Fish like Raisins
RowofLife has past the Half Way Point and are on the downhill slide into Antigua. Well, at least they are more than half way to Antigua. On 1/8/08 as of 6PM GMT (10am PST) Angela and Franck had rowed 1279 Nautical Miles of the 2552 nm it will take them to get to Antigua. As timing would have it they called on the Sat Phone just after Woodvale posted the mileage on the website. When I told them they could be heard hooting and howling!
They have been rowing 7 shifts of one hour together every day, adding an extra shift or two when they could. They row an hour, take a 15 minute break, and then row another hour….. They have been putting out the sea anchor and sleeping at night, hope that the sleep will help them heal their bodies and stay healthy for the rest of the row. On 1/7/08 they rowed 5 extra shifts (clearly neither of them are good at moderation) to make some ground on the boats in front of them and to keep the boats behind them at bay. The 12 hours of rowing made a difference as they logged 54 miles on that day. They are both competitive so my plan is to tell them that a boat is catching them or they are catching up to a boat, so they row faster and get to Antigua quicker. Just kidding…..I just report the facts to them.
Franck took a swim on the 6th to check out the barnacle situation on the bottom of the boat. They were pleasantly surprised that the anti-fouling paint they painted with seems to be working and they had very few hitchhikers.
They saw lots of 30 lb Dorado swimming below the boat. Angela said they did not want to stop rowing to try and catch them. Dehydrated food for 39 days and you don’t want to stop and catch a 30 lb Dorado, HUM. I will warn you that Angela does fish, so this may just be a fish tale to make her brother, Cliff, jealous. Angela says that she did learn something about fish; they like raisins but not so much the nuts of the stale trail mix.
On the home front, Boy About Town, http://fab-boy-about-town.blogspot.com/ , has been working diligently to get Angela and CARP (California Adaptive Rowing Program, www.carplb.net ) some publicity. He has arranged to have a link to CARP put on Long Beach Online (http://www.locallongbeachonline.com/ ) and Local Huntington Beach (http://www.thelocalhb.com/ ) They are also running this blog on the “Local Blogs” sections. Both are excellent websites for locals and visitors alike. They give restaurant suggestions, local events and hotels. Take a look and see all these towns have to offer. Boy About Town also got the Center in Long Beach to feature Angela’s crossing in the next newsletter. Boy’s blog is side splitting funny. You should take a gander, he is really a talent. Follow him now and you can say sometime in the future, I knew him when…….. This Boy is going places.
Karin Falcone of Able News (http://ablenews.com/ ) also published an article on RowofLife. Thanks Karin! Also, World Rowing wrote an article about Angela and Franck in their news section. I cannot find the name of the author, or the email that she sent me, so I apologize for that. If she emails me again I will credit her in a future blog. (http://www.worldrowing.com/display/modules/news/dspNews.php?newid=324299 )
Thanks for reading, Debbie debmole@sbcglobal.net
6 comments:
Great update! Thanks. tell them to keep at it by the time they get to Antigua those fish will be waiting for them on a plate....raisens and all.
Hi there,
Deb sat by my partner and I, tonight, at the showing of, "For The Bible Tells Me So" in Long Beach, CA. I told her that I have been praying for you, since the beginning of your rowing event, Angela. And now that I have the website, I can make comments. Somehow, let Franck know that I am praying for him also. Just look at the stars, and know that you are not alone. I know, in my heart, that you are a woman of faith. I just read recently, that faith is the courage to take that first step, even when you can't see the whole staircase. Hang in there.
Robann
we are doing our best to ensure that all your hard work is noticed by people of the home front!
Wow!! 63 miles on the 15th...that is so awesome. Great job. getting closer to home everyday. Wow Deb I bet you are getting excited!! Hey I emailed you....we need to hook up for coffee next time you are in town.
Hi Angela
Congratulations on your remarkable journey.
I met you at Long Beach Pride--I was one of the Old Lesbians Organizing for Change.
You're certainly making change on many different fronts. Looks like you've almost arrived. (Has your French or his English improved?)
Felicitations!
Donna Cassyd
Donna, Thanks so much for reading and commenting. Angela should be in on Wednesday. I have not found her French to be any better. I have Franck's French speaking father here with me in Antigua, and I have a whole new apprecation for Angela's situation. I have found myself walking up to random tourist who may speak French and asking them to talk to Franck's dad. You should try to come to the meet and greet or make dinner reservations with Boy about Town for Primes on the 22nd. Debbie, Angela's friend who was also at Pride with Angela.
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