Nacho's Whoring Amazon Wishlist of Death
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Stone age refers to the original post. I'm sort of grouping crazy Atlantic crossings here.Here's the original post, from just 10 posts above:http://www.greatsociety.org/forums/index.php/topic,2881.msg55986.html#msg55986
Columbus was Portuguese.... no he wasn't, but he still was a rapist
Back on April 21st, 2007, American sailor Reid Stowe set sail from New York City on a unique, and challenging voyage. Dubbed the Mars Ocean Odyssey, the plan was for Stowe, along with his companion Soanya Ahmad, to head out onto the open ocean, and spend 1000 straight days there, without stopping for resupply or ever setting foot on land. The voyage was meant to demonstrate the feasibility of a prolonged spaceflight, such as a journey to Mars, and today marks Stowe's 1000th day at sea.The voyage has not been without its hardships. Just a few days after setting out, Stowe's ship, a schooner named Anne, strayed into a U.S. Navy missile test range off the New Jersey Coast and a few weeks after that, the vessel collided with a cargo ship, and suffered damage to its bowsprit. But perhaps the biggest setback was when Ahmad was forced to leave the expedition off the coast of Australia 305 days in. At the time, it was reported that she had "debilitating sea sickness", but It was later revealed that she was pregnant. She has since given birth to the couple's first child, a boy named Darshen, who was conceived at sea.Stowe continued the voyage alone, blogging his experiences at sea, and chasing his dream of proving that prolonged space travel is possible. In the process, he also set a record for the longest solo sea expedition ever, and as of today, he has achieved his other goal of spending 1000 days at sea, without resupply. An impressive feat to say the least.You would think that after a thousand days at sea, the sailor would be eager to get home and meet his son. But Stowe has elected to stay out on the ocean for a few more months. High winds and poor weather conditions make a return to New Your City a challenging prospect at the moment, so instead, he'll wait until June, when calmer weather will allow him to return much more safely.
Polar explorer sets out for second poleby Kraig Becker (RSS feed) on Mar 8th 2010 at 9:00AMWe've mentioned Eric Larsen a couple of times in the past few months. First, when he set off on his Save the Poles expedition, and again when he reached the South Pole, the first of three extreme destinations he has planned for this year. During the course of 2010, Larsen expects to reach all three "poles", which includes both the North and South Geographic Poles, as well as the summit of Mt. Everest, as he works to raise awareness for alternative clean energy sources and ways to reduce carbon emissions.With the start of the 2010 season for arctic expeditions hitting last week, Larsen has now begun the second stage of his endeavor. Eric and his companions, Antony Jinman and Darcy St Laurent, set out from Cape Discovery in Northern Canada last week. Ahead of them is a 450 mile unsupported journey to the top of the world, which means that they are dragging all of their gear and supplies behind them in sleds, while they cover the distance on skis, battling the most extreme weather and terrain on the planet.In his first updates from the ice, Eric says that so far, the journey north has been colder than the weather he experienced in Antarctica. The miles have been harder so far as well, with large areas of open water and giant ice fields impeding their progress. As a result, the team has not covered a lot of mileage so far, and negative drift has worked to deprive them of some of the miles they have achieved.If successful in reaching the North Pole, Eric will be two-thirds of the way to his goal. He plans to head to Everest in the fall, and a successful summit there would make him the first person to ever reach the "three poles" in a single calendar year.
Quote Reed boat sets off on ocean tripBy Mark PivacBBC NewsA team of explorers has set sail from the US for Spain in a 12-metre-long (40ft) reed boat, hoping to spend about two months sailing across the Atlantic.They are trying to prove that Stone Age people crossed the ocean thousands of years before Christopher Columbus in the 15th Century.Aymara Indians in Bolivia, who still use reed boats, built the new vessel.It takes its inspiration from prehistoric European cave paintings dating back more than 10,000 years.Surrounded by the modern New York skyline, the dozen-strong team put to sea in the seemingly flimsy boat made of reeds.The German biologist leading the expedition, Dominique Gorlitz, argues that traces of cocaine and nicotine found a few years ago in the stomach of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, Ramses II, were native to the Americas, so must have travelled to Africa by sea.He says he is also hoping to overturn current thinking that says the prevailing Atlantic winds would have allowed ancient mariners to sail west to the Americas, but would have prevented them from returning home.Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6294786.stmMore detail from June, with photos:http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,druck-486804,00.htmlQuoteSPIEGEL ONLINE - June 6, 2007, 03:11 PMURL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,486804,00.htmlSAILING BACK THROUGH TIMEGerman Plans Atlantic Crossing in Reed BoatBy Stephan OrthAn adventurer from the eastern German city of Chemnitz believes that sailors crossed the Atlantic as far back as 14,000 years ago. He plans to prove his theory by making the voyage on a homemade reed boat, built using prehistoric techniques.Dominique Görlitz may not have a sailing license, but he does have a dream: The man from the eastern German city of Chemnitz wants to cross the Atlantic from west to east on a reed boat built using prehistoric techniques. He plans to sail his 12-ton, 12.5-meter "Abora III" from New York to Portugal and Spain, via the Azores. His goal is to prove that it was possible to sail across the Atlantic as early as 14,000 years ago. "Traces of tobacco plants and cocaine were found in Egypt, in the tombs of Ramses II and Tutankhamun, for example, that clearly came from the New World," Görlitz told SPIEGEL ONLINE. There is a lot of scientific evidence that a trans-Atlantic exchange took place between prehistoric cultures, he says.He conjectures that there were trade relations between North America and northwestern Spain thousands of years before Columbus, and that some North American goods could have even made it to Africa. According to Görlitz, 14,000-year-old cave drawings from Spain indicate that the inhabitants of the region were knowledgeable about ocean currents in the Atlantic.Surpassing HeyerdahlGörlitz's role model and idol since childhood is Thor Heyerdahl, the Norwegian ethnologist who died in 2002. Heyerdahl, with his famous voyages on the "Kon-Tiki" and the "Ra II," wanted to prove that prehistoric peoples sailed the high seas. But despite his successful voyages, Heyerdahl's efforts were met with skepticism within the scientific community, especially when genetic researchers disproved his theories of the intermingling of South American and Polynesian cultures.Görlitz, a former physical education and biology teacher, has also met with criticism from scientists, and he is aware of the limited validity of his expedition. "We cannot prove that such voyages did in fact take place, but we can prove that it would have been technically possible," says the 40-year-old, whose project is part of his doctoral thesis at the University of Bonn.Unlike Heyerdahl, who sailed from Morocco to North America on the "Ra II" 37 years ago, Görlitz would have to build a boat that, thanks to stable leeboards, could also sail into the wind. His design makes it possible to sail at a 70-degree angle to the direction of the wind. "Thor Heyerdahl only sailed from East to West, with the wind at his back," says Görlitz. "You could toss a refrigerator into the water in Morocco and it would eventually end up in America."As long as the boat holds up, a westward Atlantic crossing is easier than many a Mediterranean voyage. "Phoenician seafarers already knew how to tack against the wind," says Görlitz. "The crossing from Spain to Egypt demanded more of sailors than a voyage from Africa to America."Test Run on the HudsonJust as Heyerdahl had his "Ra II" built by Bolivian Indians on Lake Titicaca, Görlitz is also entrusting the building of his vessel to the technical skills of the region's Aymara tribe, which still uses reed boats today. After studying petroglyphs and the scholarly literature for many years, Görlitz attempted to build as authentic a boat as possible. The result closely resembles Heyerdahl's "Ra."The hull was brought to New York in May, where the superstructure is currently being completed and preparations are underway for the launch. The "Abora III" will complete a test run on the Hudson River in mid-June before heading out to sea in early July, "as soon as we have good weather."With high swells, sudden changes in wind direction and powerful storms, the more than 6,000-kilometer (3,728-mile) stretch across the North Atlantic will be extremely challenging for Görlitz and his 11-member crew. Some are veterans of voyages with the boat's predecessors, the "Abora I" and "Abora II," while the others were recruited through ads in magazines, on the Internet and on television.Görlitz describes his crew as ordinary people from five different countries, people he believes have the strength of character to endure two months living in cramped quarters in the boat's two extremely small cabins. Five people will sleep next to each other in a space only 3 meters (about 10 feet) wide. The crew will do without the luxury of an onboard toilet, and there will be no boat accompanying the vessel for emergencies. But in one respect Görlitz has opted to dispense with prehistoric authenticity: He will use state-of-the-art GPS equipment to navigate the boat in the open ocean.The adventure almost ended before it began, when US customs agents found a beetle in the hull as the boat was being brought into the United States. It was only when a zoologist was able to prove that it had come from the United States and not Bolivia that the unusual cargo was allowed to enter the country.Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan
Reed boat sets off on ocean tripBy Mark PivacBBC NewsA team of explorers has set sail from the US for Spain in a 12-metre-long (40ft) reed boat, hoping to spend about two months sailing across the Atlantic.They are trying to prove that Stone Age people crossed the ocean thousands of years before Christopher Columbus in the 15th Century.Aymara Indians in Bolivia, who still use reed boats, built the new vessel.It takes its inspiration from prehistoric European cave paintings dating back more than 10,000 years.Surrounded by the modern New York skyline, the dozen-strong team put to sea in the seemingly flimsy boat made of reeds.The German biologist leading the expedition, Dominique Gorlitz, argues that traces of cocaine and nicotine found a few years ago in the stomach of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, Ramses II, were native to the Americas, so must have travelled to Africa by sea.He says he is also hoping to overturn current thinking that says the prevailing Atlantic winds would have allowed ancient mariners to sail west to the Americas, but would have prevented them from returning home.Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6294786.stm
SPIEGEL ONLINE - June 6, 2007, 03:11 PMURL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,486804,00.htmlSAILING BACK THROUGH TIMEGerman Plans Atlantic Crossing in Reed BoatBy Stephan OrthAn adventurer from the eastern German city of Chemnitz believes that sailors crossed the Atlantic as far back as 14,000 years ago. He plans to prove his theory by making the voyage on a homemade reed boat, built using prehistoric techniques.Dominique Görlitz may not have a sailing license, but he does have a dream: The man from the eastern German city of Chemnitz wants to cross the Atlantic from west to east on a reed boat built using prehistoric techniques. He plans to sail his 12-ton, 12.5-meter "Abora III" from New York to Portugal and Spain, via the Azores. His goal is to prove that it was possible to sail across the Atlantic as early as 14,000 years ago. "Traces of tobacco plants and cocaine were found in Egypt, in the tombs of Ramses II and Tutankhamun, for example, that clearly came from the New World," Görlitz told SPIEGEL ONLINE. There is a lot of scientific evidence that a trans-Atlantic exchange took place between prehistoric cultures, he says.He conjectures that there were trade relations between North America and northwestern Spain thousands of years before Columbus, and that some North American goods could have even made it to Africa. According to Görlitz, 14,000-year-old cave drawings from Spain indicate that the inhabitants of the region were knowledgeable about ocean currents in the Atlantic.Surpassing HeyerdahlGörlitz's role model and idol since childhood is Thor Heyerdahl, the Norwegian ethnologist who died in 2002. Heyerdahl, with his famous voyages on the "Kon-Tiki" and the "Ra II," wanted to prove that prehistoric peoples sailed the high seas. But despite his successful voyages, Heyerdahl's efforts were met with skepticism within the scientific community, especially when genetic researchers disproved his theories of the intermingling of South American and Polynesian cultures.Görlitz, a former physical education and biology teacher, has also met with criticism from scientists, and he is aware of the limited validity of his expedition. "We cannot prove that such voyages did in fact take place, but we can prove that it would have been technically possible," says the 40-year-old, whose project is part of his doctoral thesis at the University of Bonn.Unlike Heyerdahl, who sailed from Morocco to North America on the "Ra II" 37 years ago, Görlitz would have to build a boat that, thanks to stable leeboards, could also sail into the wind. His design makes it possible to sail at a 70-degree angle to the direction of the wind. "Thor Heyerdahl only sailed from East to West, with the wind at his back," says Görlitz. "You could toss a refrigerator into the water in Morocco and it would eventually end up in America."As long as the boat holds up, a westward Atlantic crossing is easier than many a Mediterranean voyage. "Phoenician seafarers already knew how to tack against the wind," says Görlitz. "The crossing from Spain to Egypt demanded more of sailors than a voyage from Africa to America."Test Run on the HudsonJust as Heyerdahl had his "Ra II" built by Bolivian Indians on Lake Titicaca, Görlitz is also entrusting the building of his vessel to the technical skills of the region's Aymara tribe, which still uses reed boats today. After studying petroglyphs and the scholarly literature for many years, Görlitz attempted to build as authentic a boat as possible. The result closely resembles Heyerdahl's "Ra."The hull was brought to New York in May, where the superstructure is currently being completed and preparations are underway for the launch. The "Abora III" will complete a test run on the Hudson River in mid-June before heading out to sea in early July, "as soon as we have good weather."With high swells, sudden changes in wind direction and powerful storms, the more than 6,000-kilometer (3,728-mile) stretch across the North Atlantic will be extremely challenging for Görlitz and his 11-member crew. Some are veterans of voyages with the boat's predecessors, the "Abora I" and "Abora II," while the others were recruited through ads in magazines, on the Internet and on television.Görlitz describes his crew as ordinary people from five different countries, people he believes have the strength of character to endure two months living in cramped quarters in the boat's two extremely small cabins. Five people will sleep next to each other in a space only 3 meters (about 10 feet) wide. The crew will do without the luxury of an onboard toilet, and there will be no boat accompanying the vessel for emergencies. But in one respect Görlitz has opted to dispense with prehistoric authenticity: He will use state-of-the-art GPS equipment to navigate the boat in the open ocean.The adventure almost ended before it began, when US customs agents found a beetle in the hull as the boat was being brought into the United States. It was only when a zoologist was able to prove that it had come from the United States and not Bolivia that the unusual cargo was allowed to enter the country.Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan
The ABORA III concludes its journey.After sailing more than 2000 nautical miles across the Atlantic aboard the reed boat ABORA III, Dominique Görlitz has called an end to his archaeological experiment. He and his crew of 10 set out from New York City harbour on July 11, and spent 56 days at sea. A series of storms and gale-force winds broke the boat apart a week ago, providing a challenging learning opportunity for the scientist and his crew. Although they did not reach the Azores, Görlitz sees the project as a success."We have collected a large bank of empirical data and hands-on experiences that further help us to understand pre-historic seafaring and trade. Our trip has not been easy, and in the end a gale broke the make-shift rudder that we were forced to craft after an earlier storm stole my stern and damaged the original twin rudders. The incident gave us an understanding of how ancient sailors could have coped with such dramatic challenges, but now, unable to craft a new rudder due to lack of spare parts we have chosen to accept assistance from another ship." stated Görlitz.Working on his Ph.D. in botany, Görlitz towed bags of seeds behind his vessel. He intends to examine them with a team of scientists at the University of Bonn and the Institute for Plant Research and Genetics at Gatersleben. Traces of two new world plants, tobacco and coca, have been found in the mummy of Ramses II. If seeds from these plants cannot germinate after floating across the Atalntic, then it would suggest that they were brought back by trans-Atlantic seafarers.On Wednesday the crew dismantled the boat, taking off all equipment as well as pieces of the boat for exhibition purposes. They boarded the sailboat, which originally was chartered to bring a ZDF camera crew to film the ABORA III.The ABORA III was also a social experiment of sorts, bringing together 11 people from four nations ranging in age from 21 to 63. The team exhibited strong teamwork during times of treacherous seas as well as during times of calm."Observing the individuals grow together as a crew was a pleasant experience, and I am also proud to have been able to provide them with a lifelong experience." said Görlitz.
http://www.gadling.com/2008/04/10/hollywood-stuntman-to-sail-atlantic-in-a-popsicle-stick-ship/Quote31 world record breaker and former Hollywood stuntman Robert McDonald's new adventure is to cross the Atlantic in a 15-meter ship made of 15 million ice-cream sticks, that looks like a replica of a Viking ship.A lot of the sticks were used, steam-cleaned ones and about 13-million of them were donated by Unilever. He made the ship, stick by stick, with the help of his son and 5000 children from Holland; the sticks have been stuck together by salt-water proof glue. This ship is probably the world's largest handmade recycled object.McDonald's creative and risk-filled life stems from the fact that he was injured in a gas explosion that killed his parents and six-siblings, and confined him to 5-years of hospital bed rest. All his feats are motivated by a strong and simple belief that he wants to share with kids: "you can do anything". Part of McDonald's fearless stunt portfolio includes climbing the Twin Towers in 1995, and free-climbing the Grand Canyon.A dangerous expedition but possible; the ship is undergoing various sea-trials at the moment. Apparently, McDonald said that when a boat inspector analyzed one of his planks made of 5000 popsicle sticks, he pronounced it 5-times stronger than steel.(!)According to a Reuters report, he currently is looking for a crew to sail the ship across Atlantic from Holland to America as well as of course, funding.
31 world record breaker and former Hollywood stuntman Robert McDonald's new adventure is to cross the Atlantic in a 15-meter ship made of 15 million ice-cream sticks, that looks like a replica of a Viking ship.A lot of the sticks were used, steam-cleaned ones and about 13-million of them were donated by Unilever. He made the ship, stick by stick, with the help of his son and 5000 children from Holland; the sticks have been stuck together by salt-water proof glue. This ship is probably the world's largest handmade recycled object.McDonald's creative and risk-filled life stems from the fact that he was injured in a gas explosion that killed his parents and six-siblings, and confined him to 5-years of hospital bed rest. All his feats are motivated by a strong and simple belief that he wants to share with kids: "you can do anything". Part of McDonald's fearless stunt portfolio includes climbing the Twin Towers in 1995, and free-climbing the Grand Canyon.A dangerous expedition but possible; the ship is undergoing various sea-trials at the moment. Apparently, McDonald said that when a boat inspector analyzed one of his planks made of 5000 popsicle sticks, he pronounced it 5-times stronger than steel.(!)According to a Reuters report, he currently is looking for a crew to sail the ship across Atlantic from Holland to America as well as of course, funding.
Long distance hiking legend Andrew Skurka is off on another adventure, this time taking on a trek through the Alaskan wilderness that will take seven months to complete, and will cover more than 4700 miles. Dubbed the Alaska-Yukon Expedition, the journey will take Skurka through eight national parks, six in the U.S. and two in Canada, while crossing four mountain ranges, and some of the most remote wilderness found anywhere in North America.Skurka set out from Kotzebue, Alaska a few days back, and will now travel south to the Iditarod Trail, then east to the Alaskan Range and the Lost Coast. From there, it's on to the Inside Passage, up the Yukon River to the Ogilive and Richardson Mountains, before eventually turning west, and running the length of the Brooks Range, one of the last great wildernesses on Earth. Finally, he'll return to Kotzebue, completing the circuit and ending the adventure back where he began.For now, Skurka will be traveling on skis, but much of the journey will be completed on foot and with the use of a packraft, a small, inflatable boat that he can carry with him. For most people, the thought of covering more than 4700 miles through remote backcountry, under your own power, would seem like an insurmountable challenge, but for Skurka, it is just another long hike to add to his resume. In the past, he has hiked both the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails, as well as a route from the Atlantic to the Pacific that covered more than 7700 miles. His 6875 mile Great Western Trails Route a few years back also earned him the title of National Geographic Adventurer of the Year.You'll be able to follow Skurka's adventures with weekly updates on the National Geographic Adventure Blog and through his Twitter feed @andrewskurka. If all goes according to plan, he should be finishing up the journey in the early part of October.
Last Saturday, the 105-foot long, tri-hulled sailing vessel Groupama 3, captained by French skipper Franck Cammas, completed an around the world cruise that resulted in a new speed record for circumnavigating the globe. The journey took 48 days, 7 hours, 44 minutes and 52 seconds to complete, beating the old record, set in 2005, by more than two days.
When I was 15 years old I thought the most important thing in the world was making the JV field hockey team and not getting any bad grades on my report card. But apparently 15 year old Parker Liautaud has better things to do, like being one of the youngest kids ever to ski the Last Degree of the North Pole. Parker will attempt the mega-expedition all in an effort to engage young adults to take a stand for the planet.On March 31, 15 year old Parker Liautaud will attempt to be one of the youngest kids ever to ski the Last Degree of the North Pole. While a 12 year old and 14 year old did ski the last 51 km leg of the journey with their parents in 2007, Parker will go the full 110 km accompanied by only a guide. The expedition takes between 13 and 14 days depending on the shifting of the ice. The ice is constantly shifting and adjusting. In fact, at times they may set up camp and then wake up in the morning on the same piece of ice, but miles from where they set up camp due to the shift. Additionally, Parker and his seasoned guide and trainer, Doug Stoup, will at times, have to get into immersion suits and actually swim across freezing waters. The ice plates can often collide and create large walls of ice, hindering their initial route and forcing the two to find an alternate route. Parker decided to attempt the expedition in an effort to inform the next generation of change makers about global climate change and the issues associated with the arctic.He's been training vigorously in preparation for the trip, working extra hard to add weight to his teenage frame. His strength training has consisted of wearing a 25 pound weighted vest while dragging a weighted sled around a track in his native country of England. And that's a good thing because come March 31, Parker will have only his training and the aid of Doug Stoup to help him on his journey. Parker has very limited experience in this arena, having only been to the North Pole on one other occasion for an eco-tour.
It has been more than a year since we mentioned David de Rothschild and his Plastiki Expedition. At the time, he was putting the finishing touches on his ship, the Plastiki, which is made out of more than 12,000 recycled bottles, and preparing to set sale from San Francisco to Australia. Unfortunately, due to a series of setbacks, that journey didn't get underway as scheduled, but with those obstacles out of the way, de Rothschild and his crew set out last week on their voyage at last.The journey is expected to take roughly 100 days to complete, finishing up in Sydney, with a stop over at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch while en route. This patch is a huge area of accumulated garbage, much of it made out of plastic, that is believed to be at least the size of Texas. One of the goals of the project is to raise awareness of the amount of plastic trash we are accumulating and what it is doing to the environment, and to that end, de Rothschild and his crew are hoping that by visiting the Garbage Patch, they'll help to maker others aware of its existence.The environmentally friendly expedition doesn't end with the design and con remarkable ship. On board the Pastiki, the crew uses wind and trailing propeller turbines, bicycle generators and solar panels to create electricity to power an array of technological devices, including computers, GPS navigation systems, and satellite communications devices.You can follow along with the journey on the Plastiki website and track the progress of the catamaran itself. As of this writing, they have traveled approximately 750 nautical miles, but with more than 10,000 more to go, there is plenty of adventure ahead. You can also follow the voyage on Twitter at @Plastiki.
