />– and they conferred and decided Emil's boat would be the best option,<br />all things considered. We will all meet tomorrow at 7 am at Bairiki<br />Harbour and set out to rendezvous with Roz. She and I will speak again<br />at 7 am to get her latest coordinates (we have GPS on the boat, too)<br />and we expect it will take about an hour and a half to reach her.</p><p>I just spoke with Ricardo, Roz's weatherman in Portugal—the south<br />easterlies that Roz needs have kicked in over the past hour, so he<br />seems to think that she'll be able to row all the way in to Tarawa<br />under her own steam. I know that's what she'll want, and if she can,<br />super. We'll be there, right alongside, just in case. If she needs a<br />tow, we can do that too. All our bases are well and truly covered.</p><p>Tomorrow is a very big day indeed. It's very late here, but I've still<br />got quite a lot more work to do, so I'll sign off for now and just say<br />a massively huge and very heartfelt thank you to all of Roz's<br />supporters for following along and encouraging her the past 104 days.<br />Please know that your positivity and enthusiasm means the world to her<br />and helps keep her going through the rough times.</p><p>I also want to thank those of you who have also been so supportive of<br />me, especially the past couple of weeks. This has been a wonderful<br />project to be a part of for the past 2 years – and the moral support<br />I've received from family and friends (and even some of the Rozlings!)<br />has been amazing and oh-so-necessary. An extra special thank you to my<br />Granny, my brother Brian, the Yellin Family, my favorite aunties Aenor<br />and Melinda, Ian Tuller, Hunter and Traci Downs, Nancy Glenn, Ellen<br />Petry Leanse and Evan Rapoport.</p><p>Good night everyone! We'll put up photos, videos and other updates of<br />Roz's arrival just as quickly as we can.</p><p>Nicole</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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Certainly no airport, and definitely no members of my team. They are on Tarawa which is 90 nautical miles away from me, at an increasingly challenging angle. I need to be about 50 miles further north ideally, but I'm being whisked rapidly west by the winds and current. It looks as if I might run out of west before I make enough northern progress.</font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">We do have a back-up plan: we'd already intended to have a pilot vessel to guide me through the reef . It is apparently very difficult to navigate even for those who know it well. So it would be very hazardous for said rowboat and rower better adapted to the mid-ocean. So if needs be, the pilot boat can come out a bit further and lasso me as I whizz past to the south of the island. The only problem being that we don't yet have a pilot boat. But Nicole is working on it and I can only hope that she succeeds before I disappear past Tarawa into the great blue yonder.</font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">So I am doing everything I can to hang onto those precious westerly miles. For every mile west I want to be making a mile north and I'm using the sea anchor to try and hold ground while I sleep. Last night this resulted in a very sad loss. It was about 10pm and I was just putting out the sea anchor for the night. As I untied the main line from a D-ring on the boat, there was a small clink and a gentle splosh. I looked in disbelief at my wrist. My watch was gone – my lovely, trusty, beloved G-shock Pathfinder watch. Solar powered, given to me by Casio a few years ago. It and I have been through so much together It had survived the airlift of 2007<span> </span>and my row from San Francisco to Hawaii . I once thought I had killed when I went caving with my sister . Some grit and mud got into its buttons but it rallied even from that, only to be lost at sea just days before the end of this passage.</font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">I still don't know quite how it came to vanish . It had a metal wristband of the sort that should still remain around your wrist even though the clasp might come undone. So when I hooked it on the D-ring the strap actually parted company from the watch . It was like that horrible feeling that you get when the front door slams behind you and you realize that you have left your keys on the inside. Just too late to do anything about it. I would have given anything to rewind and replay the last three seconds. <span> </span>There are not many possessions that I am attached to: my laptop, my iphone and my watch are the three that come to mind. I loved the watch for the fact that it was solar-powered and never needed a new battery. It just lived on my wrist, telling me time, date, the day of the week, <span> </span>should I need it, the altitude, not that relevant at the moment living mostly at sea level,<span> </span>compass bearing,<span> </span>and barometric pressure. No fuss, no bother, just dependable. I even wear it quite <span> </span>conspicuously in the photo on the front cover of my book. But now it is no more, well it is, but by now probably 2 miles away under the sea. I hope that it doesn't get eaten by a shark or a sea creature<span> </span>it wouldn't do them much good at all. Having survived all that it has, I wonder whether it will ever turn up on a fish-monger's slab somewhere, still working. </font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">Oh well, watches can be replaced. It was only a thing, I keep reminding myself. Only a thing. </font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">(Editor's note: I could not make out the name of the island when listening to the voice recording. It sounded like Bite Island, but searching Google failed to find the information. Rita.)</font><br> </p> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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The Internet<br>connection here has been…well…let's just say a challenge. Everywhere<br>we go on the island, we whip out the laptops hoping to snag a signal,<br>even for just a few moments, but with the exception of a couple of<br>hours this afternoon, we've largely been unsuccessful. Believe me, the<br>irony isn't lost on us that Roz is at sea and has marginally better<br>connectivity than we do on dry land!<p>In short, we have accomplished a lot, but there remains much to be<br>done. Tarawa is a place where you have to know people to get anything<br>accomplished…and we're getting there. Here's how it works: we meet one<br>person, who will introduce us to someone else who works for the person<br>that is exactly the person we need to know to accomplish X. This all<br>happens on Tarawa time, which FYI is even slower than what we've all<br>come to know as "island time." The good news is that we've been<br>getting really lucky. We're meeting exactly the right people that can<br>make miracles happen, and our new friends are bending over backwards<br>to help us – we are so fortunate.<p>Today we had lunch with a wonderful Australian gent named David. He is<br>the Attorney General of Kiribati and has been tremendously helpful.<br>His wife is the Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Immigration, and she<br>essentially made it possible for all of us to enter the country and<br>has also fast-tracked the necessary approvals for Roz's arrival. She<br>reports directly to the President, so now we know that we're legal!<br>David also invited us to sit in his air-conditioned office and avail<br>ourselves of the very best Internet connection on the atoll, so for a<br>few sweet hours this afternoon, we were able to get much-needed work<br>done online.<p>Another big thank you to our Kiwi friend, John who gave up an entire<br>day guiding us around the island and making important introductions.<br>He helped us secure the assistance of the merchant marines – they have<br>generously agreed to help us extract Roz's boat from the water and<br>provide safe storage for us during the months between Stage 2 and 3.<br>Roz's boat weights about 1200 pounds and has a custom-built trailer,<br>which we couldn't transport to Tarawa. We'll have to put something<br>together here before we can take it out of the water, and the merchant<br>marines are helping us assemble a crew to custom build a "cradle" for<br>Roz's boat – something that will be absolutely necessary for storing<br>it safely.<p>The other very important piece of this puzzle is a safe landing area.<br>We've consulted a number of on-island experts about the exact approach<br>Roz needs to make to arrive here safely. It won't be easy – there are<br>tricky currents and shallow waters with boat-busting reefs that she'll<br>need to navigate, so my top priority remains lining up an escort boat<br>in the next couple of days that can safely guide her in. The boat<br>needs to be able to go at least 20 miles out to sea (just in case) and<br>finding an able vessel on Tarawa is proving to be a challenge. I have<br>a good feeling that today this piece of the puzzle will lock into<br>place. Cross your fingers for us!<p>There seems to have been quite a bit of hubbub the past few days about<br>the timing of things on Tarawa so I feel it's necessary to make<br>something absolutely clear: asking Roz to slow down was MISSION<br>CRITICAL. It is not for party planning or PR purposes. When Roz made<br>the call the call that Tarawa was the destination, we had less than 24<br>hours to move. We are in a third world country right now, and while<br>the people here are incredibly warm, generous and accommodating,<br>making the necessary preparations for Roz takes time. She can't just<br>show up. If she did, she'd be putting herself and her boat in very<br>real danger. Roz has plenty of food and water, and is not at all in<br>harm's way by slowing down a bit to allow us time to make the<br>absolutely necessary arrangements. I should also point out that since<br>she's changed course for Tarawa, she's logging record mileage, so<br>she's not actually slowing down at all. Please know that this Team has<br>nothing but Roz's safety and best interests at heart. I would hope<br>you'd also have some faith in your heroine – over the past few months,<br>you've gotten to know her through her soul-bearing blogs. Do you<br>really think she'd do something doesn't want to do? There are a lot of<br>moving pieces here, so I just ask that you be respectful of the<br>process and the people that are working hard to make this happen.<p>Speaking of the team, many of you have been asking how we're holding<br>up. We're okay, but definitely dealing with a few little health<br>issues. Today I woke up feeling lousy with a bad headache, a terribly<br>sore throat and blocked nose. Hunter managed to get conjunctivitis,<br>which is really unpleasant. We managed to track down the US Navy<br>doctor who is here through Saturday on a special project and he gave<br>Hunter the medicated drops he needs to fight this off. I'm hoping my<br>little bug buggers off soon too!<p>Well, that's it for now. Roz and I will now be speaking every day at<br>10 am on our satphones. From now until she arrives, Roz and I will<br>alternate days on the blog, so you can be kept up to date on both the<br>land and sea parts of this grand adventure. Thanks all for your<br>continued support and best wishes!<p>Nicole<p>[photo: amazing sunset captured on the lagoon side of Tarawa]<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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It's a bit surreal being here. I'm about as far away<br />from…well…anywhere, as one could possibly be. I've lived all over the<br />world and traveled to about two dozen countries, but for the first<br />time in a long time, I now feel like I've really gone somewhere. These<br />days when you travel, you can expect to see more or less the same<br />things that you have at home. Experiencing something truly different<br />these days takes quite a bit of effort. I feel so incredibly fortunate<br />to have the opportunity to see Tarawa; low-lying islands and atolls in<br />the Pacific don't have much time left. Most estimates say that by<br />2050, places like Tarawa will be uninhabitable…they'll be under water.<br />Standing on terra firma here now and meeting the wonderful people who<br />call this home, makes that even harder to wrap my head around I'm so<br />looking forward to what the next couple of weeks have in store for us.</p><p>Let me back up a bit and fill you in on what transpired yesterday.<br />Hunter, Conrad and I boarded the 737 jet in Nandi, Fiji and were<br />surprised to see that it was packed full – who knew so many others<br />were heading in this direction? The 3 hour flight was smooth and<br />uneventful. I had a window seat and every once in a while, I'd look<br />down at the glittering blue expanse of open ocean. It can be<br />mesmerizing and certainly humbling… The last 30 minutes of our flight<br />provided jaw-dropping views of tiny little islands and atolls<br />scattered like marbles across the sea. I've just never seen anything<br />like it.</p><p>The moment I stepped outside the plane, it was very clear we were on<br />the equator…it was stiflingly hot and humid. There was a pretty strong<br />breeze, but it didn't make a lick of difference. As Conrad said, "this<br />is the first time where I've felt wind that just doesn't help." We<br />were greeted at Bonriki airport by our new friends, John and Linda.<br />John is from New Zealand and has lived here for 14 years with his wife<br />Linda, who is I-Kiribati. They've been a tremendous help to Team Roz –<br />they booked our hotel, a rental car, and are helping us secure a<br />filming permit as well. They drove us to the hotel last night and<br />after we dropped off our things, they joined us outdoors for a drink<br />and we plied them with questions. We'll be meeting up with them again<br />today – we are so grateful for their help! And thank you Maarten<br />Troost for the introduction!</p><p>To give you a little more context about Tarawa, the following are a<br />few brief excerpts from Maarten's book, The Sex Lives of Cannibals:<br />Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific:</p><p>"Located just a notch above the equator and five thousand miles from<br />anywhere, Tarawa is the capital of Kiribati. Kiribati is a country of<br />thirty-three atolls scattered over an ocean area as large as the<br />continental United States."</p><p>"To picture Kiribati, imagine that the continental U.S. were to<br />conveniently disappear leaving only Baltimore and a vast swath of very<br />blue ocean in its place. Now chop up Baltimore into thirty-three<br />pieces, place a neighborhood where Maine used to be, another where<br />California once was, and so on until you have thirty-three pieces of<br />Baltimore dispersed in such a way so as to ensure that 32/33 of<br />Baltimorians will never attend an Orioles game again. Flatten all land<br />into a uniform two feet above sea level. The result is the Republic of<br />Kiribati."</p><p>"The total landmass of Tarawa is twelve square miles. This figure is<br />illusory, however, for it creates the impression of a block of land,<br />and this Tarawa is decidedly not. Its twelve square miles of coral are<br />divided into elongated slivers, narrow islets crowned with the tufts<br />of palm trees, prevented from becoming a unified whole by myriad of<br />channels linking the ocean with the lagoon, and stretched out over a<br />reef extending nearly forty miles. The reef itself is shaped like a<br />tottering inverted L, with the western side open to the ocean."</p><p>"There are, simply, too many people on South Tarawa, particularly on<br />the islet of Betio, which has the world's highest population density,<br />greater even than Hong Kong. Unlike Hong Kong, a city in the sky,<br />there is not a building above two stories on Betio. Some eighteen<br />thousand people, nearly a quarter of the country's population, live on<br />Tarawa."</p><p>Roz will be posting the next update, and will continue to do so from<br />now on. In the meantime, Team Roz will be busily preparing for her<br />arrival some time next week. We have to scope out locations for her to<br />come in safely, and meet with a few people we're told might be able to<br />help us arrange for an escort boat to see that Roz navigates through<br />the reef safe and sound. Today is going to be a big day…we have lots<br />to do. Wish us luck!</p><p>[photo: A bird's eye view of one of the many atolls in Kiribati]</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script></div>Roz Savagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198436930162690881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28434997.post-46585299489625039112009-08-31T09:31:00.001+00:002009-08-31T11:28:32.913+00:00Day 99 - Bula from Fiji<!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 12px; "></span></i></p><i><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.75em; "><em style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; ">Bula</em> from Fiji…and from the other side of the international date line!</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.75em; ">Team Roz arrived safe and sound at Nadi International Airport just before 3:00 pm local time. Please forgive my mistake on the blog this morning – I said we were arriving on Monday, September 1<sup style="line-height: 0; ">st</sup> and of course, I meant Monday, August 31<sup style="line-height: 0; ">st</sup>. That blog entry was rife with errors, and I can only ask your forgiveness – it was a rather hasty entry written at the airport gate and I was a bit sleep deprived!</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.75em; ">The 7 hour flight was great – very smooth and the plane was practically empty. As you can imagine, the view from the sky as we descended into Fiji was pretty spectacular. Conrad got out the camera and did some filming – I hope the video captures the incredible colors from the various depths of water. Just stunning!</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.75em; ">We breezed through customs and were all relieved that none of our food rations were confiscated. (I think I brought enough granola bars and dried fruit to feed all of Tarawa for a week!) We waited for about 20 minutes for a shuttle to our hotel, which is just a few minutes down the road. We checked in quickly, unloaded our bags in the rooms and headed immediately for the restaurant – we were all famished. Cold beers and a good lunch was just what the doctor ordered.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.75em; ">Sitting outside, we all remarked how similar this part of Fiji is to Hawaii – Hunter noticed that the plants surrounding us are just like the ones in his backyard at home. The hotel has a lovely little pool surrounded by a nice garden, and since our flight to Tarawa isn’t until noon tomorrow, I think we might get a little dip in the morning.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.75em; ">So, I know this is all terribly fascinating stuff (wink, wink) but the reason you’re all here is Roz and you’re itching to hear more about her! Our girl is doing great, not to worry! Many of you are wondering why her position is no longer being posted to the RozTracker, and why she’s not blogging and Tweeting anymore. Don’t worry – this is just temporary. Roz is taking a few days to collect her thoughts and just enjoy some peaceful, contemplative time alone before arriving on Tarawa. She’ll be back to blogging in just a couple of days.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.75em; ">It’s important to point out that I’ve asked Roz to grant her Team one really big favor. In fact, it’s a huge favor. I’ve asked her to slow down. That’s a big ask of someone who has been alone at sea, rowing for nearly 100 days. But I had to make the request – I only found out on Thursday that we’d be going to Tarawa and as you know, we’re scrambling to make all the necessary customs and immigration arrangements for both Roz and her boat.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.75em; ">The other reason I’ve asked her to slow down is for her Team. The earliest we could get the rest of them to Tarawa is Tuesday, September 8<sup style="line-height: 0; ">th</sup>. They’ve been a huge support for Roz throughout this amazing mission of hers and are now coming halfway around the world to support her and toast her arrival – it would be an incredible shame if they missed it by just one day! So Roz has graciously agreed to slow down.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.75em; ">One last great piece of news that I just received: Roz is featured today on CNN! You can take a look at the excellent story by journalist Matt Ford <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/08/31/eco.roz.savage/" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(204, 51, 153); text-decoration: underline; ">here</a>. Okay, I’d best run, my battery is just about to die. More to come tomorrow…from Tarawa!</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.75em; ">Nicole</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.75em; ">UPDATE (8/31): Just got an email from Linda in Tarawa and learned that we won’t need visas after all – whew! ;o)</p></i><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script></div>Roz Savagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198436930162690881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28434997.post-30653596788390823182009-08-29T12:04:00.001+00:002009-08-29T17:24:43.813+00:00Day 97: Operation Tarawa<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUzluBHNdjKWR3JChZt6MVyqb0PfriO0r8JiQ8GtGeOHVdTMbDac8oN15nRUBM7Mb2Mj43Eas9Kpy_hULxNijXKO6KXLN6iIR0ClBO7GTEq4avZUV48P4JKOuzcWHgsKTMhon/s1600-h/Roz_Nic1-300x200.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUzluBHNdjKWR3JChZt6MVyqb0PfriO0r8JiQ8GtGeOHVdTMbDac8oN15nRUBM7Mb2Mj43Eas9Kpy_hULxNijXKO6KXLN6iIR0ClBO7GTEq4avZUV48P4JKOuzcWHgsKTMhon/s400/Roz_Nic1-300x200.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375437930107512498" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal">HONOLULU, HAWAII</p><p class="MsoNormal">"Whatever I say in the next 10 minutes, please promise me you'll still be my friend…that you won't hate me?"</p><p class="MsoNormal">When you hear such a plea, you just know that whatever follows will be some pretty serious news. The fact is, I knew it was coming. Wednesday's rowing conditions were so wretched for Roz that I was certain she'd call me very soon to discuss a different strategy.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The call came the very next day. Roz agonized over the decision, but with a broken water maker, leaky reserves and dwindling food supplies, attempting the Herculean effort necessary to hit Tuvalu seemed to be far too dangerous. We just had no way of knowing how long it would take for Roz to push far enough south and east, or frankly, if it was even possible. Beyond the safety issues, Roz's very first book tour is just around the corner – she just couldn't miss that!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Yes, truthfully, I was a bit crestfallen to hear the news. I wanted to see her reach that goal of getting as far south of the equator as possible on Stage 2, because I've learned just how important that will be for setting her up for a successful Stage 3. I suppose it's selfish to admit, but I was bummed that we'd have to start from square one – especially because after so much time and effort, things had finally just fallen into place with Tuvalu. The country was positively buzzing about Roz's impending arrival. She was to be given the warmest of welcomes along with safe haven for her boat until Stage 3. But that's how these things go. It really only took me a few seconds to get over the disappointment – I didn't have time to mope about it! There was far too much to be done.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The minute I hung up with Roz on Thursday morning I hopped on Skype with her weatherman, Ricardo, in Portugal. He informed me that with the currents and winds now totally in Roz's favor, she could easily average 40 miles each day and make landfall as early as September 5<sup>th</sup>. My stomach twisted into knots and my palms started to sweat. I had little more than a week to get Conrad the cameraman and myself there and make all the necessary arrangements for Roz's arrival. That may not sound like such a big deal, but with only 2 flights each week into Tarawa, I knew this wasn't going to be easy…</p><p class="MsoNormal">Today (Friday) was unbelievably hectic. I managed to find flights for us after all, on <a href="http://www.airpacific.com/">Air Pacific</a>, the only airline that flies to Tarawa. After much rather enjoyable back and forth with a heavily accented Fijian named Alex, I was able to book the seats just before the office closed for the weekend. Hooray! </p><p class="MsoNormal">At noon, I met up with a former Peace Corps volunteer named Darin, who lived on Tarawa for three years and is now married to an I-Kiribati woman. What an amazing font of knowledge he was! I took copious notes, the details of which I'll share with you tomorrow. Trust me when I say that the information gleaned from Darin is worth a blog on its own…</p><p class="MsoNormal">Shortly after my meeting with Darin, I raced over to Bank of Hawaii before the close of business to collect all the Australian currency I'd ordered the previous day. We need to take loads of cash because there aren't any ATMs on Tarawa, and in fact, none of the businesses there even accept credit cards. As the teller counted out the rainbow colored bills (it looks remarkably like Monopoly money) I started to exhale. Things were falling into place…at last.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I must say here that ever since Thursday, I have been thanking my lucky stars (several times a day) for J. Maarten Troost. Maarten's first book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Lives-Cannibals-Equatorial-Pacific/dp/0767915305/ref=pd_sim_b_7">The Sex Lives of Cannibals</a></i>, is about his life on Tarawa. He was there for two years while his wife worked for a nonprofit. He is a brilliantly funny, exceptionally talented writer – I can't recommend his books highly enough. If you're a regular to Roz's blog, you may remember that earlier in the voyage, she listened to an audio book called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Stoned-Savages-Through-Islands/dp/0767921992/ref=pd_sim_b_7">Getting Stoned with Savages</a>.</i> After reading her blog, Roz's friend in California decided to contact Maarten and let him know that Roz just might end up on Tarawa, and perhaps we should all connect. Lo and behold, he replied! I've been picking his brain ever since. He's been so gracious, not to mention an absolutely priceless resource for Team Roz. He's made invaluable introductions to people living on Tarawa that can help me arrange logistics for storing Roz's boat, and he's given me very helpful tips on dress, social norms, telecommunications, and transportation around the island. Please join me in sending a huge thank you to Maarten!</p><p class="MsoNormal">One last piece of excellent news: the Team Roz contingent on Tarawa is rapidly growing! Hunter Downs, CEO of Archinoetics (the company that developed the RozTracker) will be accompanying Conrad and me on Sunday morning. What a relief…his wife Traci, COO of Archinoetics, will join us a week later. The entire Archinoetics family has been an absolute rock for me and Roz the past couple of months. Their unwavering support of time, resources and most importantly, a whole lot of love, is so gratefully appreciated. Rounding out our happy little team is Ian Tuller, our dear friend from San Francisco. He was here with us in Hawaii before Roz's departure in May to oversee the refurbishment of the boat, and will resume his role as director of boatworks. We absolutely could not do this without this amazing group of people…and it certainly wouldn't be nearly as fun, even if we could! </p><p class="MsoNormal">So buckle your seatbelts, kids! Off we go, to one of the most remote places on planet earth. (Really, before Roz, had you even <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">heard</i> of Tarawa???) Yes, we've had to scramble to accommodate the new game plan…that's an understatement. But it's going great so far, and no matter what, this promises to be one heck of a spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime adventure. I'm so glad you're all coming along for the ride!</p><p class="MsoNormal">~Nicole</p><p class="MsoNormal">By the way, I'll continue to send updates from our journey. If you want to follow me on Twitter, my handle is <a href="http://www.twitter.com/nics_dolcevita">@nics_dolcevita</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal">[Photo: Roz and Nicole aboard the Brocade in San Francisco in 2007]</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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And<br>I wanted to believe it was possible, not least because Tuvalu has become<br>synonymous with the human impact of climate change, which is the key<br>message of this stage of my row as we approach the crucial summit in<br>Copenhagen. I knew getting to Tuvalu would be challenging, but I was<br>prepared to put in the hard work to make it happen.<p>However, a few things had changed during the course of the last week. I<br>had discovered that the coordinates I had for Tuvalu were for the<br>westernmost island, not the capital Funafuti, which is the easternmost<br>island. This would make it much harder to reach the capital than I had<br>realized. Then some brisk easterly winds had halted my progress for 36<br>hours while I waited on the sea anchor – this had two implications.<br>First, it would only take a few more days of such winds to put Tuvalu<br>beyond my reach. And second, if I had to use the sea anchor on a regular<br>basis to stop westward drift, it would take me much longer to get to<br>Tuvalu. And time was limited – by my water supply.<p>Since my watermaker stopped working I've been relying on my reserves of<br>water, but some of my water bags had leaked. And my water consumption is<br>much higher than it has been on my previous rows, due to the heat. So<br>less water supply + higher water requirement = bad news. I do have a<br>backup manual watermaker, but I was already going to have to row 16<br>hours a day to maintain the necessary tight control over my course, so<br>then pumping water for 2 hours a day (manual watermakers produce water<br>drop by drop, rather than a steady stream) was not an attractive option.<p>So the worst case scenario was pretty bad. There was now a substantially<br>increased risk of running out of water, and possibly missing Tuvalu<br>altogether and spinning off into the great blue yonder. Oh, and the food<br>situation wasn't looking too good either. I was concerned.<p>After churning all this over and over in my head for half the night,<br>part of me still resisted changing my mind. I wanted to go to Tuvalu! My<br>imminent arrival had been announced on the radio, I was due to meet with<br>members of the government, we had storage arranged for my boat… and of<br>course I wanted to find out more about how they plan to be the world's<br>first carbon neutral nation.<p>I was unbearably hot in the cabin, so I went out on deck to cool down. I<br>looked up at the stars and the setting moon. They helped me get a sense<br>of perspective on the issue. Ultimately, although the message is<br>important, it helps if the messenger is a) alive, and b) has not had to<br>rely on some fossil-fuel guzzling means of transport to come rescue her<br>if/when she seems in danger of disappearing over the horizon with no<br>water and no food. So, it seemed, the choice was clear. The sensible,<br>responsible thing to do would be to change course for Tarawa. I could<br>reach it relatively easily (or as easy as ocean rowing ever gets) well<br>before I ran out of sustenance – and without having to rely on outside<br>intervention.<p>So I swallowed my pride and admitted to myself that it made sense to<br>change course. First thing this morning I rang Ricardo, my Lisbon-based<br>weatherman, and we talked it through. He was totally supportive of my<br>decision. Then I spoke with Nicole, my program director. She, too, fully<br>supported me – even though this meant that a lot of the fantastic<br>preparations she'd lined up for Tuvalu were now moribund, and she'd have<br>to start over again with Tarawa. By the end of today she had already<br>worked miracles – people had been informed, flights were booked, and<br>plans were coming together.<p>I feel hugely relieved by this decision. It has been a tough one, but<br>the cold dread and anxiety of what might happen if I missed Tuvalu has<br>been lifted from me. It would otherwise have hung over me every day<br>until I made – or failed to make – landfall.<p>So now it is all suddenly very imminent, and the energy levels in<br>TeamRoz have skyrocketed. With just 300 nautical miles to go, I am<br>hoping to arrive in about 2 weeks, around Sept 9th, so this doesn't<br>leave much time – and lots to do. On Sunday Nicole and Conrad (our<br>filmmaker, who by the grace of the many generous Rozlings is going to<br>come out to Tarawa to film my arrival) will leave Hawaii for Tarawa to<br>start lining up the multitude of logistical arrangements.<p>I'd like to take a final opportunity to enjoy some "alone time" before I<br>make landfall. Call this my Walden time. So I'm going to go<br>incommunicado and take a few days out from social media, and hand over<br>to Nicole to do the blog. Her life is going to be much more interesting<br>– and hectic – over the near future anyway. She will be posting updates<br>on this blog from tomorrow until Sept 2nd, when I'll return from my<br>self-imposed exile, and from then until my arrival Nicole and I will<br>blog on alternate days. Amongst the trials and tribulations of an<br>expedition program director, she'll be sharing details of the<br>preparations for my arrival, her first impressions of Tarawa, and how<br>she is being assisted by celebrity contacts (thank you to author J<br>Maarten Troost!).<p>I hope you'll enjoy these final stages with us. I'm really excited to<br>see how everything develops over the coming 2 weeks. Nicole and Conrad<br>are going to have their work cut out – to find boat storage, boat<br>transport, accommodation, even internet access – and, of course, a<br>source of ice cold beer! So join with me in wishing them huge amounts of<br>good luck in pulling all this together in an impossibly short timescale.<br>They are going to need it, but if anyone can pull off a miracle, it's<br>TeamRoz!<p>[photo: Go west, young woman! Tonight's sunset was a bit drab, so here<br>is one from the archive…]<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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I could have<br />made 40 miles to the good. But unfortunately more west is the last thing<br />I want, so I have spent the whole day with the sea anchor out. The oars<br />have lain idle, and I've finished the day further away from Tuvalu than<br />I was at the start. I wonder if Neptune didn't like my equatorial<br />offerings. Perhaps Ginger Snap isn't his favorite flavor Larabar,<br />because he was not being generous to me today.<p>It's ironic. Today I have been listening to "The Astonishing Power of<br />Emotions" by Esther and Jerry Hicks. They are talking about aligning<br />with your better self – the idea is that when we want something, we only<br />have to allow it to happen. The universe WANTS our wishes to be granted.<br />When we allow this fulfillment of our desires to take place, we feel<br />good. When we resist, we feel bad.</p><p>And the analogy they use is a canoe on a river – and they urge their<br />listeners to "let go of the oars" and go with the flow.</p><p>As I sit here on the sea anchor, resisting the strong tradewinds that<br />are trying to push me west, this analogy seems either too apt – or not<br />apt at all. I'm all in favor of going with the flow – but which flow am<br />I meant to be going with? The natural flow of the tradewinds heading<br />west, or the man-made flow that is drawing me towards Tuvalu?</p><p>I really appreciate all the comments urging me to focus on the positive,<br />take it as it comes, etc. It's all fine in theory, and knowing myself as<br />I do I know that they will eventually filter through into my attitudes<br />and thinking. But just at the moment, as I come up on 100 days on the<br />ocean and with no end in sight, it's sometimes a struggle to put it into<br />practice. Today I have been a total grouch. Nothing more you guys can do<br />– apart from keeping the encouragement coming. And allow me my pity<br />party for now. With your help, I'll get through it. I just need to keep<br />my head together and keep on pushing.</p><p>[Photo: I'm told that when you smile, the smiling muscles actually<br />interact with your emotions and make you feel better. So here I am,<br />giving it a try. Hmmm, not convinced. Another bottle of bubbly would<br />probably be more effective!]</p><p>Other Stuff:</p><p>I've tried to stay busy today so as not to get too introspective, but<br />there isn't an awful lot to do on a 23-foot rowboat. I scrubbed the<br />decks, and tried once again to fix the watermaker but was unsuccessful. I<br />edited and uploaded a video of my Equatorial celebrations for tomorrow's<br />video RozCast on YouTube (with me performing traditional ocean dance...!).<br />It was too hot in the cabin to spend much time in there, so I mostly lay<br />on deck in the shade of my bimini between my rowing seat runners and<br />listened to Jerry Hicks. Lying on the deck is not super-comfortable,<br />especially now I'm a bit more bony than I was at the start of the voyage,<br />but it's not bad if I manage to arrange my limbs in just the right way<br />around the runners and the rowing seat. I had to duck into the cabin from<br />time to time to avoid sudden rainshowers, but otherwise it was quite<br />pleasant – when I managed to forget the fact that I was heading the wrong<br />way.</p><p>Thank you for all the really fab comments on my last blog. They<br />seriously cheered me up – a much-needed tonic. Especially liked the idea<br />about having Johnny Depp greet me in Tuvalu – now THAT would be a<br />powerful motivator! Although he may not be that impressed by a<br />semi-starved, grimy, sea-spotty waif with matted hair pitching up on the<br />beach. Where is a floating salon when I need one?!</p><p>Great to see comments coming in from the people in Tuvalu. I'll be with<br />you just as soon as I can. Please reach out across these last miles and<br />reel me in!</p><p>UncaDoug – I really appreciate the trail of carrots scattered across the<br />ocean. Bit I wonder if you could let me know where they are? Maybe by<br />latitude would be easiest? There might be some nights when the prospect<br />of an upcoming carrot motivates me to spend a bit longer at the oars!</p><p>Weather report:</p><p>Position at 1950 HST: 00 22.169S, 178 49.774E<br />Wind: 20kts ESE<br />Seas: short, steep wind waves about 6ft<br />Weather: sunshine and showers</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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I was rowing until 2am last<br>night to make the most of the cooler conditions and calmer winds after<br>dark. By the time I'd bathed and put the boat to bed, there was time for<br>just 4 hours of sleep before getting up at 6.30 to start rowing again –<br>and those precious few hours were disturbed by the new<br>booby-in-residence tap-dancing on the roof of my cabin every time a<br>swell came along. This booby is quieter and less belligerent than his<br>predecessors (although just as poopy), but has taken up a regular position<br>on the sleeping cabin rather than the storage cabin, so it gets a bit<br>annoying when he patters around to regain his balance when the boat<br>lurches.<p>So today I've been a bit discombobulated, my mood not improved by rowing<br>just to stand still. If I was making 40 or 50 miles a day I could row<br>till the cows come home (or should that be till the boobies roost?), but<br>rowing many hours a day to make 15, or even 5, miles, is psychologically<br>challenging, to put it mildly.<p>The other drawback with less sleep is that there is less recovery time<br>for my poor body. In these sweltering conditions there is a significant<br>risk of the return of the baboon-bottom rash that plagued the early<br>stages of this row. I have two seat covers, which I usually rotate and<br>rinse at the end of each shift. But now I am rotating them as soon as<br>the spare one is dry, to try and avoid this very painful affliction.<p>So I plod on, trying to remind myself of all the good reasons to go to<br>Tuvalu, and not to think about Tarawa, just 440 miles away straight<br>downwind… I'll keep the faith, and I really do believe it is all going<br>to work out in the end – and then this difficult stage will be just a<br>memory, and it will all have been worth the effort.<p>Postscript: I was psyched up and ready to row most of the night. I'd had<br>an extra-big dinner followed by a Jocolat (chocolatey organic Larabar)<br>and a rocking soundtrack ready on my iPod. But ze weather, once again<br>she spit on my plans (to be said in French accent). The wind rose – and<br>from the wrong direction. So the sea anchor is out. I'm all caloried up,<br>and no place to go. Boo.<p>[photo: the new booby-in-residence]<p>Other Stuff:<p>Thank you to the Good Vibes Team and all the others who have sent such<br>wonderful words of encouragement. Thanks especially for the reminders to<br>stay present in the moment and not worry about the future. Very wise<br>words. Too easily forgotten – so keep reminding me, because it is SO<br>true. And the one part of this situation that I have control over(ish!)<br>is my mind.<p><p>Apology: Although I mentioned them both in the same blog, I did not<br>intend to imply any connection between my having the incorrect<br>coordinates for Tuvalu and the transition to a new weatherman. So, in<br>case there was any misunderstanding, I would like to take this<br>opportunity to apologize to Rick Shema of <a href="http://weatherguy.com">weatherguy.com</a>. I'd also like<br>to thank him deeply for his professionalism and accuracy in guiding me<br>through the first stage of my Pacific row, and thus far in the second.<br>Thanks also to Rick and his family for all the kindness and hospitality<br>they have shown to my mother and me during our time in Hawaii. I wish<br>Rick all the very best for the future.<p>Weather report:<p>Position at 2220 HST: 0028.678S, 178 56.319E<br>Wind: for most of the day 10kts SE-SSE, now 18kts SE<br>Seas: 2-4ft swell SE<br>Weather: hot and sunny, scattered cumulus and some cirrus cloud<p>Ricardo's Update:<p>YOU WILL HAVE<br>GOOD PROGRESS AS SOON AS YOU FEEL THE PRESENT WIND BACKING, ALL THE WAY<br>INTO<br>MONDAY AT LEAST. WED WONT BE VERY GOOD AT ALL. YOU MAY WISH TO TRY THE<br>DROGUE AND SEE HOW THAT GOES. WHEN FACED WITH 13KN FROM SE GO FOR SPEED<br>IF<br>YOU CAN MAKE UP TO 210 BUT SLOW DOWN IF YOU ARE PUSHED TO MORE THAN<br>THAT.<br>THU WILL BE DUE EAST MOST OF THE DAY 14KN AVG GRADUALLY DROPPING AND<br>BACKING<br>TO WHAT WILL BE A SUPER START TO THE WEEKEND. WIND WILL DROP TO ALMOST<br>NOTHING ON SATURDAY AND WILL CONTINUE VERY LIGHT THROUGHOUT SUNDAY, WITH<br>A<br>TENDENCY TO PICK UP FROM ABOUT 160. THIS WILL QUICKLY SHIFT TO 090 BY<br>MONDAY<br>AT LESS THAN 6KN. SHOULD THESE CONDITIONS MATERIALIZE AS IT SEEMS, YOU<br>HAVE<br>HERE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WEATHER WINDOWS FROM NOW TO TUVALU AND<br>YOU<br>HAVE TO GIVE IT YOUR ALL TO GAIN PRECIOUS METRES IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.<br>EAT<br>UP. POWER UP AND SHOW ME THOSE MUSCLES!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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It has been quite an<br />emotional experience - and that's not just the bubbly talking - and I'm<br />trying to figure out why this might be.<p>It could be because crossing the Equator had assumed such massive<br />significance in my mind as a Very Difficult Thing. I had maybe allowed<br />myself to get just a bit freaked out by the difficulties encountered by<br />my predecessors in human-powered vessels. And sure, I've had my fair<br />share of battles with the elements in trying to get through the lower<br />latitudes, as the winds and currents thwarted my attempts to get south.<br />But, as with so many things in life, the reality was not as bad as the<br />anticipation.</p><p>Or it might be because the Equator, unlike the IDL, is actually a<br />geographically significant line. The IDL is a man-made line, allowing us<br />to segment our world into convenient time zones. It could have been<br />located anywhere, and is just where it is because it lies opposite the<br />equally random line of the Prime Meridian at Greenwich – set by British<br />geographers in the days when Britannia ruled the waves. The Equator, on<br />the other hand, is a natural line marking the mid-point between the<br />Poles. It is the line where the Earth is nearest the sun. It is where<br />the Earth is spinning the fastest on its axis. It has a greater sense of<br />significance and reality than the IDL.</p><p>Anyway, for whatever reason, today felt very special. I am now a Trusty<br />Shellback, a Pollywog no more. And now I am in the Southern Hemisphere<br />the water will be going down the plughole the opposite way - or would be<br />if I had any plugholes on board.</p><p>Crossing the Equator was actually quite a busy and time-consuming thing<br />to do. I had to pay homage to Neptune and his cohorts (Squishie the<br />Dolphin, with his courtiers Quackers the Duck, the Robin, and the Other<br />Duck). I had to offer gifts – a Larabar (Ginger Snap flavor), and a<br />dollop of California sunshine (a spoonful of Lemon Ladies marmalade). I<br />had to make a sacrifice (I wasn't prepared to offer a chunk of hair, for<br />fear of spoiling my elegant coiffeur (???!!) so Neptune had to make do<br />with the leavings pulled out of my hairbrush). And I had to deploy the<br />"coconut" for Project Niu – and then jump in after it to photograph it<br />in the water.</p><p>The coconut is actually a high-tech data-gathering device created by the<br />team at Archinoetics, one of several devices that have been let loose in<br />the Pacific to send back information and photographs. The one I deployed<br />today is called something in Hawaiian (Evan, help me out here) which<br />translates as "Pink Savage". It felt strange to deliberately deposit a<br />large and non-bio-degradable object into the ocean, but as an<br />educational device the end justifies the means, so I am sure Squishie,<br />sorry, I mean Neptune, will understand. I just hope the Niu doesn't<br />travel faster than I do. That would be embarrassing.</p><p>Then, duties done, it was time for my treats. With a sense of eager<br />anticipation I opened up the yellow drybag that Liz and Nicole had given<br />me before I left Hawaii. The girls had done me proud. There was the<br />"bling" – a many-stranded necklace of plastic beads, and some pink face<br />paint, both of which I promptly put on. There was the jokey gift – a<br />cooking spatula with a wooden handle. There was the declaration<br />admitting me to the ocean domain as a Trusty Shellback, a Pollywog no<br />more. There were the edible treats – a snack bar and some Sharkies. And,<br />oh bliss, there was the miniature bottle of bubbly. Thank you girls!</p><p>I must be the world's cheapest date at the moment (had there been<br />anybody about to take advantage – which there wasn't). After 3<br />booze-free months, the 2 glassfuls of bubbly went straight to my head in<br />the nicest possible way. As the sun set I was sitting on deck feeling<br />happily woozy, admiring the pink and grey clouds, full of oceanic<br />bonhomie and thinking there was really nowhere else on earth I would<br />rather be than at the Equator on such a beautiful day.</p><p>[photo: Pulling the bubbly back on board after a brief chilling in the<br />ocean (in the net bag that usually contains my beansprouter) – while<br />Neptune/Squishy the Dolphin looks on]</p><p>Other Stuff:</p><p>After not seeing another vessel for 3 months, today, on MY Equator,<br />there were intruders. A container ship was just sitting there, doing<br />nothing much. I think I could hear a faint sound of a bell ringing<br />repeatedly, so presumably they were having their own Equatorial<br />celebration. I tried hailing them on the VHF radio, in hopes that they<br />might cruise on over and bring me some additional water supplies – or<br />even some more bubbly – but there was no reply. Guess they were too busy<br />partying.</p><p>Although I've taken the evening off – largely due to the after-effects<br />of the bubbles – tomorrow it will be back to the oars with a vengeance.<br />I've still got 500 miles to go, and I need to make some East if I'm<br />going to have any chance of hitting Tuvalu. Ricardo tells me conditions<br />are going to be calm, so it's a prime opportunity to head back towards<br />the IDL and set myself up for the final push for home.</p><p>For the record, I crossed the Equator at 18:42:02 Hawaii Time, at<br />longitude 179 12.359E.</p><p>Weather report:</p><p>Position at 2210 HST: 00 00.860S (yayyyyy!), 179 09.371E<br />Wind: variable but light throughout the day. Generally 0-10kts, S-E.<br />Seas: swell of about 4ft, SE<br />Weather: sunny and fine, scattered cumulus cloud. Very hot.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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A snail with a ball and chain attached, even.<br />The wind was in the southeast (not helpful) and I'm still in a<br />north-flowing current (also not helpful) so the oars felt heavy and<br />every stroke felt like a weight-lifting exercise.<p>Truth be told, I was getting pretty fed up with the whole business.<br />Progress is very motivating. Lack of it is not. It's a bit like trying<br />to lose weight, and when the scales are being cruel the temptation is to<br />say "forget it" and have a cake to cheer yourself up. But of course the<br />only way to make progress – whether it be losing pounds or rowing oceans<br />- is to keep the faith and carry on.</p><p>Morale was given a boost mid-afternoon when I picked up a text message<br />on my satphone. It was from Ricardo, my new weatherman, saying "GOOD<br />EFFORT GIRL. I CAN TELL YOU ARE TWEAKING YOUR COURSE AS MUCH AS POSS.<br />GOOD AVG SPEED ALSO. RIC." His assessment was maybe too flattering, but<br />just then I needed those sweet little lies. Sometimes it's just good to<br />know that there are people watching, and that my efforts are being<br />recognized – especially when my course on the GPS screen looks so<br />discouraging.</p><p>This is a funny thing, because under normal circumstances I would have<br />said that I don't care too much for the opinion of other people. Of<br />course, we all want to be liked, even approved, but generally I now<br />steer my own course in life without considering whether it will please<br />others. I just do what I do and they can like it or lump it.</p><p>But even the most independent-minded of us still appreciate some<br />positive feedback from time to time, and that is why I cherish the<br />comments and Tweets of the Rozionados. It's good to know I am not alone,<br />and that my every mile, my every effort, is monitored, appreciated, and<br />commented on.</p><p>Meanwhile, during breaks from the oars, I've been getting ready for my<br />Equatorial celebration. With less than 15 miles to go, I hope it's not<br />premature. I've dug out the mysterious yellow drybag labeled "DO NOT<br />OPEN UNTIL 0 LATITUDE". It was given to me by Nicole and Liz before I<br />left Hawaii. I'm dying to take a peek but am resisting the urge –<br />although I have given it a few squeezes, like an impatient kid with a<br />Christmas present.</p><p>My gift and my sacrifice are at the ready, and in the absence of a<br />crewmate or captain to represent Neptune, I have pressed Squishie the<br />Dolphin into service as his representative. I didn't happen to have a<br />trident on board, but a fork makes a passable quatrent (or whatever it<br />is called). I think Squishie looks rather regal, and look forward to<br />paying him homage when I reach the magic Latitude Zero, which, with a<br />bit of luck and more slogging, might be tomorrow.</p><p>Other Stuff:</p><p>This afternoon I saw a shark swimming alongside my boat. A proper<br />Jaws-type shark, rather than the blunt-headed, vegetarian whale shark I<br />saw a few weeks ago. But this one was just a tiddler – about 3 feet long<br />– so I didn't feel too apprehensive that he might eat me/my boat/my oar.</p><p>Thank you for the overwhelmingly positive response to my decision to try<br />for Tuvalu. Good to hear I've got you on the edge of your seats. Me too!<br />I do wish I had a crystal ball so I can see how all this is going to pan<br />out. Or there again, maybe it's just as well I don't…</p><p>Marv asked if there is a backup plan. Of course there is. I always have<br />a Plan B! First, if within the next couple of weeks it becomes evident<br />that Tuvalu will be impossible, I can still change course for Tarawa.<br />Second, if I can get close to Tuvalu but not quite make it, there is a<br />research vessel due to be in the Tuvalu area in early-mid September, and<br />they have offered to assist if required. Pushing on to the Solomons or<br />Australia are not really options – not without a functioning watermaker,<br />although I still hope to resolve that problem. Also, as it has taken me<br />so much longer than expected to get through the ITCZ, I would require a<br />resupply of food if I was to extend my voyage all the way to Australia.<br />And I would have to cancel my book tour – and possibly all our plans for<br />Copenhagen. So I very much hope it won't come to that. It really IS<br />Tuvalu or bust!</p><p>Will – for sure, I will give it my bestest. In fact, I think that is<br />what I would want to be able to say on my deathbed – that I always did<br />try my bestest. Nobody can do more than that. Thanks for giving me the<br />word!</p><p>Tom B – your wife might just be right! But I hope that the eventual<br />result will speak for itself. The Richard Byrd book sounds really<br />interesting. I always love reading about people having a worse time than<br />I am!</p><p>Christa – thanks for the info on Tuvalu. Only 6 prisoners? Mind you, I<br />don't suppose there's much mischief you can get up to on a sandspit –<br />and making a getaway would be quite a challenge too!</p><p>To Richard, my minstrel. Funny that recently I've been listening to<br />books by George R R Martin, set in the court of some imagined<br />medieval-ish place and time. So jesters, troubadours, singers and<br />minstrels are very vivid in my mind right now. And you perform the role<br />admirably – I very much appreciate your contributions to the Rozling<br />community, as well as your thoughtfulness in considering how best you<br />could enhance our enjoyment of the adventure. Thank you!</p><p>Donna – great questions. I've made a note of them for a future blog –<br />and/or they are answered in depth in my book, Rowing The Atlantic, due<br />out Oct 6. Available for pre-order on Amazon, and if you send your<br />Amazon confirmation email to <a href="mailto:bookmark@rozsavage.com">bookmark@rozsavage.com</a> you can claim your<br />special, limited edition Larabar bookmark, made from the wrapper of one<br />of the many Larabars I am munching my way through on this crossing!</p><p>Weather report:</p><p>Position at 2300 HST: 00 13.624N, 179 27.693W<br />Wind: 15kts SE this morning, backing slightly this afternoon. Dropped to<br />9kts briefly after a squall, then revived to 15kts E.<br />Seas: swell from SE-E about 4ft<br />Weather: morning sunny and hot. More cloud this afternoon. Couple of<br />passing rainshowers.</p><p></p><p>SUNDAY EVENING WIND WILL DROP AND BACK TO SLIGHTLY NORTH OF EAST WITH<br />SPEEDS OF 3 TO 6 KNOTS. AS SOON AS YOU ARE ABLE, HEAD 170. THIS IS MY<br />SUGGESTING AT A HEALTHY COMPROMISE BETWEEN WIND ANGLE AND EFFECTIVE<br />SPEEDY COURSE TO TUVALU- WHILST STILL KEEPING YOU IN A SAFETY NET. I<br />WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU ABOUT 40 MILES FURTHER EAST BEFORE WE START<br />CONFIDENTLY CURVING YOU AROUND TOWARDS TUVARU. THINGS WILL BE GREAT<br />UNTIL TUESDAY AND YOU SHOULD MAKE GOOD PROGRESS DURING THAT TIME.<br />WED/THU NOT IDEAL AS WIND WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE TO 9-11KN FROM EAST<br />AND THEN FROM ABOUT 110 DEGREES (SE). FRIDAY AND SATURDAY HAS A 30%<br />CHANCE OF PROVIDING YOU WITH NE WINDS 12 KNOTS. IF THEY DO MATERIALISE,<br />THEY SHOULD STAY AROUND FOR AT LEAST 4 DAYS.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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I feel like I'm<br />entering the final phase, as I will soon be into the last 500 nautical<br />miles of my row, and have finally decided on the identity of Island X.<br />In case you haven't already watched my announcement in the RozCast on<br />YouTube, here it is…<p>I am going to aim for (cue drum roll) – TUVALU.</p><p>It's an interesting choice, that's for sure. Bordering on the insane,<br />some would say. Given the option to take a straightforward run directly<br />downwind and down current to Tarawa in the west, I've decided instead to<br />aim due south – across prevailing winds and currents - for Tuvalu.</p><p>So, why am I making life so difficult for myself? Well, I'd already<br />mentioned that it would set me up better for next year's Stage 3 to<br />Australia. Plus, this stage of the row is all about climate change, and<br />nowhere on earth symbolizes that better than Tuvalu, which is already<br />being impacted by rising oceans and has declared its intention of being<br />the world's first carbon neutral country.</p><p>But I knew all this before, and yet was still reconciled to aiming for<br />Tarawa instead, as I just couldn't see how it could be physically<br />possible to get to Tuvalu.</p><p>So what caused my change of heart? It was all due to an email from a<br />Portuguese weatherman, with the subject line "GUT FEELING". In the<br />message Ricardo Diniz explained that he believes that even at this late<br />stage, and at this longitude, I can still make it to Tuvalu.</p><p>At first my reaction was "He must be on drugs if he thinks this is<br />possible", but over the course of the next few days the idea took hold –<br />not least because Ricardo is an expert on weather and ocean routing, and<br />I trust his opinion implicitly. I first worked with Ric during my<br />Atlantic crossing in 2006. My friend Adrian Flanagan, who was attempting<br />a solo vertical circumnavigation of the world in a sailboat (i.e. via<br />the polar regions) had been doing my weather forecasts for me as he<br />sailed, but then he made some pathetic excuse, like having to navigate<br />around Cape Horn or some such thing (??!) and handed me over to his<br />weatherman – Ricardo. And Ricardo and I have stayed in touch ever since.<br />He has just recently routed my friend Sarah Outen in her successful solo<br />row from Australia to Mauritius, as a result of my referral.</p><p>So it is with delight that I am able to announce that Ricardo is now<br />joining TeamRoz as my weather guru for the final stages of my row to<br />Tuvalu. After all, it was he who talked me into this crazy decision, so<br />it seems only fair that I should give him the responsibility for helping<br />me make it happen.</p><p>It's lucky I have such faith in Ricardo. Or else, quite frankly, I would<br />be terrified. When I decided on Tuvalu it was before we discovered that<br />I had been given the wrong GPS coordinates, and in fact there is even<br />less westerly wiggle room than I had realized. To make it across the<br />tradewinds to Tuvalu really is going to be an enormous challenge. It is<br />a go-for-broke, out-on-a-limb, OMG-what-am-I-doing kind of a commitment.<br />It's scary and crazy. But it just might work. I couldn't have a better<br />team behind me, so we're going to go for it.</p><p>Please give me your good luck wishes, hopes, prayers, whatever you can<br />to help me and my team make this happen. We're going to need all the<br />help we can get. As I said in the RozCast, I just hope that Fortune -<br />and Neptune - will favor the bold. Or my decision will look Loony Tune.</p><p>[photo: Ricardo Diniz]</p><p>Other Stuff:</p><p>For most of today the winds have been light, but mostly southerly. A<br />light headwind is better than a strong headwind, but still not ideal.<br />The wind rose towards sunset and is sending me in an unwelcome westerly<br />direction, but Ricardo assures me it will die away by Monday so I can<br />regain some ground to the east.</p><p>Overall the day has been notable mostly for its temperature. With no<br />wind to cool me, it has been almost unbearably hot, and I've been<br />covered in sweat and sunscreen. Pheweee. Even sitting in my cabin now I<br />am sweating away, and the wind is warm and muggy.</p><p><br />UncaDoug – you'll be so proud of me. I am going to report my crescent<br />moon sighting. I first saw it at 2010 Hawaii time, just as the sun was<br />setting. About 30 degrees above the horizon, and a bit to the left of<br />the setting sun. Cloud cover was about 20%. And I can see it now, from<br />my cabin, a slender crescent just now being swallowed up by a cloud.<br />Oop, there it is gone. I hope this is all the information you need to<br />report the sighting. Oh, and my position at 2010 was approx 0 28.5N, 179<br />52E.</p><p>Laurey – I seriously wish I could turn the temperature down! Today was<br />sweltering, and even now that it's dark it's still sultry and stifling.<br />Phewee!</p><p>Joan – thanks for buying the round of drinks for Roz's Regulars – and<br />for the suggestions for Neptune. I've now got the perfect present lined<br />up – wait and see!</p><p>And thanks to Jer, Amy, Miss Inquisitive, Meg and Chris, too, for your<br />comments.</p><p>Walt – I like your view on my entitlement to be a Golden Shellback, but<br />I have to take issue with you on my "downwind, down current ride to<br />Island X". I don't know which Island X you are thinking of, but for sure<br />it's not the one I'm aiming for! Nope, I've decided to make life REALLY<br />interesting for myself… check out the YouTube video for the<br />announcement! Ah, now I've just seen your later comment, and see that<br />you have. I know, I know. It's borderline insane. But it has to be worth<br />a try, at least….</p><p>And finally, another beautiful contribution from Richard in Austin,<br />Texas. Richard, I don't know what you do for a living, but if you're not<br />a full-time poet or lyricist, you've missed your vocation!</p><p>The "muse" for this poem was actually one of your posts, a few weeks<br />ago.<br />You brought up the International Date Line, and the environment, and<br />suddenly this little story came into my head. I could have used a few<br />more<br />weeks to work on it, but asking you to "hold your position" just east of<br />the<br />IDL (while I work on it) was obviously an impossibility.</p><p>Congratulations on your amazing progress, and on reaching the IDL!</p><p>INVISIBLE LINES</p><p>Years ago,<br />When we were young,<br />Our love burned brighter,<br />Than the sun.</p><p>We were in love,<br />And cared for the land.<br />And the stars and the seas,<br />Ate from our hand.</p><p>Our passion did last,<br />For quite a long while,<br />As I loved your humor,<br />And you loved my smile.</p><p>But, I loved the planet,<br />And you loved your things.<br />Our goals became different,<br />For whatever life brings.</p><p>I looked to the future,<br />And saw a green earth.<br />You looked at our checkbook,<br />How much are we worth?</p><p>I believed in the future,<br />What our planet could be,<br />I saw crisp clean air,<br />And a crystal blue sea.</p><p>You believed in "things",<br />You wanted much more.<br />A procession of "stuff",<br />Coming in through our door.</p><p>We started to differ,<br />We started to fight,<br />Our once happy ending,<br />Now in need of rewrite.</p><p>And sometimes one crosses,<br />An invisible line,<br />Things suddenly change,<br />And the planets align.</p><p>Without even speaking,<br />We know it is time,<br />To follow our hearts,<br />To recapture springtime.</p><p>I am rooted in the future,<br />You are rooted in the past.<br />I care about greenness,<br />You care about cash.</p><p>So now, out of love,<br />I must go my own way,<br />Because, I am tomorrow,<br />And you're yesterday.</p><p>Bravo, Richard!</p><p><br />Weather Report:</p><p>Position at 2200 Hawaii time: 00 27.734N, 179 50.460E<br />Wind: 0-5kts, S-SE most of the day, 12-18kts E late evening<br />Seas: 3ft swell from SE<br />Weather: hot and sunny with very little cloud. Some rainclouds around<br />mid-afternoon and again towards sunset, but I dodged the showers.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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Like something<br />being so bad it's good, or so embarrassing it becomes funny, or so insane<br />that it's genius. And today - I am so far west I'm east. Because this<br />afternoon I crossed the International Date Line.<p>I didn't really mean to. I'd rather hoped that I would manage to cross the<br />IDL and the Equator at the same time. Of course, I might still do that, if<br />I wiggle back east a little bit, to reach that magical intersection, but<br />it would have been fun to cross them both for the first time at the same<br />time. But ah well, the weather has long since shown her utter contempt for<br />my plans and schemes, and today was no exception.</p><p>The day had been still and calm until about 2pm, when the clouds came<br />over and a strong wind blew up from the south, sending me off on a<br />sudden westwards trajectory – heading straight for the IDL. There wasn't<br />much I could do about it. No matter how hard I rowed, I was still<br />heading west, whether I liked it or not. If I rowed I would only get<br />there even faster.</p><p>So I decided to sit it out and watch the countdown on my GPS from the<br />dry refuge of my cabin, so I hunkered down, watching the numbers tick<br />away on the little screen as the distance narrowed between me and<br />tomorrowland.</p><p>It's funny – you imagine that you ought to be able to feel something<br />when you cross over the IDL. Like in a Hollywood movie when someone<br />steps through the mirror into an alternative reality, there ought to be<br />some kind of strange ripple effect like a tremor passing across a pool<br />of still water. Or at the very least there ought to be a big black line<br />across the ocean, stretching away into the distance towards the North<br />and South Poles.</p><p>But no – there's nothing. The GPS goes from 179 59.999W to 180 00.000E –<br />and that's it. No chorus of angels (or mermaids), no special effects,<br />nothing. Just another gust of wind and another heavy spatter of<br />raindrops. And the weather in tomorrow is remarkably similar to how it<br />was in yesterday (cloudy, rainy, and windy).</p><p>Just goes to show – there's no point putting off until tomorrow what you<br />can do today – because from someone on the other side, I can tell you<br />that tomorrow is not so different. The world (and I) are just one day<br />older. So you may as well do it today, because you'll rarely regret<br />doing something sooner rather than later.</p><p>[Photo: For the record, I crossed the line at 15:57:02 Hawaii time – and<br />here is the proof.]</p><p>Other Stuff:</p><p>Note: I am going to continue using Hawaii time for the remainder of this<br />crossing – otherwise it will get too confusing trying to figure out when<br />I am due to record podcasts, call Nicole, or whatever. So I'll continue<br />to post weather reports as at Hawaii time. FYI, the sun now rises at<br />7:59am my time, and sets at 8:07pm.</p><p>Another note: apologies for the problems with the Tracker. Solaradata,<br />who provide my tracking unit, have been conducting a server transfer and<br />it has evidently generated some random location points. Apparently the<br />issue was that positive latitudes between 0 and 1 were being displayed<br />as 0 to –1. Evan has been working closely with them and assures me the<br />issue is now resolved. To be sure, it couldn't have happened at a worse<br />time – just as my lat and long are getting interesting! Thanks, Evan,<br />for getting it sorted out so quickly.</p><p>Yet another note – and this is the IMPORTANT one! I've come to a<br />decision on Island X. But I'm not going to post it on this blog just<br />yet. If you want to know NOW what I've decided, check out today's video<br />RozCast on YouTube. You can locate it via the RozTracker – or maybe<br />Nicole or Evan can post a link to it as a comment on this blog. Yes, I'm<br />trying to get more of you to view my RozCasts!</p><p>And final note: you might observe that in the photo the distance to Tuvalu<br />is excessively optimistic. This was based on incorrect lat and long - an<br />error which has now been corrected.</p><p>Apparently I need to think of a gift AND a sacrifice to offer to Neptune<br />when I cross the Equator. I'm not feeling very inspired. Any ideas? I<br />thought of sacrificing a cuddly toy, but that would leave some very<br />upset schoolchildren somewhere. I realize you don't know what I have on<br />board, but maybe some suggestions as to generic kinds of gifts or<br />sacrifices that Neptune might find acceptable?</p><p>Commiserations to Peter Bray, a former British commando who was<br />attempting to row the North Atlantic. His attempt had to be called off<br />when Hurricane Bill threatened his safety. His boat is apparently only 3<br />metres long – or about 10 feet. That is TINY! I hope that he will get<br />over this setback, and better luck next time.</p><p>Eco Champ of the Day is Judy:<br />"Oh Gosh, Roz, there are a lot of us lurkers out here. I featured you on<br />my<br />blog over a month ago, and I know some of my readers are following you.<br />As<br />for your purpose … we've switched to reusable grocery bags, we already<br />own<br />two hybrid cars but now we are grouping our errands to use the cars more<br />efficiently. Of course, we recycle. And we've raised the thermostat for<br />the<br />house during the day to 79F, and are trying to wean ourselves from it on<br />all<br />but the most humid days. It's a small token, we know, but the<br />consideration<br />of eco-saving is now one of our "household words". I'm not much of an<br />athlete, but I'm a champion rooter! Ra! Ra! Roz!<br />Judy"</p><p>Thanks, Dale, for your message. Your granny sounds like quite a lady! Do<br />feel free to contact my team at <a href="mailto:info@rozsavage.com">info@rozsavage.com</a>.</p><p>Walt – a good estimate on the crossing of the IDL. But we both reckoned<br />without the squall!</p><p>Amy – thanks for spreading the word. Nice to hear about fellow Rozlings<br />meeting up!</p><p>Jennifer – those links sound interesting. Thank you. I can't follow them<br />up from here (I have email only – no internet browsing capability) but<br />will try to find time to take a look when I'm back on dry land.</p><p>Doug – thanks for your suggestion about the solar kettle – but my kettle<br />only has one orifice, and that is the very small water spout. I have<br />been using a thermos mug to rehydrate my meals, and that works just<br />fine, thank you. As I said, the ambient temperature is extremely warm!<br />Achates, Seattle Dave and Meg – thanks for the tips. Will see if I can<br />resurrect the stove when I get back to dry land. As I said, I'm really<br />not missing it for now, so will spend my energies on rowing rather than<br />stove maintenance! As I said, I really don't need any advice or<br />suggestions, as I still have plenty of those left over from my<br />stove-less state on the Atlantic!</p><p>Texino – now THERE is a novel approach for solving the overpopulation<br />problem. Cannibalism. Can't think why the global leaders aren't pushing<br />that one…!!!</p><p><br />Weather report:</p><p>Position at 0850 HST: 00 47.061N, 179 58.950E<br />Wind: very light this morning, 0-5kts E. All over the shop this<br />afternoon, 20+ kts from S or SE mostly.<br />Weather: hot, sunny morning. Heavy cloud and frequent rainshowers<br />throughout the afternoon and evening.</p><p>Forecast is for wind to back to the East, and drop to almost nothing by<br />Monday.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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I hadn't used it very much, being mostly<br>on my rawfood diet, but just recently had rediscovered the joys of hot<br>porridge or a hot dinner at the end of the day. But the flame was yellow<br>and sooty, and soon my kettle was coated with a thickening layer of<br>black.<p>And then the stove stopped working altogether. Propane was coming<br>through, but it wouldn't light. It probably needs no more than a good<br>clean with a gas stove maintenance kit – but I don't have one on board.<p>But it's really no big deal. On the Atlantic I managed for 3 months<br>without a stove after my camping stove (very different model) broke.<br>Freeze dried food can still be reconstituted – it just takes longer.<br>I've had several delicious curries since the demise of the stove, that<br>suffered not at all from being served at a very warm ambient temperature<br>rather than piping hot.<p>Mick and Chris of <a href="http://goldengateendeavour.com">goldengateendeavour.com</a> are now on their THIRD cook<br>stove, so that shows just how vulnerable these things are when exposed<br>to salty ocean conditions for extended periods.<p>The second casualty is – yet again – my watermaker. It isn't the same<br>problem as on the San Francisco-Hawaii leg. I do try not to make the<br>same mistake twice, so after that bad experience, when the watermaker<br>locker flooded and caused the electric pump to corrode, I have two spare<br>pumps on board this time. So, naturally, this time the pump is still in<br>fine fettle, but something else has gone wrong. Not quite sure what it<br>is. The pump runs but neither fresh water nor waste brine emerge from<br>the two outlet pipes.<p>I spent a couple of hours this morning trying to fix the problem – first<br>of all on the phone to Spectra Watermakers in San Rafael, then<br>underneath my boat, braving remoras to check the through-hull intake for<br>any possible blockages (jellyfish have been known to get sucked in and<br>cause a problem), then mucking around in the bilges to dismantle, clean<br>and reassemble various pipes and filters. But all to no avail.<p>But no worries. I have enough water on board to keep me going for a<br>couple of months – and I hope to be making landfall well before then –<br>and also a manual watermaker kindly donated to me by the Hunks of the<br>JUNK raft with whom I traded food for water in mid-ocean last year.<p>So (sigh), this is just the way it goes. Even the most robust equipment<br>is rarely designed to spend several months at a time exposed to such<br>harsh conditions.<p>The good news is that Lazarus the Stereo, having been extremely<br>temperamental almost since Day 1 of this row, is being good as gold at<br>the moment. But I'll say that in a very quiet whisper, as it seems that<br>I no sooner praise a piece of equipment than it packs up on me…<p>[photo: Yet another sunset – but this one is pretty dramatic, don't you<br>think?! I wish I could share the Pacific skies with you more<br>effectively. One little rectangular photo just doesn't do them justice.<br>They are often spectacular, frequently breathtaking!]<p>Other Stuff:<p>I see there is a lot of speculation going on about when I might cross<br>the International Date Line and/or the Equator. As I write, I am now 58<br>nautical miles from the Equator, having crossed 1 degree North this<br>evening (woohoo!), and 13 nautical miles from the IDL. Current course is<br>southwesterly…. But when I pick up the oars in the morning I might<br>change course to aim more for one than for the other. In fact, I know I<br>will be – but I'm not quite ready to tell you about my decision yet, as<br>there are some external dependencies. Sorry to be such a tease, but all<br>will become clear in due course. So for now you'll just have to carry on<br>guessing…!<p>Meanwhile, there is a special International Date Line Sale going on in<br>the Store at <a href="http://rozsavage.com">rozsavage.com</a>. So it would be a great time to mosey on over<br>there and check out the special deals, which also raises a bit of money<br>to support my projects. And we'll just rename it the Equatorial Sale if<br>that becomes more appropriate!<p>Eco Champ of the Day (and we haven't had one for a while – where are all<br>the Eco Heroes?) is Connor. Thanks for your message, Connor! Here is<br>what he had to say…<p>Hey Roz,<p>Love what you are doing! We are trying to recycle more, carpool more<br>(when<br>we do have to drive) and use less water (especially hot water). We wash<br>clothes with cold water, and I have started taking cold showers,<br>especially<br>after a hard workout (I am a rower too), and I actually find it<br>refreshing.<p>A tip for all the rozlings who do have to drive, especially on long<br>trips.<br>After telling them about it for just about ever, my parents (I am only<br>16)<br>realized the benefits of cruise control. On a trip from our home in<br>Pittsburgh to Toronto, my mom used cruise control on the highway, and<br>her<br>fuel economy went from 28 to about 36!<p>Great job Connor – and thanks for sharing!<p><br>Richard in Virginia – a loyal but lurking Rozolyte – thanks for your<br>message, and for introducing yourself at last. I find it so strange, but<br>also very flattering, to think that there are people like you that I<br>will probably never meet, but in some small way I am a part of your<br>lives. Thank you for speaking up!<p>Doug – thanks for the carrots. I hope my rate of carrot consumption is<br>going to accelerate over these final stages. Chomp, chomp! (And good for<br>my night vision too…)<p>Weather Report:<p>Position at 2300 HST: 00 57.786N, 179 47.233W<br>Wind: very variable. 10kts E this morning, 0-8kts S-SE this afternoon<br>(was rowing into a headwind for a while), then back to the E<br>Seas: 3-5 ft<br>Weather: generally fine and sunny, some cloud, including one huge<br>raincloud this afternoon that was probably responsible for the headwind<p>Weather forecast, courtesy of <a href="http://weatherguy.com">weatherguy.com</a>:<p>Latest tracker reported your position as: 01 31N 179 02W as of 18Aug<br>0641HST.<p>As of Tuesday 18 Aug 2009. According to measured data, there have been<br>SEerly winds up to 7-12kts over your position and some light rainshower<br>activity. The heaviest of rain was north of 05N. Lighter SEerly winds<br>are to<br>your west to Tarawa with heavier and widespread rainshowers. South of<br>the<br>equator there are stronger ESE winds 17-20kts. The SEerlies shift to<br>Nerly<br>5-10kts by late tonight. Then shift to SEerly and increase in speed to<br>15kt<br>range with 20kts possible. Winds return to Eerly and abate to 5-12kts by<br>the<br>morning of the 21st.<p>Widespread clouds with deep convection are north of your position along<br>the<br>ITCZ axis. West and south of your position, skies are partly cloudy with<br>minimal convection.<p>Forecast sky conditions: Partly to mostly cloudy. Scattered, light to<br>moderate rainshowers.<p>Ocean currents: No significant change from last report<p>Forecast (low confidence)<br>Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft) est<br>18/0800-18/1200 SE-E 5-12 2-4<br>18/1200-19/0000 E-N 5-10 2-4<br>19/0000-19/1200 N-SE 5-10 2-4<br>19/1200-19/2100 SE 7-15 2-4<br>19/2100-20/2100 SE 10-20 3-5<br>20/2100-21/0600 SE-E 10-15 3-5<br>21/0600-23/0800 E 5-12 2-4<p>Next Update: Thursday, 20 August<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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Or will it be Funafuti in Tuvalu?<p>I wish I could tell you. The question is still being hotly debated in<br />TeamRoz. It would be the million dollar question – except that our<br />budget isn't that big. It's at least a fifty dollar question though.</p><p>Distance-wise, there is not much in it. 482 nautical miles to Tuvalu,<br />517 to Tarawa (approximately). But on the ocean not all miles are equal.<br />Some are upwind, some are downwind, some are across-wind. Although the<br />ocean may look flat, it is more accurate to think of it like a ski<br />resort. Downwinds are like well-groomed ski slopes. Upwind I'd need a<br />chairlift. Across the wind I'd be cross-country rather than downhill<br />skiing. I'm not sure what the ocean equivalent would be for off-piste,<br />but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to try it.</p><p>On the one hand, I would prefer to go to Tuvalu:<br />a) because it would set me up better for making it to Australia next<br />year, and<br />b) because it would be better for my climate change message – Tuvalu<br />being the current "poster child" of climate change thanks to their<br />recent announcement that they intend to be the world's first carbon<br />neutral country, with a target date of 2020.</p><p>BUT</p><p>From where I am now, I am doubtful that it is possible. Given that the<br />winds are generally E-SE, I suspect that I would get pushed too far west<br />before I could get far enough south. For example, see the RozTracker for<br />the last couple of days. My bows have been pointed as south as they can<br />be, but the best I can do is 90 degrees to the wind – and the wind has<br />been from the south, so the best I can do is west. No nicely groomed ski<br />slopes heading the way I want to go.</p><p>There is a fine line between being adventurous and taking unnecessary<br />risks. If I got tempted into trying for Tuvalu, but ended up missing<br />landfall altogether, or having to be towed some significant distance to<br />make it into port – either of these would NOT be cool. I would<br />definitely be off-piste (and piste off).</p><p>But then will I end up cursing myself next year – if I find myself<br />heading for Papua New Guinea instead of Australia? Will I wish I'd tried<br />a bit harder for Tuvalu?</p><p>So, when in doubt, postpone the decision until there is more information<br />available. Even if I was set on Tarawa, my plan would still be to push<br />south beyond the Equator to get south of all these tricky old currents<br />and weather systems, and then to take a sharp right and row downwind to<br />the west, before looping up slightly to get to Tarawa, which lies just<br />north of the Equator. By happy coincidence, this is also initially what<br />I would do to get to Tuvalu.</p><p>So I'm going to go south as much as I can, and see what longitude I'm at<br />when I reach the Equator. By then I'll have new weather information and<br />can make a better informed decision.</p><p>Of course, this doesn't make life easy for Nicole and the rest of<br />TeamRoz who are planning to come out and meet me. The suspense<br />continues. Meanwhile, I am heading rapidly towards tomorrow – the<br />International Date Line is now just about 35 miles away.</p><p>[photo: My rather old chart donated by Captain Vince of the White Holly,<br />printed back in the days when Tuvalu was still called the Ellice<br />Islands. But hopefully they're still in more or less the same place,<br />although they might be getting smaller as the seas rise…]</p><p>Other Stuff:</p><p>Thanks for all the messages from the Rozling community. Wouldn't it be<br />amazing if we were all able to assemble, from all around the world, and<br />get together in one room for a huge party when I finish this row? I<br />would love that! Maybe we can figure out a way to do it in virtual<br />reality.</p><p>Naomi – don't worry about your knees. I try to take the strategy of NOT<br />worrying about things – just preparing for them. Only time will tell if<br />your knees will bear up. But do take some painkillers and<br />anti-inflammatories with you just in case… and if your walk has to turn<br />into a drive, well, never mind. It won't be worse, just different!</p><p>I especially enjoyed this message, which I think also came from Naomi,<br />although it was a bit difficult to tell from the way it was formatted in<br />the email I received:<br />"I thought of you when I read this today on my FaceBook page: "The<br />difference<br />between "try" and "triumph" is the UMPH!"<br />Isn't that just a GREAT message?!</p><p>Hi to Carol, Greg, Sue, Brennan and Conor – thanks for your messages!</p><p>Weather report:</p><p>Position at 2300 HST: 01 23.451N, 179 25.178W<br />Wind: 0-20kts but generally around 15kts, S backing to E during the day<br />Seas: 3-6ft, SE, quite steep and choppy at times<br />Weather: mostly blue skies, some cloud – cumulus and cirrus. Could see<br />some rainclouds around but they kept their distance several miles away.</p><p><br />Weather forecast, courtesy of <a href="http://weatherguy.com/">weatherguy.com</a>:</p><p>Latest tracker reported your position as: 01 31N 179 02W as of 18Aug<br />0641HST.</p><p>As of Tuesday 18 Aug 2009. According to measured data, there have been<br />SEerly winds up to 7-12kts over your position and some light rainshower<br />activity. The heaviest of rain was north of 05N. Lighter SEerly winds<br />are to<br />your west to Tarawa with heavier and widespread rainshowers. South of<br />the<br />equator there are stronger ESE winds 17-20kts. The SEerlies shift to<br />Nerly<br />5-10kts by late tonight. Then shift to SEerly and increase in speed to<br />15kt<br />range with 20kts possible. Winds return to Eerly and abate to 5-12kts by<br />the<br />morning of the 21st.</p><p>Widespread clouds with deep convection are north of your position along<br />the<br />ITCZ axis. West and south of your position, skies are partly cloudy with<br />minimal convection.</p><p>Forecast sky conditions: Partly to mostly cloudy. Scattered, light to<br />moderate rainshowers.</p><p>Ocean currents: No significant change from last report</p><p>Forecast (low confidence)<br />Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft) est<br />18/0800-18/1200 SE-E 5-12 2-4<br />18/1200-19/0000 E-N 5-10 2-4<br />19/0000-19/1200 N-SE 5-10 2-4<br />19/1200-19/2100 SE 7-15 2-4<br />19/2100-20/2100 SE 10-20 3-5<br />20/2100-21/0600 SE-E 10-15 3-5<br />21/0600-23/0800 E 5-12 2-4</p><p>Next Update: Thursday, 20 August</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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And obviously with a<br />high-speed, hell-for-leather expedition like this (???!!!) every second<br />counts. So it was time to overcome my abhorrence of strange leech-like<br />fish attaching themselves to my nether regions and brave the waters once<br />again.<p>I put on a pair of lycra shorts to protect myself from any particularly<br />personal assaults, and took the plunge. I could feel some fish tickling<br />around my legs, but it wasn't too bad at first. Then I saw the first of<br />the little remoras, wiggling away as hung on to the side of the boat. I<br />don't know what it is about these small grey fish, but I just find them<br />absolutely repulsive. There is something about their wiggliness, as well<br />as their tendency to suction onto me, that gives me a bad attack of the<br />heebie-jeebies every time I see them. I squealed girlishly, shuddered,<br />and pressed on with my de-barnacling chores, working as quickly as I<br />could.</p><p>I was shocked by the condition of the outside of the boat. I've never<br />seen it like this before. I'm used to the gooseneck barnacles, but not<br />the amount of green growth, presumably algae of some sort, that is<br />flourishing on Brocade's once-lovely silver paintwork. She looks like<br />she's been at sea for about 3 decades rather than 3 months. This is<br />going to take some serious cleaning up when I get to Island X.</p><p>Barnacles duly removed, I put my foot on the grabline and pulled myself<br />up onto the deck using the oars as handrails. Something came with me. It<br />was a 3-inch remora, attached to my right calf. Yeeeuch. The silly<br />creature hung on until I was all the way back on board and it had no way<br />to return to its natural element. I have to confess to a very petty<br />revenge – I left him until he was almost at his last gasp before I<br />returned him to the ocean. But I suspect I'll have no more luck training<br />remoras not to cling than I did training boobies not to poop….</p><p>[photo: Barnacles – and not the sort to be found in yacht clubs around<br />the world, propping up the bar with G&T's from 11am onwards….]</p><p>Other Stuff:</p><p>After a couple of days of good southerly progress, today the wind moved<br />from the East into the Southeast, slowing me down. It was a very light<br />wind, so I was still able to make some southerly progress, but not as<br />much. I generally row at right angles to the wind, so if the wind is<br />from the East then I can point due South, but if it is Southeast then I<br />have to point Southwest – so today my course has been more West than<br />South. But that's fine too. The forecast is for the wind to shift back<br />to the East early tomorrow – so it would be nice if that turns out to be<br />right.</p><p>Twitter panic – sorry for any consternation caused by a random Tweet<br />that was generated by my Dopplr account, saying I was returning to San<br />Francisco today. I don't really use Dopplr any more, but must have set<br />up some general dates on my account many moons ago, in which I thought<br />that Stage 2 might be ending around now. Please be assured, I am NOT<br />returning to San Francisco today. The row goes on!</p><p>Thanks, as ever, for a lovely batch of comments. I am now reaching<br />terminal discomfort in my cabin after responding to various TeamRoz<br />emails and writing this blog (try sitting with a hot laptop on your knee<br />in a rolling cabin in sweltering equatorial heat after a long day's<br />rowing) so will cut this short – but just wanted to let you know that<br />Mum is now back online and emailing me the comments on a daily basis.<br />Thanks to Nicole for standing in while Mum was e-ncommunicado – and<br />thanks to Mum for yesterday's blog. Yes, we did have to airdrop Mum and<br />a hairdresser out in mid-Pacific just to get that photo done…!</p><p>A quick thank you to Doug for the hike report - and for the<br />(financial) carrot. Yum!</p><p>Weather Report</p><p>Position at 2245 HST: 01 25.599N, 178 39.425W<br />Wind: 0-10 knots, SE<br />Seas: gentle swell, 3-5ft, SE<br />Weather: clear, hot and sunny, with a band of small cumulus clouds<br />passing over during the afternoon</p><p><br />Weather forecast, courtesy of <a href="http://weatherguy.com/">weatherguy.com</a></p><p>As of Thursday morning 13 Aug 2009. According to measured data, there<br />have been Eerly winds up to 7-12kts over your position and some<br />rainshower activity to your north. SEerly winds 10kt is south of your<br />position to the equator. The SEerlies eventually shift to Eerly 10-15kts<br />by today. A further shift to the north will keep the winds north of<br />east until late on the 15th. Then shifting to SEerly for a brief period<br />before returning to Eerly by the end of the forecast period.</p><p>The widespread clouds mentioned in last report have cleared to partly<br />cloudy skies with minimal convection.</p><p>Forecast sky conditions: Partly to mostly cloudy. Scattered moderate<br />rainshowers.</p><p>Ocean currents should be light SSWerlies (flowing towards the NNE) at<br />about 0.1 to 0.2 kts in your area to about 00 30S. To the north of you<br />beginning at about 3 30N there is a band of Eerly flowing current of<br />about 0.5 to 0.7kts. South of the equator along your longitude there is<br />a band of Werly flowing current of about 1.0kt.</p><p>Forecast (low confidence)<br />Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft) est<br />13/1200-14/1800 E 5-15 2-4<br />14/1800-15/1500 E-ENE 5-15 2-4<br />15/1500-15/1800 ENE-E 5-15 2-4<br />15/1800-17/0600 E-SE-E 5-15 2-4<br />17/0600-18/0000 E 5-10 2-3</p><p>Next Update: Monday, 16 August</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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But he died 5 years<br />ago, so he will be forever 75. Given this special date, today seemed an<br />appropriate day to post a guest blog by my mother. Those who have been<br />following my blog since the Atlantic will be well acquainted with Mum,<br />especially after she had to step in and update my blog after I lost all<br />communications 24 days before the end of the crossing. She had no more<br />idea what was going on than anybody else did, so there was some<br />impressive improvisation and ad-libbing on her part that would have made<br />any TV presenter proud – even while she was worried sick about me.<p>So, without further ado, over to my poor long-suffering Mum…</p><p>Some Mothers Do Have 'Em is the name of a TV show in the UK- but not<br />many mothers have a daughter like Roz. Yes, I am proud of what she has,<br />and is, achieving, but she has given me some heart-stopping moments<br />along the way. Like the day she first told me she was going to row<br />across the Atlantic.</p><p>A few months before she set out, Roz invited me to go and stay with her<br />in Emsworth on the south coast of England, where she was living at the<br />time, to help with fitting out the boat. What a wise move that was on<br />her part. She got me so involved in the whole project that it was no<br />longer what she was doing, but what we, together, were doing.</p><p>This involvement came at a good time for me. It was just a year since my<br />husband had died, and gave me a new purpose in my retirement days. Many<br />a time people asked if I was worried about her. I think that we were so<br />closely involved, that she was not a separate entity – out there on the<br />ocean- but very much a part of our togetherness. I hope you can<br />understand what I mean. I lived all the time with the reality of what<br />Roz was doing.</p><p>However, in her various ocean crossings there have been tough, worrying<br />moments. Leaving out some of the minor shocks, there came the day that<br />her satphone packed up, leaving me without any communication with her.<br />The boat rolling over three times during her first time attempt to<br />depart the Californian coast. Watermakers packing up on the first leg of<br />the Pacific crossing.</p><p>Even when our sons or daughters are adults, it is still the longing of a<br />mother to protect and guard her family. It can be hard when we feel<br />helpless, that nothing that we do can solve the problems; I am sure that<br />many a mother has felt this, in all sorts of circumstances. We have to<br />try to raise our children to be independent, capable of making their own<br />decisions, and looking after themselves. To quote a book that I know<br />rather<br />well: "Now these three remain, faith, hope and love. But the greatest of<br />these is love." The greatest gift we can give, no matter what they do.</p><p>I have not been quite so closely involved with Roz's activities this<br />year, for several reasons (I have been busy with a double hip<br />replacement, and two weeks ago I moved house), and just so grateful to<br />Nicole for being there for Roz. I am standing on the side-lines,<br />watching, yet Roz is still very much in my thinking and feeling, my<br />daily life and tasks.</p><p>Thanks, Mum – I can't even begin to imagine the emotional hell I put you<br />through while I am out on the water, and I can only say – thank you,<br />you're one in a million.</p><p>[photo: Mum and me]</p><p>Other Stuff:</p><p>On this crossing no two days have been alike – until today. Which was<br />very much like yesterday. Very, very hot, calm conditions, with the<br />weather pretty much leaving me alone to do my thing – my thing being to<br />row steadily and sweat profusely. I've made another 18 miles south<br />towards the Equator.</p><p>Finally at around sunset today I finished uploading my video messages,<br />so normal Tweeting service should be resumed tomorrow.</p><p>Thank you to Roz's Regulars for some great messages!</p><p>Doug – your message about the Booby Training Center gave me a good<br />laugh. No boobies today though – in fact only one solitary bird all day<br />to break the monotony. Only other wildlife sighting was a few jumping<br />fish.</p><p>AH – loved your take on the 7 Habits – thank you! I listened to "Three<br />Cups of Tea" a few weeks ago – and can definitely vouch for the fact<br />that having a powerful sense of purpose allows people to overcome all<br />kinds of inhibitions.</p><p>Gary – "Take it easy, but take it" – wise words. And to share a secret,<br />I find motivation a huge problem too. It was so much easier in the days<br />when I was rowing crew and had a coxswain yelling at me to keep going.<br />But actually, having said that, I'm finding motivation easier and easier<br />the closer I get to my goal So I suppose one idea is to have interim<br />targets and milestones – like keeping tally of how many meters you have<br />rowed overall, and reward yourself every once in a while. Has to be<br />worth a bottle of champagne, surely! (Champagne isn't too calorific<br />either – that's why the supermodels drink it! Or maybe it's just because<br />they can….)</p><p><br />Weather Report:</p><p>Position at 2240 HST: 01 33.737N, 178 16.106W<br />Wind: 0-5kts, E<br />Seas: 2-4ft, E<br />Weather: hot and sunny, clear skies, hot. Towards sunset ranks of little<br />fluffy clouds passed over, then cleared again.</p><p><br />Weather forecast, courtesy of <a href="http://weatherguy.com/">weatherguy.com</a></p><p>As of Thursday morning 13 Aug 2009. According to measured data, there<br />have been Eerly winds up to 7-12kts over your position and some<br />rainshower activity to your north. SEerly winds 10kt is south of your<br />position to the equator. The SEerlies eventually shift to Eerly 10-15kts<br />by today. A further shift to the north will keep the winds north of<br />east until late on the 15th. Then shifting to SEerly for a brief period<br />before returning to Eerly by the end of the forecast period.</p><p>The widespread clouds mentioned in last report have cleared to partly<br />cloudy skies with minimal convection.</p><p>Forecast sky conditions: Partly to mostly cloudy. Scattered moderate<br />rainshowers.</p><p>Ocean currents should be light SSWerlies (flowing towards the NNE) at<br />about 0.1 to 0.2 kts in your area to about 00 30S. To the north of you<br />beginning at about 3 30N there is a band of Eerly flowing current of<br />about 0.5 to 0.7kts. South of the equator along your longitude there is<br />a band of Werly flowing current of about 1.0kt.</p><p>Forecast (low confidence)<br />Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft) est<br />13/1200-14/1800 E 5-15 2-4<br />14/1800-15/1500 E-ENE 5-15 2-4<br />15/1500-15/1800 ENE-E 5-15 2-4<br />15/1800-17/0600 E-SE-E 5-15 2-4<br />17/0600-18/0000 E 5-10 2-3</p><p>Next Update: Monday, 16 August</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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