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Duo planning 1,000 days alone at sea
AP via Yahoo ^ | 04/21/07 | VERENA DOBNIK

Posted on 04/21/2007 11:50:52 AM PDT by Abathar

HOBOKEN, N.J. - He's a veteran of long-distance sailing voyages in all kinds of weather. She's never sailed outside the Hudson River.

But together, 55-year-old Reid Stowe and his 23-year-old girlfriend, Soanya Ahmad, are embarking on a voyage that they intend to take them three times around the globe and last 1,000 days and nights — nonstop, with no port calls for supplies or a walk on solid ground.

They were ready to set sail Saturday aboard his 70-foot, two-masted schooner, named the Schooner Anne, from a Hudson River marina in North Hoboken.

"This will be my first time sailing ever — except for up and down the Hudson River," said Ahmad, the New York-raised daughter of immigrants from Guyana.

"I haven't gotten seasick — so far," she said with a grin.

She may be tested when the yacht rounds South America's Cape Horn on the way from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, an area infamous for waves as high as 100 feet, as well as icebergs.

If they succeed, they say their time away from land will surpass the 657 days spent at sea by Australian Jon Sanders, who circumnavigated the globe three times from 1986 to 1988.

Stowe planned a course that initially will take them into the north Atlantic to take advantage of wind and currents, then head south of the Equator. Past the Equator, before passing Cape Horn, he mapped out a course that would loop around the south Atlantic, in the outline of a heart.

"This is a voyage that takes heart," he said.

Provisions were packed into every nook and cranny of the schooner's hull, everything from rice and beans to tomato sauce, pasta, pesto, olives, chocolate, spices and about 200 pounds of parmesan cheese. Sprouts were already growing in boxes for salads.

The rest of their food will be caught fresh from the sea — automatically. Two contraptions at the stern will troll for fish, and when one is caught the line is rigged to alert them by tapping a piece of wood.

Rainwater will be collected in tarps stretched over the deck, and a desalinator will turn sea water into drinking water.

Crammed in alongside the food was a ton of coal and 100 boxes of firewood for the antique French iron stove that keep them warm, plus diesel oil for a motor.

Solar panels will generate enough electricity for the satellite communication and navigation system and for lights. Along with sending and receiving e-mail via satellite, they expect to post photographs, videos and blogs on their Web site.

They also have a small library of books on yoga, meditation and spirituality, as well as art and history, plus the collected works of Joseph Conrad and every book written by Herman Melville, including "Moby Dick."

Along with a well-stocked medical kit, they both learned how to clean and stitch cuts and to set broken bones.

The cost of the journey is covered by corporate and individual donations, plus donations of food, the sails and marine ropes.

Their message to the world, they say, is that any human being can persevere and survive while staying inspired and in love.

"It's inside everyone to go into the unknown, to sail by the sun and the winds of fate. Our ability to control our minds will allow us to do this," said Stowe"If we had to come back for cheeseburgers, we wouldn't be able to do it."

They met four years ago when Ahmad, a college student, was photographing Manhattan's waterfront where the schooner was docked.

"He invited me aboard. It was my first time on a sailboat," said Ahmad. "Reid was looking for someone to go with him. At first, I said no, but then ..."

Her parents, both New York accountants, "are a little terrified," said their only daughter, the oldest of three siblings.

The voyage is formally called "1000 Days at Sea: The Mars Ocean Odyssey," since Stowe compares it to an expedition to Mars, which would involve about the same time in isolation.

He has sailed to every continent in the past four decades, including Antarctica. "I have the tools, I have the experience," he said.

One of those previous voyages was a 200-day trip with his wife in 1999. They're divorced now, but she gave him and Ahmad a life raft for their journey, and planned to be on the dock to wave goodbye Saturday.

Stowe said the journey offers lessons even to someone who will never go out to sea — or someone like Ahmad, who grew up in New York City: "You learn to be present to the situation, to look and see what's happening, and to do what needs to be done."

Adds Ahmad: "On a sailboat, you have to be present in the moment, in the now. Or there's no tomorrow."


TOPICS: Extended News; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: dumb; mingzapott; ocean; stunt
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1 posted on 04/21/2007 11:50:54 AM PDT by Abathar
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To: Abathar

If they’re a duo, they’re not alone.


2 posted on 04/21/2007 11:55:08 AM PDT by mtbopfuyn (I think the border is kind of an artificial barrier - San Antonio councilwoman Patti Radle)
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To: Abathar

I bet Soanya Ahmad is going to get really sick of Reid Stowe before the journey is over.


3 posted on 04/21/2007 11:55:57 AM PDT by Ken522
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To: Abathar

Yeah, real smart to set off on such a voyage with a girl young enough to be your daughter who has no experience. I wish they had to plans to set up a website to track their sail, as the sight of the girl freaking out in the Southern Ocean would be intersting.

Pretty sad that her parents are a little worried about her sail itself but apparently unconcerned about her hooking up with this guy instead of marrying him.


4 posted on 04/21/2007 11:56:40 AM PDT by Bigg Red (You are either with us or with the terrorists.)
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To: Abathar

Fair winds and following seas.
Good luck Sailors.
Hope they didn’t take any bananas along.


5 posted on 04/21/2007 11:56:44 AM PDT by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: Abathar
One of those previous voyages was a 200-day trip with his wife in 1999. They're divorced now

Yeah, I'm sure the current marriage will survive 1,000 days at sea!

6 posted on 04/21/2007 11:56:57 AM PDT by operation clinton cleanup
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To: Abathar

Stowe may want to reconsider the wisdom of sailing in dangerous conditions with only the help of a completely inexperienced hand.


7 posted on 04/21/2007 11:57:03 AM PDT by Jeff Chandler (The Drive-By Media is attempting to Cronkite the Iraq war.)
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To: Abathar
"I haven't gotten seasick — so far," she said with a grin."

She should be OK, as long as she doesn't think about cold squid or greasy pork.

8 posted on 04/21/2007 11:57:46 AM PDT by Slump Tester ( What if I'm pregnant Teddy? Errr-ahh Calm down Mary Jo, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it)
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To: Abathar
“a ton of coal and 100 boxes of firewood “ Holy cow!

I would have thought a small investment in Force 10 or Espar heater would be more weight efficient.

Ah to be 55 and 23 and in love.......

I give it 3 months.

9 posted on 04/21/2007 11:58:08 AM PDT by ASOC (Yeah, well, maybe - but can you *prove* it?)
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To: Abathar

Do they have a satellite link to a psychologist? Methinks they’ll be needing it.


10 posted on 04/21/2007 11:58:12 AM PDT by jsh3180
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To: Bigg Red

Oops! Guess I skimmed much too fast. They will have a website. I want to watch this one.


11 posted on 04/21/2007 11:58:25 AM PDT by Bigg Red (You are either with us or with the terrorists.)
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To: Abathar

He must be really, really rich.


12 posted on 04/21/2007 11:59:14 AM PDT by LdSentinal
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To: Abathar
She may be tested when the yacht rounds South America's Cape Horn on the way from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, an area infamous for waves as high as 100 feet, as well as icebergs.

I'd get seasick too if I rounded Cape Horn to go from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. Skipping the entire Pacific Ocean would be very scary.
13 posted on 04/21/2007 11:59:57 AM PDT by conservative in nyc
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To: ASOC; leda

LOLOLOLOL


14 posted on 04/21/2007 12:03:02 PM PDT by patton (19yrs ... only 4,981yrs to go ;))
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To: conservative in nyc

Bet they don’t even make a rounding of Cape Horn. They’ll go the other way and eventually come back through the Panama Canal.

Bet she’s asking to get off as they’re rounding the Cape of Good Hope.

She’ll never make 1000 days at sea.


15 posted on 04/21/2007 12:04:40 PM PDT by Neville72 (uist)
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To: Ken522
"I bet Soanya Ahmad is going to get really sick of Reid Stowe before the journey is over."

She'll be "washed overboard and lost at sea" by the second week.

16 posted on 04/21/2007 12:09:28 PM PDT by robertpaulsen
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To: Abathar

They are both nutZ!


17 posted on 04/21/2007 12:09:50 PM PDT by verity (Muhammed and Harry Reid are Dirt Bags)
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To: Abathar

18 posted on 04/21/2007 12:11:08 PM PDT by CarrotAndStick (The articles posted by me needn't necessarily reflect my opinion.)
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To: Abathar

Ms Ahmad, are you sure you want to be with this guy 1,000 days? I bet things get kinky on day two...


19 posted on 04/21/2007 12:13:00 PM PDT by devane617 (Let's take back our country -- get a job in the MSM, or education system. We need you.)
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To: operation clinton cleanup

Marriage? 55 to 23 and only dating. This is a recipe for disaster...


20 posted on 04/21/2007 12:15:04 PM PDT by Abathar (Proudly catching hell for posting without reading the article since 2004)
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