LIFE IN FOOTNOTES

 

Sunday, August 19, 2007

To the craziest man I know.

I scrolled down my blog and realised, to my utter surprise that the one person who's journey I've been following over the last few months isn't mentioned in it at all. i will redress it right away.
School yearbooks are sometimes filled with comments and asides and everyone always guesses as to who will go out and make it big. Well, Bhavik Gandhi certainly wasn't on my list for person to make a difference. He was too goofy and funny. A year ago, we got in touch again, through either the school website or something else, I don't remember. And he mentioned that he planned to row solo across the Atlantic, from Spain to Antigua. I thought he was pulling my leg. I went to his website and checked the preparations, the sponsors who'd come on board - the immensity of it struck me.
The first attempt at the row had to be canceled due to weather and technical conditions I think. But he was determined, and said that he would attempt in a few months. And he did. He blogged almost everyday from his boat, Miss Olive (even asked his friends to suggest names for his boat). Iridium and his website kept him in touch with the world and all the wishes he was getting from everywhere.
His blog posts should be a book - they are interesting, sometimes funny, and always inspiring. From a recognisable face he turned to tom hanks in castaway, then the geico caveman and then the yeti itself. he spoke about the whales and the changing climates and the calm sea, then the angry sea, the ships that almost ran him down.
Finally, after capsizing and refusing help, repairing his boat by himself, after 103 days, he reached ashore, to a warm and cheerful welcome.
Read all about it on his blog.

LIFE IN FOOTNOTES

Record Row

India Today - Aaj Tak

Rajasthan Patrika

Royal Holloway

http://www.rhul.ac.uk/messages/press/message.asp?ref_no=1505

http://www.rhul.ac.uk/Management/News-and-Events/anouncements.html

Royal Holloway,

Royal Holloway - Press Release

Record Atlantic Crossing

Bhavik Gandhi, a former student of Royal Holloway, University of London has rowed single-handed and unassisted across the Atlantic. He became the first Indian to ever complete a solo ocean crossing. Bhavik was at sea for 106 days and landed in Antigua at 5.45pm on 14 June, after rowing a record distance of 6396 kms (3456 nautical miles).
He began his epic journey in La Restinga, Canary Islands after months of arduous physical and mental preparation. During the crossing he struggled against gale force winds, 40 ft waves, severe sleep deprivation and mental fatigue; on 6 June he came close to defeat after his boat, ′Miss Olive′, capsized.
Bhavik navigated using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and more traditional charts and compasses, regularly updating his progress on-line. Nearing the end of the crossing he ran out of solid food and was reduced to a liquid diet, “I tell you after 95 days on freeze dried meals, I could eat sweets while they are still in their wrappers and still find them tasty,” he said.
He studied a BSc in Management and Information Systems at the College, graduating in 1999. He is the founder and principal partner at the Development Venture Capital Group, a venture capital fund specializing in micro venture capital for social entrepreneurs in developing countries.
For further information about Bhavik’s achievement visit: http://www.bhavik.com/crossatlantic/index.htm

Royal Holloway - Press Release

The first Asian...