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18:55 GMT |
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Just now we received a call
from Pavel. He is rather worried - for approx 1 1/2 - 2 hours an American
plane and then a helicopter were flying above him. All attempts to contact
them on VHF were useless. It looked like people from helicopter were
filming him. Then at last Pavel got a response on channel 16, but
could hardly understand the officer, so he gave them the phone number of
ORS, which officer repeated correctly. Pavel managed to explain that
he is an oceanrower, and that he is traveling heading either
Cuba or Miami, depending on winds and currents. Its understood, that Pavel
was nervous - it's not a usual thing to attract such a persistent
attention in the middle of nowhere. "I am absolutely anxious - what
if they will try to pick me up?" |
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Kenneth F. Crutchlow immediately called Miami
Coast Guard and spoke to Duty Officer Anderson, who said that most likely
the plane came from San Juan, Puerto Rico and was on routine patrol.
Kenneth referred the Duty Officer to ORS website and told him that Pavel
has enough food and water supplies and needs no assistance ( at this time) |
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20:45GMT
We had a call from Duty Officer Patrick Castro from the US Coast Guard in
San Juan (Puerto Rico). D.O. Castro had received an e-mail from
Miami Coast Guard and he confirmed that the plane and the helicopter were
looking for a suspect high-speed power boat and wanted to know if Pavel
had seen it. He then informed ORS that it is their intention that in the
next 30 minutes a US Coast Guard cutter will approach Pavel and put a
zodiac-style boat in the water as they want to question Pavel. Tatiana has
phoned Pavel who said that he will welcome and cooperate with the US Coast
Guard (as long as they do not ask him to leave his boat), and he
understands that they are doing their job. |
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21:15GMT
Just called on satphone to Pavel, but he said, that he could not speak as
the Coast Guard cutter was just approaching his boat. |
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21:32GMT
Called Marion-Lviv, Pavel answered and said, that
he had a guest on his deck and they were peacefully chatting .
Kenneth asked Pavel to give the receiver to his guest and spoke to Lt.
Scott Bobin of the US Coast Guard Miami, who was onboard the boat. Lt.
Scott Bobin said, that he found Pavel "very cooperative" and that he
wanted to make sure that Pavel was safe. Now Pavel will proceed and the
cutter will leave him and resume its patrol.
21:55 GMT A call from Pavel: "Everything
looked VERY impressive - two cutters approached me, one of them - with a
helicopter onboard. They put zodiac on the water and a blond officer came
by it to my boat. He studied my passport thoroughly, I explained him who I
am and what I am doing, and I showed him my charts. |
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It was a nice talk, after which
Lieutenant wrote down an official letter and left
it with me, so that if I am stopped again, I would be able to show it "to
who it may concern" so that not to be checked again. I had chance to take
photos of the cutters and of the officer, but it was most
impressive indeed - when a small boat is being surrounded by huge
cutters with machine-guns, and I had nothing but a harpoon onboard :) (
"Thank you, Fraser!")
Well, now I am going even to drink some rum - after all my mileage still
was not going to be so great today..." |
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May 26th 2004 |
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11:09 I can't stop enjoying the sun - everything looks
incredibly beautiful, the seascape is just stunning. Now I am listening to
radio of Dominican Republic. Very nice rhythms, but something is
definitely happening over there - the music is being interrupted now
and then, and I can distinctly hear a crowd shouting "Democracy!" [ then
Pavel had no idea about the disaster on the island ].
The night went quiet,
and the wind was equable. From time to time I got up and rowed South, and
then let the wind carry me North again.
There is still no fishing, I've never seen a single fishing vessel in the
area.
So, now I'm going to have my cup of coffee, and - back to oars. The sun
has not yet warmed all up and this is perfect time. |
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20:47
As it was reported,
the recent weather in Dominican Republic was "the worst in living memory"
"What an unimaginable sun-heat! With a sort of
regret I even started to miss those rains... Well, Man is rather a
capricious creature".
"But that was not just a torrential rain, I was completely amazed to watch
such a continuous down-pour being accompanied by wind of that force - my
progress was fantastic, nothing compares to it - unforgettable
experience!"
Recollections...Rowing an ocean
alone gives you this luxury of thinking with no fear to be interrupted,
and you can browse your memory, getting into its most remote corners.
" Now I am passing by Haiti, which for
people of my generation used to be a synonym of a relaxed Paradise on
Earth... Can't help thinking about cruel senselessness of so called
"revolutionary remaking of society", that took place on this poor island,
and in my poor Russia in 1917, and ..."
"I remember the times, when Cuba - 'Island of Freedom' - was on
everybody's lips, it was like a fresh wind, it was a new phenomenon. I
knew somebody, who were returning home after visiting Cuba, and
their tales were adding a giddy charm to our enthusiasm. ................
So long ago it has been, what young dreamers we were!...." |
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22:14
Yeeeess! I caught
dorada, BUT.. a magnificent 1 1/5 meters long fish pulled
the lead under the rudder and while I was trying to
release the lead through the aft hatch - my catch broke loose and
escaped :(
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May 25th 2004
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21:05
"The
whole day long the weather was just splendid. I am fighting the wind and I
am the winner. Beware of this South wind, I should not let it carry me
away to the North: before me there is the southern cape of
Haiti island [Hispaniola] - Cabo Beata with
Beata Island next to the cape. |
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God save
me from getting close to them! - there is neither a single port, nor a
landing-pier over there. That's why I have to fight. My spirits are high.
It appears that telephone has completely changed my life, to compare it to
the one I had in the Atlantic. Then I was like a thing inside itself, and
now I am getting messages and can communicate - how much better!"
Days of torrential rain, that has completely tired Pavel out, were
followed by flooding on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti), shared by Haiti
and the Dominican Republic. Floods and mudslides have killed more than 500
people, more than 200 people were believed to be missing, thousands were
left homeless in the two countries. |
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May 24th 2004 |
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11:20
"There is a
sea-scape all around me - blue sea, blue sky and little white clouds -
idyllic! Though beyond the horizon there is something threatening
forming...
Three birds
have chosen to travel next to me on my boat. Last night, when I opened the
hatch to air the cabin, I was immediately pecked at. I jumped out on the
deck with a flashlight - in the darkness it was difficult to guess who it
was that bit me. It appeared to be white-headed coastal birds (they are
called "krachki" in Russian - sorry, don't know the English for it). Lazy
birds, they don't mind to find an object like my boat for a short break,
for a night's sleep or just as a means of moving.
21:00 The
pressure of the South wind is terrible - I can't cope with it and had to
cast a sea-anchor. So my rapid progress towards West will drop for a
couple of next days. I managed to dry my clothes, it's dry in the cabin,
so everything seems to be all right. And the sun has disappeared again |
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May 23rd 2004 |
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16:16 The miracle has not taken place and the morning of
this day was similar to all the previous ones - a rain...
"But - everything's ok. I am not overstrained, not much rowing
so far - I have given myself
up to the will of winds. Now I have South-East
wind, so I can move West without problems - with the
rudder.
For an entertainment ... I am eating nuts :); keep changing one bite for
another, but - not-a-single fish...; I am writing my log, but there is
nothing too special to write about... I repaired my tape-recorder, which
had been broken during the Atlantic crossing, so I have music again. And
now on VHF I am listenning to radio of Puerto-Rico - a very pleasant music
indeed. Well, the following delicacy in my menu will be radio of Dominican
Republic.
The current is unexpectedly powerful here and it gives me 1 mile per hour
- 24 miles per day! And these - not taking into account rather a strong
wind. So I am quite pleased with the progress and there is only one thing
missing - the sun..." |
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19:34 "For three minutes only a ray
of light has made its way through the clouds - what a joy! - but the sky
is still overcast with two layers: the lower one - of cumuli, and above it
- a dense layer of cirrus clouds. Inconceivable weather, but it doesn't
pour from the sky, at least for now, and wind is good.
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21:00 "Brilliant! Cumuli have almost
dissapeared, though high in
the sky there are
cirri still hanging above me. And
you won't beleive what I am doing now -
I AM BASKING IN THE SUN! What a pleasure.............." |
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May 22nd 2004 |
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11:00
No changes in the weather, can hardly catch up
with pumping the rain water out of the boat. Horizon is invisible,
everything's hazy and I am navigating only with GPS. It's not a problem
and I keep the course, but I am longing for a sea-scape!
22:30
"For a short while the sun has emerged from behind the clouds, but...it
did not stop drizzling! Passing a glance over the horizon, I can see just
a solid raincloud all around me...Rather gloomy. Never mind, let there be
sunshine and the spirits will go up. |
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No fish,
and the sea looks amazingly lifeless - no dolphins, no whales - so
different to the Atlantic ocean.."
In 8
days Pavel has rowed one third of the distance.
"The
most difficult part will commence over there, and what do I have here?
Neither distinctive coast lines, nor tides. But in general everything is
fine - my progress is good, my meal is good, my sleep is good, though I
have to get up pretty often: the wind keeps changing and I have to adjust
the rudder."
23:44"Nothing
new in the sky... So, now I'm going to open the last can of my favourite
baked beans from Sainsbury's, somewhere there must be a bottle of
rum,....and then I'll get some shut-eye. And
what if when I get up to-morrow morning, the sun will
get up and shine?!" |
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May 21st 2004 |
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11:20
Everything is fine with
the exception of the continous rain. I am amazed - day by day
in the morning the rain
is coming down in torrents and drizzling
for the rest part of the day. It's miserable and
dreary to have infinitely a
wet back.
My progress is good - I must be on the level of Guadeloupe for now. I am
fishing, but - alas! -the last catch was the same as before - a
devil-fish. It's an excruciating torment to pull all the bones out of
it...
22:30
Still
not a single dry spell, but the wind is good and for the most of the time
I am actualy not rowing. Now I am on the level of Puerto Rica, and soon
will be approaching the longitude of Haiti. I tried (without success) to
dry a little my clothes - no way; but its realy warm enough here, so - not
so terribly bad, after all.
Today I was watching three torados ( or twisters?) far in the South - an
obnoxious sight, wouldn't like to find myself in that area.
I am getting letters of support - what a difference they make to compare
to my Atlantic crossing! They are bringing me a feeling of having a good
company all the way long. |
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May 20th 2004 |
11:00
Yesterday, when I was on the phone praising the weather, it started to
change, and when I put the receiver it began to pour with rain
non-stop until now. During the night the rain was so heavy, that water
keapt overflowing my cockpit. When it was full I knew it immidiately,
'cause then the boat was changing her go. Gusts, thunderstorm and
discharges of lightenning, following one after another, were just
deafening. One more "dark night", but at some moment in the middle of the
night I caught my first fish...Well, according to Murphy's Law it had to
be a 1.2 metre long devil-fish. It is almost uneatable, but there's no
choice, so after the rain I will cook and eat it
The sky is lowering and there's no ray of light...
20:00 It's only now that the
yesterday's rain has stopped - after pouring for more than 24 hours. I am
going north, will try to use islands as a cover |
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Photo by
Brett Sparrow |
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May 19th 2004 |
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Ship Observations Minor
Antilles Wed May 19 06:00 GMT
Air -
26.3°C,
Water - 27.4°C.
Wind -
Speed (m/s)
9.3; Gusts (m/s) 11.3;
Direction - 90°
11:10
(GMT!)
The day has just broken, the night has been pretty strained - there were
many ships passing by and I had to be on alert not to collide. I am up,
now will pick up something from "Mountain House" [freeze-dried food] and
have my breakfast. Well, I'd rather went for some fish for a change, but
nothing bites! There must be some explanation for it - it was not for no
reason that though I was meeting lots and lots of fishing vessels at the
Atlantic side of Santa Lucia, the moment I passed the strait into
Caribbean, they all had gone! |
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15:00 "The sun is shining, weather
looks fine and though waves are big, my progress is good. Soon I will be
passing Aves Island. Well, much more south, of course."
Prior
to departure Pavel was absolutely tempted to get a peep of this small
uninhabited island, which had been stirring his curiosity since long ago.
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But - thanks to Internet! -
the information and pictures Pavel could get appeared to be entirely
sufficient for him not to sacrifice time and efforts that it would take
him to approach this - though unique -deserted sand-bank. |
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May 18th 2004 |
16:28GMT
The
night was just disgusting, continuous rain and squall wind - a sheer
twist. Had to use sea-anchors. In the morning the comms were failing down
- the sky was overcast and there was no sun in sight at all.
But now its wonderful here - the wind has dropped and keeping a northerly
course is easy .
I am getting a lot of messages and would like to thank everybody for their
support. Best regards ! |
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'Stormy ocean' by
Maria 'GOD' Bondesson |
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May 17th 2004 |
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22:00
Just a scheduled evening report: fine day, with no nuisance. It's very,
very hard to gain North... |
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16:00
The Sun has at last made his appearance - for the first time in two days;
I am having fresh wind and would like to move more North, but instead my
course is due West. Nevertheless the morale is high and so is my appetite. |
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11:03
Hi! Everything is fine, the night went off very well, the sea was calm,
though I am carried away southward. Now the horizon is growing gloomy and
it bodes no good. But meantime I am going to have my breakfast - I have
overslept a little bit today. Speak to you later! |
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May 16th 2004 |
20:15 "Hi to everybody! So, I've dried my clothes, cleaned the
boat ( now it looks even more tidy than at the departure:)) and resumed
the go. Though in fact there is no need in rowing - the boat is carried at
a speed of up to 3/5 knots! Waves calmed down, no rain and the horizon has
cleared.
I feel good, and there is only one thing that frustrates me - now, when I
have such good fishing tackle, there is no fish, I've caught none! But
this is not the end of the day and I have the whole Caribbean Sea before
me.
Thanks to Roger, Bernadette, Fraser and Ruairi, Tiny and Jan Meek for kind
wishes! " |
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From the ORS HQ
CAPSIZED!
At 15:47 there came a call to ORS from the British Coast Guard in
Falmouth,
informing us that they had received a distress signal from a 406MHz EPIRB
on an ocean rowboat. The moment I got off the phone there came another
call - that time it was Pavel.
"I am all right, but have had a sort of a capsize and a huge wave has
covered the boat and activated the EPIRB. What can I do to stop it? I am
safe and sound ( and dry:)), nothing wrong has happened to me, but they
[The Coast Guard] can now launch a search and rescue operation!"
The Coast Guard officer was immediately informed about this call, but
could not advise how to deactivate the unit the way that it could be used
again in case of a real emergency - if any. He wrote down Pavel's
telephone number and later gave him a call to check if he was fine indeed.
Then Pavel called again:
"The EPIRB stopped flashing! The weather is monstrous, the rain is
lashing down and huge waves are raising steep. The boat capsized when I
was on the deck, I was tied up and it took me one single push to help the
boat to self-right with no problem. But the next wave broke on the boat
and it was then that the EPIRB started to flash. Well, some time later
this foul weather will come to an end, so I will call in a couple of
hours, if nothing else happens to me."
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11:30GMT
"The
whole night long I was moving past St Lucia – a lot of lights, and music
was heard… The island is tremendous, fantastic mountains – like on a
child’s drawing – with high acute-angled peaks. And now day is already
breaking, it’s pouring, the island is hidden under the mantle of rain,
and I am carried and carried away westward… It’s a pity I had no time to
have a better look at it..." |
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Matthew Paul, Diamont / St. Lucia |
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May 15th 2004 |
15:45GMT
"Yesterday night I
had a storm here, so my hands were full. Now I am approaching a strait
between the islands [ St Vincent and St Lucia], I was planning to pass St
Lucia from the North, but realized that I wouldn't cope with it. So I have
changed my course.
I am all right. I met two cheerful fishing vessels today - four black guys
were catching tuna.
How is Kenneth C doing? Is he not picked up
yet?
Best regards to everybody. And now I am going to read my mail." |
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21:10
GMT "I am passing St Lucia from the South, at a distance of
approx 5 miles , so I can take a good look at it - a seriously |
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mountainous
island... But I see I have played safe - I could have been rowing much closer to
it. Though then I would not benefit by such a good wind - here now the
boat is carried along like in a wind tunnel, there is no need to row at
all. Will restore rowing only in the Caribbean Sea, I think.
I am completely worn out :) by local fishermen, who keep approaching with
an offer of assistance - "D'you need a tow? Has your engine failed?" -
"No, thank you! I had no engine at all "
To-night is going to be a sleepless one for Pavel - he has to be on alert
until he clears the islands.
Wind - East, North-East at night and East again in the morning |
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May 14th 2004 |
Pavel called at 16:11GMT
"Everything's going fine, I am already 4 miles from Barbados, have rowed
out of island's leeward triangle and started to move pretty fast.
Sea is full of white-caps, but the boat perfectly answers the helm, so I
am very content with the new rudder.
And in general - I feel happy and
free! |
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