French Rower Rescued

[timgoz]

Boston, Mass.

A French engineer who set out to row alone across the Atlantic Ocean was rescued just one day into his trip because his boat was being rocked by rough seas approx. 50 miles off Cape Cod.

He spent 3 hours in the hospital recovering from dehydration & vertigo.

Tim

[safewalrus]

Oh! why bother?

[timgoz]

Come on Walrus, french are people to, right? :)

I just hope the bill for his rescue is not coming out of my (a tax payers) pocket. Charge him or send it (the bill) to France.

That holds true for many such things, ie, "stunts". Before long they will pass laws to restrict adventureous endevours of all kinds. Then those that are truly qualified & prepared to undertake them will be denied.

Most likely he was not ready for such an attempt. As evidence of this consider that he was dehydrated after one day. And "rough water" rocking the boat, come on, what in the he... do you expect? Your trying to cross the bloody Atlantic Ocean!

I'd say run these folks down a Class 5 whitewater river first, then let the guide who took them down say yeah or nay. I ran rivers before ever encountering rough seas. In my case at least I found I was able to keep my head together, and though maybe I was "concerned" at times, I never became imobilized by fear. Knock on wood (my head :) ).

Have a good one Walrus. Watch your back for Frosty!

Tim

[Guest625101138]

Here is the boat and detail of the aborted trip:
http://www.atlantique2007.com/Eng-total.htm

He had a 6 hour shakedown cruise in a lake prior to getting into the ocean.

He got into difficulty in reported 15 knot winds!!!!! Waves were 5 to 10ft.

It is hard to imagine someone being this silly and inexperienced. Most of the project was funded by sponsorship. Surely you would think sponsors would be more discerning.

Certainly it is mind boggling for me.

Rick W.

[timgoz]

Yes Sir!

Tim

[safewalrus]

Tim I didn't mean why bother saving him, more a case of why bother going? there again looking at the fallout of his trip maybe the original was close, but not because he's French!

[Frosty]

Dont back pedal now Walrus we all know what you meant. Your hatred for the French has gone too far now.

I was in a French resteraunt last night and I said to the waiter "do you have frogs legs " he said "yes sir'

So I said 'well hop over the counter and get us a pork pie'

Im sorry about that --its just the French theme got so strong and,-- well it wasnt nearly as disrespectfull as what Walrus said.

[charmc]

"Thursday's rescue was Girard's second aborted attempt at the crossing. He originally set out last Saturday, but was towed back to shore a few hours later after he discovered a leak in the hull of his vessel."

Rick, I have to agree with you. Is this guy for real? The website says the boat was years in design and months in construction, and the whole project was 3 years in development.

The plan for a hole in the hull is get a tow back to port, then he aborts the whole thing when he discovers that the Atlantic has waves?

I hope the sponsors have a "non-completion" clause in their contracts, making him responsible to repay their investment if he doesn't make the voyage.

Tim,

I hope you're wrong, but I fear you're right. This type of nonsense plays into the hands of the over-zealous regulator types, who would love any excuse to make such voyages illegal, screwing things up for legitimate adventurers who know how to prepare properly and to evaluate risks.

[charmc]

Im sorry about that --

No, you're not. :D :D

[Bergalia]

I was in a French resteraunt last night and I said to the waiter "do you have frogs legs " he said "yes sir'...


Don't understand it Frosty...Surely it's snails legs which are a French delicacy....

[timgoz]

Welcome back Charlie.

Yeah, this guy was a disatster waiting to happen. Least it took place close to shore.

Had one of us truly salty types been there when they first brought him in with the "hole" in his boat Saturday, we could have claimed seaman,s perogative and took a sledge hammer to his "boat".

Guess all those years of planning never envisioned a hole.

Tim

[SamSam]

I hope the sponsors have a "non-completion" clause in their contracts, making him responsible to repay their investment if he doesn't make the voyage.

He had two sponsers, this is one of them...

http://www.atlantique2007.com/Images/skiff.jpg
http://www.skiffpub.com/cadres.htm

[safewalrus]

Frightening, but the thing that really scares me as Tim sez is that anybody who really plans this sort of trip will be banned from doing it! Which will be sad for the maritime community and the world in general!

And wot pray is wrong with snails legs - a rare deli-crassy if ever there was one (or two) especially like mine boiled in lube oil - oops sorry wrong thread!

I can only blame the fact that Frosty is on here, confuses me! See his name and I think of drivel!

[charmc]

Thanks, Tim, it's good to be back here. Workwise, of course, I'm paying the price for taking a few days off! :(

On reviewing the information about this project, it seems that, actually, a lot of careful preparation was made. A lot of research, design and testing of the boat before, during, and after construction. The weak link, however, was always the guy himself. In his brief bio, the very first statement is that he has no sea experience. Then he goes on to describe his fitmess regimen and the secret new oars he has designed. The photos of what are called tests "at sea" are all within sight of land and in calm water. The boat's self-righting test was performed with no load and in waist deep water. Another photo, titled "First Waves", is laughable, as it shows barely noticeable ripples.

I suspect that it never occured to him or his friends to charter a small boat and actually go out to sea to experience what it is like. I think he thought he was prepared for anything, but when he found himself being rocked about by 10' waves, he "saw the elephant" and decided it was too much for him.

[ba67676767]

Looks like some of you have quite a bit of ocean rowing experience.

Here's the deal: My son and I are wanting to build the ultimate 2-man sailing/rowing vessel. We want to sail / row it to Catalina Island (approximately 26 miles off the California coast. We have a lot of sailing experience, and have sailed larger sailboats to Catalina.

We have no real rowing experience. We do not want to repeat the Frenchman's experience.

Any advice, comments would be welcome.

Thanks

[RHP]

Well, here are some ocean links as 26 miles whilst not an ocean could mean ocean weather and waves.....

Ocean Rowing Society
www.oceanrowing.com

Woodvale Challenge
http://www.woodvale-challenge.co.uk/

Basically from these two sites and links etc.. you should find all the info you need.

Good luck.

[masalai]

A bit?? (says the red herring thrower),
1/ . . Make sure your insurance is up to date
2/ . . Pay off the search and rescue guys (in advance)
3/ . . Do more research - goooogle for recent successful efforts (recent crossings between Australia and NZ - successful and failed)
4/ . . DONT BOTHER - sail there instead...
5/ . . make a new thread - instead of resurrecting one that should be left to die...
6/ . . are you sure you want to do this?

[Guest625101138]

Looks like some of you have quite a bit of ocean rowing experience.

Here's the deal: My son and I are wanting to build the ultimate 2-man sailing/rowing vessel. We want to sail / row it to Catalina Island (approximately 26 miles off the California coast. We have a lot of sailing experience, and have sailed larger sailboats to Catalina.

We have no real rowing experience. We do not want to repeat the Frenchman's experience.

Any advice, comments would be welcome.

Thanks

Have you thought about pedal power. It offers a lot of advantages over rowing. Here is a boat designed for ocean crossing:
http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/...7_archive.html

It is set up with only one pedalling station however this works out to be the most efficient way to go long distances. Aim for a godd steady pace for a high average rather than fast then rest.

Rick W.

Rick W.

[Knut Sand]

Here is a boat designed for ocean crossing:
[url]http://www.adventuresofgreg.com


The boat there have the propeller/ gear a bit exposed I think.
But he probably have some spare parts and a way to replace things if he hits something?

(Also some tools attached to strings.... Think I see it, the only Hex key fitting in the propeller, sinking, blinking in the water on its way down....:( )

Also, you can find the look of some rowing boats here: http://www.oceanrowing.com/Sale/index.htm#Pl
Members of the Hoff family made their own boat looking like some of those boat some years ago.

[charmc]

Another helpful link, these folks do a lot of ocean rowing races in cold weather. http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=14250

[ba67676767]

masalai suggested starting a separate thread. Here it is:
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=22686&goto=newpost

Thanks for all the advice. I will follow the links and get myself educated.