The first 1000 miles

08 January 2014

Fedor on the satphone: “Today marked a very important event – my first thousand miles in the Pacific Ocean. Psychologically, it’s very uplifting. How many more thousands of miles I’l have to cover is hard to say; it all depends on the weather and how it’s going to affect my route. Today the Pacific Ocean around me is calm, the sun is peeping through the clouds. The accumulators are being charged. I’ll try to run waterwmaker in the evening. Here I’ve got to catch a right moment to do certain things. The ocean is deserted: no whales, dolphins, or flying fish. I’m sure it’s temporary. The surface of the ocean is unruffled making it easy to row. Tourgoyak is not tipping violently anymore. I switched the short oars, which are 3 meters with the medium ones. These are 3.2 meters long and made specifically for the current conditions. I have one more pair of oars: they are 3.4 meters long and useful for the most tranquil and glassy surface.  This range in length of the oars can be compared to a manual gearbox in a car. I followed the recommendations of my friend Simon Chalk and got the Xcell oars. This company is the most known amongst the ocean rowers. The Xcell oars are tested and tried in every ocean of the world.  The fiber tube is 100% carbon fiber with Kevlar reinforcement, the fixed handles made from Ash wood, and the weight is about 2 kg per oar. I have three sets of oars, because I know from my own experience, and from the stories of other rowers, how easy it is to lose an oar in the ocean. It can break or a wave can snatch it right off the boat. Without the oars how would one proceed on the row boat? The other two sets of oars are stored diagonally across each side of the boat. It has been 17 days and 1000 miles on the ocean. Overall it’s a good result. I’m fully adjusted to my rowing routine. Each day I take time to inspect Tourgoyak from bow to stern looking for any signs of leakage. The tropics have welcomed me with warm, even hot temperatures. I’m heading west and a bit north. With God’s help and your prayers I shall overcome. I’m with you. Fedor.”

The map of the Tourgoyak’s course: http://yb.tl/konyukhov2

The detailed map of the course: www.oceanrowing.com/Konyukhov/Pacific2013/dist_map.htm

Translated by Tatiana Koreski

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