Tsunani - Tawara and Tuvula ??
London
SEPTEMBER 30th ...
After listening to the news this morning I decided to check on the two Islands Roz had been involved with on her Pacific Crossing.
Each of these islands are less than 10 foot high at their highest point above sea level, surrounded by ocean.
The tsunami near Samoa most probably swept over these two Islands ...... I can find no information about their situation, they are so remote.
From Roz's diary I do know Tarawa has 12,000 people who live on the island.....I just hope it missed them, or at least not violent enough to cause too much damage.
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Poor Roz.... for three weeks she has been pushed around by the winds and currents in the ITCZ making hardly any forward motion, and now she is concerned her food may run out if she cannot get out of the "Doldrums"!!!
"I was pleased today to hold my own against a very brisk wind coming out
of the southeast, which was threatening to push me north again, but
actually has allowed me to go almost due west. I really don't understand
how these things work – other southeasterlies have had me zooming
northwest at an alarming rate of knots, but this one has been relatively
benevolent.
So that's the news regarding where my body is at. As for where my head
is at, today I've had to work harder than usual at being present in the
here and now. My thoughts keep wanting to take off into the realms of
panic. Usually it's will-I-ever-get-out-of-here or the great
Tuvalu/Tarawa debate. But today there was a new one. Today it was the
I'm-going-to-run-out-of-food panic. Of course I'm not going to run out
of food – or only if I get well and truly marooned in the ITCZ. I've
still got enough food for another 50 days or so, but try telling that to
my mind once it gets into one of its loony-loops. I must have mentally
run through my full inventory of food about ten times today, until I
just wanted to hit the Off button on my brain."
You can't turn on your engine, of course, or you're disqualified. Dale was the only one smart enough to do the one thing that would ensure maintaining his position. He dropped the anchor. Eventually he was in the lead by default, and when the tide turned again he hauled up the anchor and sailed in to take first place.
He probably was more concerned with the drink waiting at the end of the race than the food, but there you are. Nevertheless, we've seen so much of the same kind of creative thinking on Roz's part I wouldn't be surprised to see a bit more. Being pushed about has to be one of her most frustrating experiences.
I do not know how she does it.
What a woman Roz is...
so focused and determined.
Day 82 ..... Farewell fingernails!
I got an email today from Sarah Outen, my friend who has just finished rowing solo
across the Indian Ocean. She lost 18kg, which is about 40lb, in 124
days. Mick and Chris will be at sea for 5-6 months, so they might lose
even more.
Me? I'm not doing too badly. I lost about 25-30lb on each of my previous
long crossings. I'd guess I've lost less this time, maybe about 15lb,
but it's hard to tell, having neither scales nor mirror.
I'm happy I've managed to avoid the tendonitis that made my Atlantic
crossing so miserable. I just have the usual ration of minor oceangoing
maladies - a touch of toothache (probably a minor rumble from my
impacted wisdom teeth) which should go away in a few days. Ongoing spots
and rashes from the saltwater and heat. Blisters and bloodspots on my
feet where the rowing shoes rub. And an oddity that always happens %u2013
fingernails parting company with fingers. They don't fall off, but the
white extends down towards the quick, and it takes a while for them to
get back to normal when I reach dry land.
So I'm not exactly feeling at my most glamorous, and would seriously
love a good long shower, but if I ever start feeling sorry for myself I
just thank my lucky stars that I am not Mick or Chris and crossing the
whole Pacific nonstop. At least I get to do some sightseeing along the
way, and who in their right mind would row straight past Hawaii without
dropping in?!"
So all you ladies out there... and maybe a few gents.... the way to loose weight is to "row across an Ocean!!"
Day 84 .... Mother's Day
An entry written by Roz's Mother.
........."Even when our sons or daughters are adults, it is still the longing of a
mother to protect and guard her family. It can be hard when we feel
helpless, that nothing that we do can solve the problems; I am sure that
many a mother has felt this, in all sorts of circumstances. We have to
try to raise our children to be independent, capable of making their own
decisions, and looking after themselves. To quote a book that I know
rather
well: "Now these three remain, faith, hope and love. But the greatest of
these is love." The greatest gift we can give, no matter what they do."
Day 83 ..... The 7 Habits of Reasonably Effective Ocean Rowers
"Today it occurred to me that it takes a rather peculiar skillset to row
across an ocean. Almost anybody could do it – if they wanted to – but
there are a few abilities that are particularly useful. So here are my
suggestions for the 7 Habits of Reasonably Effective Ocean Rowers – and
I'd be interested to hear if you have any other suggestions to add to
the list.
1. Ability to make 2.5 gallons of fresh water last for a week. This one
was absolutely necessary last year when both my watermakers broke. FYI,
2.5 gallons is about the size of a toilet cistern. And that had to serve
for drinking water, rinsing beansprouts, rehydrating freeze dried meals,
brushing teeth, and washing.
2. Ability to spend 100+ days alone at sea without going crazy. This is
possibly the toughest one. Even though obviously I am very entertaining
company (?!) even I get a bit tired of my jokes after a while…
3. Ability to contort oneself into a tiny sleeping cabin. Yoga helps.
4. Ability to attach a lanyard to almost any object – to prevent
accidental losses overboard.
5. Ability to find something new to photograph after 80+ days at sea,
with nothing but a 23-foot boat, sea, sky, oneself, and the occasional
passing sea creature
6. Ability to open a Larabar without tearing the wrapper. After having
now consumed about 1000 Larabars over the course of the last 3 years, I
am now quite the expert.
7. Ability to find something to be happy about and thankful for, even on
the worst of days. Essential."
"About a week ago, my cooking stove stopped working. It was a veteran of
Pacific Stage 1, and despite Scott's heroic achievement in cleaning it
up when it looked to be beyond salvation, it had never regained its
nice, strong, clean blue flame. I hadn't used it very much, being mostly
on my rawfood diet, but just recently had rediscovered the joys of hot
porridge or a hot dinner at the end of the day. But the flame was yellow
and sooty, and soon my kettle was coated with a thickening layer of
black.
And then the stove stopped working altogether. Propane was coming
through, but it wouldn't light. It probably needs no more than a good
clean with a gas stove maintenance kit – but I don't have one on board.
But it's really no big deal. On the Atlantic I managed for 3 months
without a stove after my camping stove (very different model) broke.
Freeze dried food can still be reconstituted – it just takes longer.
I've had several delicious curries since the demise of the stove, that
suffered not at all from being served at a very warm ambient temperature
rather than piping hot.
The second casualty is – yet again – my watermaker. It isn't the same
problem as on the San Francisco-Hawaii leg. I do try not to make the
same mistake twice, so after that bad experience, when the watermaker
locker flooded and caused the electric pump to corrode, I have two spare
pumps on board this time. So, naturally, this time the pump is still in
fine fettle, but something else has gone wrong. Not quite sure what it
is. The pump runs but neither fresh water nor waste brine emerge from
the two outlet pipes.
I spent a couple of hours this morning trying to fix the problem – first
of all on the phone to Spectra Watermakers in San Rafael, then
underneath my boat, braving remoras to check the through-hull intake for
any possible blockages (jellyfish have been known to get sucked in and
cause a problem), then mucking around in the bilges to dismantle, clean
and reassemble various pipes and filters. But all to no avail.
But no worries. I have enough water on board to keep me going for a
couple of months – and I hope to be making landfall well before then –
and also a manual watermaker kindly donated to me by the Hunks of the
JUNK raft with whom I traded food for water in mid-ocean last year.
So (sigh), this is just the way it goes."
Day 87 ...The fifty Dollar Question - Will it be Tuvalu or Tarawa?
Day 86 .....The world's biggest sensory deprivation tank
well she has crossed the IDL... thanks to a very strong wind that blew her across! She had been hoping to cross the line at the equator, as she was so near... but the weather had other thoughts. So not quite "down under" but definitely in "tomorrow!!"
Day 89....So far west I'm east!
An Irish friend of mine once said something was "so far east it's west"
which I'd never heard before, but it made perfect sense. Like something
being so bad it's good, or so embarrassing it becomes funny, or so insane
that it's genius. And today I am so far west I'm east. Because this
afternoon I crossed the International Date Line.
I didn't really mean to. I'd rather hoped that I would manage to cross the
IDL and the Equator at the same time. Of course, I might still do that, if
I wiggle back east a little bit, to reach that magical intersection, but
it would have been fun to cross them both for the first time at the same
time. But ah well, the weather has long since shown her utter contempt for
my plans and schemes, and today was no exception.
The day had been still and calm until about 2pm, when the clouds came
over and a strong wind blew up from the south, sending me off on a
sudden westwards trajectory ~ heading straight for the IDL. There wasn't
much I could do about it. No matter how hard I rowed, I was still
heading west, whether I liked it or not. If I rowed I would only get
there even faster.
So I decided to sit it out and watch the countdown on my GPS from the
dry refuge of my cabin, so I hunkered down, watching the numbers tick
away on the little screen as the distance narrowed between me and
tomorrowland."
Glad I could share this moment with you Sandi! Now off to sleep for me! LOL
This will be the most difficult of the islands to get to, and she will need all her strength to battle against the winds that will push her towards the West!
Roz on Youtube
GO Roz Row!!!!
She's an amazing woman! I'd like to see the Pacific and visit the places she does but I'm not cut out to do it her way! LOL
I can't imagine how she finds time to write up these daily diary entries and email them off for posting on her blog and website!
I cannot believe she has the strength, knowledge, and faith to do this.
God Bless Roz!
Thanks Sandi for keeping this up for us.
ROZ still has 10 miles or so to go to cross the Equator, and her decision to go to Tuvula may be a really hard decision, as Tarawa is so close, and also in the direction the current and wind is trying to push her!!
"Today, with the Equator so tantalizingly close, everything seemed to
slow to a snail's pace. A snail with a ball and chain attached, even.
The wind was in the southeast (not helpful) and I'm still in a
north-flowing current (also not helpful) so the oars felt heavy and
every stroke felt like a weight-lifting exercise.
Truth be told, I was getting pretty fed up with the whole business.
Progress is very motivating. Lack of it is not. It's a bit like trying
to lose weight, and when the scales are being cruel the temptation is to
say "forget it" and have a cake to cheer yourself up. But of course the
only way to make progress ~ whether it be losing pounds or rowing oceans
~ is to keep the faith and carry on."
It's the most frustrating experience in the world, even on that tiny level. I can only imagine what she must be feeling!
yayy! just crossed the equator! southern hemisphere here I come!
She is now officially "Down Under"!!!
Go Roz ROW!!!!
Interesting "drama" coming up with which island she will ultimately land on too! Apparently, she has to go back slightly north of the equator again to get to Tuvalu? Roz had an interesting description of the two island choices awhile back (trying to go back and find them on her blog.)
I found it! lol, back on Day 46 - Falling Between Two Atolls
How is she going to just drop down so much in a straight descent towards Tuvalu??? I would think the prevailing winds and currents would keep pushing her toward the the southwest. Anyway, I am sure she knows (hopefully!) how she can do it, lol.
I think Tuvalu is a great choice to bring attention to the problem of rising sea levels, especially those in Oceania that are experiencing it already. I have had this link on my blog for awhile about it, Oceania and Global Warming, and it is also very informative about how these atolls that Roz is rowing by are beginning to experience sea level rise.
"As I enter the final 500 nautical miles to Tuvalu, I will be counting on
some good fortune – and some seriously hard work.
Just a very quick update tonight – really just to let you know I am
still alive and rowing like a woman possessed. As Ricardo put it, the
next few days are “mission critical” – if I am going to make it to
Tuvalu, I need to make the most of the relatively calm conditions
prevailing at the moment to try and make some progress back to the east.
So I will have to spend longer hours at the oars – around 16 hours a
day, not including time for meal breaks.
This was quite challenging today. The good thing about calm conditions
is that there is little wind to push me the wrong way. The bad thing
about calm conditions is that there is no wind to cool me down – and at
one stage this afternoon I seriously started to worry about the
potential for heatstroke. The sun was shining intensely, and although
most of my body was in the shade of the bimini (sun canopy) I could feel
the heat scorching my shins. And I was glugging water like it was going
out of fashion – certainly not like a woman with a not-yet working
watermaker.
But now the sun has set and it is a lovely night for rowing. The
crescent moon is keeping me company – as is a bird that has taken up
roosting rights on my aft hatch for the night. I feel well, and am
rowing strongly. I’m only taking this break now to recharge my GPS. So
far this voyage I have confined the GPS to the cabin, but as I enter the
final 500 nautical miles and steering becomes more critical, I’ve taken
to placing it near my rowing position so I can see more accurate
information about my actual course than my compass alone can provide."
"Conditions were perfect today~ if I wanted to go west. I could have
made 40 miles to the good. But unfortunately more west is the last thing
I want, so I have spent the whole day with the sea anchor out. The oars
have lain idle, and I've finished the day further away from Tuvalu than
I was at the start. I wonder if Neptune didn't like my equatorial
offerings. Perhaps Ginger Snap isn't his favorite flavor Larabar,
because he was not being generous to me today.
It's ironic. Today I have been listening to "The Astonishing Power of
Emotions" by Esther and Jerry Hicks. They are talking about aligning
with your better self ~ the idea is that when we want something, we only
have to allow it to happen. The universe WANTS our wishes to be granted.
When we allow this fulfillment of our desires to take place, we feel
good. When we resist, we feel bad.
And the analogy they use is a canoe on a river ~ and they urge their
listeners to "let go of the oars" and go with the flow.
As I sit here on the sea anchor, resisting the strong tradewinds that
are trying to push me west, this analogy seems either too apt, or not
apt at all. I'm all in favor of going with the flow ~ but which flow am
I meant to be going with? The natural flow of the tradewinds heading
west, or the man-made flow that is drawing me towards Tuvalu?"
Day 94 ....Shooting the messamger
Poor Roz... she is really finding the currents against her.... she might have already been on Tarawa if she had chosen to head for there:(
ROW ROZ (and currents please let her!!)
There was a reason the square-riggers sailed the routes they did. You're not going to point one of those close to the wind. Roz surely knows what's possible more than I do, but I still hope she isn't going to exhaust herself on behalf of a goal the sea is opposed to. Things are getting even more than usually interesting, that's for sure.
Go Roz!!!!
PL
"It seems to be my karma in this lifetime to be faced from time to time
with tough decisions ~ and this one is up there in my Top Ten Tough
Decisions Of All Time. I spent most of last night agonizing over it. The
night seemed hotter than usual in my cabin, and I was ~ literally and
metaphorically ~ sweating over my options.
It had been just a week since I declared my intention to head for
Tuvalu. My weatherman had assured me it was possible, although certainly
not easy, requiring me to cut directly across the prevailing winds. And
I wanted to believe it was possible, not least because Tuvalu has become
synonymous with the human impact of climate change, which is the key
message of this stage of my row as we approach the crucial summit in
Copenhagen. I knew getting to Tuvalu would be challenging, but I was
prepared to put in the hard work to make it happen.
However, a few things had changed during the course of the last week. I
had discovered that the coordinates I had for Tuvalu were for the
westernmost island, not the capital Funafuti, which is the easternmost
island. This would make it much harder to reach the capital than I had
realized. Then some brisk easterly winds had halted my progress for 36
hours while I waited on the sea anchor %u2013 this had two implications.
First, it would only take a few more days of such winds to put Tuvalu
beyond my reach. And second, if I had to use the sea anchor on a regular
basis to stop westward drift, it would take me much longer to get to
Tuvalu. And time was limited ~ by my water supply.
Since my watermaker stopped working I've been relying on my reserves of
water, but some of my water bags had leaked. And my water consumption is
much higher than it has been on my previous rows, due to the heat. So
less water supply higher water requirement = bad news. I do have a
backup manual watermaker, but I was already going to have to row 16
hours a day to maintain the necessary tight control over my course, so
then pumping water for 2 hours a day (manual watermakers produce water
drop by drop, rather than a steady stream) was not an attractive option.
So the worst case scenario was pretty bad. "
POOR ROZ .. finally she has had to admit defeat in getting to Tuvalu and has changed direction to Tarawa. The folk on Tuvalu had got everything prepared for her arrival... but she looks to be running out of water, food and energy - so rather than battling the currents she is going with them.
I think Roz's safety was coming into play also...
Today's entry is written by Nicole in Hawaii :)
ROZ is just 330 miles from Tarawa .....
May the winds be at here back and the currents gentle:)
Another entry from Nicole, on route to Tarawa.
"Our girl is doing great, not to worry! Many of you are wondering why her position is no longer being posted to the RozTracker, and why she's not blogging and Tweeting anymore. Don't worry ~ this is just temporary. Roz is taking a few days to collect her thoughts and just enjoy some peaceful, contemplative time alone before arriving on Tarawa. She'll be back to blogging in just a couple of days."
For those of you who have been closely monitoring the RozTracker, you will see that Roz’s position has not updated for almost a day now. Per Roz’s request, we have turned off position updates. In Roz’s own words from her Tweet, “going offline for a few days. to be alone. back sept. 2, Tarawa time!”
I have just seen the GPS is on again and Roz has 187 miles to travel to Tarawa:))
Makes extremely interesting reading.... especially if you live in Baltimore!
"Located just a notch above the equator and five thousand miles from
anywhere, Tarawa is the capital of Kiribati. Kiribati is a country of
thirty-three atolls scattered over an ocean area as large as the
continental United States."
"To picture Kiribati, imagine if the continental U.S. were to
conveniently disappear leaving only Baltimore and a vast swath of very
blue ocean in its place. Now chop up Baltimore into thirty-three
pieces, place a neighborhood where Maine used to be, another where
California once was, and so on until you have thirty-three pieces of
Baltimore dispersed in such a way so as to ensure that 32/33 of
Baltimorians will never attend an Orioles game again. Flatten all land
into a uniform two feet above sea level. The result is the Republic of
Kiribati."
"The total landmass of Tarawa is twelve square miles. This figure is
illusory, however, for it creates the impression of a block of land,
and this Tarawa is decidedly not. Its twelve square miles of coral are
divided into elongated slivers, narrow islets crowned with the tufts
of palm trees, prevented from becoming a unified whole by myriad of
channels linking the ocean with the lagoon, and stretched out over a
reef extending nearly forty miles. The reef itself is shaped like a
tottering inverted L, with the western side open to the ocean."
"There are, simply, too many people on South Tarawa, particularly on
the islet of Betio, which has the world's highest population density,
greater even than Hong Kong. Unlike Hong Kong, a city in the sky,
there is not a building above two stories on Betio. Some eighteen
thousand people, nearly a quarter of the country's population, live on
Tarawa."
Roz now 135 miles from her destination :)
ROW ROZ ROW!!!
My arms hurt just thinking about her rowing all this way. I know she's trained for it and is more physically fit than I am, but Oh, MY!!!! My arms still hurt just thinking about this.
PL
As of 10:30am Hawaii time (which is what is displayed on the
RozTracker), Roz is just 11 miles from the southern tip of Tarawa
where she'll be arriving. Nicole just called in via sat phone to let
us know that the plan is for the film crew and support crew to leave
by boat from Tarawa at around 2pm Hawaii time (12pm Tarawa time) to
rendezvous with Roz.
From there, the boat will guide Roz through the treacherous reefs that
surround the atoll to help her get safely to shore. This will be
tricky, so it'll take all of Roz's efforts to stay on course and safe.
She's been rowing hard all morning... she can almost taste the cold
beer, no doubt!
RozTracker GPS updates are now every 20 minutes, so check back often
to see exactly where Roz is!
As soon as we have any photos, videos, and updates, we will be sure to
post them to the RozTracker. In the meantime, spread the word in
whatever way you can so people can follow these last few exciting
miles!
GO ROZ GO!
GO ROZ GO!
GO ROZ GO!
R9
Quick updates are available on her Twitter feed.
the best shower of my life! and just weighed in. 30lb down.18 minutes ago from TwitterMail
Well done Roz girl!!!!
"...... let me tell you a bit about the sheer pleasure of being back
on dry land. One of the best things about spending long periods of
time out at sea is that it makes me appreciate the simple things of
land life so much more. To wake up in a comfortable, clean, soft bed…
to feel the warmth of the shower jets on my skin… to open a fridge and
take out a bottle of refreshing cold water…"
That's it folk for thsi year's voyage.... she will begin the final leg next year (I believe) to get from Tarawa to Australia:))
Biremon:
30 Sep 2009 10:43:01am
From Tarawa, Kiribati. This morning at Moroni High School the principal announced to all students and teachers to move from the classroom to the open field because the estimated time of the tsunami hitting Kiribati was around 9am
but so far the time now is 12:41 and there isn't any unusual waves.
I can find no information about Tuvalu, which is nearer to Samoa.
came in looking for more information regarding Samoa as my older son spent his 17th year in Western Samoa, just outside of Apia
then I read through the posts.........WOW!!
leaving prayers for those in the quake/Tsunami zone
Multiply everything you see in American Samoa by two. American Samoa has military support - Western Samoa - a nation of peace BTW - has nothing. Thankfully New Zealand and Australia are stepping up to help this country.
My son stayed in the village of Vaitele, 12 miles from Apia - with a family whose matriarch is a Tafuamaseafa (Female Chief in the Samoan culture)
This is on the opposite side of the island that was hit by the Tsunami - so they are all safe....
But the other side is still reporting causalities and the infrastructure is gone. A very rural island they lack much of the machinery need to begin a clean-up. Food will be in short supply.
I am told it was a blessing the quake occur in the early morning hours instead of a night. Once people felt the rumble they knew to head up to the hills. What was difficult was many children were on their way to school and many parents were frantic looking for their kids... I am stopping here... you can visualize the rest.
In closing, Aussie's request is well-founded - if you have a way to help these warm, loving, peaceful people please do.
Here's a couple of articles...
http://solomontimes.com/news.aspx?nwID=4505
http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/waves-hit-tonga-six-dead-3042124
There is a wikipedia article on the earthquake and tsunami with links.
And this might be a site to watch for updates - Tuvalu Islands Home Page - which currently has an article on Roz's landing in Tawara :) and other interesting information along with a WU weather sticker!
I expect you have found all that yourself but, since I had the links open, thought I'd bring them by.
and to Sandi for keeping this up for us.
Thanks for the information on the islands.
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