Duo preparing to break record                   7/3/00

Two transatlantic adventurers are poised to tackle the more
...
than 50-day voyage across the North Atlantic by rowboat.

* Roy Finlay and Colleen Cronin are in St. John's building their
boat, the Celtic Crossing.

Right now, the seven-metre rowboat is a skeleton as the pair and
their assistant, Kevin Tucker, prepare to attach the long red cedar
planking that will form the hull.

Once completed, the Celtic Crossing -- named for the Irish liqueur
company that is the major sponsor for the voyage -- will be tested
and launched in mid-July as the pair seek to break the 55-day record
for rowing the west-east Atlantic route.

As he leads the way around the boat, Finlay talks about the
built-in safety features the Celtic Crossing will boast.

With a two-metre living compartment and a wide rowing deck, the
vessel will carry the two of them, provisions for the trip and a
wide range of electronic safety, navigation and communications
devices.
...
As he talks about the boat taking shape in a St. John's warehouse,
the Scottish mariner sounds confident.

Confident, but anything but foolhardy -- he and Cronin, a marathon
runner from New York, aren't taking any chances on this trip.

``I've got to be happy with everything and then we can concentrate
on the job,'' he said of the boat's construction and sea trials, and
the safety equipment they'll take.

``It's all standard stuff but we've really got to pay attention to
the safety aspects so we'll have everything that can assist us,'' he
said. ``We'll be harnessed to the boat, for instance, at all times.
We'll have life-rafts, obviously, and an EPIRB (Emergency Position
Indicating Radio Beacon) so we can hit the button if we have to.''

The crossing has been in the works for about a year.

For Finlay, the attempt to row the west to east route is just one
more chapter in a life that has revolved around the ocean.

``I've rowed around Scotland and kayaked around Scotland. I've
...
sailed the Atlantic twice in yachts. I was a delivery skipper and
charter skipper in the Caribbean. I'm ex-navy, I was a diver for
five years,'' he said.

``But this, this is the culmination of all that. Rowing west to
east is the big one. After this one maybe I'll hang up the oars.''

Finlay said rowing the route offers more of a challenge.

``Hundreds of people sail the Atlantic every year, it's no big deal
now. A lot of people have rowed it east to west, but west to east I
believe we'll be the 11th and 12th,'' he said.

If successful, their crossing will also be the first by a mixed
rowing pair and the first by a multi-hull rowboat.

The Celtic Crossing will measure about seven metres long and two
metres wide, a width increased to about six metres when the two
stabilizing outriggers are deployed.

Finlay and Cronin hope to row about 70 miles a day, with the
overall goal of beating the 55-day record by as much as they can.
...
But bearing in mind that anything can happen in mid-Atlantic, if
they make the crossing in 54 1/2 days, they'll be happy, Finlay said
with a smile.

The target date for the Celtic Crossing's departure from St. John's
is July 15, weather permitting.

Until then, construction will continue on the Celtic Crossing, and
Finlay and Cronin will continue to assemble their provisions and
supplies.

Though their sponsorship from Celtic Crossing ensures the trip will
happen, Finlay said any additional sponsorship they can attract from
Newfoundland companies will make the task that much easier.

Once at sea, Finlay said they plan to put daily updates on the
voyage on their Web site, http://celticcrossingrow.com. The Web site
goes live on Monday with information about the crossing.