Sarah Outen finally sets sail on her next epic journey
We're very pleased to announce that MSN Travel blogger Sarah Outen, who is currently circumnavigating the globe via kayak and bike, has finally set sail.
Sarah, who has a fear of deep water, says of the row: “The North Pacific will be the most gruelling part of my whole London2London expedition. Physically and mentally, I expect to be exhausted most of the time – the distance, the solitude, the weather conditions and my complete isolation will make it hugely challenging. In spite of the challenges and dangers ahead, I still can’t wait to get out there.”
She adds: “I am an ocean girl at heart and love being so close to the water and living to the rhythms of the wild. The energy out there is magic and the dynamics so exciting. I am hoping for some special wildlife moments and hopefully not too many storms. But I am especially looking forward to the sunsets and the stars.”
Since she set sail, MSN Travel heard from her PR, who said that Sarah has rowed some long hours to get out to the Kuroshio current and has hit some rough seas and high winds along the way. She even capsized but our brave adventurer managed to get upright again.
You go girl!
Photographs: Tracy Johnson
Sarah continues to hold out for a weather window
'A man who is not afraid of the sea will soon be drowned, he said, for he will be going out on a day he shouldn't.
But we do be afraid of the sea, and we do only be drownded now and again.'
John Millington Synge - 'The Aran Islands' (1907)
The weather continues to do its changeable thing out here in Japan and Gulliver and I continue to wait for the right opportunity to push out east. Fellow ocean rower Charlie Martell slipped out from Choshi Marina yesterday morning in Gulliver's sister boat 'Blossom' on his North Pacific rowing bid, but we stayed on land and waited. I am glad, too - after a cracking start yesterday Charlie and Blossom have had a rough second day in big swells, confined to the cabin on the sea anchor and feeling rather sick. Do head over to Pacific2012 and send them a hello and good wishes. Charlie and I shared beers and pizza in Choshi on a couple of nights and swapped tales of the sea, our hopes and fears for the journey ahead. Charlie has already seen whales, so I am happy he has been welcomed by the waves and look forward to following on soon.
After standing down last Sunday I headed away from the coast with friends to decompress - the emotion of getting ready to go and calling it off at last minute with the storm forecast was exhausting. Midweek and we headed back to Choshi to wait for a chance to go. As predicted, the storm raged and impressed us all with the raw power with which it battered the coast, hurling spume and spray ashore and turning the seascape to hues of wild grey. I love watching the ocean on days like that, preferably from ashore, tucked up and safe. With no stable window presenting itself for a while longer yet, I have come back away from the coast again to stay with the aforementioned friends. Tari, Tracy, Kelly, Kaz and Mike - thank you. Currently Lee predicts the 14 - 17th May is offering a good stable window and the most comfortable departure opportunity. We are keen to choose the optimum gap in the weather so that I can settle in to sealife quickly, safely and as comfortably as possible.
Mostly I am calm about being on land still, knowing that it is the safest option and that these things can't be rushed. Yet the impatient Tigger-like side of me is bouncing to get started, raring to go. My head is ready, Gulliver is ready. Space away from the boat and the sea is a good thing - I can distract myself with bikes and resting. There will be little opportunity for either once we get started.
Thanks for all the messages of support from all corners of the globe. It is wonderful and humbling to know that this journey is a shared one. With that in mind, if you could all face east and blow with all your might, the Tigger in me would be super happy.
For now, all best from out here.
Sarah and Gulliver x
PS Thanks to everyone who has donated to the charities lately. We have smashed £10,000 already. I wonder if we could hit £11,000 before I go next week? To donate your pennies and pounds please click here
Video: Sarah looks at the main problems that might crop up during her next journey
On my fears:
On coping strategies and the psychological challenges:
Waiting for the weather window
Japan will be my home for another week, it seems, as the window which we thought would give me a good run at getting clear of Japan this week is now not looking good at all. Japan’s island situation means that stable weather at this time of year is pretty hard to come by as it is influenced by so many different areas.
Lee (weather router) reckons that there could be a nice little window on the 2nd May – no westerly winds but a gentle set from the south. It is a bit of a gamble going with southerly winds as it would mean my course out from Choshi has some degree of north in it which means that the time it will take to get out to the Kuroshio current will increase and I will be in the shipping lanes for longer. Yet with no westerly winds forecast for a couple of weeks, the 2nd could be a really good option. We shall stand by some more and see what happens.
This picture below is the Kuroshio track at present – a snaking current which runs up the east coast of Japan and out into the Pacific. It will be useful at times and not at all at others. If I can get into it after a day or so then it will help me run clear of the coast. The numbers are in knots (nautical miles per hour) so you can see that at times it is whizzing along!
The Kuroshiro Current : it will be super useful at times and not so at others.
Ric will be leaving later this week as he has other commitments that he cannot postpone, but it has been wonderful to have him out here to help with the final boat tinkering and the mammoth job that was packing Gulliver. He is almost ready now – all the gear and food has been waterproofed and stowed and lashed down. Treats and letters and photos have been hidden around the boat and I have squeezed as many delicious extras as I can into the tiny gaps. I shall continue tinkering until I leave – but it is really just the detail now. There is one good thing about waiting for the weather – and that is that it gives more time to rest, to sleep to be 112% happy with everything.
We shall continue to monitor the weather and update on sarahouten.com and through Twitter (@SarahOuten) so do keep an eye on it all, especially if you are thinking of coming out to say cheerio.
All very best from Choshi,
Sarah and Gulliver x
Signing out from land life
One little week to go now until Gulliver and I head East across the big blue. Gulp. And the biggest of 'Whoop whoops!' too. These are exciting, slightly stressful and adrenaline-fuelled times now as I zone in on the start, signing out of land life bit by bit. It is as much mental as physical - there is a To Do List of tasks to tick off, and also a state I need to get to, where I am on my way to becoming an ocean beast again. I feel a little bit like I am in limbo - not quite signed out and yet not quite ready to go yet. But we are getting there. The To Do List is manageable, the week ahead as planned out as it can be and a wonderful network of people helping me out to sea. If you are one of those, in whatever way that might be, thank you. Arigatou gozaimasu.
After two weeks of delicious R&R with my wonderful Mum and the lovely Kris and Maren Hallenga, interspersed with packing, parties, interviews and boat tinkering, I am now up in Choshi, Chiba. Back in November last year I dipped my toe in the Pacific at Choshi Marina, having cycled and kayaked all the way from London. It is from that point that I shall push off in just a week's time. Yesterday Gulliver arrived at the Marina by truck and I followed on today, via Tokyo for friends and more farewells. Leaving my little home by the sea at Kasa Zima Marina yesterday was rather emotional - the lovely Otake-san and his wife, family and staff now feel like my own family - so it was with teary eyes that I bade my neighbour Fuji-san cheerio and promised I would be back again one day. It was a beautiful day and Fuji-san peered out through a crown of white clouds all day, bathed in gold as the sun wet down. I feel so very lucky to have lived just across the water from such a fine and iconic mountain, surrounded by warmth and friendship.
Welcome
It's not all about the farewells at the moment, however. There is also a welcome to make. And that is to Ricardo Diniz, who many of you will remember from my Indian row. I was very sorry to hear a few weeks ago that the indomitable Justine wouldn't be able to join me in Japan to support my final week of preparation, after taking a rather serious tumble from her bike and puncturing her lung. She is mending well but flying isn't sensible, so she has promised to recover fully and be ready to greet me on the other side of the blue! I am happy that Ricardo was able to step into the role. He is due any minute now....
Weather window
I am due a chat with my weather router Lee on Monday to look at the forecasts. We are aiming for a Friday morning departure if possible. "Good weather" just means as stable a pressure system as we can get, blowing offshore - ideally for a few days, creating the best window possible for Gulliver and I to get safely out to sea and away from land.
Until the next one,
Sarah and Gulliver x
Video from a recent talk
My time in Japan has been full of all sorts and one of the things I have enjoyed the most is sharing the stories of my journey so far through talks at schools and clubs.
Here is a little video from a recent talk I gave at the first TEDxTokyoTeachers event. There are some wonderful speakers after me, so do dig about on the site and share all the great messages. I particularly loved this one by Miki Kano on teaching Japanese children critical thinking skills. Enjoy!
Less than one month to go until the ocean...
S and Gulliver x
PS Overhauled website going live soon...watch this space!
An update before the final run to the ocean
Things are hotting up out here. It's nearly time to go.
In two weeks time Mum arrives. It will have been a full year since we gripped each other tightly on the wharf of HMS President and I grinned my way under Tower Bridge. A week with Mum will be followed by the same with the lovely Kris and Maren Hallenga, friends and founders of CoppaFeel!, one of my very fab supported charities.
On April 12th we will pack Gulliver for his ride to Choshi, Chiba up the coast; I shall say goodbye to my 'family' in Sajima and head up towards the airport. As the twins fly home, Justine - one of my team mates - will fly in to help me in my final week of preparations. We aim to go on standby from April 20th. As soon as the weather is good, I shall go. For those in Japan wishing to come and wave me off, we hope to post details online three days before departure.
I have recognised the swinging emotions and adrenaline which characterised the final build up to my previous big departures - across the Indian ocean in 2009 and April 1st last year at the start of this one. I try and make the adrenaline my friend - letting fears have their voice, nagging noises do their bit - and letting the excitement drive me on.
Preparations are trucking along in the way that preparations for these things do. Little hurdles and conundrums pop up here and there (e.g. a sprained back joint a few weeks ago) and red tape puzzles and frustrates us from time to time. But, with persistence, creativity and plenty of time out to play, my team at home and my friends and supporters out here in Japan are getting there. Onwards, onwards, onwards.
Meanwhile, Gulliver continues to look and feel more like a home/office/rowing pod. The collection of trinkets woven into the cabin netting are steadily growing, tool boxes are being filled and equipment stowed in cubby holes and lockers, gadgets are tested and retested and the To Do List shortens and regrows accordingly.
I slept in him for the first time the other week and am happy to report it all went smoothly, though I had forgotten how tiny a little rowing cabin can feel. The jury is still out on which way round I will sleep - head amidships (in the middle) and enjoying the headroom or head at the stern (back) of the cabin and enjoying the stars.
Outside of boaty tinkering, I am training and feeding in readiness for the journey ahead and now just have a final couple of talks to give. Within the team we have been working hard to plan the overhaul of the website (due to go live in the next couple of weeks) and have also bringing our shiny new Media Manager Jenny Ellery up to speed.
All in all, busy but happy and focussed times in this final run in to the very final run before the ocean.
Sarah and Gulliver x
Sarah OutenIn 2009 at the age of 24, Sarah Outen became the first woman to row solo across the Indian Ocean. Follow her latest epic journey here on MSN Travel.
