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On a day when "Teddy" Rezvoy had already needed to right his
transatlantic rowing vessel twice, having been flipped in the waves, and
needing to repair his rudder in shark-infested water (white sharks),
Teddy saw a ship on the horizon. "A painkiller [from the ship] would be
great," Teddy thought to himself. He radioed the vessel for a
painkiller. The US Navy vessel then approached.
The Navy was suspicious and on high alert after the events of 11
September 2001 in New York.
The Navy dived under the yellow rowing boat (pictured above) and
confiscated his "weapons", a penknife and flares. Teddy was lifted
aboard the USS Doyle.
"They asked me if I have some explosive material or some weapons. And
they took from the boat my knife and flares and everything dangerous -
they took it all," said Rezvoy.
The Navy then attempted to bring aboard the rowing boat, a process which
was unsuccessful and damaged the boat. The rowing boat was then cast
adrift.
OceanRowing.com explains: The boat that his father had so lovingly
devoted most his time to was lost. The U$100,000 expedition money was
gone, a serious blow to Teddy's U$200/month income back in Ukraine. His
personal clothes, pictures, food, tech - all was lost by a single cut of
the towing rope. Back on land, Teddy was handed the last piece of hope -
the Argos tracker. The Marines had left the emergency beacon, but for
some reason gone back for the Argos tracking unit before releasing his
boat.
They continue: Teddy's papers were clear and he had all the right in the
world to row out of US to France. Even the coastguard came over to see
him off at Battery Park.
Back at ExplorersWeb office in Manhattan, he already plans for a fresh
start next year. He says he takes full responsibility for what happened
and wishes no harm to the US Navy. He only hopes he'll be let back into
the country next year to follow through on his adventure.
”It was people like Teddy who once built America. They came from Europe
on wooden boats and feared nothing. They made a country based on Freedom
and Justice for all. We love that. We need to protect that. But more
than our lives, we need to protect the American dream. The dream that if
a single guy dreams up that he can row in a small boat all the way to
France, he has the right to try."
He rowed across the Atlantic in the opposite direction in 2001 (due
west). Should he complete the challenge Teddy would become the third
person in history to complete a ‘return trip’ rowing across the
Atlantic.
Links:
Rezvoy.com: "Theodore Rezvoy"
OceanRowing.com: "Hello, where is my boat"
Steve Duncan, 31 July 2003
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