As I mentioned a few days ago, Roz Savage set off this morning from Fremantle, Australia for Mumbai, India in her 23-foot long rowboat. She'll now spend upwards of four months at sea, covering over 6300km (3914 miles), as she traverses yet another ocean. The 43-year old Roz is once again using her rowing efforts to raise awareness about global climate change and other threats to the health of the oceans.
The Indian Ocean is just the latest aquatic challenge for Roz, who has already successfully rowed across the Atlantic and the Pacific, which she accomplished in three stages. The Indian is the last of the "Big Three" that she has yet to conquer, and it brings its own unique set of dangers, including notoriously bad storms, massive waves, and the threat of pirates. Due to the last of those threats, Roz is keeping her whereabouts a bit more secret this time out, and isn't giving clues as to where she'll arrive in India.
It turns out she won't be the only one rowing the Indian Ocean this year. Four adventurous young blokes are also preparing to set out on their own rowing journey. The members of Team Indian Ocean 3100, James Kayell, Ed Wells, Tom Kelly, and Ollie Wells, hope to set out later this week as well with the hopes of setting a new speed record for crossing this challenging pond. Their route will cover at least 3100 miles and they hope to complete that journey in less than 68 days.
According to their latest blog post, their boat, the Indian Runner 4, has cleared quarantine and they hoped to be taking her out for sea trials and an overnight on the water before they set off. With that out of the way, and the boat fully stocked for their journey, they'll get underway when the weather permits. The team is also setting out from Fremantle, which is the preferred launching point for Indian Ocean adventures.
Good luck to both Roz and Team Indian Ocean 3100. We'll be following along!