84-year old set to cross Atlantic on a raft

by Kraig Becker on

84-year old British adventurer Anthony Smith has big plans for 2011. In January of next year, he and three other men, will attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean aboard a raft made out of plastic gas pipes. Setting out from the Canary islands, they’ll cover more than 2800 miles, in 60 days, finishing up in the Bahamas sometime in March. If successful, it’ll be the culmination of a dream that Smith has waited nearly 60 years to see realized.

The former RAF pilot has led quite a life of adventure. Back in 1963 he became the first Briton to cross the Alps in a hot air balloon and he has explored east Africa by balloon as well. He is also an accomplished filmmaker and the author of more than 30 books. The ocean crossing has been his goal for most of his life however, and five years ago he took a big step towards making it a reality when he took out an advertisement in the Telegraph, a popular paper in the U.K. That ad simply read: “Fancy rafting across the Atlantic? Famous traveller requires 3 crew. Must be OAP. Serious adventurers only.”

From that advertisement, Smith found his crew, and he’ll now be joined on the voyage by 57-year old yachtsman David Hildred, 61-year old hot air balloonist Robin Batchelor, and Andy Bainbridge, who at 56, is the young man of the group. Bainbridge is an experienced sailor and long time friend of Smith.

The raft is being built out of 13-yard sections of pipe that will have both ends sealed, trapping the air inside and making the craft buoyant. There will also be two small shelters, built from pig huts, that will provide the crew a respite from the elements, and a small fence will line the outside of the boat to prevent them from falling overboard. The simple boat has been dubbed the An-Tiki, a nod to Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki, and will have an “elderly crossing” sign on the sail.

Smith and his team hope to take advantage of the strong trade winds that arrive in January so that they can avoid the Atlantic storm season and finish the voyage on schedule.

[Photo credit: Andre Crowley]

Scotsman Don Lennox to row the Atlantic and run across the U.S.

by Kraig Becker on

Scotsman Don Lennox has a busy summer planned. The endurance athlete set out from Battery Park in New York City this past Sunday with three other men, in an attempt to break the speed record for rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. Don, and his teammates, will continue to row in two-man shifts, for 24-hours a day, until they reach England, which they are hoping to do in roughly 45 days time.

For most of us, that would be enough adventure for the year, but for Lennox it is just the beginning. Upon arrival in the U.K., he’ll head directly to the airport to catch a flight to California, where he’ll start the second phase of his amazing test of endurance. Once there, he’ll begin a 3100 mile cross-country odyssey in which he hopes to run coast -to- coast in less than 55 days, setting another speed record in the process. Yep, that’s right, this crazy Scotsman is trying to row across the Atlantic and run across the United States, in just 100 days time.

Don isn’t just doing this just so he can get a good workout however. He’s also hoping to raise funds and awareness for the Help For Heroes and the Wounded Warrior Project, two organizations that help service men and women who have been wounded in combat to get back on their feet, and on with their lives. Don has set a loft goal of raising £1 million for the two charities.

You can follow Don’s progress by reading his blog, which can be found by clicking here. You can also track the progress of the rowing team across the Atlantic by clicking here.

So? What do you have planned for the summer?

American woman prepares to row the Atlantic

by Kraig Becker on

Katie Spotz has big plans for the new year. The 22-year old American is currently in Senegal where she is completing the final preparations for her attempt to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean. If everything goes according to plan, she’ll set out on her journey on the first day of 2010, and won’t step back onto dry land for three months.

The young woman from Cleveland, Ohio will depart from Dakar, and cover approximately 2500 miles, with the hopes of arriving in South America, somewhere along the coast of Guiana, in approximately 70-100 days. While out on the ocean, she’ll face huge waves, massive storms, and endless days alone on the water.

Katie will be making her journey on a specially designed 19-foot long rowboat. The boat has a small cabin that can offer some shelter from inclement weather, and specially designed hatches will help keep her gear and equipment dry. Two freshwater tanks are used as ballasts, while offering an emergency water supply, and the solar panels mounted along the deck will help keep Katie’s communications equipment charged, so that she can stay in touch while at sea. She’ll be making updates on her website, and sending back dispatches on her progress once she gets underway.

While the ocean row will be a challenge unlike anything that Katie has done before, she isn’t doing it just for herself. She is using the opportunity to raise funds and awareness of the Blue Planet Run, an organization dedicated to financing projects designed to deliver clean drinking water in remote places across the planet.

To follow along with Katie’s adventure stop by her website where you will find more information on her ocean row and read updates as she prepares to hit the water. Then return in the New Year to track her progress and watch her make an attempt on history. If she is successful, she’ll be the youngest person to ever row solo across an ocean, and the first American to row from Africa to South America.

Good luck Katie!

Titantic memorial cruise announced for 2012

by Kraig Becker on

History buffs and travelers with a sense of the macabre take note! 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, and to commemorate U.K. based Miles Morgan Travel is planning a cruise that will follow the same path as that iconic vessel. Presumably without the iceberg.

On April 8, 2012, a chartered ship named the Balmoral will set sail from Southhampton, England, just as Titanic did 100 years earlier. The ship will have its first stop over in Cobh, Ireland, which is also a port of call on the original voyage. From there, it is out on to the open water of the Northern Atlantic, where, on April 15th, the Balmoral will visit the exact spot of the sinking of Titanic, exactly a century after the fact. The passengers and crew will then hold a memorial for those that were lost on that tragic day, before proceeding on to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where they will visit three cemeteries, where passengers of Titanic found their final resting place. Finally, the voyage will finish up in New York City, the same destination that the “unsinkable” Titanic was bound for on that fateful journey.

The Balmoral can hold 1350 passengers and sails with a crew of 510. The luxury liner will serve a menu that matches the one from a century before, and live bands will play music from that era as well. Passengers can attend special historical lectures while en route and enjoy a cruise that will be a bit like stepping back in time. Prices start at $3900 and each of the 710 cabins is expected to be sold out.

For more information on this very unique cruise or to book your own cabin, go to BortonOverSeas.com, the company in charge of taking reservations for the voyage. Their Titatanic Memorial Cruise page has everything you’ll need to know before you follow the famous ship into history.

Woman gives birth over Atlantic on New Year’s Eve

by Tom Johansmeyer on

On a flight from Amsterdam to Boston, USA Today reports that a woman of unknown nationality (though probably American or Dutch) gave birth to a Canadian while in flight. The miracle of international airspace is responsible for the citizenship, though it did not cause the underlying birth.

There is no word on whether Northwest Airlines charged for the extra carry-on that materialized while Flight 59 was in the air, but it’s likely they showed a bit of goodwill.

A doctor and paramedic helped deliver the baby girl in Canadian airspace over the Atlantic Ocean, which accounts for the extra dose of citizenship the new kid receives. When the plane touched down at 10:30 AM yesterday, mother and child were rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Update available! Learn more here.

[Via USA Today]