10 knots of wind can feel like a lot when you're rowing a 1200 lb boat straight into it. Today's trial run, on Horseshoe Lake in Fremont, was the first trial with the boat carrying its full payload of technology, batteries, and water ballast, and it proved, amongst other things, that I have been right to sit tight on shore and not to try and head out onto the Pacific. The prevailing winds ever since my launch event on July 10 have been onshore, and although 10 knots may not sound like much, it makes a big difference when trying to row a boat as bulky as this one. And the forecast shows no signs of changing for at least another week.
A lot of people have asked if I feel anxious. No, I don't. I would be a heck of a lot more anxious if I was about to be shipwrecked on the California coast because I'd rushed my departure.
This extra time is allowing us to make final refinements, and for me to follow up a few very interesting leads for media collaborations and educational outreach. I am feeling zen and calm, and will leave when the time is right, and not a moment before.
[photo: on Horseshoe Lake today, copyright Deborah Dennis. See more of her stunning portfolio, of subjects more interesting than me, at Black Rhino Photography] - and more photos of today's sea trial below...]
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Jessie is the intern for the Blue Frontier Campaign, and has been helping out with all kinds of things, including organising the launch event on July 10, and shopping for things I needed for the boat (grease pencil, toothpaste, sunshades, 12 lb of jerky, and various other random items). But possibly her greatest contribution arrived by email today - a sea shanty:
Landed person: How long have you been in the wilderness? (at sea?)
Crew:
All me bloomin' life, mam!
Me mother's a mermaid
Me father's king neptune
I was born on the crest of a wave
And rocked in the cradle deep!
Seaweed and barnacles are me clothes
Every tooth in me head is a marlin spike
Every hair on me head is hemp.
Every bone in me body's a spar.
And when I spits, I spits tar.
I's hard I is I ar.
Arrrgh.
Very Pirates of the Caribbean. I especially like the penultimate line - "I's hard I is I ar". On the Atlantic I found little mantras and affirmations very useful in keeping me going at the oars, and I think this will be an excellent new one.
Speaking of sea shanties, shortly I will be publishing my favourite playlists to iTunes, so you will be able to imagine yourself there in the boat with me, listening along to what I'm listening to. All you'll have to do is throw buckets of saltwater over yourself at regular intervals, and you'll have yourself a pretty authentic ocean-rowing experience...
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In theory, my diary should be totally empty - I was supposed to be on the ocean by now, so I had nothing scheduled. But just as possessions expand to fill the space available (try living on a 24-foot rowboat vs a 4-bedroom house), commitments expand to fill the diary space available.
This, however, can be a good thing. One of the impromptu invitations I received was from Deborah Dennis, a photographer and traveler. After briefly checking out her website, I decided this was the kind of woman I would like to meet. And so I found myself, yesterday afternoon, at her beautiful house in the Oakland hills, speaking to a group of 25 or so women (and one man), most of whom already had an interest in the oceans - through outrigger paddling, rowing, kayaking, and canoeing. I cannot think of a better way to have spent my Sunday afternoon.
Having spent much of my adult life in dread of women-only gatherings (hen weekends were my idea of hell) I realise I am now reaching an age where my peers are discovering their strength and power (this is a sweeping statement - some discover it sooner, some never discover it at all) and the notion of sisterhood is starting to make sense to me.
Yesterday I met a bunch of fascinating women who are all finding and rising to their own challenges. I was at least as inspired by them as they were by me.
This meshed with the book I am reading at the moment, written by another new friend of mine. "This Is Not The Life I Ordered", co-authored by Michealene Risley (and appropriately subtitled "50 ways to keep your head above water when life keeps dragging you down), is about kitchen table friends - the kind you can call at 4am. If I ever call a friend at 4am, it would probably be because I got the time difference wrong...
Latest on departure date: my weatherman. Rick Shema, and I have now introduced the 'Fuzziness Factor' into the red/yellow/green stoplight system. Weather forecasts vary in reliability, depending on how volatile weather conditions are, and how far out the forecast extends. So the FF indicates, through High/Medium/Low, how much credence I can give the forecast. We currently have a decent window of green and yellow for August 1, but with a high Fuzziness Factor - so everything is still very uncertain. I will keep you posted.
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One interesting thing about being even slightly in public view is that some people feel at liberty to pass judgment on me. I used to take this very personally, but now I am learning that their perceptions are usually so far from the reality that I shouldn't take them to heart.
For example, one person has challenged me with the possibility that there may be a 'conflict between [my] self-esteem and [my] ego'. This was interesting, because I ask myself exactly the same question almost every day - are my motivations still what they should be? Are they altruistic or selfish? Am I doing this for a cause I believe in or for my own self-glorification?
And I am happy to report that after each daily check-in I feel certain that I am still on track, and doing this for all the right reasons - to draw attention to environmental issues, and hopefully also to inspire a few people to believe that they can do whatever they choose to do, and that it is more important to measure yourself by who you are than by what you own.
And that's all I have to say about that.
[photo: looking forward to being out on the ocean again - just me and my boat and several thousand miles of water]
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