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Cool Tricks: Two English Dudes Row Across North Pacific (Almost) Unsupported

November 14, 2009 at 1:14 PM | by | Comments (0)

After 190 days and 7,000 miles of rowing a cutting-edge rowboat across the North Atlantic, two British dudes arrived in San Francisco on Friday and promptly drank a couple of beers. The Golden Gate Endeavor, as the journey was called, left Choshi, Japan near Tokyo on Friday, May 8, 2009 and passed under the Golden Gate Bridge on Friday, November 13, 2009. The duo had hoped to be the first to row unsupported between Japan and the U.S., but they ran out of food about 100 miles from the finish and accepted an emergency helicopter drop. That doesn't make the trip any less cool in my book.

The rowers are both accomplished seafarers. Captain Mick Dawson, 44, is a former Royal Marine, and Chris Martin, 28, is a former member of the British Rowing Squad, so they both know a few things about rowing a boat. Still, it must take every reserve of energy to keep going amid huge waves, high winds, cold temperatures, and dwindling food supplies. The duo said they began by rowing naked (!) when the weather was balmy, but once winter's chill appeared, they had to pile on every bit of warm clothing they had.

So while the journey probably set a few records, it also raised funds for two worthy charities. Heart of Gold Children's Hospice in Nigeria - where Dawson worked as a professional yacht captain - cares for orphans and abandoned children with incurable diseases, while the Hamilton Lodge School for Deaf Children cares for and educates deaf children in Brighton, U.K. After hearing about that, I'm even more inclined to turn a blind eye to the rowers' emergency food drop. I didn't see nothing.

As for the trip itself, it sounds like it was a lot of fun, and we can all be forgiven for believing that we could do it too, if we really wanted to. After all, how hard can it be, just doing one thing (rowing) for a half year? Well, if it was easy then I guess everyone would do it. Welcome to San Francisco, Mick and Chris. Have fun getting your land legs back.

[Photo: Golden Gate Endeavor]

Related Stories:
· Golden Gate Endeavor [Official Site]
· British Pair Rows Across Pacific, With Detours [Reuters]
· Rowing Across the Pacific Ocean [BBC News]
· Hearts of Gold Children's Hospice [Official Site]
· Hamilton Lodge School [Official Site]
· Boats [Jaunted]

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