Woman Rower
is 500 miles from Guadeloupe
-------------------------------------------------------------- American Tori Murden Closes inOn Solo Ocean Rowing RecordATLANTIC OCEAN -- (November 10, 1999) -- American Tori Murden of Louisville, Ky., is closing in on a landing in the Lesser Antilles that will make her the first woman to ever row solo across an ocean. At noon today (GMT), Murden was 500 miles from Guadeloupe, her current target in the West Indies. Today is Murden?s 59th day alone at sea. Murden, 36, hopes to reach one of the Lesser Antilles islands in her 23-foot rowboat, the American Pearl, before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Her safe landing will complete an amazing odyssey that makes her the first woman and first American to row across an ocean solely under her own power. In fact, only three other women have attempted a trans-ocean solo row without aid of wind or sail, without a motorized device or an escort vessel. According to Kenneth Crutchlow of the Ocean Rowing Society, in about one week Murden?s crossing will reach the point where the actual landing will take precedence over all other logistics. ?Land is dangerous for any rower,? Crutchlow said. ?Once in sight of land, a rower needs to turn complete focus and attention to the landing logistics so as to guarantee a safe arrival for both the rower and the boat.? Indeed, Murden has endured steep waves and multi-directional winds in the last several days. ?The wind sings by the boat from every direction except due east,? she wrote in her log Sunday. ?I?ve been pulling harder at the oars than was my custom earlier in the journey.? Murden, growing tired and exhausted, knows she must maintain her composure and concentrate on the daily routine that has made her odyssey successful for 2500 miles. ?It is my opinion that big mistakes do not kill people in the wilderness, little mistakes do,? she said. ?But try as I might to avoid thinking ahead, the mental countdown has begun.? In addition, her natural surroundings are showing physical signs of landfall including recent sightings of more fish, birds and bugs. Murden?s east to west solo row began Sept. 13, 1999 when she departed Tenerife, the Canary Islands on the American Pearl, a self-built, 23-foot custom rowboat. As of today she has rowed 2,494 miles in 59 days, averaging more than 42 miles per day. The effort is sponsored by Sector Sport Watches, No Limits? Sports & Tech Wear, Fontana Candida Italian Wines and Fifth Third Bank of Louisville. Murden is a member of the Sector No Limits? Team, an elite group of international athletes who dare test and transcend the outer limits of human potential. Murden?s progress, message logs and related information is available at www.adept.net/americanpearl.com. Information on Murden, world records and the history of solo rowers is accessed at www.oceanrowing.com. # # # 10 November 1999 Contact: Julie Wellik, Kevin Plagman and Dana Ziegler Communications West Phone 415-863-7220 Fax 415-621-2907
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