While the Libyans argue Ill have a row........ Today I want to share some BIG news with you. Although Libya was on my original list of mediterr année countries it has been obvious for some time that I wouldnt get to play there. So in past months Ive been thinking on my problem. Libya is a bloody big place - about 1800km across. So as I paddled along, as I trekked through the Alps I racked my brain for human powered solutions. One of many people who have come out of the woodwork and contacted me on this trip, was Marin Medak (marinmedak), a guy from Slovenia who has already achieved much in his 26 years. A couple of years ago Marin headed an expedition to row the Atlantic. We caught up for dinner on early August just before I started the Alps trek, drank some wine, talked about expeditions; mine and his. PROBLEM-SOLUTION...... Fast forward a few weeks into September and BINGO! - it hits me. While the Libyans are having an argument could I not have a row? Could I not row from Tunisia to Malta then row from Malta to Alexandria in Egypt non stop. Id lose Libya as a country but gain Malta and would be all at sea for around a month. I called Marin. He was happy to help but couldnt join me; he was busy seeking funding for a new business venture. I needed a boat, a crew (2 or 3) and someone to pull it all together - logistics, boat preparation, shipping etc. My biggest problem is I have so, so little time. Some stuttering progress was made but it seemed unlikely I could pull it off. Then, in one stroke of magic, everything changed. On the summit of Mont Blanc I switched on my phone so as to post a summit photo to this Facebook page. A bunch of emails rolled in. Whilst I wasnt going to read them in such a fine place on such a fine day, the title of one stood out: From: Marin Medak Subject: My plans have changed......... I opened it and scanned the words. We failed to get funding for the new business. I want to do the row with you and I will organise everything. These words gave me as big a high as the summit climb itself. Fast forward 5 weeks......... This week I became the owner of an ocean rowboat. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought this would occur. The boat is located on Cape Verde, an island nation off the coast of West Africa. The legend Marin flew there last week to close the deal, work on the boat and organise for it to be shipped to Tunisia. We will christen the boat Mr Hops, a nice beer flavoured counterpart to the wine tasty Miss Grape. He will also allow me to hopefully hop past Libya. We will aim to have one of us on the oars all day and all night, except in foul weather. Perhaps 5 days to Malta; perhaps 25 days to Alexandria. To say Im excited is an understatement. To say Im nervous would not be overstating it. As you might imagine this was never in the expedition budget. It is a rather substantial cost and Im looking for sponsorship. If you have any leads, a rich uncle etc then let me know. There is one small thing. When we push off from Tunisia it will be the first time Ive ever rowed........
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 06:12:32 +0000
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