Missing yachts in distress - WHAT IS GOING ON? SHIP OF FOOLS?

Atlantic: French Yacht in Distress 500 miles west of the Azores and 2 other yachts missing

By Grain de Soleil — last modified May 10, 2013 02:50 PM

Priority Message: crew of sailing yacht Grain de Soleil in a liferaft or under jury rig and two other yachts could be missing. If sailing in the search area, please get in touch.

Published: 2013-05-08 15:00:00
Topics: Safety and Medical , Messageboards
Countries: Azores , Bermuda , Canary Islands , Gibraltar , Madeira 

SOS SAILBOAT IN DISTRESS

CALLING ALL SAILOR'S ATTENTION

"Grain de Soleil", a French sailboat (33 feet sky blue hull) and its three sailors have gone missing 500 Miles South West of the Azores. They set of their distress beacon on April 24th. The search and rescue operation was initiated as soon as the beacon’s signal was received. Planes flew over the zone and ships in the area were notified.

(WHY DIDN'T THE AIRCRAFT LOCATE THE DISTRESS BEACON?)

The yacht was sailing from the Caribbean to Brittany, it seems the crew are either in a life-raft or under jury rig. On April 27th the beacon gave a last position signal.

The calculated drifting zone from May 6th is:

A: 35°52N 37°22'60W

B: 36°15N 35°45'60W

C: 33°45'60N 35°45'60W

D: 33°22N 37°33'60W

Today (May 7th) the French navy has sent the instrumentation vessel Monge. An Atlantic 2 navy plane also flies from the Azores.

(ALMOST TWO WEEKS AFTER THE DISTRESS BEACON? WHY SO SLOW?)

We wish to alert all sailors in the search area and/or heading to the Azores, Gibraltar, Canaries, Madeira, Antilles and Bermuda. Any interested sailors wanting to help can send us their satphone numbers and predicted route, in order for us to send them the latest updates.

(DID THE GRAIN DE SOLEIL HAVE AN OCEAN LIFE RAFT? DID THEY HAVE A SATPHONE? DID THEY HAVE SURVIVAL SUITS?)

Any sightings or information please contact :

QG Martinique: 
+596 6 96 74 22 98
graindesoleil1@gmail.com

QG Lorient: 
+33 6 60 34 19 70
graindesoleilpc@gmail.com

Two Other Boats Overdue/Missing

Two other boats may also have gone missing in the same zone having been hit by the same storm (neither have distress beacons).

The 75’ motor-sailer Lady Domina, departed St.Martin the 31st March bound for the Azores on their way
to the final destination of Oslo, Norway. Since then she has not been seen or heard from and an APB has
been sent out to many search and rescue facilities. Radio Ham networks have also been alerted. Lady Domina is a self constructed motorsailer with one basic mast rig with only a working foresail. She is equipped with a single 220 HP diesel engine giving a max 5.5 - 6 kn speed under optimal conditions. She does not have SSB radio, just a standard VHF. The only safety equipment is an old rubber dinghy lashed to the foredeck. She does not have an EPIRB or sat. phone. She is crewed by 3 Norwegians, including the captain who has crossed the Atlantic previously, 1 Dane and a British female (5 persons on board in total). She has been cruising in the Caribbean for some years.

Parents and friends are now very worried about the crew. Lady Domina may have had engine failure and with only a foresail for propulsion she could have become seriously overdue. The whole month of April had no adverse strong wind or wave reports for this part of the North Atlantic. The distance between St. Martin and the Azores is around 2.223 nm.

Anyone with knowledge of Lady Domina at or around the departure date and onwards, please contact Tore Christiansen at tore.christiansen@gmail.com.

In addition the 30’ Arpège sailing yacht Team2choc sailed single-handedly by Vincent Capgra is currently missing. Vincent may still be in the Caribbean.

FOLKS YOU NEED TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY - CROSSING AN OCEAN MEANS OCEAN EQUIPMENT, SATPHONES, LIFE RAFTS, EPIRB ALERT BEACONS, WEATHER FORECASTS ETC... IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE  PROPER EQUIPMENT - BEG, BORROW, OR RENT - BUT DON'T GO UNPREPARED - SHIP OF FOOLS?

BOTTOM LINE - DON'T LEAVE THE DOCK WITHOUT A FINDME SPOT GPS BEACON AND TRACKING SERVICE AND SPARE HIGH CAPACITY LOW TEMP LITHIUM BATTERIES FOR UNDER US$99. 

IT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE! 

See Website: http://www.findmespot.com/

Buy it online at: http://www.amazon.com/SPOT-Satellite-GPS-Messenger-Orange/dp/B00BLQXXHY/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1368470465&sr=8-9&keywords=SPOT+GPS

or check this out only $99 includes one year of free tracking - GOOD DEAL!

http://www.bluecosmo.com/spot-satellite-gps-messenger-adventure-kit-with-1-year-free-tracking/

Do you love the great outdoors? Checkout NATGEO's Ultimate Survival Alaska

About the Show

They are some of the toughest, most extreme survivalists that Alaska has to offer. Going head to head, eight men of a rare breed are about to take the ultimate test of survival in Arctic conditions that only National Geographic could inspire. Dropped in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness by bush plane, with only their raw, mountain-man ingenuity, they’ll navigate through treacherous glaciated river valleys, barren ridgelines, and high mountain peaks, battling hunger, hostile predators, and perilous weather conditions along the way. Like the original National Geographic explorers, for those who succeed there is no grand prize, just the well-fought pride of having conquered the grueling challenges that Mother Nature can throw at them. It's an epic competition series where the only prize is survival.

Who do you think has the "RIGHT STUFF" to finish - to SURVIVE?  


Meet the Survivalists


Marty Raney

Marty Raney, 56 years old: A veteran mountain guide who has led more than 20 expeditions on and around Denali, the highest peak in North America. (VIDEO BLOG LEG1: MARTY RANEY)


Matt Raney

Matt Raney, 30 years old: Marty’s son and an expert in survival. He helped build his family home with Marty with nothing but a chainsaw and the logs on their property. (VIDEO BLOG LEG1: MATT RANEY)

Austin Manelick

Austin Manelick, 24 years old: Since the age of 5, he has practiced subsistence hunting under the watchful eye of his Alaskan wilderness guide father. (VIDEO BLOG LEG1: AUSTIN MANELICK)

Willi Prittie 

Willi Prittie, 57 years old: A professional mountain guide for almost 38 years, Willi is considered to be one of the leading climbing and logistical experts in the region. (VIDEO BLOG LEG1: WILLI PRITTIE)

Dallas Seavey 

Dallas Seavey, 26 years old: The youngest person to ever to win the Iditarod, a grueling thousand-mile race across the state of Alaska through some of the world's toughest conditions. (VIDEO BLOG LEG1: DALLAS SEAVEY)

Tyrell Seavey 

Tyrell Seavey, 28 years old: Like his brother Dallas, he hails from a legendary family, known by many as Alaskan royalty. He has run the Iditarod twice and won the Jr. Iditarod. (VIDEO BLOG LEG1: TYRELL SEAVEY)

Brent Sass 

Brent Sass, 32 years old: He’s done six 1,000-mile dog sledding expeditions for the Yukon Quest, and has guided excursions through any and all of Alaska’s many landscapes. (VIDEO BLOG LEG1: BRENT SASS)

Tyler Johnson

Tyler Johnson, 36 years old: From exploring Kathmandu to climbing 27,000 feet with no oxygen in Nepal, Tyler is fearless. (VIDEO BLOG LEG1: TYLER JOHNSON)

Follow Their Journey

Explore the paths the eight survival experts take each week to test their skills against the wilds of Alaska. Along the way, learn about the history of expeditions in Alaska and how they have evolved throughout history.


Robert E. Peary

Seven Tips to Survive the Frozen Wilderness

What you need to know if you ever wind up stranded on ice.Here’s the good news: Your plane has crashed, but you’ve managed to survive. But the bad news is that you find yourself crawling out of the wreckage in the middle of the mountainous Alaskan wilderness, where the average wintertime temperature is 20 to 30 degrees below zero, and it’s been known to dip as far down to 80 below.

MENTALLY LIST YOUR SEVEN TIPS FOR SURVIVAL BEFORE CONTINUING...

You might imagine that you’re a goner. But that’s because you don’t know the real-life story of a woman named Helen Klaben, a passenger on a small plane from Fairbanks to Seattle that crashed in February 1963 in the similarly forbidding Canadian Yukon region. She suffered a broken arm in the crash, and the pilot, Ralph Flores, both suffered a broken jaw and other serious facial injuries. And as a vintage Life magazine account of the ordeal details, they had no heavy winter survival garb, and their supplies consisted of a few cans of sardines and tuna, two cans of fruit cocktail, some vitamins, toothpaste, and matches. They didn’t even have any tools, except for a hammer, a chisel and the pilot’s hunting knife. Nevertheless, 49 days later, rescuers found Klaben and Flores, who were gaunt and desperately hungry, but somehow, had managed to survive. They’d reinforced the plane’s cabin with spruce boughs to turn it into a shelter, fashioned a drinking cup from a broken light reflector so that they could drink melted snow, and avoided physical activity as much as possible, so that their bodies’ stored fat could sustain them after the food ran out.

Hopefully, you’ll never have to go through such a harrowing experience. But just to be prepared, here are some tips for surviving in the frozen northern wilderness, from the University of Alaska risk management team’s Remote Travel Safety Guide.

Build a Snow Shelter. It may seem paradoxical, but snow can turn out to be one of your best protections against the wind and snowdrifts that you encounter in the wilderness. Build an enclosure that is about eight-inches thick, and inside, try to scrape the snow down to ground level, in order to capture radiant heat from the ground.

Know How to Stay Warm. There are lots of different ways that your body can lose vital heat, and you have to be on guard against them all. If you’re traveling in a wilderness area, you need to pack garments that are going to block the wind. Ideally, the jacket should have a collar and a waistline drawstring that can be tightened. As much as 50 percent of body heat can be lost by radiating from the head and neck areas, so make sure you keep your hat on and your neck swathed in a scarf or turtleneck. Perspiration is another way of losing heat, so wear layers and remove them as necessary to prevent overheating. The inner layer next to your skin should be some fabric, such as polypropylene, thermax or silk, that will wick the moisture away from your skin (cotton is a no-no). A middle layer of wool or polypropylene, both of which retain heat when wet, will help you to trap air inside your clothing and insulate your body. The final outer layer should be a material such as Gore-Tex, a synthetic whose pores will allow water vapor to escape, but prevent liquid water from getting through.

Watch For and Treat the First Signs of Frostbite. If the skin of your cheeks, ears, nose, fingers or toes redden or feel numb and tingly, you may have a precursor of frostbite, a condition in which ice crystals form in skin or deeper tissue. If this happens, heat some water to a temperature of 100 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit and immerse the affected areas. You also can utilize the body warmth of a companion, as long as that person isn’t excessively cooled that way. Don’t rub or massage the skin, because that will damage the tissue.

Make Sure That You Disinfect Water Before Drinking It. You’re likely to find an abundance of frozen and liquid water sources around you. But unless you want to risk coming down with a water-borne disease such as Giardia, you need to treat the water. If you don’t have a purification kit or a water filter specially designed to filter out the microbe, ordinary household chlorine bleach—four drops per quart—will disinfect water in about 30 minutes. The most foolproof method, however is to boil water for 20 minutes.

There’s Safety in Numbers. Don’t be like the foolhardy Alaska newbie in Jack London’s classic story “To Build a Fire,” who ignores an old-timer’s admonitions and ventures out alone on a day when the temperature is minus 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and ends up freezing to death. The University of Alaska’s risk management team suggests that you never leave your camp unless you’re with at least one other person. Also, if you head out from a downed aircraft, be sure to leave a note explaining where you’ve gone and describing the direction, so that rescuers have a better chance of finding you.

Be Cautious About Ice. That frozen lake, river, or stream may look solid enough to cross on foot, but if you plunge through the ice, you can be in a whole lot of trouble. Don’t even think of stepping out onto it unless the temperature is 20 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, and check your path first with an ice chisel, pole, or another tool that you can use to tap the surface and test its solidity. If it sounds hollow when tapped, choose another route. Also remember that repeated use weakens ice, so if you’re on a route that someone else has traveled first, watch out for cracks.

Learn How to Chase Away a Bear. Make a lot of noise, and pull your jacket up around your body, with your hands raised over your head, to make yourself bigger and more intimidating. Face the bear, and don’t run—that may invite the bear to pursue you. But if the bear actually gets close or grabs hold of you, though, you may want to lie still in a fetal position, in an effort to follow the bear into thinking that you’re already dead. As the University of Alaska guide notes: “This technique has been reported to be somewhat successful for brown bear encounters. However, it has not been reported as being very effective for aggressive black bears.”

Arctic Hell Facts

A Few Factoids Related to This Episode



Survivalist Willi Prittie hikes along a river in the Brooks Mountain Range. 

• The Brooks Range is the highest mountain range in the Arctic Circle.
• The Brooks Range is named after geologist Alfred H. Brooks, the Chief Alaskan Geologist for the US Geological Survey.
• The Brooks Range doesn’t contain many glaciers due to the arid nature of the area.
• Around the turn of the 20th century, when gold was found in the Canadian Yukon, an epidemic of “Klondicitis” swept through North America and many people went up North in search of gold.
• The Brooks Range remained unmapped long after the Alaska Purchase.
• The beautiful cliffs of Arrigetch Peaks have been a Natural National Landmark since its designation in 1968.
• The name Arrigetch comes from the Nunamiut language and means “fingers of a hand extended.”
• Wilderness advocate Robert Marshall was the man who coined the name "Gates of the Arctic."
• The total area for Gates of the Arctic National Park is 8,202,517 acres, of which 7,052,000 acres are wilderness.
• The Brooks Range is a drainage divide meaning that water on different sides of the mountain drains into different spots, the North emptying into the Arctic Ocean while the South eventually reaches the Bering Sea via the Yukon River.
• Wolves have never been endangered in Alaska and number around 7,000 to 11,000. They can be found all around the state.

Preview video for Ultimate Survival Alaska (Starts May 12, 2013) at:

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/ultimate-survival-alaska-preview/

Search videos for Episodes of Ultimate Survival Alaska (Starts May 12, 2013) at:

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/national-geographic-channel/all-videos/

WEBSITE: http://www.natgeotv.com/SurvivalAlaska
ENJOY!!!

From Alaska to Argentina, a 500 Day Motorcycle Trip

Alex Chacón creates an optical illusion in Bolivia's Uyuni salt flat. Chacón a 25-year-old from El Paso, Texas travelled from Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina on a Kawasaki motorbike. He traveled for more than 500 days. (Alex Chacón/Expeditionsouth.com)

If you've ever dreamed about travelling around the world, you will lovethis video by Alex Chacon, a 25-year-old from El Paso Texas.

Chacon made a 500-day motorbike journey on his own, from Alaska, to the southern tip of Argentina, and filmed much of it by placing GoPro cameras on his helmet and on the side of his bike.The 10-minute video that sums up the trip, has gone viral on youtube. It has been posted on several websites, including Chacon's own blog, and gives us some awesome views of the Patagonia, the deserts of the American west, snowy Andean mountain passes and muddy Amazonian roads. The shots just make you want to go to these places yourself. But the story behind this video and this trip, is also quite inspiring.

Chacon, a dual citizen of Mexico and the U.S, left his hometown in January of 2011, shortly after he had finished a degree in BioMedical Sciences at the University of Texas. He had little money, and only enough funds to travel for 6 months. But that stretched to almost two years of traveling, as the El Paso native found numerous to ways to get by.

First Chacon learnt to live cheaply, camping out in parking lots and eating canned foods. He used social networks like Couchsurfing to get free accommodation with locals through the journey, and as he made his way down Central America, people who became fans of his "mission," started to help him out, by giving him food, money and free gas. Chacon documented it all in a blog called Expedition South, through which he updated a growing number of online fans about his travels . This exposure eventually helped him to secure small donations from Kawasaki, -which gave him $1,000 for a new bike- and GoPro a camera company.


The view from Alex's helmet cam, as he braves the La Paz to Coroico road in Bolivia.


Now that he has ridden his bike, all they way back to El Paso, Chacon works as a travel consultant for people who are interested in taking similar trips on landrovers and motorbikes around the Americas. Chacon helps his clients with info on which routes to take, and tips on how to negotiate bureaucratic border crossings with their vehicles. We wanted to know more about this life-changing trip, so we called up Chacon at his El Paso home.

Fusion: Some people might think this is strange to go off on your own on a bike, for 500 days. Others will think it is the coolest thing ever. What inspired you to do this?

Alex Chacon: "When I was a little kid in elementary school I'd always look at the world globe an realized how small we were, and the different places there were. So over the years I kept figuring out how I was going to go all around the world, and get to know the world before I got to know myself. I did my very frist roadtrop at 15 when I drove from Mexico to Canada twice. I went from El Paso to California, to Vancouver, back down to Texas, then to Florida, then to Nova Scotia, through Michigan, and I did that in 32 days. It was the most amazing experience in my life, and because it was so profound, and it changed me in so many ways at such a young age, I realized that a much greater journey like [riding across] Latin America was in my blood."


While in Peru, Alex accidentally ran into an airbase testing ground where the Peruvian air force tested live bombs and rockets.


Fusion: So you weren't having an existential crisis or something of that sort?

AC: (laughs) There's a good book about a drummer from Russia, who did a similar motorbike journey after he lost most of his family to diseases and stuff, so he went kind of crazy. But I'm happy to say that I just knew the amazing epic journey that my small trip [in North America] was like and I just knew that if I could share such a huge amazing epic journey through Latin America, what great it would do me and how great it would be for everyone who was following me on the website.

Fusion: How could you afford this trip?

AC: "I first thought I was going to travel from three to six months, and I saved up all the money I could by selling everything I had. I worked for two months [at a physical therapy unit of a local clinic] after graduating college, I sold my car, I sold my clothes, I gave blood, I did everything possible to save the most money cause I didn't think I was going to make it to South America, I really just thought I was going to go from the US to Panama and that's about it."

"But it was amazing because [during the trip] everybody had this feeling of what I needed to accomplish, my goal my dream. Through the journey I got Kawasaki international involved they helped me towards the purchase of a bike. Then I got Go-Pro involved I did videos for them in Costa Rica, and they gave me some cameras. And then people on the road would give me money. And they said this is great what you're doing. "

"I got random people giving me $500 on the street to people letting me sleep in their house, to people inviting me to their weddings, just crazy stuff, people giving me food. It became this super amazing adventure."


Alex makes his way through southern Mexico. In this portion of the trip he traveled with a couple friends that he met in Oaxaca.


Fusion: You went to a lot of remote places. What was the scariest road?

AC: I can't tell you. It's like choosing which of the 23 countries I visited was the most amazing. However, I would say that the most dangerous places I encountered were the remote expanses of the Patagonia, and the Bolivian Altiplano.

In the Patagonia you have ferries that go once or twice a day, so you're sometimes stranded on an island on your own for a day. If something happens to you then, you get no help for 24 hours. The other dangerous places were probably in Honduras, cause when you go to gas stations in Honduras everyone has guns, even in the coffee shops, the stores, so when everyone else has a gun and you don't you feel kind of uncomfortable. So there was a little bit of human, and a little bit of natural danger in each place.

Fusion: What was your favorite place?

AC: Can I give you three?

Fusion: Sure

http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/ABC_Univision/alaska-argentina-500-day-motorcycle-journey/story?id=19135566#.UYv3E8gueO8

British Explorer Dies In Trek Across Arctic

Philip Goodeve-Docker died before help could arrive (Photo: Facebook)

A British adventurer has died during an attempt to cross part of the Greenland ice sheet with two colleagues.

Philip Goodeve-Docker, 37, described as a "rookie to the Arctic", was taking part in the unsupported 400-mile trek with friends Andy Norman, 33, and expedition leader Roan Hackney.

Despite being new to the Arctic he had been 'training furiously'

The men had planned to negotiate part of the ice cap from east to west in 30 days, pulling heavy sleds known as 'pulks' containing their food, equipment and supplies.

But they got into difficulties two days and 120 miles into the trip after they were engulfed by a severe snowstorm known as a 'Piteraq' which blew away their tent.

The men radioed for help but a helicopter was unable to reach their position until the next morning. By the time it arrived, Mr Goodeve-Docker was already dead and his colleagues were suffering from frost-bite and shock.

A statement issued by the Foreign Office said: "We are aware that three British nationals were in difficulty during an expedition in Greenland, and have been rescued by the authorities. 

"Sadly one of the team, Philip Goodeve-Docker, died. The other two British nationals are in hospital. We are providing consular assistance to their families at this difficult time."

An expedition website that had been set-up by the men states Mr Goodeve-Docker was "completely new" to the Arctic, but that he had been "training furiously" for the trip.

Mr Goodeve-Docker with team members Roan Hackney and Andy Norman

Expedition leader Roan Hackney is described as an experienced adventurer, having completed several Arctic expeditions, including being part of a team that attempted the same trip two years ago.

On the JustGiving page before he left for Greenland, Mr Goodeve-Docker wrote of the dangers he would face travelling across one of the most "deadly landscapes in the world".

"Part of my reasons for this frankly nutty adventure is my Grandfather, Patrick Pirie-Gordon, who passed away two years ago.

"Amongst his achievements were his key roles as Treasurer and Honorary Vice-President for the Royal Geographical Society, helping fund polar exploration, and Treasurer for the QNI. He was intensely passionate about both these institutions.

Greenland presents one of the most challenging terrains on earth

"It gave me added incentive to say yes to the expedition and, because of their fantastic work in nursing & helping those in need at home, to do my part for QNI. They really do fantastic work.

"So please dig deep and donate now. All the support will be great incentive to come back in one piece! :) I'm going back outside to stumble around with tyres again..wish me luck!"

A statement issued by Mr Goodeve-Docker's family, said: "To our son, brother and friend, we are so glad that you were on your adventure and expedition that you had wanted to do for so long. You will be unbelievably missed and your memory cherished. Xx"

Climbers Abandon Mount Everest Expedition After Brawling With Sherpas

Three climbers involved in a high-altitude brawl on Mount Everest have abandoned their expedition after fending off a group of angry Sherpa guides.

Ueli Steck of Switzerland, Simone Moro of Italy and Jonathan Griffith of Great Britain met with the Sherpas and Nepalese authorities today to clear the air, according to an update on Moro’s Facebook page.

“I wanted that the meeting with everyone at base camp ended with my words that underlined the esteem I have for the Sherpa and Nepal, but I also stated that this violence killed our climbing dream and that we are leaving,” Moro said in an interview with Planet Mountain.

The drama unfolded Saturday at 24,500 feet, according to a statement posted on Moro’s website, after a Sherpa accused the three of knocking ice onto a fellow guide below and injuring him.

The lead Sherpa began “shouting and banging the ice with his ax  erratically,” Moro said.

The  trio and the Sherpas, who are known for providing support to foreign trekkers and mountain climbers, descended to Camp 2, at which point Moro said they were  outnumbered by 100 Sherpas who punched and kicked them and threw rocks.

“They were throwing stones,” Steck told the BBC. “One tried to use a pocket knife to hit Simone Moro. Luckily, he just hit his belt off his backpack.”

The situation calmed down after 50 minutes, at which point  Moro said the men were told “if they weren’t gone in one hour that they would all be killed.”

The the three  retreated to the base of the mountain, Moro said, “feeling that given the current situation this was the safest place to be.”

He suggested the lead Sherpa may have been dealing with bruised pride after the three climbers  passed him, prompting him to start the fight.

“Whatever the reason may be, there is no reason to instigate vigilante rule and to try and kill three visiting climbers,” he said.

Professional Rowers are using poorly designed rowboats which CAPSIZE - SAFETY FIRST - NEW DESIGN ASAP

British adventurer Sarah Outen described herself as 'an ocean girl at heart'

A British adventurer has begun her second attempt to become the first person to row solo from Japan to Canada.

Sarah Outen's first venture, in May 2012, was cut short by ferocious Tropical Storm Mawar, which battered her boat Gulliver, causing it irreparable damage and making it capsize more than 20 times, so she had no choice but to call for a rescue.

COMMENT

(ROWBOAT)..." it capsize more than 20 times" 

HELLO ROWERS - PROPERLY DESIGNED BOATS SHOULD NOT REPEATEDLY CAPSIZE (UNLESS OPERATED IMPROPERLY). WHY WOULD ANYONE TRUSTING YOUR LIFE TO A ROWBOAT NOT INCLINED TO TEST AND IMPROVE THE DESIGN - INCLUDING AUTO-RIGHT RECOVERY - BEFORE USING IT IN THE OCEAN... SOMETHING IS WRONG - AN ACCEPTED (ROW) BOAT DESIGN REPEATED CAPSIZES 20 TIMES... STOP THE HECK USING THAT ROWBOAT DESIGN!  HIRE ANOTHER NAVAL ARCHITECT - IF YOU WERE SICK AND NOT GETTING WELL YOU WOULD SEE A NEW DOCTOR - GET ANOTHER OPINION - ROWBOATS NEED A DESIGN RE-THINK ASAP!!!  

Gulliver sadly had to be left at sea in June 2012 after Sarah and he were hit by Tropical Storm Mawar. He will be sorely missed!

SO SORRY GULLIVER1 IS RESTING ON THE OCEAN  BOTTOM - BUT YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN A NEW CHANCE FOR A BETTER DESIGNED GULLIVER2 - TAKE IT AND GET ON WITH YOUR GOAL... 

Meeting Gulliver - video url: http://youtu.be/4asE_-jYpAA 

Enter HAPPY SOCKS (looks like the same old design which needs improvement...)

An exciting moment - collecting Happy Socks from Global Boatworks after her 'Pacific Upgrade'. She is my boat for the North Pacific row in 2013.

Changes have been made based on experiences during the 'final storm' of June 2013 which damaged my original boat, Gulliver.

Self-right test photo - sure would like to see the video
The boat is designed to self-right in the event of capsize. So long as hatches are closed and weight is stowed correctly, she will pop round very swiftly.
 

OVERLOADED? - NO WONDER ROWBOATS CAPSIZE - SHIFTING CARGO MAKES ROWBOAT UNSTABLE


The attempt is part of the 27-year-old's wider London2London: Via the World expedition, which will see her row, cycle and kayak a continuous loop of the planet.

Ms Outen, from Rutland, set out at 8am British time on Saturday from Choshi in Japan.

If successful, she will become the first woman to row solo across the North Pacific Ocean from west to east and the first person to row solo from Japan to Canada.

Just three boats have rowed west to east across the North Pacific - all from Japan to the USA. Many attempts have failed.

The 4,500 nautical mile journey will mean between 150 and 200 days alone at sea for Ms Outen in her seven metre ocean-going rowing boat, Happy Socks.

She said: "I am an ocean girl at heart. I love being so close to the water and living to the rhythms of the wild. The energy out there is magic and the dynamics are so exciting.

"There are no guarantees of success and it will take every ounce of physical and mental strength and a good dollop of luck to make it across safely. But I believe I have the best possible chance - physically and mentally I am strong and determined to give this my best shot."

Ms Outen is sharing her stories from the row and the wider expedition, which began in April 2011, through her website and social media to inspire young people to follow their dreams and believe that anything is possible. She is also hoping to raise more than £100,000 for her four chosen charities - CoppaFeel!, The Jubilee Sailing Trust, MNDA and WaterAid.

BLOG: http://www.sarahouten.com/blog/

Meeting Nelson - Video url: http://youtu.be/ixif2XwecOA

WHAT DO YOU SEE ALARMING IN THIS PHOTO?  DIMINISHED FREEBOARD - HELLO EXPEDITION ADVISORS - SARA NEEDS YOUR HELP - THIS KAYAK HAS LOST ITS SEAKEEPING ABILITY - OVER LOADED? - MANY BOATS SINK BECAUSE WATER ENTERS WITHOUT DETECTION UNTIL THERE IS A SECONDARY FAILURE WHICH PREVENTS A GOOD & TIMELY RESPONSE.

I STRONGLY RECOMMEND USING SOCIAL MEDIA (WEBSITES, BLOGS, TWITTER, FACEBOOK) AS PROJECT ADVISORS - POST EVERY PLANNED STEP ALONG THE WAY SO YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA FRIENDS CAN OFFER SUGGESTIONS OR ALERT YOU TO CRITICAL ELEMENTS REQUIRING REVISION.

DOES YOUR WEBSITE, BLOG ETC ALLOW FOLLOWERS TO EASILY POST A PUBLIC COMMENT OR EMAIL YOU DIRECTLY?

Ocean food - HAPPINESS IS... (video url: http://youtu.be/oVvdSbbO8oY)

Perhaps the only birthday I will ever have in Kazakhstan. A hot, hot day with some big miles - 212km into Atyrau, where I had beers with some friendly expats. It was only my second day in Kazakhstan so everything was a novelty - the camels, the steppe, the dried up lakes...


God Speed you, Sarah Outen!!!

'GLORY OF THE SEA' planning to sail to North Latitudes to trace roots... Northwest Passage plans?

Descendants of Vikings to set sail for Hudson Bay and beyond

Descendants of Vikings in North America 1,000 years ago will set sail on Lake Winnipeg this year for a voyage to Hudson Bay.

Those descendants, Winnipeggers Johann Sigurdson and David Collette, are on a hunt for traces of Norse explorers in Hudson Bay 800 years ago.

Ancient Viking sagas suggest Norse traders in narwhal and walrus tusks and polar bears may have slipped through the Northwest Passage during a brief period of global warming at the height of Viking settlements in Greenland and North America.

If they did, they may have made it as far as Hudson Bay.

"We've named the expedition Fara Heim," Sigurdson told the Icelandic Ice News this winter in an article that's circulating on archeological news websites. "In Old Norse, 'ao fara heim' means 'to go home,' " he said.

Website: http://faraheim.com/ (in Old Norse, means “Going Home".)

The pair will use this summer to raise funds and outfit a 15-metre sailboat with sonar and radar gear to collect data without digging anything up. They're hoping Icelandic shipping company Eimskip will ship the boat to North America this spring. It's due to launch in Lake Winnipeg this June.

The rest of this season, the expedition will work to generate public interest and attract sponsors and paying passengers for the search in the bay.

Plans next summer call for the crew to sail up the western coast of Hudson Bay, stopping at Inuit centres and talking to elders who might support information in the Norse sagas about a voyage to Hudson Bay.

"We're not going to one place to go and dig. We're going to focus on likely places with a Norse presence. We could be extremely lucky and find an outline of some buildings, like the stuff at L'Anse aux Meadows," Sigurdson said.

The 1,000-year-old base camp in northwestern Newfoundland is the earliest documented Viking settlement in North America.

Then they'll sail through the Northwest Passage, past Ellesmere Island, Skraeling Island and Ungava Bay where archeologists, anthropologists and historians from Thomas Lee to Icelandic speakers Tryggvi Oleson and Viljalmur Stefansson have all placed a Viking presence.

Fara Heim's advisory board includes a who's who of modern global explorers, adding credibility to the expedition.

The board includes Capt. Norm Baker, the first mate and navigator for Thor Heyerdahl of the famed Kon Tiki expedition, and Charles Hedrich, an explorer and founder of Respectons la Terre, a European group dedicated to exploration with an environmental focus. Filmmaker Guy Madden is another adviser.

The Glory of the Sea was the third yacht in history to make a sole voyage around Antarctica at latitudes below 69 degrees in 2003.

The Boat

“Glory of the Sea”

“Glory of the Sea” was built for its present owner in 2001 and launched in early 2002. After initial test sailing in western France, northern Spain and southern England she started her 3 year circumnavigation in late autumn crossing the Atlantic and heading for the Antarctic Peninsula. In February 2003 she became the third yacht in history to have attained a latitude below 69 degrees and 30 minutes south without outside assistance. She reached 69 deg. 47 min. in the bay of Magarite before being forced to turn. She spent the Antarctic winter in South Georgia and arrived in the spring in Cape Town in time for Christmas. She went on to visit 18 subantarctic islands in addition to Tasmania and New Zealand. She called in at a few islands in the south Pacific before returning to Patagonia and Ushuaia. She arrived back in France during the summer 2005. After having sailed an estimated 54000 nautical miles. The two Atlantic crossings, half the Indian Ocean crossing and three quarters of the Pacific crossing were done single handed.

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“Glory” is a 50 feet aluminium sailboat designed, manufactured, equipped and, since its launch in early 2002 also used as an expedition support vessel in extensive ice sailing and polar winter situations.  She is designed by naval architects Berret /Racoupeau and built by Alumarine. The interior design is by Patrick Roseo.

The hull is double skinned up to 30 centimetres above the water line. The space between layers, 10 centimetres, is filled with polyurethane foam forming a strong and insulating sandwich. It has four watertight bulkheads, twin lifting keels, twin lifting rudders and retractable propeller. The hull is water ballasted with three tanks either side inside the insulation. All transparent hull openings are double glazed or doubled with inside paneling. The engine is a MAN/NANNI four cylinder with keel cooling integrated in the hull. The rigging is cutter with pivoting wing mast and bowsprit for the gennaker and the asymmetric spinnaker.

The electrics is all 24 volt with three banks of batteries. One is for starting only and two for utilities. There is an emergency 12 volt system, mounted high in the boat, powering the radios and essential electronics. Charging is by twin engine mounted alternators when under power, solar panels, and propeller shaft driven alternator when under sail. Location and cabling is provided for wind generator.

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The hull can be beached in two ways: Either on its bottom with all appendices retracted or standing on the keels and rudders. In the last case the height and angle of the hull can be adjusted by hydraulic cylinders attached between the keels and the deck.

For anchoring she is equipped with two large but lightweight anchors ready to go. Each anchor has a hundred meters of twelve millimeter chain in a chain box just behind the mast and next to the keel, thus keeping heavy gear away from the extremities of the hull.

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The interior sleeps seven. The starboard cabin has twin fixed bunks and a fold down. The port cabin has a double bunk. There is a pilot bunk next to the inside steering position and one in the saloon. The saloon table can be lowered, providing a further double bed.

She is completely equipped for her purpose having just completed a 3 year 54000 nautical miles circumnavigation. 

Expedition Objectives

The primary objectives for the Fara Heim expedition are:

1. Increase the awareness of Norse interactions with North America over the past 1,000 years

2. Travel via sailboat and search using advanced research technology for evidence of Norse presence in predetermined locations

3. Support and energize increased research into the Norse exploration, settlements and trading in areas west of Greenland

4. Educate and inform citizens of the Nordic countries on the history of Nordic exploration

The secondary objectives for the Fara Heim expedition are:

1. Increase the awareness of the global community to the nations of the North and their sovereignty

2. Measure and record environmental data for use in evaluating climate change

The team will train the crew and prepare the sailboat on Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2012. The expedition will depart from Churchill, Manitoba in the early summer of 2013. The expedition will travel from Canada to Reykjavik, Iceland over a 3-month period while searching at predetermined locations for evidence of Norse presence.

The Route

(COMMENT - NORTHWEST PASSAGE PLANS NOT YET DOCUMENTED)

FAQs

Why?
The extent of the Viking / Nordic presence in North America is controversial. Questions go unanswered as many of the sites in the Arctic thought to be Viking have not been visited or studied for decades. The sites are remote and difficult to access. Consequently, the original studies with their information and conclusions continue to be recycled. New perspectives are nil. The aim of our project is to re-vitalize interest in this period of our history. We will review and share our knowledge of the accomplishments of these explorers and settlers. We will encourage contemporary study of the Viking presence in America by sailing the northern sea. We will share world wide the experience of being on-site via real-time video and photos. We will document our findings.

How?
We are assembling an advisory team of respected professionals to assist us in locating known and suspected Viking sites around Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait. We will also identify other potential areas of investigation using satellite imagery, knowledge from Inuit elders, and extrapolated information by planning routes and segments particular to sailing vessels.

Why A Sailboat?
The Vikings were some of the most successful mariners of their time because of their ships: fast, light, shallow draft, and very seaworthy. Modern sailboats used in Arctic expeditions share many of these attributes and on that basis we will be able to access the same areas they did. By sailing these selected routes and segments, we will become “Viking”. We will visualize the land and sea from the perspective of the deck of a small sailing ship.

Why Not A Replica Of A Viking Ship?
This expedition is not an attempt to show that Vikings could have sailed here. It is a known fact that they had the technology (ships) and the skill to go almost anywhere they wished. Therefore, our sailing east does not require a replica of a Viking ship. Our focus is to visit the known and suspected sites while searching for new possibilities. To do this, we will follow the guidelines of the intrepid Viking explorers and select the most modern and well-equipped vessel available for our northern exploration. The areas we are visiting, northern Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, and Baffin Island, have challenges enough for any modern sailor. Modern Vikings, on voyages of re-discovery, need all the safety equipment available. They can then concentrate on finding evidence of “those who were here before” and ensure a safe journey.

Who Will Be On The Expedition?
It takes vision and commitment to launch the sort of expedition we are organizing. It will take months of work to organize, finance, and carry out this investigation. The core team members are Johann Sigurdson and David Collette. Additional crew including those whose specialized skills are critical to the success of the journey and a few others who wish to join us in 1-2 week segments for “travel with a purpose”. The final crew complement and schedule will be developed as the project moves forward.

Who Is Advising The Expedition?
There is tremendous interest in this project. Experts in archaeology, anthropology, Arctic expedition planning, sea ice, documentary film, finance, and Viking Age history have offered assistance. We are grateful to them. From this group, we have formed an advisory committee with the directive of establishing guidelines to ensure the project’s success. We trust that the outcome will encourage more investigation concerning the extent of the Norse presence in North America.

Sponsor Brochure: http://faraheim.com/uploads/2/9/3/9/2939940/fara_heim_brochure.pdf

KON-TIKI EXPEDITION to film? Read the book before seeing the film

Heyerdahl, who died in 2002, is said to have approved an early treatment for the movie, and Kon-Tiki is faithful to him, if not blind to his faults. *Photographer:* Courtesy of Nordisk Film

“Just occasionally you find yourself in an odd situation. You get into it by degrees and in the most natural way but when you are right in the midst of it you are suddenly astonished and ask yourself how in the world it all came about.” So begins Thor Heyerdahl’s The Kon-Tiki Expedition, his account of putting to sea on a balsa-log raft in 1947 to test his theory that ancient Peruvians were the first to populate Polynesia. And the blithe spirit of that opening line is a good mindset for approaching Kon-Tiki, a terrific new dramatization of the 4,300-mile voyage.

A hit in Heyerdahl’s native Norway, it was the country’s entry for best foreign film at the 2012 Academy Awards. Now it’s being released in the States by the Weinstein Company, a studio so adept at winning Oscars that one wonders if the film will be entered again. It’s that good.

Because the original expedition was an international sensation—the book has sold 50 million copies—the filmmakers aimed for a global audience by producing two versions, one in Norwegian and one in English. Kon­-Tiki’s lack of subtitles will be a boon for those bringing dates; six men hanging out on a raft is, after all, not the most promising plot.

Directors Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg move us briskly through critical backstories: a childhood accident that explains (spoiler alert) why Heyerdahl never learned to swim, and the year he spends with his bride, Liv, on an island in the Marquesas in 1936. It’s there that he hatches his Polynesian hypothesis. Soon we’re off to late-1940s New York City, where Heyerdahl shops a book version of his big idea but can’t get publishers to take him seriously—until, that is, he proposes crossing the Pacific on a raft, at which point they think he’s insane. Kon-Tiki is beautiful to look at, beginning with Heyerdahl, played by Pal Sverre Hagen—think of a Viking Ryan Gosling. There’s a feeling-infinitesimal-under-the-stars set piece to give all but the most jaded viewers gooseflesh and a whale shark scene so vivid, one half expects to hear from Richard Attenborough.

“Just occasionally you find yourself in an odd situation. You get into it by degrees and in the most natural way but when you are right in the midst of it you are suddenly astonished and ask yourself how in the world it all came about.” *Photographer:* Courtesy of Nordisk Film

Heyerdahl, who died in 2002, is said to have approved an early treatment for the movie, and Kon-Tiki is faithful to him, if not blind to his faults. It’s less kind to Herman Watzinger, his trusted second-in-command. This has caused some controversy in Oslo. The movie Watzinger (Anders Baasmo Christiansen) is Heyerdahl’s chief underminer. Imagine a big-budget Apollo 11 in which Buzz Aldrin turns on Neil Armstrong. But the directors have admitted to taking dramatic liberties. Most viewers will be glad they did—the confrontation between the two men forms the movie’s psychological climax.

Kon-Tiki verges on corny at times, and there are a couple of occasions when the camera lingers too long on Hagen as he experiences some intense emotion. There’s also the niggling fact that Heyerdahl was simply wrong about the anthropology. Fifth-century mariners probably didn’t cross the Pacific, but Heyerdahl proved that they could have, and more to the point, he rescued his unread manuscript from Manhattan publishers’ slush piles in heroic fashion. Like the expedition itself, Kon-Tiki is a farce. But what a gorgeous farce!

Kon-Tiki verges on corny at times, and there are a couple of occasions when the camera lingers too long on Hagen as he experiences some intense emotion. *Photographer:* Courtesy of Nordisk Film

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/media/film/Putting-the-Kon-Tiki-Expedition-to-Film.html?204127871&utm_campaign=googlenews&utm_source=googlenews&utm_medium=xmlfeed

http://www.amazon.com/Kon-Tiki-Across-Pacific-Thor-Heyerdahl/dp/0671726528

Kon-Tiki is the record of Thor Heyerdahl’s astonishing three-month voyage across the Pacific.

Kon-Tiki is the record of an astonishing adventure—a journey of 4,300 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean by raft. Intrigued by Polynesian folklore, biologist Thor Heyerdahl suspected that the South Sea Islands had been settled by an ancient race from thousands of miles to the east, led by a mythical hero, Kon-Tiki. He decided to prove his theory by duplicating the legendary voyage.

On April 28, 1947, Heyerdahl and five other adventurers sailed from Peru on a balsa log raft. After three months on the open sea, encountering raging storms, whales, and sharks, they sighted land—the Polynesian island of Puka Puka.

Translated into sixty-five languages, Kon-Tiki is a classic, inspiring tale of daring and courage—a magnificent saga of men against the sea.

This edition includes a foreword by the author and a unique visual essay of the voyage.