Route  Tori Murden will attempt one of the greatest rowing challenges: a West to East crossing of the North Atlantic Ocean. The North Atlantic is known for  its rough seas and frigid air and sea temperatures. From departure (Wanchese, North Carolina) to destination (Brest, France), the distance is 3,635 miles as the crow flies. For the first one-third of her journey, Tori will follow the Gulf Stream – an advantageous current that averages two knots per hour. The Gulf Stream, however, does not follow a straight line between North Carolina and France. When Tori is not rowing (during inclement weather or rest and sleep periods), the SECTOR NO LIMITS American Pearl will drift.

History More people have walked on the moon than have soloed the North Atlantic in a rowboat. Only five individuals have accomplished the feat. The elite five who have successfully rowed the North Atlantic route alone are men – two French and three Britons (Briton Tom McClean soloed the North Atlantic twice). The two Frenchmen, Gerard d’Aboville and Joseph Le Guen, made the crossing from continent to continent, which is Tori’s goal. If successful, Tori Murden becomes the first American and the first woman to cross the North Atlantic Ocean solo in a rowboat. A member of the Sector No Limits^® Team of athletes, Gerard d’Aboville is the only man to row solo across both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. D’Aboville consulted with fellow Sector No Limits Team member Tori Murden on design modifications of the SECTOR NO LIMITS American Pearl and assisted in planning her rowing schedule. D’Aboville’s Paris-based logistics organization, Columbia River, is Tori’s technical advisor and principal communications contact.

Sector No Limits Team consultant Kenneth F. Crutchlow is a leading authority of ocean rowing history. Crutchlow founded the non-profit Ocean Rowing Society, based in London, which provides professional accounting and accurate records of past and current ocean rowing expeditions. ORS maintains a Web site at (www.oceanrowing.com), where Tori’s daily progress will be chronicled.

Daily Schedule Tori plans to complete the crossing in 100 to 120 days. Her typical day will begin at 6 a.m. and end at 9 p.m. She plans to row a set schedule, alternating two hours of rowing with one hour of rest, averaging 10 hours of rowing per day. Tori hopes to row 50 miles each day.

Food  Tori will take a 120-day supply of freeze-dried food, energy bars and nutritional supplements, equaling 4,500 - 5,000 calories per day. She designed her meal plan with nutrition expert Luckett Davidson, a friend in Louisville, and Dr. Maurizio Luca-Moretti of the International Nutrition Research Center, in Florida, who creates food and supplement programs for recovering hospital patients.Tori will use a one-burner gas stove and carry spare parts and a reserve stove in her emergency gear. "There will be no cappuccino or fresh fruit until I reach France," Tori says.One main desalinating electric water maker operates off power generated by solar panels affixed to the rowboat. The reserve unit is a hand pump.Tori will pack out all paper food and foil wrappers. Because there is no room on board for a lavatory, her bathroom system is "Bucket and chuck it."

Clothing Tori will take a limited number of No Limits Wear^® technical gear and sportswear articles worn by the athletes of the Sector No Limits^® Team.

Navigation  Two global positioning system (GPS) units Tori will use an Orbcom satellite communicator and Inmarsat Mini-M gyroscopic telephone with E-mail linked to a hand-held computer to contact on-land support. Two Argos Tracking Beacons will track Tori’s progress and update her position automatically every four hours. The second Argos device, called the Adventure Unit, can deliver 16 pre-coded messages for basic and standardized communication between Tori and her land-based technical team in Paris. Power on board the SECTOR NO LIMITS American Pearl is limited to solar panels and three 12V batteries.

Capsizing  Tori knows the tumultuous North Atlantic will make life at sea difficult and cause the SECTOR NO LIMITS American Pearl to capsize. The large and heavy boat (the original American Pearl was constructed for a team of two rowers) is of proven design and built to be self-righting and self-bailing. The "egg-crate" construction of the 23-foot rowboat includes more than 20 water-tight compartments. The SECTOR NO LIMITS American Pearl is equipped with a Pains-Wessex "Ocean Sentry" radar target enhancer. The unit will scan for ship’s radar. Sensing radar, the unit will sound a collision alarm (loud enough to wake Tori during sleep) and return a signal that amplifies the size of Tori’s rowboat on a passing ship’s radar screen. The enhanced radar target will give the 23-foot rowboat the appearance of a large freighter vessel.

Emergency Tori can signal a problem via telephone, VHF radio, flares or through either of the two Argos tracking beacons. The boat is equipped with one 406 megahertz EPIRB. In a life-threatening situation, Tori will engage the EPIRB to request immediate assistance. Using the EPIRB signifies the end of the row. Once triggered, the EPIRB sets into motion multinational emergency teams and various transportation modes dedicated to human rescue.