Forgive me, friends, for I have sinned. It has been 6 days since my last blog....
This is not because I have been slacking - far from it. I had a whirlwind of events in Washington DC - the Ocean Champions reception, a planning committee of the Blue Frontier Campaign, 7 meetings with National Geographic, and the gala opening of Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian - and am now in New York for yet more meetings.
Plus I've had a whole load of great ideas for blogs I want to write - but just no time to write them. And tonight I've got 3 grant applications to write (boy, do I know how to have a wild Saturday night in the Big Apple!!).
So as an olive branch offered to my loyal readers, here is something I hope you will really appreciate but won't take me so long to write - the video of my departure under the Golden Gate Bridge, almost exactly 4 months ago.
Enjoy!!
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(Full size image available in my SmugMug gallery)
I've been totting up the list of casualties on the crossing from San Francisco to Hawaii - things that need to be replaced, repaired, or added before I set out on Stage Two next May.
It's a long list, and the sponsorship blues are setting in already. This morning I found myself yearning to be back out on the ocean. Then this afternoon I had a LONG brainstorming session with a friend to come up with some initial targets for sponsorship, and am now feeling more positive and energized about the prospect - well, marginally, anyway!
I realized that there is no point in running away from hard work - it is all a means to an important end, so I'll just have to buckle down and tackle it the same way I tackled the million-stroke row itself: one stroke at a time.
I've attached my spreadsheet as the picture to this blog. Hopefully you can Save As and read it if you are interested. And if you feel like making a donation or even signing up to a regular subscription to help out, please do!! Donate buttons are on the right ---->
The message for the next stage is going to be all about Green Energy, and using my row to help educate youngsters about taking responsibility - for their own futures and for the future of the planet. A vitally important message!
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Today (Saturday) is Coastal Cleanup Day in California. Details available here.
If you don't live in California, or not even near a beach, that doesn't let you off the hook! Maybe you can go a short walk around your neighbourhood and pick up any trash that you see lying around. Even if you live miles from the ocean, trash blows into storm drains which lead to streams which lead to rivers which lead to the ocean....
So if we all do our little bit, we really can make the world a better (or at least cleaner) place!
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I flew back to the mainland US yesterday, to a relatively chilly San Francisco, then headed north to Bolinas for a couple of nights. 99 days to make this journey east to west, 5 hours west to east.
And an incredible "small world" moment. My mother found herself on the same flight as Lt Stephen Baxter, the pilot of the USCG helicopter that airlifted a reluctant me from my boat last year. He and I have stayed in email contact since then, and I knew he had been in Oahu to help out after the tragic death of four of his colleagues in a helicopter crash. But for him and Mum to actually find each other on a huge plane... it was nearly as incredible as the meeting of the JUNK and the Brocade in mid-Pacific.
As I wake up this morning to a foggy day, Hawaii seems a long way away, metaphorically as well as geographically. But to bring back a ray of sunshine, Mum has been busy uploading some pics to SmugMug - check out these photos of my arrival in Waikiki on Sept 1, courtesy of photographer Phil Uhl.
Finally, a huge thank you to the Thompson sisters, Remi and Jamie, who helped me clean my boat and get her ready for storage in Hawaii before I left. And to Gary and Mike for managing the logistics of moving the Brocade around the island.
Also a swift but equally big THANK YOU to Ian Tuller who has loaned me his beautiful Mini Cooper convertible for the duration of my stay in the Bay Area. We had real fun on the bends on the way to Bolinas!
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