Ocean Rowing: Roz Is Done!

As predicted last week, Roz Savage has completed her solo row across the Indian Ocean, arriving in Mauritius earlier today. By completing her 5000+ mile, 5 month long journey, she has become the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

Reaching this finish line will be particularly bittersweet for Roz, as she announced that she is hanging up her oars after this trip. She had very tentatively planned on rowing the Atlantic again, this time from New York to London, in 2012, but those plans have now been shelved in favor of other pursuits.

While Roz may have rowed her last ocean, something tells me we haven't heard the last of her. She is a tireless advocate of protecting the Earth's environments, especially the oceans, and I'm sure she'll continue to spread that message where ever she goes.

For now, I just want to extend a hearty congratulations to Roz on another amazing accomplishment. You have been an inspiration to us all and  I hope you are enjoying some relaxation back on land, good times with friends and family, and plenty of fresh food as well!

Ocean Rowing: Roz Nears The Finish Line

Today marks the 150th day on the Indian Ocean for Roz Savage, who set out from Australia in April and at long last is closing in on Mauritius, her finish line for yet another epic ocean row. She is expected to make landfall on Tuesday, October 4th, and when she does, she'll become the first woman to have rowed solo across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.


While each of the three ocean rows has had its share of challenges, the Indian Ocean presented one that Roz hadn't dealt with before, namely pirates. Pirate activity in the region has increased greatly in the past few years, and for that reason alone she kept her course and location a well guarded secret. Those of us who have been following Roz's adventures over the past few years have been use to following her progress on the "Roz Tracker," but on this expedition that was disabled on her website, leaving us wondering where exactly she was out on all those miles of open water. That question was answered today with a press release posted to her website.

As of this morning, she has just 104 nautical miles to go until she's done. If conditions stay favorable, she should have no problems completing the row early next week as scheduled, and my guess is that its no coincidence that she's arriving in Mauritius, a place that is greatly threatened by climate change.

After spending all of those days out on the world's oceans, Roz has become a dedicated environmentalist, and has even launched an Eco-Heroes program to create grassroots efforts to take care of the planet. One of the places that could feel the effects of climate change the most is Mauritius, where rising sea levels will have an impact on the island nation.

Watch for an official announcement on Roz's arrival on land early next week and wish her well on the final leg of our journey.

Ocean Rowing: Roz Shares Her Top Five Ocean Moments

It has been awhile since I posted an update on Roz Savage, who is now on the 99th day of her row across the Indian Ocean. The famed ocean rower set out from Fremantle, Australia back on April 13th, and after working out a few issues with her equipment, she was soon off to conquer another massive body of water. According to her wonderfully insightful and well written blog updates, progress has been good, although there have been some rough days here and there. Strong winds and ocean currents can make these types of journeys very frustrating, and at times, Roz can row all day just to end up back where she started.

To celebrate her impending 100th day out on the water, Roz made a special post to her blog today. Having already crossed both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, and now well into her Indian Ocean crossing as well, she has accumulated a lot of time out on the open water. During that time, she has also been witness to a lot of amazing things, which she shares in her "Top Five Ocean-Tastic Moments." The list includes such highlights as her encounter with "flying squid" on Stage 2 of her Pacific Row and close encounters with Whale Sharks on that same voyage.

At the moment, it is impossible to know how far along Roz is on her current voyage. In order to avoid pirates in the Indian Ocean, she has elected to not publish her GPS coordinates or report too much on her progress in general. You can read about her decision to do this in a previous blog post, and it makes perfect sense for her to play it safe in these dangerous waters. A few days back however, she did reveal that she is at the half-way point of the journey, which was a call for a small celebration at least.

Extrapolating from that piece of information, we can estimate that Roz will reach her final destination sometime in early November. She is expected to make landfall near Mumbai, India, where she'll enjoy a little time on dry land. At least until she's off on a planned second crossing of the Atlantic next year. Clearly this girl enjoys her time behind the oars.

Ocean Rowing: Indian Ocean Rower Rescued While Roz Stays On Course

The Indian Ocean has been the site of several ongoing attempts for rowers to cross that body of water, and while some are continuing to make progress toward their goal, others have come face to face with the harsh realities of life out on the water.

Take for example Irish rower Keith Whelan, who was forced to abandon his attempt last week after his boat was stuck by a giant wave off the coast of Australia. The 29-year old was below deck at the time, and fell, striking his head on a bolt in his cabin. The bolt cut the side of his head, and while he wasn't knocked unconscious,  he was worried about exposure and possible infection.

With that in mind, Whelan made the decision to end his trip, and called home to the U.K. to let his support crew know he was pulling the plug. They then alerted Australian authorities who put out a call for help, which was answered by a freighter passing through the region. He was then picked up and taken back to land.

Reportedly Whelan was quite upset that he had to end his journey early. He was rowing across the ocean to raise funds for the Keep a Child Alive organization, which works to assist children and families that are struggling with AIDS/HIV, and it was tough for him to give up on pursing that goal. Also, for some odd reason, he was making the row completely naked. Presumably, he put some clothes on before he was picked up by the cargo ship.

Meanwhile, Roz Savage is continuing her attempt to cross the Indian Ocean, despite the fact that her GPS chart plotter died on her last week. She has a back-up GPS device of course, but this one had been with her on most of her journey across the Pacific Ocean, and it was a constant companion that counted down the miles to the her final destination.

In true Roz fashion, she seems very upbeat and happy with her progress, although some days are more challenging than others. When the winds and currents are working against her, sometimes all she can do is row all day just to stand still. As of today, she is 41 days into her journey, and still has a long way to go, but this is old hat for Roz, who has already conquered two other oceans.

The four person crew aboard the Indian Runner 4 are also still out on the water and hoping to complete their objective of crossing the ocean in record time. They've now been rowing for 53 days, and the plann is to reach Mauritius in less than 68 days, which would establish the new record. With 884 miles still to go, that is going to be a tough hurdle to overcome, but it appears that the crew is well on their way to completing their epic Indian Ocean crossing.

Ocean Rowing: One Indian Ocean Row Ends, Another Resumes

It seems the Indian Ocean is the source of all kinds of interesting news at the moment, with a couple of challenging rows just getting underway and another recently coming to an end. This is the season for those kinds of aquatic adventures on that great big body of water, where rowers scheduled their journeys around cyclones and monsoons.

We'll start with the fantastic voyage that ended last week, when Erden Eruç became the first person to row from mainland Australia to mainland Africa via the Indian Ocean. Erden reached Angoche, Mozambique on April 20th after setting out from Madagascar where he took shelter during the stormy season.

Successfully crossing the Indian Ocean is just the most recent step in Erden's great Around-n-Over adventure which is a human powered circumnavigation of the globe. He has been riding his bike and rowing his way around the globe since 2007, and has now crossed both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Along the way, he is also climbing six summits as well. He has already knocked off Denali and Kosciuszko in Australia, and now that he has made landfall in Africa, he'll make his way to Kilimanjaro as well. Following that climb, he'll hit the road once again, crossing Africa on his bike before rowing the Atlantic.

While Erden's great Indian Ocean adventure has come to an end, Roz Savage's is continuing. As I mentioned last week, Roz was towed into Geraldton, Australia for a few minor repairs and adjustments to her boat before she hits open water, where small issues can become BIG problems. Eager to get back underway, Roz set out from Geraldton again on Saturday and made good progress on her first few days back on the water. Yesterday however, she noticed an issue with her solar panels charing the onboard batteries, which in turn power the boats electronic devices, Roz's laptop, sat phone, and so on. So, she once again elected to pull into shore for a very quick fix. This time, it would be at the very last port of call before facing 4000 miles of open ocean.

With the latest repairs taken care of, Roz can now get down to what she does best – rowing oceans. Hopefully the next time I post an update, she'll be well on her way to adding another big body of water to her resume.

Ocean Rowing: Roz Back On Land, Hopes To Resume Soon (Updated!)

Ocean rower Roz Savage had to put a temporary halt on her attempt to row across the Indian Ocean a few days back thanks to an equipment failure. She is back on dry land at the moment, and hurriedly working to correct the problem, with an eye on returning to the ocean by as early as this weekend.

While Roz had rowed some 350 miles, due to ocean currents and winds, she was still just 100 miles out form her starting point in Fremantle, Australia, when her automatic desalinization unit malfunctioned. That device is an ocean rowers lifeline, making fresh water daily while out on the ocean. Without it, she faced a very long trip during which she would have to use her hand pump to clean the water manually, which would take upwards of two hours per day. Not a great proposition when still have more than 4000 miles and months at sea to go.

In her twitter feed, Roz says things are back on track, and the weather is looking good, for a weekend re-launch of the expedition. Repairs to her boat are nearly complete and it looks like she should be ready to hit the water, this time setting out from Geraldton. Hopefully, this time everything will go as expected.

Update: Just a quick update to this post to correct a simple mistake. I heard from Roz directly last night, and she told me that her desalinization unit hadn't malfunctioned just yet, but that the locker in which it was kept was taking on water a bit too regularly. She indicated that her return to shore was a preemptive move to fix the problem on her boat, and seal the locker more fully, before heading back out onto the water. She also mentioned that she hoped to get back underway at 10 AM local time Saturday morning.

Good luck Roz, we're all pulling for you!

Ocean Rowing: The Indian Runner Is Off!

This morning, Team Indian Ocean 3100 set off from Australia and are now out on the open water, where they'll attempt to set a new record for crossing the Indian Ocean under human power. The team, consisting of James Kayll, Ed Wells, Tom Kelly, and Ollie Wells, now faces 3100 nautical miles of rough seas as they attempt to finish their expedition in under 68 days.

According to their most recent blog post, the boys hit rowed out of Geraldton, along the east coast of Australia, this morning at 6:30 AM local time. Their boat, the Indian Runner, is 29-feet in length and features two oar stations, allowing two men to be rowing at all times. The hull features a carbon fiber shell, and there is room aboard to store all of their food and supplies. A water maker will purify sea water for the team, who will consume up to six liters per day, and solar panels on the roof will power all of their gear, including a satellite tracking system that will keep us informed of their progress.

The team is also competing in the Indian Ocean Rowing Race, perhaps the toughest ocean rowing competition in the world. The race's 3100 mile course ends at the island of Mauritius. Considering that there are only two boats in the race however, and the other one is a two person affair, the only thing they're competing against is the clock. To win that battle, they'll need to reach the finish line in 68 days, 19 hours, and 40 minutes.

Ocean Rowing: Roz Caught On Video Prior To Launch

A few days ago, Roz Savage set off on her next big ocean adventure, this time taking on the Indian Ocean on a 4+ month, 4000 mile long journey. She's been at sea for a few days already, and for the most part, it is going as planned. Today was a bit of a struggle, with the high winds pushing her backwards, but by using her sea anchor and paddling to make up lost ground, Roz ended up back where she started, which is all you can ask for on some days out on the water.

Before she left Freemantle for the open ocean, Roz filmed a video, which you'll find below. It shows the start of the journey, with Savage meeting with local press and receiving well wishes before she rowed out of the harbor and started the very long, and difficult, journey to Mumbai, India. The video does a great job of showing you what it is like on the boat, just how big it is, and the challenges of getting it moving. For anyone who hasn't seen Roz in action before, this is a good place to start.

Ocean Rowing: Roz Is Off, Won't Be Alone On The Indian Ocean

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!

Ocean Rowing: Roz Prepares To Row Another Ocean

After conquering the Atlantic and the Pacific, ocean rower and environmental activist Roz Savage is preparing to hit the open water once again. This time she has set the Indian Ocean as her goal, which when successful, would give her the triple crown of ocean rowing.

If all goes according to schedule, Roz will set out from Fremantle in Australia on Wednesday morning local time, and turn her boat towards Mubai, India. The route is roughly 6300km (3914 miles) in length and will take an estimated 4.5 months to complete, with the notoriously rough seas of the Indian Ocean working against her.

That isn't Roz's only concern however. She faces the very real threat of pirates in the Indian Ocean, which isn't deterring her in any way, although she is taking steps to remain safe. For instance, on her other rowing adventures she used a tracking system so that we could follow her progress along the way. No such system will exist on this journey, and she's remaining mum on her final landing destination to help keep the pirates off her track.

One thing that hasn't changed with her Indian Ocean adventure however is Roz's determination to get her environmental message out to the masses. Spending nearly a year of her life out on the ocean has made her keenly aware of the health of those waters and of the planet in general. That has made her a tireless advocate for protecting our planet and doing what ever we can to aid the environment. She even launched her Eco-Heroes initiative as a grassroots way to get people involved.

Even after adding the Indian Ocean to her resume, Roz won't quite be done rowing just yet. Her website lists another Atlantic crossing, from New Jersey to London, as part of her plans for 2012. Beyond that, we'll have to wait and see, but clearly there she loves a good challenge!

Is It Time To Put An End To "Adventures" On The Indian Ocean?

Jon Bowermaster has posted a really thoughtful and interesting piece on Gadling today that declares that it is time to end Indian Ocean adventures. That's a very bold statement from a man who has spent plenty of time on the world's oceans, including the Indian, but Jon's message makes sense, and should serve as a warning for those sailing those treacherous waters.

What spurred Jon to write this piece is the recent high profile pirate attacks in that region. We've all been well aware of the pirate activity off the coast of Somalia for a number of years now, but the recent taking, and subsequent killing, of four Americans a month ago, has brought the subject back to the forefront. Just days later, a Danish ship, with three children aboard, was captured, making worldwide headlines as well.

According to the article, there are now more than 800 hostages being held by the pirates, who are conducting weekly raids on ships in the Northern Indian Ocean. They have mostly preyed upon shipping and oil vessels, but have begun to attack private yachts with increasing frequency of late, which has many wondering why anyone would sail through those waters to begin with.

Jon notes that he is someone who encourages what he calls "an adventurous life," but reminds us that we need to take caution and think things through when we set out on our adventures. There is a fine line between being adventurous and being foolish, and sailing into those dangerous waters is probably falls more on the foolish end of the spectrum.

So what do you think? Do you agree with Jon when he says that is perhaps best if we avoid a significant portion of the Indian Ocean for now? Should sailing, and maybe rowing, adventures in that area of the world be postponed or even cancelled? There is little doubt that there is significant risk attached to sailing the ocean in general, but adding the real threat of pirates to the mix is just asking for trouble.

Personally, I'm not one to tell someone they shouldn't go on an adventure, but I have to agree with Jon. It is  important that you be smart when embarking on what ever adventure you choose, and while some inherent risks are involved, why invite more trouble than you have to?