New Boat: Mock-UP

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New Boat: Mock-UPLia Ditton2019-01-07T18:48:30+00:00

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ROUGH IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

September 19, 2019 at 20:35:25 PDT

Late afternoon the wind picked up, the waves too. I was tempted to keep rowing, knock off more miles to SF, but I knew I was tired.

When I stopped rowing, the boat slewed to the SE, or the SW. Uh-oh. With significantly less weight in the back cabin, the boat rows like a shuttlecock. Great for surfing waves. Truly awful when not rowing.

I went into action and fished out my emergency water supply - 6x 3L/Quart bottles and piled them up on the cabin floor. The effect was immediate. Something of my stately old girl was back. This was encouraging. Now where to put them? In the new bunk configuration there are two large triangular floor plates. 'I'll never get them out!' I had foreseen the problem when they were presented to me. 'Or I'll never get them back in again!'
Picture the scene - everything, mattress, sleeping bag, clothes, foulies, shoes, random socks and camera equipment is piled up on top of the water bottles on the cabin floor, as I wrestle with the floor boards dripping sweat, cursing their very creation.
'Water?' There is a puddle in the bilge. 'Probably from the leaky back hatch.' I manage to pack 4 of the 3L/Quart bottles into the space and then more wrestling, sweating and tidying the cabin is mostly back to normal.

If the wind picks up any more, I'll be sleeping with my survival suit and hand-operated water-maker. Phase 3 would be fill one of two 25L Coleman plastic cubes with sea water and plant on cabin floor. Hopefully it doesn't come to that. ... See MoreSee Less

5 hours ago ·

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WHAT'S FOR LUNCH?

19/Sep/2019 @ 20:17:33

A white brick appears on the horizon. 'Cruise ship!' I can tell by the shape. I turn on the AIS, at first in silent mode. We are on a reciprocal course, set to pass with less than a mile between us. Then in transmit... I decide to let them know I am here.
The ship is a Princess Cruise ship (written on the side) with a giant TV screen on the sky deck. 'Ooo I might get to watch TV!' I chuckle.
I can't make out anything on the TV and the ship passes silently bound for who knows where. And then, it stops.
'Oh no!' I grab the VHF. The ship is starting to turn. 'Please don't!'
I hail the ship. The captain replies on my second attempt.
'We thought you might be in distress.' The captain explains.
Having felt I should have been more forthcoming with information yesterday, to satisfy the curiosity of the Oversea Los Angeles tanker which kindly diverted, I tell the Royal Princess captain that I am rowing from Portland to San Francisco, this is my 3rd week at sea and all is well thank you.
'Sorry, you're rowing from Portland to where?'
'San Francisco.' I reply.
'Portland to... where are you rowing to? I would like to tell our passengers.'
'San Francisco.' I continue. 'I have a website RowLiaRow.com'
'That's rowliarowed?'
'R O W L I A R O W dot com. There's a page with my tracker.' I smile. Blatant self-promotion mid ocean!
The Royal Princess gets back underway, a 15-story skyscraper with swimming pool, leaving behind a rowable capsule the size of an economy car.
'I wonder what's on the menu for lunch!' my imagination runs amok as the ship pulls off into the distance. ... See MoreSee Less

Lia Rows Home

"If astronauts go to the moon and you're going across an ocean... doesn't that make you an aquanaut?"- curious 6 year old ABOUT LIA A licensed captain, I have sailed the equivalent of 8 laps of the gl...

5 hours ago ·

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