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From the Falkland
Islands, my route will take me South-East towards Latitudes 60 –
67 degrees, aptly named the screaming sixties, where I will
remain for much of the voyage, carried east by the southern
circumpolar current.
This region is home to some of the most fertile seas and
extremes of weather on the planet. Waves as high as a five
storey buildings, ice and freezing fog. Gale force winds and sea
and air temperatures that rarely raise above 5
C° makes rowing there fraught with
danger.
Fortunately,
these waters are not totally new to me. I spent six years in the
Merchant Navy and served under the Royal Navy during the
Falklands War. However, although this knowledge and experience
will be of enormous value, the key to my success will be my boat
and its equipment. The boat has been purpose built for this
voyage, by internationally renowned British boat builders,
Rossiter Yachts Ltd of Christchurch, Dorset.
Their objective
was to design and build a boat that was strong enough to
withstand the rigours of the Southern Ocean, big enough to carry
in excess of 1600 kg of supplies and equipment and bold enough
to row single- handed.
They accomplished this seemingly impossible task by combining
radical design with the use of state of the art materials. |
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It has been
equipped with the most advanced technology available including
Argos Beacon Satellite Tracking System which will allow
suppliers, family and friends to follow the expedition on the
official website: www.oceanrowing.com. I also hope to set up an
email connection with local schools and funds permitting,
install a web cam.
This expedition will not only push the boundaries of what is
believed possible, but also make a valuable contribution to the
study of global warming. |
