[davidpm]

Probably want to keep away from these guys.

Great Pacific Race launches from Monterey - MontereyHerald.com :

 

[GeorgeB]

Great - First, we had to worry about running into shipping containers, next it was whales, then it was Japanese tsunami debris - Now it is rowboats! The "real" race to Hawaii, the Pacific Cup, is starting in one month. The rowers are predicted to finish thier course in two months. We did it in twelve days back in '08. My prediction is the Pac Cuppers will cross tracts with the rowers at about the halfway point. And most of the sailboats back at the mainland before the rowers reach Hawaii.

 

[tdw]

and maybe these as well ....

Rowers set off from Geraldton in attempt to cross Indian Ocean and reach South Africa - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

I confess it is a form of masochism that I really do not understand.

 

[gamayun]

The Single-handed Trans Pac starts in a little over two weeks. Hope those little boats are transmitting AIS. It's not all machismo...Roz Savage rowed ALL the way across the Pacific.

 

[killarney_sailor]

The people who do this are some combination of crazy and impressive as hell. We were at the finish line in Antigua for the Atlantic race when the winner came in. He was by himself and beat the first two person boat by a week or something. He quietly got out of his boat (an impressive machine) was handed a beer and started a quiet conversation like he had just been out for a sail (or row) for a couple of hours.

 

[jackdale]

Vic Maui starts at the end of the month.

 

[svHyLyte]

Probably want to keep away from these guys.

Great Pacific Race launches from Monterey - MontereyHerald.com :

Seven boats--4 people per boat. The promoter raised $660,000+ to stage this event. In my view, this is the type event that should be required to buy insurance to cover the costs of rescue/recovery for those that fail in their efforts (and I suspect many, if not most, will). No?

(Alternately, participants could forswear rescue efforts on their behalf making/perhaps naming the event a "Darwinian Challenge" event.)

 

[JonEisberg]

The Single-handed Trans Pac starts in a little over two weeks. Hope those little boats are transmitting AIS.

I doubt all of the Singlehanded Transpac boats are transmitting AIS. Why should the onus of doing so be on the fully-crewed rowers? At least they'll have some on watch 24/7...

 

[JonEisberg]

Seven boats--4 people per boat. The promoter raised $660,000+ to stage this event. In my view, this is the type event that should be required to buy insurance to cover the costs of rescue/recovery for those that fail in their efforts (and I suspect many, if not most, will). No?

(Alternately, participants could forswear rescue efforts on their behalf making/perhaps naming the event a "Darwinian Challenge" event.)

Well, time will tell, of course... But I'm not sure what makes an event such as this inherently more foolhardy than a race like the Singlehanded Transpac, for example. Is a crew of 4 rowing to Hawaii in a highly specialized boat built specifically for that purpose really all that more 'foolish' than a singlehander racing a boat like a Capri 25 over the same patch of ocean?

 

[gamayun]

I doubt all of the Singlehanded Transpac boats are transmitting AIS. Why should the onus of doing so be on the fully-crewed rowers? At least they'll have some on watch 24/7...

Yes, you're right. I was just thinking about how hard it would be to see a small rowboat out there, but that's really no different than some of those 25-footers that are sailing to Hawaii. Small vessel and/or single-hand, I'd want to transmit AIS, because only then do you light up the display in the wheel house of those big ships; whereas if you call them, it's much harder to be seen and maybe even acknowledged. Anyway, wasn't trying to burden anyone with too much technology.

 

[davidpm]

Small vessel and/or single-hand, I'd want to transmit AIS, because only then do you light up the display in the wheel house of those big ships; whereas if you call them, it's much harder to be seen and maybe even acknowledged. Anyway, wasn't trying to burden anyone with too much technology.

We all paint a vision in our head of what it is like in the wheel house of the big ships we pass. Most people apparently see Tom Hanks along with a couple of highly intelligent young proteges trying to impress the master by not taking their eyes off the screen.

The vision I have of what is happening in those wheel houses is based on reading the casualty section of Professional Mariner for the last few years and reading the accident reports involving sailboats.

http://www.atsb.gov.au/media/1539485/mo-2009-008.pdf

This is what I imagine is happening aboard ship:

"The audio component of Silver Yang's voyage data recorder (VDR) data indicates
that the second mate and lookout remained in the one location in the wheelhouse
during the 30 minutes leading up to the collision. During that period of time, they
were engaged in a conversation unrelated to their duties that continued without
interruption. It is likely that the two men were engrossed in their conversation and
that they were not as attentive to their lookout duties as they should have been.
They did not see the yacht until it was 0.6 miles away, only 2½ minutes before the
collision.
"

I agree AIS is great when it works but the above report also mentioned its limitations.