I am making the most of my involuntary confinement to Puerto Vallarta. We were meant to be several miles down the coast by now, anchoring in blue-water harbours and dropping in at picturesque little fishing villages. Instead Eric is still trying to sort out the lightning-fried electronics. His efforts suffered a setback today when the one autopilot available in the whole of PV turned out to be defective.... after it had been fitted to Jangada.
Meanwhile, I have been busy. I have received my editor's feedback on the first draft of the first few chapters of my Atlantic book, and am busy incorporating them into the manuscript. On Tuesday night I showed my Atlantic video and gave a presentation at the Puerto Vallarta Yacht Club. And today I met Pat Henry, who was one of the first women to sail single-handed around the world, most of the time with only a VHF (line-of-sight) radio for communication. We had a good old chat, comparing notes on the loneliness of the long-distance mariner.
She also gave me a signed copy of her book, By The Grace Of The Sea. I look forward to being inspired - both to get on with my book and to embark on the Pacific. Pat was describing to me the incredible impact she made as she travelled through the islands of the South Pacific. People there had never imagined that sailing an ocean could be done single-handed by anybody, least of all by a woman. She brought the message that a woman could and did. She was urging me to do the same. I would love to. I wonder if an ocean rowboat can...
|
Comments [0]
07 Dec 2006
You can see the video clips in your own home of Roz on her boat Sedna during the Atlantic Rowing Race.
DVD can be ordered from this website. Click on Support Roz, then Donate, to order through PayPal.
Prices: GBP 5
USD 10
EUR 8 All including packing and postage.
SALE: Plenty of her Peru calendars still available at reduced prices: GBP 4, USD 10, EUR 8 including packing and postage.
If you have a problem using PayPal, contact Roz direct to place an order. Items will be dispatched from the UK.
|
It's always inspiring to hear of people pushing the boundaries - all the more so when they are suffering from serious disability. I was invited today to crew on a mother ship for a quadriplegic sailor, Geoff Holt, who is aiming to sail around the coast of Britain - a challenge I would find impossible even with the use of all my limbs.
Unfortunately my schedule won't allow me to take up the invitation, but I've done what I can by making a contribution to RYA Sailability, Geoff's chosen charity. If you want to support him too, then click here to go to his JustGiving page.
|
We've spent the day motor-sailing very sedately over to the booby-haven islands about 12 miles from La Cruz. I wish our slow pace was because we're so chilled out, but in fact it's because the wind is almost non-existent, and our depleted electronics will only allow us to run on one engine rather than two.
Still, it was a worthwhile journey - fun to scramble up the rocks to see booby birds of various stages of maturity and various colours of feet - red, yellow and blue.
Man, this pace is so slooooww. But still twice as fast as I went in my rowboat, with a lot more miles to cover. The ocean certainly does teach patience.
|
