Roz 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.
I live and learn - and when something isn't going as I hoped, I'm not too proud to admit I was mistaken.
I was really pleased when I found there was a way to post my Twitter updates to my blog as a single day's update - I thought it would be a great way to share my rather unusual lifestyle with people - and I still think it was worth a try. But the experiment has been a mixed success, so I've decided to change tack. The Twitter updates will still be available, but over at a new blog that I have set up for the purpose. So this blog will no longer be cluttered with the minutiae of my life.
Initially I had hoped that the advantages would be:
1. Even when I didn't have a spare hour to sit down and write a full blog, there would still be something new appearing on the site.
2. Especially in the final days before my next row, life is getting intense and interesting, and I'd hoped to share this.
3. I wanted to make my Twitter postings available to non-Twitterers, so you wouldn't feel you were missing out on an aspect of my online postings.
But there were several problems with the LoudTwitter postings:
1. The formatting wasn't too pretty.
2. For non-Twitterers, things like RT, @ and hashtags were confusing.
3. The Twitter blogs drowned out the "quality" blogs and important announcements.
So after a week's pilot scheme, I have decided to redirect the Twitter-blogs to a different blog that I have set up specifically for the purpose. If you liked them, you can now find them over at
For those of you who regularly read my blogs and Twitter posts, you know that this year, my mission is all about Climate Change. Very soon, I’ll be officially unveiling my initiative for Stage 2 of the Pacific crossing – which I am so excited to share with you when the time is right – but not yet. Today, I have some very exciting news to tell you: I am pleased and honoured to announce an exciting partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). They have created a campaign called Climate Heroes, and yours truly has been named one of them.
The concept is born out of the UN-wide call for the world to UNite to Combat Climate Change in the lead up to the critical negotiations taking place this December in Copenhagen.
According to the UNEP team, “the Climate Heroes platform supports a select group who are undertaking exceptional personal feats, high-profile expeditions and other innovative acts of environmental activism to demonstrate their commitment and to raise awareness for one simple idea: Your planet needs You! These projects highlight environmental “hot topics” like CO2 output, plastic usage and tree planting.
“The ultimate goal of the collaboration between UNEP and the Climate Heroes is to build interest, inspiration and momentum to motivate action. Participating under the global banner, UNite to Combat Climate Change, their acts, and the attention they generate, will give voice to the movement of individuals and organizations across the globe who care about the state of our planet and want to see real change and real commitment. This commitment should be demonstrated by governments with a ratification of the proposals set forth in Copenhagen. The call to action for this outcome is called Seal the Deal.”
Ultimately, this is a call for each of us to do what we can: from adopting the simplest habits, like taking a reusable grocery bag to the store or a reusable mug to the coffee shop. Part of why I’m so thrilled to be partnering with UNEP is because I’m a firm believer in the accumulation of individual choices and actions. Through our united efforts, we can all be Climate Heroes and together, we can make a world of difference!
UNEP World Environment Day…the 30 day countdown begins now! Commemorated yearly on 5 June, World Environment Day is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.
On World Environment Day, UNEP endeavors to: • Give a human face to environmental issues • Empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development • Promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues • Advocate partnerships which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future
So this year, in honor of World Environment Day, UNEP is joining the Twitter revolution! They are pledging to plant a tree for every follower that they reach until 5 June, with a goal of at least 100,000 people. Tree planting is an important way to help recapture CO2 emissions – Prince Charles is a big fan of this method, and so am I!
You know how much I love to Twitter… So, let’s all pull together in this effort. It’s easy: just visit www.twitter.com/UNEPandYou and add them to your Twitter feed. Spread the word to your friends and family and help us blow that goal of 100,000 followers out of the water!
To reward you for your efforts, for the next 30 days Team Roz will be Tweeting “Do Something Tips” – ideas and suggestions for ways you can take simple actions right now to green your daily routine, reduce the amount of waste you generate and the amount of carbon you emit.
So, come on…join us! And spread the word…
Other Stuff:
Tonight I went to an event run by Jack Johnson's Kokua Hawaii Foundation at a local school here on Hawaii's North Shore. It included a screening of the film "Message in the Waves", featuring various local Hawaiian heroes - and some shocking footage of plastic pollution killing animals and polluting the oceans.
But it ended on an upbeat note, with Jack Johnson singing "Reduce Reuse Recycle" - leading the way and telling us all what we can do to stop the problem at source. It's not rocket science - so here's something we can all do starting now. On my one-hour walk this morning I was able to pick up about 10 pieces of rubbish and put them where they do the least damage - in the bin. It all helps...
This is my first ever test of a new kind of blog. Those of you who enjoy proper essay-like blogs, fear not - those will still happen. But when things get busy I don't always have an hour or so to sit and write a long, thoughtful blog. I'd like to make sure I am keeping you in touch with final preparations - and Twitter (micro-blogging service) is the easiest way to do that. So here is the best of both worlds - I've found a way to gather up all my "Tweets" for 24 hours and post them as a blog. So here we go! I hope you enjoy these two contrasting perspectives on my life - the big thoughts and the minutiae, and sometimes the blending of the two...
21:28 Great time at Haleiwa Green Drinks tonight. Thanks to all for a special evening! #
22:18 Chillin' post presentation. Playing pool at Kainoa's. tinyurl.com/c5hdea#
22:22 Joel pulled his back while working on my boat. Then he found the massage chair at Kainoa's. See pic [below] for major bliss #
23:58 So happy to be back here on the North Shore. Falling asleep to the sound of surf instead of the sound of sirens... #
07:18 Just back from early morning swim on Oahu's North Shore. Beach deserted. Just as well because I can't find my bikini so had to improvise! #
10:30 Back at the "uptown" office in Haliewa for a day online. Nicole off to town to meet @hawaii and @Bytemarks #
10:27 V cool! Testing sat2twitter, which I can use from satellite phone to geotag my Tweets and display to Google Map. s2t.me/d2c2bq#
14:13 Cover girl! Pic of me on front of Rowing News: The Rising Tide of Ocean Rowing. bit.ly/i0REv#
Some of this syntax might be a bit mysterious to those of you who are not active on Twitter. So just a few words of explanation:
Twitter = way of sharing thoughts, ideas, news and general drivel with anybody who cares to share. Updates can be posted via computer or mobile phone - or indeed satellite phone! Maximum length is 140 characters. A good lesson in brevity!
@ = this prefixes a username of someone else on Twitter. So, for example, @hawaii above refers to Ryan Ozawa, who goes under the alias "hawaii" on Twitter.
tinyurl etc = Tinyurl is a website that converts long website addresses into short ones - very useful when you only have 140 characters to play with.
# (hashtags) = there aren't any above, but you might see them from time to time. They operate like searchable data tags. So, for example, if I wanted people searching on the word "sustainability" to find my Tweets, I would make sure that I included "#environment" somewhere in the post. But the hashtag at the end of each of the lines above is slightly different. If you click on it you'll be taken over to the original Tweet on my Twitter home page. Try it and see.
By the way, you might notice above that I have been experimenting with ways to leave a trail of Tweets across the ocean, geotagged so we can plot them on a Google Map. I haven't tried it out from my satellite phone yet but am optimistic that it will work. So you'll be able to see exactly where I was when I posted a particular Tweet. Call me a geek, but I'm really excited about this!
The Brocade is now comfortably ensconced in her new home at Pacific Shipyards International on Pier 41. I had spent much of the last 8 months, almost ever since I landed in Hawaii, trying to find somewhere suitable to store her - with absolutely no luck. But like London buses, after none for ages, two come along at once...
Yesterday afternoon I was holding the fort in our "downtown office" at Waikiki Yacht Club while Nicole and Joel took the truck to tow Brocade from Pier 21 to Pier 41 so she could be repainted. Pier 21 was supposed to be for storage only, and we had already been pushing our luck by doing so much boatwork there. I had just received a rather terse note from the owner, asking me to move all my "crap" (his word) from the area around my boat. So painting there was definitely out of the question - and besides, the warehouse was so filthy that her pristine post-painting appearance would not have lasted for long. No point making her all pretty if she was just going to metaphorically roll in the mud. So as I Tweeted yesterday, a new location was urgently needed.
As I was catching up on my emails I came across a suggestion from Sindy Davis, blog reader, supporter, and now an in-person "real" friend as well, who suggested aircraft hangars. We had already tried a few such leads, but she sent me a link to Air Service Hawaii, which we hadn't tried before. Not an immediate win, but a relatively short trail (only 4 phone calls) led me to Dan Espiritu, who immediately offered me space near Honolulu Airport at a huge discount.
My text to Nicole, celebrating the good news, crossed with a text from her saying that the guys at Pier 41, Pacific Boatyards, had welcomed the Brocade with open arms and offered her accommodation for as long as she needed - plus paint, under cover storage space, crane services, etc etc. This rather trumped the airport option, as the extra manpower and free paint would save us loads of $$$. Fantastic!
So now Joel is busy at work, prepping and painting the boat (see pictures), while Nicole and Conrad, local filmmaker and our new best friend, shoot footage of the works in progress. And I try to figure out if I have everything I need to sustain me for 100+ days at sea. Ocean rowing is almost unique amongst expeditions in that it is impossible to pop down to the corner store for anything that I have overlooked. I know of a crew of two guys who had to share a toothbrush the whole way across the Atlantic....
So here is my packing list so far - let me know if you see any omissions, but within reason, please. Every pound of weight is another pound I have to row across 2,600 miles of ocean!
Sawyers oars (4) Rowing seat + spare wheels Cushion pads and packtowel covers Para anchor x 2 Leecloths for bunk Manual bilge pump (in addition to fixed bilge pump) Tripod mount Handheld VHF radio x 2
Compass x 2 GPS x 3 (plus the one in my iPhone) Toughbook PC x 2 Iridium satellite phone x 2 Tracking beacon Aquapacs iPod x 5 iPod headphones and waterproof bag Pelicases Spare batteries for everything Inverter (US) Pentax waterproof camera Ricoh 500SE waterproof camera with geotagging
Foghorn Axe (don't ask - was required by Atlantic Rowing Race rules, and is now part of the furniture!) Marine flares EPIRB Searchlight Immersion suit Liferaft Lifejacket Grab bag Type-4 Coast Guard Approved Flotation Device
Vitamins, minerals, supplements Nuts and seeds Seeds for sprouting Larabars Freeze-dried food Tinned fish
Pillows for bunk Ocean Sleepwear sleeping bag Silk inner sleeping bag Pillowcase Rowing shoes Sun shades for hatches Red ensign Hawaiian flag
Charts Scissors Grease pencil (for marking up miles on whiteboard) Sharpie Pencils Reading glasses & case Log book Knife and sharpening block
Knife, fork, spoon, teaspoon x 3 Mugs with lids Water bottles Seed sprouter Measuring jug Wooden spoons/spatulas Hand pump for jerry cans x 2 Bungee cords Assorted food storage jars Jerry cans for water Spare water bags for extra ballast Thermos flask Clips for sachets of food Drybags for storing rubbish Ziplock bags
Washing powder Washing up liquid Hospital-grade antibacterial cleanser Funnel Windproof lighter x 4 Matches Brush and dustpan Cloths and pot scourer Bottle brush for water bottles Clothespegs Scrapers for scrubbing bottom of boat Bedpan Bucket x 3
Baseball caps Fleece and long trousers for evening shift T-shirts, shorts, sports bras Rowing gloves Anti-UV sunglasses & case
Soap/shower gel Moisturiser Dental floss Toothbrush Toothpaste Alcohol/tea tree oil wipes Cream to prevent chafing Body lotion Body scrubber/ chamois leather Towel Sun lotion by Green People
... and cuddly toys!
Grab Bag containing: 4 chocolate bars 4 small bottles water Anti seasickness tablets First aid kit Fishing kit Glucose sweets Emergency rations Grab bag Knife Lightsticks (6) Personal EPIRB Pocket strobe light Red hand flares (2) Signal mirror with whistle + float Silva compass Spare torch bulb Thermal foil blanket Tool kit Waterproof torch Foghorn Handwarmers Fishing line and weight GPS
Toolkit comprising: 10" mole grips 5 piece screwdriver set 6" adjustable spanner 6" pliers Alum keys Any specialised tools for equipment on board combination spanners 94 - 10mm glue Hammer junior hacksaw and blades Stanley knife and blades marine sealant Amsoil Heavy Duty Metal Protector epoxy repair kit pack of metric drills penetrating oil, WD40 reflective tape self amalgamating tape duct tape small hand drill set of metric drills cable ties Wet & Dry Sand Paper Woodglue Tape Measure Alligator clamp, C-clamp Leatherman Electrical spares: 20 by 5mm 2 amp Fuses x 3 10mm nylon P clips x 4 10 amp fuse x 3 Twin pole plug ( cigar ) x 2 Nav light and bulb Spare bulb for internal light 5 amp fuse x 3 Insulated Crimps x 5 Yellow Male Crimps x 6 20 by 5mm 1 amp Fuses x 3 Liquid Electrical Tape 20 by 5mm 3 amp Fuses x 3 20 by 5mm 5 amp Fuses x 3 Ties 3 sizes x 40 Mini Torch Female Crimps x 4 Fuse wire 10m spares for bilge pump spares for watermaker spares for steering system spare seat spare rowing gates spare CO2 bottle for lifejacket spare batteries spare rudder pintles
First Aid kit: Anti inflammatories Dioralyte (for seasickness) Ibuprofen gel Micropore (tons!) Painkillers Seasickness patches Biofreeze Deep Heat Ice packs and a lot more besides - thanks to Expedition Doctor Aenor Sawyer!
Other stuff:
Happy Shiny Boat
Thanks to all who took part in a lively debate on Twitter and Facebook about what colour to repaint the Brocade. I took all these votes into consideration, but in the end had to come down on the conservative side and go with silver again because:
- it looks good with any colour sponsor stickers ... - it doesn't get too hot to the touch - if we have to do any creative editing with the video, using bits out of sequence, it will avoid having glaring continuity errors - and, ultimately, I just couldn't imagine her being any other colour!
But there will be little "accents" of colour (she says in her best camp-interior-designer voice) with sponsor logos, seat cushion (orange), and so on.
Pacific Paddler
I went paddling with the outrigger canoeists of the Waikiki Yacht Club last night - earning ourselves a beer or three (and WHOSE idea was the tequila?!) in the yacht club bar last night. And paddling is meant to be good for your health?!
About to dash out of WYC to go do a live interview with Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central - catch it here!
There is a wonderful vibe in Team Roz at the moment. This is a big year for us, and it seems as if everything in our lives so far has been preparing us for this moment. All the skills, contacts and experiences that Nicole and I have ever had seem to be relevant to our mission for 2009 - to launch a rowing expedition, sure, but more than that, to add our voices to a movement towards a greener future, riding the wave of social media to spread the word. Here is one example.
That meeting led to Rohit inviting me to contribute to an ebook called "Women of Personality" - described as "A compiliation ebook featuring contributions from 20 visionary female entrepreneurs sharing their secrets of success."
(Visionary - who, me?! Hey, why not?!)
And within the first 24 hours (ahem, sorry, Rohit for being so late - been a bit busy) the ebook was going great guns in the new media world...
- Dozens of tweets about the ebook using the hashtag #wop - 14 requests by email from women to be part of the second edition - Over 600 clicks on the twitter link - Almost 2000 visits to the page to download the ebook - Average time of engagement on the campaign page was OVER 4 minutes! - Over 100 downloads of the ebook on Scribd of the uploaded version of the ebook
And the good news? You can get the entire book FOR FREE simply by clicking here!
(And great to see Podcast Sister Krishna De included in the ebook - click here to listen to my interview last Christmas with Krishna.)
I realize that to many, this "new media" might be seen as the preserve of geeks and early adopters, but I am excited by its huge potential to broadcast a message - whether that is inspiration, education, or environmentalism. When this year's eco-initiative is unveiled, I hope there will be lots in there to make even the most sceptical of un-geeks to say, "Wow, cool!" and feel the urge to share it with their friends. And don't worry - I'll show you how. No geekiness required!
Just one final note - how come all the other women in the ebook look so fab and glamorous and I don't? Ah, I'd just finished rowing 2,700 miles - maybe that's it!
Over the past three years I've got quite used to launching boats, but it's been a long time since I launched a new blog. I've been sharing my life and adventures since 2003 over at RozSavage.com, but when it comes to Blogger I'm a newbie.
So, to my old readers, welcome to my new blog.
And to my new readers, welcome to my world.
And what an interesting world it is - not many people row across oceans for a living, and even when on dry land my existence as an off-season ocean rower is different from most. I'm rarely in one place for long, and I get to meet the most interesting and inspirational people - both on and offline. Life is rarely predictable, and certainly never boring.
I feel it would be selfish of me to live a life that I love without sharing it around a bit - hence my compulsion to blog, podcast, photo, video and Twitter, from sea and land. I hope you'll come along with me - to share the adventure and enjoy the ride!
Roz's website now hosts all her blogs and comments, though you can continue to read them here in Blogger as well. If you'd like to comment, please visit http://www.rozsavage.com
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