 | | 10 Jul 2003
The weather at ocean is changing instantly. Almost the whole day yesterday I was enjoying lovely weather, having good help from waves and winds, which were running the proper direction. The sun was shining, it was calm and quiet.
And then, in the early evening, as if somebody switched some different button on. Now both wind and current are pushing me west, but I don't need it! The sea is high and if only I had my hatches open, several litres of water would be in the cabin already. And we are talking about salt water, that takes ages to get dry and after then leaves salty-greasy spots.
At the bottom of the picture you can see a rope. This is a floating anchor. Alas! It cannot keep me steady in one place. The drift towards West is going to be considerable.
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 | | 10 jul 03
Погода в океане меняется мнгновенно. Почти весь день вчера была хорошая погода, волны и ветер были в нужную мне сотору. Светило солнце, было тихо и спокойно. А к вечеру, как будто кто-то переключил какой-то тумблер. Ветер и волны несут меня на запад, но мне туда не надо :-) Сильные волны. Если бы у меня сейчас небыл закрыт люк, то несколько литров воды было бы уже в каюте. Причем воды очень соленой, которая долго сохнет и оставляет солено-жирные пятна.
На фотографии, внизу кадра, видна веревка. Это морской якорь. Увы, но полностью удержать меня на месте он не можжет. Снос на запад будет приличным.
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 | | 09 Jul 03
Tired.. Still meeting a lot of ships at night. Well, having such an equipment as "SEA ME" enables me to sleep more quietly, not worrying; but I still have to control the situation around me, that's why I still have to get up and check the horizon every one or two hours.
It is very hot this afternoon. A lot of insects keep flying to have a rest on my boat, and some flies hurt bite.
Today there came a butterfly. She had to be very much tired, and as she sat on the boat she was still unsteady for weariness. But then she found a convenient place and stiffened - no reaction to my movements. What future expects her ahead? She certainly will not hold on up to France, but I am afraid, neither she will up to a coast ...
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 | | 09 jul 03
Устал. Еще много судов встречаются ночью. Конечно при наличии такого прибора как "SEA ME" я сплю спокойней, но контролировать все происходящее надо, а по-этому все равно встаю каждые час-два.
Днем сегодня очень жарко. Ко мне на лодку залетает большое колличество насекомых. Некоторые мухи больно кусаются. А вот сегодня прилетела бабочка. Видно, что очень уставшая. Как села на лодку, так еще вся шаталась, а потом нашла удобное место и застыла. На мои движения не реагирует. Что ее ждет дальше? До Франции она конечно не дотянет, но и до берега боюсь тоже...
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 | | 08 Jul 03
I've spent the whole day rowing and the day was fine - both waves and winds were moderate and were pushing me in proper direction. My face got sunburnt a little bit more (again).
Thinking a lot about my sweet home, missing Lyudmila [wife] and Dimka [son Dimitry] immensely.
Alas! No way to arrive in time for the First of September*, and that was so important for me!
* - The First of September is a fixed day, when children from all over former Soviet Union are back to school after summer holidays. This year it will be the first time that Theodore's son Dimitry will go to school: "For the first time - to the first form"
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 | | 08 Jul 03
Целый день провел в гребле. Был хороший день. Волны и ветер умеренные и в нужную сторону. Немного обгорело лицо (снова) :-). Очень хочется домой. Очень скучаю по Людочке и Димке. Увы, но на его 1-ое сентября я не успею, а для меня это было очень важно.
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 | | 07 July 2003
In the morning there were already fewer balloons in the water, but still there were some. And there is still a lot of sea-weed. On the photo (click on it to enlarge) you can see a tin covered with barnacles. The bottom of my boat is painted with special chemical compound to protect it from such a growth. Well, today I had a chance to experience how it works and smeared myself with it. This paint is like white-wash, it doesn't form one layer, so when a barnacle tries to attach itself to it, it peels off with the unwelcome guest together. After noon I had to make some small repair to my rudder and for this purpose had to go out into water. Swimming along the boat and working there naturally made me touch both bottom of the boat and the rudder, so I came back on the deck just shining blue (bottom paint was on me).
By the way, it was not such a pleasure for me to go out this time, even a little scary, because some pritty big ocean inhabitants, that looked much like sharks, were staying next to the boat before and after my going out. Most probably those were marlines.
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 | | 07 Jul 2003
Сегодня воздушных шаров было меньше :-) Но были.
По-прежнему много водорослей.
На фотографии (Можно ее увеличить, кликнув по ней) банка, которая обрасла молюсками.
Моя лодка покрашена специальной краской от такого обрастания. Но именно по-этому я ей сегодня легко вымазался. Краска как "побелка", она не однослойна, просто как известь, молюск как приростет так сразу с куском краски и отваливается. Так вот, пришлось сегодня ремонтировать руль., а для этого лезть в воду. Естественно касался днища и самого руля, вот и вымазался синей краской.
Кстати в воду лезть было крайне не приятно, я бы сказал страшно. Видел каких-то обитателей океана похожих на акул (до и после ремонта руля). Возможно это были Марлины.
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 | | Sea of baloons
July 6 th
Yesterday I put my oars into water again, rowed out from Marina Atlantic Highlands up to the North cape of Sandy Hook, then turned East, and boat was immediately taken up by moderate breeze. That's what I had been waiting for! Perfect weather - West wind 10-15 knots!
But I shall describe that day later. And today I was entertained by a lot of balloons, surrounding my boat all way long. They must have been carried away from the land and were floating all around the bay. I have even picked up the whole sheaf. Some of them were already blown off and I threw them away. But some were still worth to be documented on a photo, as you can see.
It made me recollect Tom Hank's film : the first prize for the second plan role was awarded to a ball (by Wilson Company :)).
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 | | 6 июля
День отхода опишу позже. Сегодня меня повеселило то, что на протяжении всего дня я вижу огромное колличество воздушных шаров. Их унесло с земли и теперь они плавают по воде.
Я даже подобрал целую связку. Некоторые из них уже сдулись, и я их выкинул. А с одним я на фото. Вспомнился фильм с Томом Хэнксом. Премия за лучшую роль второго плана - получил мячик фирмы wilson :-).
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 | | Back to Atlantic Highlands
July 3rd ( translated from Russian)
Yesterday I had quite a tough day. Almost straight after my departure from Manhattan Sailing Club, the wind changed for South wind, so from 11am till 5pm I was rowing almost non-stop against that head-wind (a hard task for the first day!), because the major part of the boat is above the surface (in fact only 15-20 cm of her bottom is under the surface), and she is much more drifted by wind than by current. And one more problem: I could change into my "robe" only after I rowed far away from the embankment, but that time was long enough for me to get sunburnt .
As a result of head wind I couldn't make it out of NY harbour within one low tide (6 hours) and at the beginning of the next high tide I found myself almost under Verrazano Narrows Bridge, at the narrowing part of the Harbour, becoming a "hazardous object" for numerous passing by vessels. Weather forecast was giving South wind for two more days. So I had to accept a tow to get under the bridge and decided to wait for favourable wind in Atlantic Highlands.
In the morning I could hardly get up, every step was making blood to rush towards my burnt calves, which seemed to be ready to burst.
Now the whole day long I am applying all sorts of cream, meant to ease a lot of a sunburnt one :)
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 | | Я снова в Atlantic Highlands
Вчерашний день был достаточно тяжелым.
Почти сразу после выхода из Манхеттенского яхт-клуба, направление ветра изменилось на южное (с юга на север).
То есть на протяжении с 11 утра и до 5-ти вечера мне пришлось идти против ветра.
Большая часть лодки находится над водой и по этому она больше подвержена ветру чем течению.
Переодеться в "рабочую" одежду я смог только когда отошел от набережной на приличное расстояние, но за это время я успел хорошо обгореть. При хождении кровь активно приливает к щиколоткам, и кажется, что они сейчас просто лопнут. Особенно сложно было встать с кровати утром. Теперь целый день хожу и мажу себя всякими мазями облегчающими участь обгоревшего :-)
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 | | July 2, Teddy is leaving today!
At 10.30 AM (EST), Teddy is expected to leave from Battery Park at the Southern tip of Manhattan, New York.
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 | | Ready, steady, ROW
Time is up for Teddy. Getting the final tech together on ExplorersWeb office in New York, he has set his final deadline to commence his historic row from New York to France. Teddy will set out Tuesday from the Manhattan Yacht Club in Chelsea. The row will happen roughly one hundred years after the previous: When two Norwegian-Americans took on the challenge set up by the NY Police-Gazette newspaper. 10 000 US dollars in award lured the two brave fishermen to row the violent North Atlantic ocean in an open boat.
Teddy has rowed the Atlantic before, from Europe to Barbardos. If he is successful, he will be the third person in the world to complete a return trip on the Atlantic. Teddy, a citizen of Ukraine has hurried to get his boat and stuff together before the North Atlantic storms set in. The crucial part will arrive close to Europe, as fall weather approaches.
Teddy was a part of ExplorersWebs exhibition on the recent NY CEBIT fair, where the new engineering of Teddy's boat was displayed right beside the original engineering of the Norwegians boat. The exact replica of their boat now sits in New Jersey. Teddy plans on sending dispatches and pics all through his adventure, using the Contact 2.0 expedition setup.
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