Pacific solo rower departure delayed by weather
04.07.2007, 14:22
Weather has delayed a British woman's bid to raise awareness of maritime pollution by rowing a small craft solo across the Pacific, she told AFP on Friday.
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Roz Savage has already traversed the Atlantic solo in her lightweight 24- foot (seven meter) rowboat, and she would be the first woman to conquer the vast Pacific.
Savage, 38, had been scheduled to launch from under San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge on Thursday, but now plans put her oars in the ocean next week.
"My weather window broke up into three much smaller windows," she told AFP. "It would be like trying to get a grand piano through a window."
The next suitable launch date, due to wind, tides, and swells, will be July 27, said Savage.
Early next week she will take her boat, The Brocade, out for an open ocean test run loaded down with all her communication and navigational equipment.
The extra time on land has allowed her to fine tune her blog, to which she will post regular text and video updates from the sea voyage. But she admits that she is ready to shove off.
"It gets little embarrassing still being on dry land," she said.
"It would be nice to get going before everyone gets bored of me."