Past Story, Link To More Info
Link To Follow Progress
Sept. 24, 2000
A Midvale man is about to launch an adventure on the high seas, for the second time.
In a few days, he'll start rowing, and rowing, and rowing, all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, a dream that was nearly lost at sea two years ago.
News Specialist John Hollenhorst has his story.
For two years Richard Jones has been rowing at home, and thinking about what went wrong when he rowed on the high seas.
Perhaps you remember his boat from occasional sightings on Bear Lake-- a sleek yellow torpedo called The Brother of Jared.
When he launched two years ago this week from Portugal, he ran smack into 30-foot waves, currents that pushed him way off course and a drinking water de-salting system that simply didn't work.
RICHARD JONES, MIDVALE: "YOU KNOW IT WAS THAT STILL SMALL VOICE THAT SETTLED OVER ME THAT SAID, 'RICHARD, YOU NEED TO GO HOME. AND YOU NEED TO GO HOME NOW.'"
Jones never gave up the dream. He's been fine-tuning his 57-year-old body.
And refining his game plan, with better equipment and a new departure point.
He'll launch in the Canary Islands, just off the coast of Africa, giving him a shorter, easier route to Miami, Florida.
It's only 4,000 miles this time, 4 or 5 months of rowing. Jones is surprisingly confident. As former owner of a river-running company, he figures he's already rowed about 30,000 miles.
RICHARD JONES, MIDVALE: "SO IF THE ROWING SKILLS AND ABILITY AREN'T THERE NOW, THEY AIN'T NEVER GOING TO BE THERE."
He also learned a lesson off the coast of Portugal. He and his boat can take a beating and keep on going.
RICHARD JONES, MIDVALE: "I FEEL MUCH MORE RELAXED, MUCH MORE CONFIDENT, MUCH BETTER PREPARED. THAT'S NOT TO SAY I COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT LAST TIME. AND IT PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN O.K. AND I WOULD HAVE MADE IT. BUT I JUST FEEL BETTER ABOUT EVERYTHING THIS TIME AROUND. "
Richard Jones versus the Atlantic, Round Two starts in about ten days.
You'll be able to follow Richard Jones' progress at sea, by checking www.oceanrowing.com.
Past Story
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