wayne Posted December 25, 2007 Posted December 25, 2007 (edited) Look for a copy of tomorrows Post Intelligencer ,showing his brutal trip he is having on the high Pacific . He has been going in a giant wet circle for the last month of so. His boat actually capsized the other day. Edited December 25, 2007 by wayne1112 Quote
pindude Posted December 25, 2007 Posted December 25, 2007 Erden's been blown and pushed around just north of the equator in a troubling area for almost two months now, but fortunately *appears* to be making progress to getting out of it even though he recently got battered. What Erden is doing--solo crossing the Pacific Ocean in a row boat--has only successfully been done 5 times previously. I'm not an A5 climber or a serious ocean rower, but believe Erden's P.O. crossing is much greater than soloing an A5 El Cap route. He's an incredible inspiration, not just for this solo crossing but all he's doing with Around-n-Over. I believe Erden will be successful, but he's already been on the seas absolutely solo now since he left SF Bay July 10 and he's about half-way at this point. He recently mentioned he has about 3 month's food supply left. He'll make much better progress once he finally escapes the convergence zone he's been in. His regular dispatches are amazing reading, and I think of him at least daily--especially with the rough stuff he's going through now. Erden, Merry Christmas and God bless you. My best thoughts are with you. --Steve Quote
chirp Posted December 25, 2007 Posted December 25, 2007 WOW! Grats and good wishes to him. I think his undertaking is pretty much A5 without a rope. Mebbe a crash pad at thebottom for giggles but still very risky. Nice! Quote
vagrant Posted December 25, 2007 Posted December 25, 2007 this sounds like soloing A5 in flip flops. This guy is braver than me. And apparently deals better with being cold and wet for long periods of time. How did he get his boat flipped back over when it capsized? Quote
catbirdseat Posted December 25, 2007 Posted December 25, 2007 I believe the boat is designed to be self-righting. Some times a boat will be meta-stable upside down, but wave action allows the ballast to right the boat. Quote
dmuja Posted December 25, 2007 Posted December 25, 2007 I check on him from time to time, last 90 days have been kind of slow, hope the worst is over. Hang in there Erden, keep the life jacket close at hand! Quote
pindude Posted December 25, 2007 Posted December 25, 2007 (edited) His boat is designed to be self-righting (eta: cbs, you beat me to it), which it did while Erden was in the enclosed cabin grabbing a few winks of sleep while he thought he could. He estimated it had rolled 120 to 150 degrees before it snapped back to upright. Here 's more on his boat. You can read more about Erden's recent capsizing here as Wayne posted originally. Scroll to the bottom and read the most recent previous dispatch "...and capsized!" Edited December 25, 2007 by pindude Quote
catbirdseat Posted December 25, 2007 Posted December 25, 2007 The newspaper article is not in the Seattle Times. Rather, it's in the PI. Quote
wayne Posted December 25, 2007 Author Posted December 25, 2007 D'oh. He called me today from the boat.Poor guy is rotting out there. Quote
pindude Posted December 25, 2007 Posted December 25, 2007 Good to hear his voice on the audio clips linked from the P-I article, although the subject matter is sobering. From the recordings made on the 22nd, he said it was his fourth attempt to get through the countercurrent, and he hoped he would get through it by the 25th. Can't wait for the next dispatch. Here's to you getting through, Erden, and back to regular steady progress, and some sunshine! Quote
high_on_rock Posted December 25, 2007 Posted December 25, 2007 I live for Erden’s updates! It seems that the only adventure in my life right now is living vicariously through Erden. What an adventure. As he currently suffers the lonliness, the frustration of going in circles, and the enduring rain; it merely reminds me that the tougher the journey the greater the spiritual reward at the end. While I certainly wish him a safe and successful journey, I do not wish him an easy one. Erden is certainly more alive right now than am I. I can only hope his is living every moment of this adventure in full spiritual awakening. Quote
powderhound Posted December 25, 2007 Posted December 25, 2007 my dad is wondering how old he is? Quote
sobo Posted December 26, 2007 Posted December 26, 2007 my dad is wondering how old he is? From his AnO profile, he was 41 when he quit the corporate world to work for his dream. The copyright at the bottom of the page is 2003, which (if left un-updated since written) would put him in his mid 40s now. His resume, linked at the bottom of his profile page, shows his last corporate job before Around-n-Over ending in 2002. From this, I reach nearly the same conclusion as above. I'd say he's somewhere between 44 and 47 yoa. Quote
pindude Posted December 27, 2007 Posted December 27, 2007 (edited) About 45 is right...I remember he is just slightly younger than myself. New dispatch just posted: Erden's first in 3 days. No mention of his "progress," but it's like Erden to not dwell on the difficulties and focus on other info. Over the past 3 days he's traveled SW for a distance of 58 nautical miles, so perhaps he's breaking through the countercurrent. I'll hold off on the moondance figure until we know for sure. Here's another photo, this one showing Erden in his boat, and taken by Terry Schmitt as shown on the oceanrowing.com site. Not sure, but looks like it was taken in SF Bay about the time of his departure. Edited December 27, 2007 by pindude Quote
high_on_rock Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 I have really wished I could be out on the boat in Erden's place, up until the last month. Man, it must be getting old in that rain day after day; good thing he trained by living in seattle. Hang in there Erden! Quote
wayne Posted January 11, 2008 Author Posted January 11, 2008 the fact that hes writing less is a bad sign Quote
sobo Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 Chin up, man! Maybe's he's finally caught a current and he's too busy to write? Quote
catbirdseat Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 I wonder if he is trying too hard to go southwest. I would think that any southing one could get would be the ticket, even if it means going somewhat east. Quote
pindude Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 the fact that hes writing less is a bad sign He's not writing less. His frequency and length of dispatches has been fairly consistent since he started--exactly 6 months ago today. It's been common for Erden to go a day or two without a dispatch, and most recently he's provided 6 since Jan 3. Not sure what all Erden's been telling you privately over the phone, wayne1112, but at least his overall tone in his public dispatches is positive. Yes, in today's dispatch he mentions how the rain's been getting him down, but he also figured out he had standing water in his cabin, possibly from his Dec 20 capsizing, causing what must have been a really fine smell. That would've gotten me down as well, but he's now got that taken care of. I wonder if he is trying too hard to go southwest. I would think that any southing one could get would be the ticket, even if it means going somewhat east. He's had a tough time trying to get south of a strong countercurrent and it's secondary currents. However, from his Jan 6 dispatch, it appears he's cleared them. In today's dispatch, he mentions his goal of landfall in Australia. His tracker has him now going southwest and near 6 deg latitude, making great progress toward the equator. Chin up is right. Looks to me like things are looking better for Erden than they have in at least 2 months. Quote
wayne Posted January 16, 2008 Author Posted January 16, 2008 JEEZ! My heart goes out to Nancy! Good job lady! Quote
pindude Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 JEEZ! My heart goes out to Nancy! Good job lady! No kidding, can't imagine what she had to go through, as well as everyone else who knew about it before knowing Erden was indeed OK. Good to know about limitations with the ARGOS system, but even better, that folks including the USCG are ready to roll if the shit really hits the fan. Quote
AlpineK Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 That's some hard core stuff Erden's doing. Quote
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