Thirteen is such an unlucky number in nautical history that sailors are advised to use “12+1” in lieu of the seemingly doomed digits.
Day 13 of the Great Pacific Race—the Monterey-to-Hawaii rowing race organizers have tagged the biggest, baddest human endurance challenge on the planet—will not ease those superstitions.
Two solo participants, Daryl Farmer (who was representing team Rowing 4 Reefs and Jim Bauer (Row for Hope), dropped out on unlucky 13th. (The race also includes tandem and four-person row boats.)
Farmer struggled with seasickness ever since rejoining the race as part of the second wave of boats to hit the water.
Confined to his cabin for most of his trip, race officials report, "he became severely dehydrated and despite conversations with our medical consultants, he was unable to hold down much food or liquids since re-starting the row." (Get more from the GPR's official statement on Farmer.)
Farmer's vessel, however, is still at sea, and the search for the beloved "Bo," the only boat on record to have made a complete Pacific Ocean crossing, continues with pleas for the assistance of marine traffic and three marine conservation organizations operating from separate locations: New Zealand, Monterey Bay and Los Angeles. (#BringBohome to join the cause.)
“I'm heartbroken that I couldn’t continue in the race and leaving Bo out there was the worst feeling in the world," Farmer says. "I’m safe, though, and want to say a huge and sincere thanks to the crew of [support boat] OPA for braving those conditions to come and get me, a truly humbling experience for which I will be forever grateful. All I want to do now is find Bo and bring her home.”
GPR's statement on Bauer reports that he contacted the Coast Guard after his vessel began taking on water. The USCG extracted Bauer via helicopter. The position of his vessel will continue to be monitored, and it's unclear what measures will be taken to retrieve it.
According to GPR's Day 13 Race Report, "both rowers are in general good health and are recuperating."
As for the rest of the rowers, they will continue their journey westward, despite some setbacks.
The women of the Boatylicious team, for instance, have also encountered bad luck, with three broken oars and one lost overboard.
According to their recent blog post, Meredith Loring of team Fat Chance Row has been swept overboard and saved by her fellow crew member twice in the past few days.
The leading four-person team, Uniting Nations, seems to have escaped the misfortune and instead has been reaping the benefit of Pacific trade winds.
In advance of the race, GPR founder and director Chris Martin told the Weekly in a piece called "A historic Great Pacific Race aims to row from Monterey to Hawaii, with you involved," that rowing solo is a lot like Life of Pi, minus the tiger.
"Night is especially spellbinding, especially a full moon that illuminates the waves," he said.
He did add that in the open sea there is little refuge from salt sores or monotony, and that his greatest longing was "the opportunity to put one foot in front of the other for more than three steps."
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.