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Norwegian grandfather sets off to row Atlantic Ocean solo |
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LISBON, Aug 11 (AFP) - A 57-year-old
Norwegian grandfather has left Lisbon in a seven-metre (23 feet) rowboat
on a solo trans-Atlantic journey expected to take some 100 days, the
news agency Lusa reported Sunday. If he succeeds, Stein Hoff will become the first person to row the Atlantic Ocean solo from continental Europe to the Americas, according to Ocean Rowing Society on its website. Hoff rowed out of Lisbon harbour on Saturday to begin the 6,850 kilometre (3,700 miles) journey to Guyana, hoping to reach its capital Georgetown in just over three months. A medical doctor by profession, Hoff hopes to row some 12 to 15 hours a day in his vessel, the Star Atlantic. He will row for two hours, then rest for another two, while also attempting to get five hours sleep each night. Hoff, a father of three and grandfather of one, will also keep in touch via a satellite phone and a laptop computer. "It won't be dangerous for me because I'm well prepared physically and psychologically," Hoff said before his departure. "The main problem is when you're all alone, you begin to get black thoughts but the family and good preparation should help overcome this." |
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