Rowing the Pond Again 231
Gudlyf writes "Anne Quéméré, a French woman who had previously rowed across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain to the West Indian island of Guadeloupe, is currently on her way to doing it again, only this time in the opposite direction. This season's challenge will take Anne 2700 nautical miles, from Chatham, Cape Cod (USA) to Brittany (France), her native land. She hopes to make it in less than 90 days. Is it just me, or does the giant fish on her boat scream 'shark bait' to you?"
Uh, no... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Uh, no... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Uh, no... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Uh, no... (Score:4, Funny)
Besides, it is Hollywood myth that shark can be dangerous. You may think that shark could mistake swimmer for baby seal, or find your fagile torso to be a tasty meal for the shark. You may also think your weak chemoelectric field in your muscle and nerve could be detected, and shark would take big bite out of you before figures out you are not good for food for it.
This is all giant myth. Shark can make good friendship and companion for any man, woman, or youung child who swim in water's ocean.
Re:Uh, no... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Uh, no... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Uh, no... (Score:3, Informative)
Rough Facts:
(1) There are approximately 16 million people in Florida.
(2) 31 of the 55 shark attacks were in florida (see grandparent post).
(3) In 2002 there were 3132 highway deaths in Florida. ( source [driveandstayalive.com])
(4)The average american adult spends 101 minutes per day driving.(source [msn.com])
(5)The average america
Lies, Damned Lies, and Stats... (Score:3, Informative)
I think I'd be more worried about buckling up.
Re:Uh, no... (Score:2, Funny)
Actually, those shark attacks were really attacks on Amercia!!
Better add shark to the list of terror suspects!
Re:Uh, no... (Score:2)
Also, the study continued to say that at any given time 1 in 20 bathers is within 5 feet of a shark, most without even realizing it.
Given that information, I'm still not gonna intentionally swim with an animal that is much bigger and stronger than I am, and has several rows of teeth.
Re:Uh, no... (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, just last month I took my eight year old niece to the aquarium and dropped her into the great white shark tank. You should have seen the wonderful fun playing around they both did. You'd think my niece would have been tired swimming after the shark for half an hour, but you shouldn't underestimate the determination of a child who wants her right leg back.
Re:Uh, no... (Score:5, Insightful)
It's a giant myth because, of the millions of people who could potentially interact with Sharks each year, there are few reported incidents (55 in 2003).
You could make the statement:
"Umm...right. Would you remind repeating that to the family of the woman killed by TWA 800 5 miles from where I live? Giant myth my ass. Some things have been exaggerated, yes, but understating the danger can be just as bad."
The fact that you know someone who has died in an air crash *does not* make air travel unsafe. The fact is, there really isn't any risk to understimate. The risk is, quite frankly, statistically insignifigant. That's like saying that you should "consider the risk" before eating food because people die from foodborne illness each year (9,000 in the USA alone - 180 times greater than Shark-related deaths).
We can make a sob story out of anything, but the fact is that the only way to assess the risk of an activity is to look at statistics. The statistics say that the danger is minimal. There's nothing to understimate because there is virtually no danger whatsoever.
Re:Uh, no... (Score:5, Insightful)
If you don't consider that, then eating highly radioactive material will seem like a safe activity - just because nobody does that. In reality of course, doing that would be quite risky.
Looking at the US, very large numbers of people are involved with cars on a daily basis, only a small percentage go swimming in the ocean every day. How useful is it really to know that there were no shark-related incidents in Minnesota this year?
Re:Uh, no... (Score:2)
Re:Uh, no... (Score:2, Funny)
Coconuts
Stairs
Bees
Ladders
Pruning your hedges
Sunburn
Lightning
Being bitten by a squirrel In spite of this, I freak the hell out when I see a shark in the water.
RTFA (Score:2)
Not shark bait (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Not shark bait (Score:2)
Only if she falls out of the boat, or is hit by another one. People from the rowing club I row with have rowed across the Atlantic in two man boats - there is an atlantic rowing race [woodvale-events.com] every two years. In the last one (in 2003), 15 of the 16 crews completed the challenge (the other one was forced to abandon when one of the rowers had an epileptic fit).
Re:Not shark bait (Score:2)
OK, take a deep breath. Now look at these:
RTFA, and lets talk about whether her rowboat looks like a big seal silhouette from 50-80 feet below? Around South Africa photographers just dump a floating foam rubber seal dummy overboard and motor around in circles waiting for the strike.
The North Atlantic isn't as much of a great white shark buffet as the Cape of Good Hope, but cold water is where they live... I still
Going back to her homeland... (Score:4, Funny)
I'm all for exercise and all but geeze!
Re:Going back to her homeland... (Score:2)
Re:Going back to her homeland... (Score:2)
Re:Going back to her homeland... (Score:5, Funny)
It probably takes less time to row back than going through airline security...
Re:Going back to her homeland... (Score:2)
Of course she is doing it again... (Score:5, Funny)
If she had the money to get a plane ticket, she wouldn't have made it the first time.
Re:Of course she is doing it again... (Score:2)
Bah! (Score:4, Funny)
A bit much (Score:4, Funny)
obligatory Finding Nemo reference (Score:4, Funny)
obligatory Critic reference (Score:2)
More Images (Score:5, Informative)
Some better images here (Score:2, Informative)
ok, let's get it all out of trhe way at once (Score:5, Funny)
B. all your oars are belong to us
C. in soviet russia the boat rows you
D.
1. row row row your boat
2. do it again
3. ???
4. profit!!
E. D'OH!
There, I think that about covers it
Re:ok, let's get it all out of trhe way at once (Score:2)
F. While towing a barge full of Hot Grits for Natalie Portman. . .
Re:ok, let's get it all out of trhe way at once (Score:3, Funny)
Re:ok, let's get it all out of trhe way at once (Score:2, Funny)
Her website (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Her website (Score:2, Informative)
English Journal [le-connetable.net]
Re:Her website (Score:2)
Re:Her website (Score:2)
The master of impracticality (Score:2, Funny)
Sharks are not stupid... (Score:5, Funny)
In Other News... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:In Other News... (Score:2)
There are several Canadians that have been taken in custody without the closest consular office or embassy warned, or letting them make a phone call. Nor were they charged with anything or told when they'd be out. So I wouldn't mind it if things happenned like you describe them :)
Damn, this is cool (Score:5, Insightful)
Man, I wish I had the balls to do this. Boats are so cool. Well, boats without motors, anyway. In fact, things built by people with their own hands designed to do something crazy are cool in general. I'd love to build my own sailboat and sail from the southern tip of Japan to the Philippines. That's not even a huge distance, and I'm still too chicken to do it... storms scare me.
As for all you idiots making "What's this doing on Slashdot?" comments, what the hell? You guys are worse than those stupid jocks in HS who used to try to pigeonhole us into the glasses-wearing computer nerd category. Worse because you're doing it to yourselves. People aren't two-dimensional (I mean this figuratively, smart ass) and this includes even you. Lots of nerds like sports. It's just that we often like non-standard ones, like martial arts, fencing, bowling, sailing, whatever. But even if it were some "lame" sport like baseball or football, a true geek could find a way to make it geeky. That you can't speaks to your lack of imagination, nothing else.
Thank you, drive through.
Re:Damn, this is cool (Score:2, Funny)
You mean... we are two-dimensional literally?
Re:Damn, this is cool (Score:2)
Re:Damn, this is cool (Score:2)
Well, Mr. A. Coward, may I ask you what you have done to grow the balls you need to embark on such an undertaking? Let me tell
There'll be more of this before we're done (Score:5, Insightful)
I happen to think it's a fantastic thing.
There's no real "why" of why anyone would willingly climb Everest, go to Antarctica, walk across a desert, play any contact sport, play golf, walk up the stairs to the office and not take the elevator.
All of those things are more prone to injury, take longer, are a "waste" of time. But none of that is the point. All of those things are terrific fun - even walking up the stairs gives you a nice glow just before you hit the airconditioning for 8 hours.
Rowing across the Atlantic Ocean? Imagine the isolation, the memories, the weather you'd see, the sense of having conquered yourself you would feel for the rest of your life.
She's not hurting anyone or anything. And she may actually make observations worth listening to.
My response? Bravo!
Re:There'll be more of this before we're done (Score:4, Insightful)
There is a lot of pain and suffering in this world, and there a lot of things people can do to help their fellow humans. Of course I am not saying that everyone is obligated to help others, if one wants to go into pointless stunts, it is their choice.
But they will not get my admiration. I save that for worthy causes, not merely difficult ones.
What's a worthy cause? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:There'll be more of this before we're done (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:There'll be more of this before we're done (Score:3, Insightful)
Actually, unless you are going up quite a few flights, it's faster to walk the stairs than ride an elevator, especially if it's a busy building. Think about it.
The problem I see in most buildings is that the stairwells are not conveniently located to the elevator (nor convenient to anywhere for that matter). There's a few parking garages near where I live that the stairwells wrap around the elevator shaft. This makes it easier for access to the
Another idea for you: everything in moderation (Score:2)
Now picture that anyone proposed to spend their next 90 days doing nothing but running up and down stairs. No break except to sleep, no talking to anyone, just boring repetitive mind-numbing running up and down stairs. Endless hours each day just going up and down stairs.
I don't
Re:Another idea for you: everything in moderation (Score:2)
But who gets to decide what is moderation? To you, apparently, the personal challenge of planning and executing the row across the atlantic is too extreme. I'd venture to guess that she learns a hell of a lot more about herself in those 90 days in a boat than most working stiffs learn in years.
To me, sitting in front of a computer 8 or more hours a day for 20 or 30 or 40 years straight is too extreme. So I do that for a while, then quit & do something interesting. In my case, the last time was walk
Vector analysis (Score:3, Funny)
Net effect is zero.
Which makes her even with all of us who didn't row at all.
Anne Quéméré = Anchor Mer (Sea) eh? (Score:2, Insightful)
AnneQue sounds like Anchor.
Mer = Sea in french.
I s'pose it is one way to beat the queues at the airport though.
Re:Anne Quéméré = Anchor Mer (Sea) (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Anne Quéméré = Anchor Mer (Sea) (Score:3, Interesting)
Offtopic or Interesting? You decide... :-)
Knos: Brittany has a specific language which is in most part unrelated to french.
I know this because my uncle, who is a Welsh speaker, struck up a conversation with what he thought was a fellow Welshman in Brittany. Only half an hour into chatting (and, to be fair, drinking), did he click that the gentleman was in fact a local.
Oh, and interesting fact number two: Brittany is t
It may not look like 'shark bait' to you... (Score:2)
Just curious.. (Score:3, Interesting)
Where does she keep her food? (90 days of food in this tiny canoe?)
What if there is a storm? (Good weather guaranteed? A ship following her just in case?)
Re:Just curious.. (Score:2)
Re:Just curious.. (Score:2)
With the fish.
Same as this guy [bluewater.de]. He had the same glorious idea - row across the Atlantic in a canoe.
geez... (Score:3, Interesting)
Fog blows up over the barrier beach outside of Stage Harbor so thick and fast you'd swear there's a forest fire raging on the other side of the dune - and crossing Stage Harbor on a busy day with a sea kayak is like crossing I-95 on foot in rush hour.
Another French woman crossing oceans on her own.. (Score:3, Interesting)
Giant Rapala (Score:3, Insightful)
The "row boat" looks like a giant rapala lure!
Who in their right mind would row anywhere with that thing?
Why Newsworthy? (Score:3, Insightful)
Reminds me of Prime Intellect (Score:2)
The other Chatham (Score:2)
what a waste (Score:2)
lemme guess:
she got a few sponsors who are gonna pay big $$$ to have her stick on a few logo's
she saved up for years to do this
press is gonna waste millions on it in order to cover it world wide
slashdot wastes about 1gb of served bandwidth
what a waste! do something good with your money!
Bathroom? (Score:2)
The First (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.adept.net/AmericanPearl/ [adept.net]
I think she went the westward direction (Canaries to Carribean) following ocean currents. It was an interesting online event since you could monitor GPS data on the website and she periodically posted messages and photos via satellite. She is now climbing Denali (Mt. McKinley).
You will now be known as.... (Score:2)
Ooh ha ha!
"Enough with the shark bait..."
Pics (Score:2, Informative)
I've crossed the Atlantic in a non-powered boat.. (Score:2)
To the person who asked about food storage, I don't see that as much of a problem. Th
If you like this kind of stuff... (Score:2)
(in portuguese).
This is the official site of Amyr Klink, the brazilian guy who rowed across the south atlantic from Africa to the Brazilian coast back in 1984 in a boat he himself designed (and which looks a lot like the french woman's boat, minus the fish). Then he went on to spend a winter alone in the Antarctic. His most recent adventure was a global circumnavigation around Antarctica non-stop in a sailing boat.
I know I'm late but... (Score:2)
I know I'm late, but am I the only one who say this article as
Rewiring the pond, again
It's early still...
Another Atlantic crosser (Score:2)
News for nerds, stuff that matters???? (Score:2)
This Moronic Story Gets Posted (Score:2)
Nice work,
"Stuff that matters"
Right.
Mod this Off-Topic now, morons.
This is "news for nerds"? More like for ESPN. (Score:2)
= 9J =
Re:Nerdly? (Score:5, Informative)
A person regarded as foolish, inept, or clumsy.
A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept.
But then it could also be:
A carnival performer whose show consists of bizarre acts, such as biting the head off a live chicken.
I mean how many times do you see "sex with a mare" around here??
Re:Nerdly? (Score:2)
See... I would consider this statement to be a compliment.
Re:Nerdly? (Score:2, Funny)
Maybe she's hoping that the publicity will encourage another lunat^H^H^H rower to do likewise. (or else she's on the SYN-ACK leg of her first attempt).
I'm sure that there are more nerdly connections we can make when we have too much time on our hands
Re:Nerdly? (Score:2)
There's a bi-annual cross-Atlantic rowing race, here's a page on this year's event [woodvale-events.com]. They have teans of two, though a few times one member has been taken off to leave one to do most of the journey.
around the world in 80 days (Score:5, Interesting)
Plus, there's all sorts of technology involved -- GPS, satellite phone, and the materials and construction of the boat itself.
But what it really comes down to is clearly illustrated in this bit from the article: Now if that's not geeky, I dunno what is.
Re:Nerdly? (Score:4, Interesting)
She's navigating mainly by GPS
She has a custom made boat (physics, specialized transportation design)
She expects to lose 30 pounds (lots of nerds need to lose weight / Physical effects of long term physical stress is a good topic of scientific discussion)
Quit flapping your bitching hole.
Re:Nerdly? (Score:4, Funny)
(and before some pumped up jock wannabe tries to make me seriously believe a true nerd can also be mr. macho athlete guy, lemme say a) we're all very proud of you and b) please go crow on some less nerdly site. you are far too cool for us.)
Re:Nerdly? (Score:2)
I am not talking about someone who runs a couple of miles a couple of times a week, I am talking about marathoners, and cyclists who go for 100+ mile rides. We study our equipment, our techniques and our nutrition, all to improve performance.
If
Just imagine... (Score:4, Funny)
I'm here all week, folks.
Re:Just like mountain climbing.... (Score:5, Funny)
Different strokes...
Re:Just like mountain climbing.... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Just like mountain climbing.... (Score:3, Funny)
yea? well she'll take the skin off your snake, son (Score:5, Funny)
think about it
Re:Meanwhile, she will install Linux (Score:2, Funny)
This is the perfect opportunity to compile Gentoo!
Re:Meanwhile, she will install Linux (Score:2)
Re:Daughter. (Score:2)
Any number of men, and women too, died on their way to work this morning. Commuting is dangerous.
My dad died when I was one year old, while simply tending a shop.
Shit happens, so do what, ummmm, rows your boat.
KFG
Re:Daughter. (Score:2)
[1] Yes I know that the current PC designation in the US is "African American," but I am not USian, nor do I live there.
Re:Um . . . (Score:2)
Re:news for nerds...stuff....about boats!? (Score:2)