Author George Bernard Shaw, when asked why he hadn t written his autobiography, had responded that everyone s life has a certain predictable pattern to it. You are born, you grow up, do things that
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Friday, December 22, 2006
Bhavik, first Asian to row solo across any ocean
Bhavik, first Asian to row solo across any ocean Hindustan Times, India - 55 minutes ago Indian sailor Bhavik Gandhi has embarked on his quest to become the first Asian to row solo across any ocean. Bhavik set off from the island of La ...
Ocean NEWS - http://ocean.scifiera.com
Bhavik, first Asian to row solo across any ocean
Press Trust of India
New Delhi, December 22, 2006
Indian sailor Bhavik Gandhi has embarked on his quest to become the first Asian to row solo across any ocean. Bhavik set off from the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain on Wednesday.
After being forced to turn back during his first attempt in April, Bhavik is expected to row across the Atlantic and reach his destination, Antigua, 3,000 nautical miles away in around 90 days.
"Only 23 have crossed the Atlantic Ocean solo There have been many failed attempts and many lives lost. It is my hope that it will inspire others to take on such personal challenges," Bhavik said.
If the Indian sailor succeeds, he will break the existing record set by Emmanuel Coindre of France. He will also be the 32nd person to ever achieve a solo Atlantic crossing in a 23 feet rowing boat.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Bhavik embarks on record breaking adventure. | PTI - The Press Trust of India Ltd. (December , 2006)
Bhavik embarks on record breaking adventure.
Bhavik embarks on record breaking adventure
New Delhi, Dec 20 (PTI) Indian sailor Bhavik Gandhi embarked on his quest to become the first first Asian to row solo across any Ocean as he set off from the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands off the coast of...
Bhavik embarks on record breaking adventure. | PTI - The Press Trust of India Ltd. (December , 2006)
The Tenerife Sun Newspaper Tenerife
€30,000 bill for rower’s ‘rescue
*Towed back – Victor Gavrishev.
OVERZEALOUS coastguards sprang into action to tow a lone Atlantic rower back to port – and then presented him with a bill for €30,000.
But he had not asked for their assistance.
Millionaire businessman Victor Gavrishev, from Kyrgyzstan, had radioed a friend to bring him back to the port of San Sebastian, La Gomera, when the weather turned foul after he had rowed 3½ miles of his 3,000-mile journey to Antigua.
But the coastguard was tuned in to the airwaves and sped to his ‘rescue’. His friend had not even left port by the time they hitched up to Victor’s boat and began bringing him back.
There he was greeted by officers from the Guardia Civil who slapped a demand on him for the €30,000 to cover the cost of towing im him home.
In a flurried exchange of letters he negotiated the bill down to €697 but the incident left a sour taste in the mouths of the five sets of rowers still waiting in San Sebastian for a change in the weather to allow them to make the perilous crossing.
“This was not a rescue,” said Kenneth Crutchlow, of The Ocean Rowing Society, which is coordinating their bid. “It was an unnecessary response to a simple call to a particular individual to render assistance.
“Victor was not in immediate danger but just needed help to get back to port because he could not row against the headwinds he would have to face.”
Under maritime rules a vessel in distress would be expected to set off an alarm that would be responded to by any other vessel in the area to render assistance. No charge would be made for the rescue.
“In this case there was no distress and it was not an emergency,” said Mr Crutchlow. “The coastguard simply jumped the gun.”
The rowers had gathered in La Gomera to accompany veteran ocean rower, Graham Walters, 59, on a lone row to commemorate the ill-fated voyage of Britons David Johnstone and John Hoare who perished in 1966 during the first attempt to row the Atlantic in the 20th century.
Their 15ft craft, Puffin, was later recovered and put on display in a maritime museum. Graham bought it, restored it and brought it to La Gomera to make the 40th anniversary commemoration voyage.
He aims to raise enough funds from sponsorship and donations to buy an ambulance for the London operations of the Red Cross.
Joining him, but acting entirely independently on the row to Antigua will be rowers from several countries.
Victor Gavrishev is an adventurer, formerly with the Russian special paratroops force, film actor and director and now director of a satellite communications company. Unfortunately his company’s coverage does not extend to the Atlantic or he would have been able to call for help by phone instead of using the radio and being picked up by the Canarian coastguard.
Eager to get started, he departed from San Sebastian last Wednesday during an all too brief lull in the stormy weather.
Waiting out the weather are two Englishmen, Stu Turnbull and Ed Baylis, who plan to smash the world record and beat the notorious 40-day barrier for a two-man crew aboard their 27ft boat Memory of Zayed.
Going at the same time will be Dutchmen Wendel Röntgen and Gijs Köning, who will be leaving Gran Canaria for St Maarten in the Dutch Antilles.
And Indian Bhavik Ghandi, the friend Victor called for assistance in La Gomera, aims to be the first Asian to row solo across the Atlantic, in his boat, Miss Olive.
All the crews were waitingthis week for a change in the weather, hoping to be away by Friday at the latest.
Already out there is Andre Mateu, who is attempting to be the first Canarian to row across the Atlantic solo. He left La Gomera on December 2 in his boat Isidoro Arias.
Further across the Atlantic, are Dutch brothers, Michael and Ralph Tuijn, who left La Gomera on September 27 to row to Curacao in the Dutch Antilles. After a brief stopover in Martinique they resumed their journey on December 12.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Bhavik embarks on record breaking adventure
New Delhi, Dec 20: Indian sailor Bhavik Gandhi embarked on his quest to become the first first Asian to row solo across any Ocean as he set off from the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain today.
NewKerala Sports India News - http://www.newkerala.com
Saturday, December 2, 2006
Fairwinds in the Canaries
Sun 3rd December - La Gomera
I got up first thing leaving Kathy in bed and wandered around the town. Found an excellent internet cafe and as I had the flash drive with me I took the opportunity to get up to date with e-mail and the blog. Back to the boat for breakfast, then I went to officially check in at the marina office. They were very pleasant and helpful - and the price for a 9m boat is only 11 Euros a night. We also got the marina to arrange car hire for us for Monday - they get a special rate, and it is only 25 Euros for a Clio.
There are a few Atlantic rowers here preparing their boats,and we talked to one - Bhavik - an Indian livng in Sweden, who is getting ready to do it solo. He seemed remarkably sane for a man about to embark on such an undertaking. The boat is very well equipped, with lots of electrical power provided by numerous solar panels. He is well sponsored, and has no less than three satellite phones. You can find out more on his website here.
In the afternoon Kathy and I wandered around this lovely little town. Through a tunnel near the ferry terminal there is a very pleasant sandy beach with a splendid view of Mt Teide across the water on Tenerife. At over 12,000ft this amazing volcanic cone totally dominates the landscape on a clear day. The Club Nautico lives beside this beach. We couldn't tell if it was open or closed . . . we wandered into the bar, which is set into the cliff with walls of natural rock, but there was no-one about to serve us. We went back through the tunnel and walked up the hill via various steps and narrow streets to the Parador, a hotel at the top of the cliffs in a spectacular setting. They let us have a wander round their elegantly laid out clifftop gardens, in return for which privelege we paid E2.40 each for a bottle of Heineken before descending the hill back to the marina,
Marina La Gomera
Bhavik
San Sebastian
Laurie and Chiffon from Light Blue came over to Fairwinds for sundowners. They are leaving tomorrow for Barbados, and Laurie was very annoyed that his son, who is crewing on the trip, had failed to get the boat back from Tenerife for the farewell meal arranged at the Parador. Light Blue is an amazing boat, designed to a brief which essentially came from a PBO article or series where readers were asked to design their ideal cruising boat.
After Laurie and Chiffon left we decided to head up town and look for something to eat ourselves. We found an excellent restaurant serving local dishes - I had fish of the day and Kathy had lamb, with bread and a litre of house red for E25 total.
Friday, December 1, 2006
Atlantic rowers gather in La Gomera - Tenerife News - News from Tenerife Canary Islands Spain
Atlantic rowers gather in La Gomera
It’s that time of year again, the time when a stream of brave – some might say foolhardy – souls clamber into terrifyingly small boats to row the 3,000 odd miles alone and westward to landfall and glory in the Antilles. Many try, most fail, but to date some 33 have made it across successfully.
The first ever solo crossing was made by a Brit, John Fairfax, who arrived in Florida on July 19 1969, 180 days after leaving Gran Canaria.
The first solo crossing by a woman was that of Tori Munden, an American, who took 81 days to row from Tenerife to Guadeloupe which she reached on December 3 1999.
Weather permitting two hopefuls are scheduled to leave what has become the most popular rowing departure point in the archipelago, San Sebastián de La Gomera, on November 30.
Bhavik Ghandi, a 29-year-old businessman, is hoping to become the first Asian to row the Atlantic. No stranger to endurance challenges, he has taken part in distance runs, mountain climbs, trekked through the Lake Baikal region of Siberia in winter and cycled 3,000 miles from Stockholm, where he is currently based, to Istanbul.
Now Bhavik Ghandi faces his biggest challenge yet: crossing the Atlantic in his little boat Miss Olive.
On the same day another challenger is registered to set out from San Sebastián, mainlander Andreu Mateu of Tarragona who, if he succeeds will also be scoring a first: the first Spaniard to row solo across the Atlantic.
This oarsman lived and worked happily enough in the New York rat race for several years until one fine day he had a road-to-Damascus moment. He left his downtown office, went home and took a 24 hour break to review his life. To make a long story short he sold up his home and embarked on a life of world travel and adventure.
Over the years Andreu Mateu’s achievements have grown to include crossing Europe and Africa by bike and swimming the Gibraltar Straits. He regards the Atlantic row not only as his greatest personal challenge to date, but the realization of his ultimate dream.
Ghandi and Mateu are this season’s trailblazers. In the coming weeks several other boats will be setting out from La Gomera, among them a veteran British vessel with a tragic past. Watch this space for more rowing news!
Atlantic rowers gather in La Gomera - Tenerife News - News from Tenerife Canary Islands Spain
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
