30 Aug 2008, The Brocade
This afternoon, as the clouds of a squall passed away, I glanced over my shoulder and saw land - the first land I've seen since I rowed past the Farralone Islands just west of San Francisco. That was on May 26th, many miles and several watermakers ago. I was seeing the cloud-shaded outlines of Maui and Molokai, two of the Hawaiian islands that lie between the Big Island and my destination of Oahu.
In the aftermath of the squall the ocean was hushed and still, as often happens for a while after short sharp shower, before the weather recovers itself and the wind starts up again. Today that hush felt like a very special, quiet moment, a time for recollection and reflection before the end of this great adventure. I am now well into the last 100 miles and have just two or three days of solitude remaining before I make landfall.
I will take the quietness of the becalmed ocean into myself and bring it back to land like a secret souvenir. It is the feeling of strength and serenity that keeps me grounded when "real" life gets a bit crazy. Since I first found it - or first created it - during the Atlantic row, it has been there as a resource to draw on when I need it. Sometimes I forget I have it and get caught up in the frenzied busy-ness of everyday life, but then when I start feeling frazzled I remember it, and I feel inside for it and it reminds me of what is really important and what is not.
It is my pearl of peace, forged in the crucible of the ocean, formed around the grit and grind and hardship of my oceanic existence. And each time I focus on it, it acquires another layer of pearlescence - it becomes bigger and stronger and more robust, its patina deepening with age and usage. As it becomes more lustrous it becomes easier to remember it is there, its radiance harder to ignore.
And so tonight, as I look out of my cabin hatch and up at the hazy band of the Milky Way, and the multitude of stars twinkling overhead, and the sparkles of fluorescence as the waves break around my boat, I prepare myself mentally for the return to land, life, and people - and fold my pearl of peace into my heart.
Other stuff:
Position at 2100 29th August HST, 0700 30th August UTC: 21 29.065'N, 156 25.950'W.
As I enter the final hours of my row on Monday or Tuesday next week, we'll be updating this website on a frequent basis to give you up-to-the-minute news. I will be calling my mother with position updates every couple of hours, and she will be updating this web page so you can follow the adventure in almost real-time. Twitlive.tv is hoping to do a live broadcast of my arrival, so check that out too.
And I hope that, having shared my adventure with me, you will stick around for a few more days to bask in the glory of the celebrations on Hawaii. I'll be posting blogs post-landfall to tell you what I'm doing and how it feels to be back on dry land.
Click to view Day 99 of the Atlantic Crossing 8 March 2006: The Atlantic has been Crossed. The Atlantic Rowing Race organisers had stipulated the longitude that needed to be crossed to qualify for a crossing of the Atlantic. There were no blogs for the previous two days as Rita had limited access to a computer on Antigua.
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29 Aug 2008
Aloha!
I am honored to be asked by Roz and her support team to provide a blog entry so that Roz can concentrate on rowing to Hawai'i. We can't wait to greet her in Waikiki!
I have not had the pleasure yet of meeting Roz but from what I have read and heard, she is simply amazing! To even begin to imagine myself embarking on a 3-month solo adventure like this requires more courage than I could ever muster. But I share several insights with her from my limited but life-changing experiences on the sea on a traditional Hawaiian long distance voyaging canoe called Hokule'a (star of gladness), and as a person who cares deeply for the protection of our environment. (Last November Roz was given a tour of Hokule'a.)
Hokule'a is a 62 foot double-hulled sailing canoe designed after the canoes that brought the first people to Hawai'i. It has no engine and no modern navigational instruments. Navigators use the stars, wind, ocean swells, and marine life, including birds, to guide their way. When I read Roz' blog about birds visiting her more frequently as she approaches Hawai'i, I thought of how traditional Polynesian navigators used birds to help find their way home.
To talk about the who, what, why, and how of Hokule`a would take more space than I should for this blog, so if you are interested in learning more, please go to the website of the Polynesian Voyaging Society. It is a fascinating story and the canoe is a symbol of peace and caring.
The Hawaiian word to convey "caring for" is "malama." It's a powerful
word. There are many ways to malama - the environment, each other,
ourselves. And it is important to do that each and every day. I am a member of Malama Hawai'i, a coalition of more than 70 groups and hundreds of
individuals who take care of Hawaii's land, sea, and people.
Due to our isolation, Hawai'i is home to land and sea life found nowhere else on earth. While there are reefs in other parts of the world that are more abundant, Hawaii's reefs have a high percentage of unique species. They provide food for people and marine life and allow us to have the surf we ride and the beaches we enjoy. They also protect our coastlines from powerful waves.
But our reefs are in trouble. Land- and ocean-based pollution, invasive species, overfishing, and recreational overuse are major threats. Scientists estimate that our fish populations are 75% less than what they were 100 years ago. Now with climate change and ocean acidification gaining speed, we wonder how much more abuse our reefs can take.
It's not a time to give up, though. It's time to act, to make changes in our everyday lifestyles so that we are part of the solution, not the problem. Roz is doing that in her own unique way. She is sending a powerful message across the globe, and more people must listen and take part.
In that spirit, I invite those of you who are in Hawai'i to come to Waikiki Beach on August 31 to enjoy "Sunset on the Beach" celebrating the International Year of the Reef. There will be wonderful Hawaiian music by Leokane Pryor and Friends, visits by paddling great and ocean educator Donna Kahiwaokawailani Kahakui and the crew of JUNK, educational booths, and a feature family film. Festivities start at 5:30 pm, and best of all, it's FREE! Of course, we are all wishing for favorable winds and waves so that Roz will arrive on the 31st and join us.
For those of you who can't make it, please go to our website: www.givethereefabreak.org to learn more about caring for coral reefs and how to get involved.
Mahalo and aloha,
Pauline Sato
Coordinator, Malama Hawai'i
info@malamahawaii.org
Other Stuff:
Position at 2030 27th August HST, 0830 28th August UTC: 21 38.137'N, 155 56.101'W.
Fair progress today, despite a few passing squalls. There was an amazing cloudscape this afternoon - squalls all around, but also blue sky and fluffy cumulus. This is one of my favourite things about the ocean - the big skies.
ETA still uncertain. Touch and go whether it will be Monday or Tuesday next week. If I can finish before 2100 HST on Monday it would mean an
overall time of under 100 days, which would be nice. But I'm not going to bust a gut to do it. I shall remain zen and calm, and will get there when I get there!"
Click here to View Day 96 of the Atlantic Crossing 7 March 2006: A Place in Waiting - where Roz will tie up her boat on arrival.
My sincere apologies to anyone sending a message from the Contact form on this website. While I was preparing to travel to the USA and on to Hawaii, the messages were piling up in the SPAM box. Having just found them, I do not have the time now to answer each one personally. Questions have been sent to Leo, and messages will be sent to Roz. Rita Savage.
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28 Aug 2008, The Brocade
Today I passed the line of longitude of Hilo, which lies on the western side of the Big Island of Hawaii. This marks the start of the final countdown into Waikiki.
When I did the Atlantic Rowing Race, the race organizers decided to call it a valid Atlantic crossing as soon as a crew passed the line of longitude of Barbados - even though the finish line was quite a few miles further west in Antigua. So on that basis you could say I have already rowed from California to Hawaii. but for me it won't be a successful row until I've made landfall on Oahu, my stated destination.
But it feels good to know I am this close to land. I can't see the Big Island - I am too far north for me to see it from here - but it's somehow reassuring to know it's there.
Today I've been listening to Jules Verne's classic, Around The World In Eighty Days - very enjoyable indeed, and it reminded me of yet another of the reasons I wanted to row oceans. I wanted to get a feel for the actual size of the planet. It's so easy, when you can jet everywhere at 500mph, to not understand how big - or how small - is this finite globe we call home.
On the one hand it seems very small, when you think we have to cram 6 billion of us (and counting) onto the dry bits of it, and find space enough to grow our food - and dispose of our garbage.
On the other hand, it seems very big - when you're rowing across one of the big blue bits of it at an extremely sedate pace.
And Phileas Fogg is my new hero and role model. No matter what disasters seem to threaten his adventure, he remains utterly imperturbable and calm, with a degree of stiff-upper-lipped-ness that I can only aspire to.
Other stuff:
Position at 2115 27th August HST, 0715 28th August UTC: 21 46.856'N, 155 20.407'W.
The JUNK was hoping to make landfall today. I haven't heard the latest news, but I hope that they did arrive and that they are enjoying a few well-deserved bevvies! I'm looking forward to seeing them again, just as soon as I get to Waikiki. Good of them to be my warm-up act! ;-)
Thanks for all the love and support - via messages, donations, and votes. I can sense the excitement building as I approach Hawaii. I know that some of you have followed my progress every single day, and I thank you for your interest, your loyalty and your words of encouragement. I have no idea what kind of welcome awaits me on dry land, but even if it's quiet and low-key, I will get great satisfaction to think of my internet audience celebrating on my behalf all around the world.
Thank you!
Day 94 of the Atlantic Crossing - Rita on her way to Antigua in the Caribbean. Click here to view Day 95 of the Atlantic Crossing 6 March 2006: Antigua Calling - first blog from Antigua.
My sincere apologies to anyone sending a message from the Contact form on this website. While I was preparing to travel to the USA and on to Hawaii, the messages were piling up in the SPAM box. Having just found them, I do not have the time now to answer each one personally. Questions have been sent to Leo, and messages will be sent to Roz. Rita Savage.
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27 Aug 2008, The Brocade
I've been at sea for over 3 months now, and it's starting to take its toll on my body. I've been fortunate so far - but this week I've started to fall apart. Nothing major - fingernails lifting from fingers (apparently due to some fungal thing), aches in the back, sunburned skin - but worst of all is the saltwater rash. It may sound like a trivial complaint, but grown men have been reduced to tears and/or excessive use of painkillers by this undignified ailment.
The best way to avoid the rash dreaded by all ocean-rowers is to bathe in fresh water, which I haven't been able to do due to the water shortage since my watermaker expired, so I am surprised that the affliction did not strike sooner. I have done my best to stay clean, bathing with salt water, supplemented with wet wipes and liberal application of tea tree oil. These measures probably bought me some spot-free time.
But now it has struck, and has struck with a vengeance.
Maybe it would have been better if I hadn't looked. Out of sight and out of mind. But I knew something was going on, so today I took out the small mirror and used it to take a look at my backside. It was not a pretty sight. For anybody who saw the pictures of James Cracknell's bottom after he had finished the Atlantic Rowing Race.. Well, I may not be able to beat James on the ergometer, but when it comes to spotty-botty I reckon I could give him a run for his money.
The main problem with this is that it makes it painful to sit on my rowing seat - which is the one thing that I simply can't avoid doing. So I shall have to grin (or grimace) and bear it. Only a few more days to go, but they may feel like long days indeed..
Other stuff:
Position at 2030 26th August HST, 0730 27th August UTC: 21 53.089'N, 154 43.757'W.
An underwhelming day on the mileage front today. Same number of rowing hours as usual, but it takes the cooperation of the weather to produce impressive leaps forward. At the moment I would say I'm 70% likely to arrive on 1st Sept, 30% likely to arrive later than that. I won't know for sure until I get there!
Mum sent me all the messages that had come through before she had to leave for the airport. So I probably haven't seen them all. Thanks for the ones I've seen. and for the ones I haven't!
Helena - fantastic effort on the beach-cleaning front. Well done! Interesting what you said about the number of straws. I wonder if there are reusable ones, or biodegradable ones. What did we used to do before straws were invented? That's quite an interesting question for most plastic objects - what did we used to do before they were available? After all, we survived for thousands of years before plastic came along!
Thanks also to Sandi (for my ongoing journey from Lands End to JO'G), Olivia in Oxford, and John H - informative as ever!
Click here to view Day 93a of the Atlantic Crossing 3 March: (I) Like a ship Passing in the Night. At last some news from Roz, via a passing ship.
Books Box: Do check the list of recent "reads" mentioned by Roz when talking to Leo Laporte. Available from Audible.com; and also from Amazon if you click on the title.
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