sadielady's WunderBlog

ROZ Row CANCELLED #18
Posted by: sadielady, 7:48 AM GMT en Mayo 09, 2012 +0
OAR - The Olympic Atlantic Row

200 days ago, when I wrote the last blog entry about Roz Savage as she arrived in Mauritius after rowing her third ocean, the Indian Ocean, I thought that was that - she said she had retired from ocean rowing!


"You recall that last October I retired from ocean rowing? But I did also say that I WASN’T saying "never again" – just "enough is enough – for now". Well, it seems that "for now" didn’t last very long….

Well, it seems she is about to embark on her latest adventure, rowing from Newfoundland to London, to arrive in time for the Olympics.

She has joined Andrew Martin, in a boat called Bojangles, to row the "wrong" way across the Atlantic.

She arrived in Newfoundland on Monday, after a 23 hour flight.... without her luggage! Poor girl.

At the moment both Roz and Andrew, (also called Mos), are waiting for the weather to be right for the launch.

"We are now getting daily weather updates from our weatherman Lee Bruce with a view to determining our Estimate To Depart. It’s not looking too promising at the moment, for the next 5 days at least. We need a little bit of west in the wind to help us clear dry land, and relatively light winds while we cross the notorious Grand Banks, where waves reaching the sudden shallows of the continental shelf can pile up into rough and messy sea conditions. For now the extra time on land is welcome, but if we are to arrive in London in time for the Olympics, we won’t want to wait for too long."



Link to the Twitter page

The OAR blog

Link to Roz's blog

Link to TRACKER MAP on WU


So it is time to get out your flags and shout ....

ROW ROZ ROW!!

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1. SkyBlue17 9:17 AM GMT en Mayo 09, 2012    
So, one now looks out for Roz and Mos! :))
Member Since: Agosto 16, 2011 Posts: 0 Comments: 324
2. OGal 11:20 PM GMT en Mayo 09, 2012    



Sandi I have been watching her regular posts on FB and commenting when I have something worthwhile to say. I would not miss Roz's wrong way row for anything. What an honor to land at the 2012 Olympics in London. Thanks for your Sadielady post. We have traveled lots of miles with Roz.
Member Since: Agosto 28, 2005 Posts: 72 Comments: 19170
3. sandiquiz 6:05 AM GMT en Mayo 10, 2012    
Hi Ogal,
Oh, Yes, we have travelled lots of miles with Roz, since the end of 2005, right around the World, almost!!

The news this morning.....

WEATHER UPDATE: Unhelpful Easterly winds off the coast of Newfoundland over the weekend. No departure for the OAR team prior to Monday.
Member Since: Octubre 29, 2005 Posts: 252 Comments: 22409
4. GardenGrrl 10:15 AM GMT en Mayo 10, 2012    
Weather and waves is going to be tough on this one. Glad she has a helper this time.
Member Since: Marzo 25, 2007 Posts: 218 Comments: 7247
5. OGal 11:59 AM GMT en Mayo 10, 2012    

I tried to transfer one of Roz's photos. It didn't work. I just hope Roz is not tempting fate with this row. Such horrendous conditions can exist over the Grand Banks and the water is so deep an treacherous. We need to send a lot of prayers in her direction.
Member Since: Agosto 28, 2005 Posts: 72 Comments: 19170
6. OGal 12:11 PM GMT en Mayo 10, 2012    



Just wanted to add a picture of our pretty Roz.
Member Since: Agosto 28, 2005 Posts: 72 Comments: 19170
7. shoreacres 12:43 PM GMT en Mayo 10, 2012    
I only know two sailors personally who have made this trip - and it wasn't fun in either case. There was a lot of course adjustment going on the whole way - not so easy in a rowboat. I'm glad there's a little more muscle-power along on this one.
Member Since: Octubre 4, 2004 Posts: 195 Comments: 14797
8. sandiquiz 8:26 PM GMT en Mayo 10, 2012    
From Roz's blog ....

Some stats on Atlantic rows from West to East reads like this:

Completed: 19

Incomplete: 33

Rowers lost at sea: 5

These are sobering statistics.

Even though the Newfoundlanders have been more than living up to their reputation for friendliness and hospitality, apparently in some quarters there have been mutterings about crazy adventurers heading out on hare-brained missions, only to fail and need rescuing to the great inconvenience, cost, danger, and understandable disgruntlement of the locals.
Member Since: Octubre 29, 2005 Posts: 252 Comments: 22409
9. OGal 12:51 PM GMT en Mayo 12, 2012    

An interesting tidbit from Roz.


Thought ....Here is something I’ve never had to contend with before – bergy bits. They might sound cute, but these mini-icebergs, calved from larger icebergs further north, are causing no small amount of consternation in the OAR camp.

Member Since: Agosto 28, 2005 Posts: 72 Comments: 19170
10. shoreacres 2:07 PM GMT en Mayo 12, 2012    
Re: bergy bits - I remember now that's what they called them when I cruised Glacier Bay. The prop on the sailboat had a cage around it to keep them from doing damage.

I happened to look at Roz' twitter feed last night and discovered this tracking map, from our very own WU. I tried to find it on the site, but couldn't - I suppose it's tucked into some corner of new WU, but at least we've got the link now.
Member Since: Octubre 4, 2004 Posts: 195 Comments: 14797
11. sandiquiz 9:55 PM GMT en Mayo 13, 2012    
Having a final look at Roz's blog and I see their departure date has been postponed until next Saturday at the earliest, due to the ice problem.

If they don't manage to set off next weekend they won't make it for the Olympics

:-(
Member Since: Octubre 29, 2005 Posts: 252 Comments: 22409
12. OGal 11:00 AM GMT en Mayo 15, 2012    




I hope all works out for Roz. Weather is not something she can change and the Grand Banks are known for their horrible weather. it would be sad if she couldn't make this trip. With the time frame this close I just hope she won't do something foolish. She has been so lucky on all her other rows.

I love this girl for her strength and courage so I will continue to watch.
Member Since: Agosto 28, 2005 Posts: 72 Comments: 19170
13. OGal 11:30 AM GMT en Mayo 16, 2012    





Roz bump
Member Since: Agosto 28, 2005 Posts: 72 Comments: 19170
14. sandiquiz 1:28 PM GMT en Mayo 16, 2012    
MAY 15th

ICE - Bad news and worse news!

"Today I went out on a plane to check out the ice situation offshore. Despite a favourable forecast, Mother Nature decided to hide her icy secrets in an extensive layer of fog. Despite being in the air for over 5 hours, the only icebergs I was able to see were within half a mile of shore. Those further offshore were shrouded in mists and mystery.

We may be able to try again later in the week, but ....."


From Twitter

Mos and Roz to take Bojangles for a water trial on Quidi Vidi lake today at 2pm.
Member Since: Octubre 29, 2005 Posts: 252 Comments: 22409
15. sandiquiz 9:16 PM GMT en Mayo 19, 2012    
May 17th Roz's blog

She went out to see the ice that is holding up the start of the row -

We saw many of these fragments today, drifting downwind of the bigger bergs that spawned them. They came in all kinds of shapes, many of them sharply irregular, sticking up from the ocean in strange shapes like witches’ hats or swans or sharks’ fins.

In a few weeks’ time these fragments will be gone. Maybe even their parents bergs will have melted away. We could see the meltwater pouring off them today in waterfalls cascading down their sides. They are diminishing rapidly.


The Big Berg
But we have an immovable deadline to get to London before the start of the Olympics – or at the latest before I have to go to Yale for the start of the semester in mid-August. The clock is ticking.


Member Since: Octubre 29, 2005 Posts: 252 Comments: 22409
16. sandiquiz 9:17 PM GMT en Mayo 19, 2012    
19th May ....
From the OAR blog -

DEPARTURE UPDATE: OAR team will not be leaving from St John's tomorrow as hoped
Member Since: Octubre 29, 2005 Posts: 252 Comments: 22409
17. shoreacres 12:12 PM GMT en Mayo 20, 2012    
Gosh, I just hate this for her. Obviously, it doesn't take Titanic-sized icebergs to cause trouble for a rowboat. I wish I could send them some of our unusual warmth - those bergy bits would be gone, pronto!
Member Since: Octubre 4, 2004 Posts: 195 Comments: 14797
18. sandiquiz 5:15 PM GMT en Mayo 20, 2012    
OAR race cancelled !!

... If you've been following my blog over the last couple of weeks you will have noticed our growing concern about the unusually large quantities of ice off the coast of Newfoundland, largely due to the huge chunk of ice that broke off a Greenland glacier 2 years ago which has now drifted south into Canadian waters, breaking up into a minefield of icebergs as it goes.

Given our immovable deadline of reaching London in time for the start of the Olympics, we unfortunately don't have the option to wait until the ice dissipates, which will take another couple of weeks at least. After much soul searching, it is with regret that we have come to the difficult decision to postpone our row for this year. The chances of hitting ice - and the serious consequences of a punctured hull in freezing North Atlantic waters - meant that the risk to our safety was simply unacceptable.
I weighed up the pros and cons of carrying on with the row. There were 7 points on each side. But when one of the 'con' points is 'risk of death significantly higher than anticipated', you really have to give that one a higher weighting.

One of the most agonising aspects of this decision was the huge amount of support we have received from our many friends and sponsors who have contributed time, energy, money, and provisions to our project. We struggled with this, feeling we owed it to our supporters to complete what we set out to do. But as the chances of a successful completion dwindled, we concluded that our supporters would probably prefer to see us exercise our professional judgement rather than persevere against the odds. We would have loved to share a glorious success story with you, but hope that you will understand and respect our reasons.
Member Since: Octubre 29, 2005 Posts: 252 Comments: 22409
19. sadielady 5:20 PM GMT en Mayo 20, 2012    
Poor Roz :(

Personally, I think they have made the right decision.
There are only 69 days before the opening ceremony, which isn't enough time in the grand scheme of things, and the ice puts their lives at risk.
Member Since: Octubre 24, 2006 Posts: 10 Comments: 145
20. SkyBlue17 8:32 AM GMT en Mayo 21, 2012    
Definitely the right decision!
Member Since: Agosto 16, 2011 Posts: 0 Comments: 324
21. GardenGrrl 3:24 PM GMT en Mayo 21, 2012    
I've always thought Roz to be a tich crazy doing her rows across the ocean. So If Roz thinks it's too dangerous, it is definitely too dangerous.
Member Since: Marzo 25, 2007 Posts: 218 Comments: 7247
22. OGal 3:53 PM GMT en Mayo 21, 2012    




Just listened to her pod cast. Such a smart decision for so many reasons. Roz loves adventure but she is not going to take any crazy chances. Way to go Roz. You will have more rowing in your life and aonher adventure is just around the corner.
Member Since: Agosto 28, 2005 Posts: 72 Comments: 19170
23. shoreacres 4:21 PM GMT en Mayo 21, 2012    
Got to wonder if her decision would be the same if she didn't have a rowing partner. I'm glad she had a "committee" for this decision.
Member Since: Octubre 4, 2004 Posts: 195 Comments: 14797

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About sadielady
Sadielady is the alternate handle for Sandiquiz. In this blog, since 2005, I have followed the Ocean rower, Roz Savage, on her travels.

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