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Rowing Across the Atlantic
An Anonymous Coward writes: "Wired News has an article about 68 men and women who are rowing across the Atlantic. "All 34 boats in this year's race are equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, and practically all the rowers have satellite phones and other wireless gadgets with Internet access.""
What's the purpose of starting in winter? Or are they rowing in the Southern Hemisphere? Even so, this seems like a stupid idea.
/., but that's another story.
Rowing over a major ocean during the end of storm season through winter is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. I wish they would think before they do stuff like this.
But I suppose the contestants, I suppose that's what you'd call them, get some sort of rush out of doing crap like this. I just don't understand what kind of rush it is.
Furthermore, I don't understand why sporting news belongs on
But do the GPS and gadgets make it newsworthy? Perhaps the map-reading and navigation skills necessary? Maybe it's the strong and hearty people?
and practically all the rowers have satellite phones and other wireless gadgets with Internet access
Good ! they can read slashdot !
A friend at my old gym (Andrew Halsey) did this. Wanted to point out what an epileptic could do. Of course somebody asked what should happen if had a seizure; his reply (thick Brit Accent)well then I'd make some bloody good time then.." I remember his GPS was a unit aout the size of a briefcase.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts."
The only thing that makes this special is the fact that they are rowing across the atlantic. Endurance and physical strength aren't geeky things either...
Other than the physical exertion, what's the big deal? This isn't remarkably more dangerous than sitting down at a Nautilus machine for the equivalent ammount of time.
Once upon a time, there were people who set out across the ocean who didn't know what might appear on the other side of the horizon, never knowing if they would get rich, get killed, or get laid. Those were adventurers. These people are simply fame-seekers.
Bah.
Potato chips are a by-yourself food.
Can someone please give me the contract to supply these guys with 802.11b wireless kit?
Hmmm, just think of all those floating wireless access points...the ultimate roving (rowing?) LAN.
--This isn't a man who is leaving with his head between his legs.
The race began Oct. 7 at Los Gigantes Harbor in Tenerife, Spain, and ends in Port St. Charles, Barbados.
Is there a good reason they're rowing against the gulf stream and the prevailing winds?
As if rowing across the atlantic isn't hard enough already
---
http://slashdot.org/moderation.shtml
According to the article, some of the rowers are opting to just toss their gadgets into the sea to reduce weight. I guess that says something about their actual utility.
It's still a boat. When someone bicycles across, call me.
ZOMG I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS ON MACINTOSH VERSUS WINDOWS, VI VERSUS EMACS, AND HOW YOU'RE NOT A DORK
Are they getting spam through their GPS-enabled gadgets?
Do they bring back the boats or do they stay in the US?
And Do they need a workingpermit to row on US soil?
If they where to row into a house, by misstake. Would that be an act of terrorism?
- To understand recursion, we must first understand recursion -
sporting news on /. -
5 9
we had chess as an olympic sport once - http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/08/13/11482
They'll need OnStar if they want ads to notify them of all the great sites around the Atlantic.
The original trans-Atlanitc rowing record (Canary Islands to Barbados in 41 days) was set by two New Zealanders, Phil Stubbs, and Robbie Hamill back in 1997. Their fully-laden boat weighed over 2000 pounds. Stubbs later died in a plane crash.
if you're interested in this sort of thing, I suggest you head over to OceanRowing.com. I worked for the director of the Ocean Rowing Society, Kenneth Crutchlow, for a year compiling metric assloads of data about every single ocean rower who ever attempted a crossing. It was definitely one of the strangest jobs I've ever held, but after spending so much time surrounded by this close knit community of people who want to test the limits of human endurance, you begin to understand what drives someone to want to do this. Every rower has their own personal drama to tell, and it is a riveting experience to hear them describe their lone rowboats amid 50 foot swells in mid-Atlantic hurricanes or having to jump out of their boat to spear fish when food runs out halfway across the Pacific.
I can't wait to eat that monkey...
A crazy Brazilian called Amir Klink rowed from Africa to Brazil by himself.
I can see it now:
"Hey, why aren't you rowing?"
"I'm posting to slashdot!"
... is that it's possible to go take a vacation in a remote location to and still stay in touch with the rest of the world and know where you are. Somehow I picture that editorial cartoon with a guy on a beach receiving a fax. Is this story really all that big a deal from a technological standpoint?
The One Rule Of Chess You'll Ever Need: Don't play someone who carries a kit in their bookbag.
Why does the people who wrote the interactive map applet on the site think that they need Full Permissions on my JVM? What file IO can they possibly need to do for example. Is it really that difficult to write the manifest to only request the permissions you really need?
And why is it broadcasting UDP packets to 255.255.255.255 according to Tiny Personal Firewall? Is there something I don't realise about this or is the applet just doing funny stuff?
.oO Kaa Oo.
> This isn't remarkably more dangerous
> than sitting down at a Nautilus machine for
> the equivalent ammount of time
Wow! I never knew *Nautilus* was that dangerous!
I'll be sticking to Konqueror from now on then.
Follow me
I know that my phone and other "electronic gadgets" tend to last a week with light-to-moderate usage. Either these folks are carrying some rather long extension cords, or have something else to recharge all their batteries.
Either way, I can see why people are opting to toss stuff overboard, as I can't even begin to imagine the additional weight all those chargers would be adding...
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." --H.L. Mencken
Who gives a fuck?
Coming soon:
Husker QB orders pizza using 802.11a during rout!
Seriously though, I agree, just because some doofus has a <insert random e-gadget here> with them does not make it News for Nerds, blah blah, blah
Shut up, be happy. The conveniences you demanded are now mandatory. -- Jello Biafra
really? i didn't even think linus liked bill all that much. where did you find this out? what do the rest of you zealots think?
While the rowers say they are grateful for the wireless perks like GPS and satellite phones, Vose says the gadgets are not giving the rowers an unfair advantage.
Both Wired and Slashdot seem to emphasize the technology. This is an amazing, grueling physical trial. The tech is for us to follow them and rescue if necessary. Their main tech tool is the business end of an oar.
I just so happened to have spent a night in Kilkee, Ireland in late September on the night that "Retired Chcago cariologist Nenad Belic, 62, was trying to become the thir person to row a boat from Cape Cod to Europe when he ran into trouble in a storm."
I don't know if GPS would have helped or not, I can attest to the storm that night. But more than a month later only boat turned up.
I'd buy that for a dollar. (canned laughter)
They are rowing, as the article says, from tenerife, spain, to barbados.
That's a near tropical origin (30 degrees N, I think) and a very tropical destination.
What *I* wanna know is, how do they shit?
Rowing is probably a lot safer than flying these days, all thanks to /bin/laden...
Welcome to the Open Source Travel Agency...
"It's torture and can cause a lot of mental anguish," Hamill said. "You adapt to a degree but it's always tough, sleeping for two hours, rowing for two hours and having no sex with the ladies on board. We used a homeopathic remedy and this helped us get going again at the start of a shift. As the race wore on, we had to circle jerk several times to relieve ourselves -- we were just so out of it."
I think I speak for everyone when I say... Don't these people have anything better to do?
Too bloody right mate. Us Kiwis prove how stupid we really are. Surrounded by water on all sides, we prove that we can conquer someone else's ocean too !!!!!
Umm maybe u didnt read the article. It said Spain to Barbados. I dont think either lies in southern hemisphere. (Maybe barbados, not sure but I doubt it)
Democratic USA - Government of the corporations, by the Corporations, for the corporations.
When I was a kid we used magnetic compasses and stars to guide us...whats up with the fancy shmancy new fangled stuff
Democratic USA - Government of the corporations, by the Corporations, for the corporations.
Yesterday I read a news artical about a US doctor that tried to row from cape cod to Europe.
On the 30th of september he went missing (story) and yesterday they found this boat of the coast of Ireland (story). He had all the electronic equipment that the participants of this race have .. but that did not help him ....
You can see his progress on the Ocean Rowing Society web page until the 30rd of september. On their web site you can also find more information about his journey.
His younger brother has created a web site with even more information
So those who say that the electronic equipment makes it easier ... should think again
RigoloPanzies. :)
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
...is that this post-september-11th fear of flying is really getting out of hand!
A few years back a guy swam accross... He pushed a covered sled that had a bed, radio, GPS, etc... Took him about a month to get across. Sorry I dont have more info, does anybody remember this guy? He might be on the rowing team.
Like eagles on pogo-sticks! -- Glottis
One of the leading teams has also been employing the web for promotional, informational and sponsorship purchases. The sites really nice as well (apart form the long url) - www.43degreeswest.co.uk
I don't see that as a problem. After all, you'd be drifting around in the world's largest toilet. Just hope you don't leave a floater in the bowl because nature takes a while to flush...
Maybe its newsworthy because its never been done?
That is the common theme for everything on Slashdot (except that which Katz writes about).
What a bunch of pussies using phones and GPS. If it was a real challenge they would just set out and then we'd just wait till someone arrived. Gutless simps.
Hey, you think your house is cool?
Amyr Klink was the first man to row across the Atlantic, ALONE -- no GPS, no Sat-Phone, no internet. Following the prevalent winds and the streams, of course. You can get one his books at Amazon. Very worth reading, he's a man who can make dreams come true. If you can read portuguese, go to: http://www.amyrklink.com.br and take a look at his newest boats and projects.
Jose T Oliveira Jr.
Its funny you pretend like you know something about the topic when it is obvious you have no idea.
Oh yeah, and thanks for pissing me off first thing monday morning.
Why go parachuting?
Why sail across the Atlantic?
Why cross the Antartica?
Why circumnavigate the globe on a plane?
Besides. Maybe you should bother doing a bit or research before you make any claims about this event?
I bet if the got wiped out by a rogue wave they would blame it on /bin/laden