www.oceanrowing.com
Dec. 10, 2000
A Utah man passed the half-way point today in his extraordinary journey by rowboat.
He's all by himself in the exact center of the Atlantic Ocean.
Channel Five spoke by satellite phone today with the Utah grandfather who could become the oldest person ever to row an ocean.
John Hollenhorst has the story.
All the training and all the logistical preparations seem to have paid off for Richard Jones and his boat, The Brother of Jared.
He's rowed 2,000 miles in 60 days without any major troubles.
There are no fresh pictures of the bright yellow torpedo since it launched in early October from the Canary Islands. But fans have been able to follow Jones' progress on the Internet.
Early on, he reported huge and scary waves. Lately, Jones reports generally peaceful, and satisfying rowing.
But a couple of days ago he had a terrifying encounter in the dark when a big ship missed his tiny rowboat by just 200 yards.
VOICE OF RICHARD JONES/VIA SATELLITE PHONE: "AFTER I COMPOSED MYSELF, I JUST KIND OF SAT AT MY OARS AND HAD A GOOD CRY. MY NERVES WERE ON EDGE AND I WAS SO RAGGED. AND CRYING HELPED, HAH, HAH, HAH."
The head of the Ocean Rowing Society in London says making the halfway mark shows Jones has the guts to go all the way.
VOICE OF KENNETH CRUTCHLOW/OCEAN ROWING SOCIETY: "HE'S MADE GOOD PROGRESS, AVERAGING 37 MILES A DAY. IT'S GOING TO BE A BIT OF AN EFFORT TO HIT FLORIDA. WE HOPE HE'S GOING TO MISS CUBA. BUT YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE HE'S GOING TO WIND UP. IT'S ALL DOWN TO CURRENTS AND WINDS. BUT HE'S TRYING, OBVIOUSLY, TO LINE HIMSELF UP WITH FLORIDA."
Jones himself is confident.
VOICE OF RICHARD JONES/VIA SATELLITE PHONE: "TODAY IS TWO MONTHS OUT. I'M ABOUT A DAY OFF, ABOUT 60 MILES OFF MY SCHEDULE. TO BE AT 2,000 MILES, WE SHOULD BE ARRIVING IN MIAMI ABOUT THE FIRST WEEK IN FEBRUARY. SO WE'RE OVER THE HUMP NOW. IT'S ALL DOWNHILL NOW."
JOHN HOLLENHORST REPORTING: "THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL OCEAN ROW WAS IN 1969. THERE HAVE BEEN 107 ATTEMPTS IN ALL. ABOUT HALF ENDED IN A RESCUE AT SEA. JONES MAY BE HALFWAY, BUT HE STILL HAS A LONG WAY TO GO."
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