Going Solo: Tori
Murden?s Trans-Atlantic Challenge Tori Murden is attempting an east to west solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, along a friendly southern route, taking advantage of trade winds. The effort marks Murden?s second attempt at a trans-Atlantic solo row. In 1998, the rower set out from Nags Head, N.C., on a west to east course bound for France. After spending 85 days rowing 3,043 miles, Murden was rescued having survived more than 15 capsizes (including an end-over-end ?pitch pole?) and a severe battering (dislocated shoulder and numerous bruises) from Hurricane Danielle. In contrast to the tumultuous waters of the North Atlantic, the South Atlantic Murden is rowing is shorter and warmer with fewer storms. In her boat, the American Pearl, Murden departed Los Gigantes, Tenerife ? the largest of the Canary Islands off the West Coast of Africa ? on Sept. 13, 1999. Her target destination is Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean, though the rower?s landing site could change, dependent on weather. From departure to destination, the distance is 2,957 miles as the crow flies. Murden?s row is without the aid of motor, wind or sail
and without support or escort. When
Murden is not rowing (during inclement weather or rest and sleep periods), the American Pearl will drift. Only
six individuals ? all men ? have successfully rowed the Atlantic Ocean east
to west. Sidney
Genders holds the record for the world?s fastest ocean crossing.
In 1970, he rowed from Las Palmas, Tenerife, the Canary Islands to
English Harbor, Antigua in 73-1/3 days ? a record that Murden is challenging
if she continues to row at her current pace. If successful, Tori Murden becomes
the first woman and the first American to cross an ocean alone in a rowboat.
Only one other woman has come close to completing a trans-Atlantic solo
row. Peggy Bouchet of France rowed
3,248 miles east to west in 1998, capsizing just 120 miles from Guadeloupe in
the Lesser Antilles. A
member of the Sector No Limits?
Team of athletes, French adventurer Gerard d?Aboville is the only man to row
solo across both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
d?Aboville has served as a planning and technical consultant for fellow
Sector No Limits? Team member Murden. d?Aboville?s
Paris-based logistics organization, Columbia River, is Murden?s technical
advisor and principal communications contact. Murden?s
progress, message logs, and related information are accessed at www.adept.net/american
pearl.com. Information on
Murden, rowing world records and the history of ocean rowing can be accessed at www.oceanrowing.com, the official
website of the London-based non-profit Ocean Rowing Society. Murden
planned to complete the crossing within 100 days. Currently, she is ahead of schedule, averaging 42 miles per day, potentially reaching her target
landfall in less than 80 days. Her
projected arrival is between Nov. 20 and Nov. 25, 1999. Murden?s
typical day begins at dawn and ends at 9 p.m.
She rows a set schedule, averaging 12-14 hours of rowing a day.
However, in early October Murden said that her schedule is not set in
stone. ?Initially, I rowed
exclusively in the daylight,? wrote Murden in one e-mail entry.
?But, in the last week, I?ve taken to rowing at all hours.
I row until I think it is too rough to tolerate, then I rest for a few
hours and come out again.? She
has even rowed at night, although she reports, ?rowing at night can be a bit
frustrating unless there is a bright moon.? Murden
is carrying a supply of freeze-dried food, energy bars and nutritional
supplements, equaling 4,500 - 5,000 calories per day. She designed her meal plan with chef and nutrition expert
Luckett Davidson, who created Murden?s food and supplement program for the
1998 row attempt. Also on board is supply of M&M?s, chips, crackers, nuts
and candies ? a welcome treat for Murden when she tires of freeze-dried meals. Murden
has packed a limited amount of clothing designed for all types of weather.
Items include Goretex and fleece jackets, shorts, shirts, and sun and
rain gear. Murden
has a global positioning system (GPS) units that she uses daily, as well as a
back-up in case of problems with the first GPS unit. She also has a main and back-up VHF radio to communicate with
any passing ships For long-range
communication, Murden has a Magellan Iridium telephone as her primary voice
system and an Inmarsat Mini-M telephone for her primary e-mail communication, as
well as back-up phone communication. She
has two back-up e-mail communication systems ? an Inmarsat C transceiver and a
Magellan GSC 100 unit, which can both send and receive e-mail.
An Argos Tracking Beacon will track Murden?s progress and update her
position automatically every few hours. Power
on board the American Pearl is limited to solar panels and two 12-volt batteries.
Capsizing
Murden
knows the tumultuous Atlantic will make life at sea difficult and could cause
the American Pearl to capsize. The
large and heavy boat (the original American
Pearl was constructed for a team of two rowers) is of proven design and
built to be self-righting and self-bailing.
The ?egg-crate? construction of the 23-foot rowboat includes more
than 20 Murden can signal a problem via telephone, e-mail, an alarm on the Inmarsat C system or through the Argos Tracking Beacon. Most important, the boat is equipped with one 406
megahertz EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon).
In a life-threatening situation, Murden will engage the EPIRB to request
immediate assistance from the nearest vessel.
Using the EPIRB signifies the end of the row.
Once triggered, the EPIRB sets into motion multinational emergency teams
and various transportation modes dedicated to human rescue. # #
# November
1999 Communications West
Telephone 415.863.7220
|
