Sonya Baumstein Rescued: U.S. Solo Rower Trying To Cross Pacific Ends Trip Due To Bad Weather

 

American rower Sonya Baumstein, from Orlando, Fla.,sets out in her custom rowboat for San Francisco Sunday, June 7, 2015. Baumstein, who hoped to be the first woman to row across the Pacific Ocean, had to give up her quest due to bad weather. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

 

TOKYO (AP) — A U.S. woman attempting to cross the Pacific by rowboat has ended her solo attempt because of expected bad weather.

Sonya Baumstein was rescued off the Japanese coast on Saturday after sending out a distress signal, Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday.

The 30-year-old Baumstein departed from Choshi, Japan, one week ago, hoping to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific.

She was headed for San Francisco but sent out the signal on Saturday around 2:20 p.m. about 250 kilometers (155 miles) off the coast of Japan.

A freighter traveling nearby rescued her at around 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) Saturday and passed her on to a coast guard ship around 8:55 p.m. (1155 GMT), the Japanese coast guard said.

Baumstein was hoping to finish the 6,000-mile (9,600-kilometer) journey by late September.

Mylène Paquette - Successfully rowed across Atlantic Ocean

On Tuesday, November 12, Mylène Paquette, 35, became the first North American to row solo, from west to east, across the Atlantic – a trip about 2,700 nautical miles in length. The Montrealer successfully completed her trip at 11:09 a.m. local time in France (5:09 a.m. Eastern Time) when she reached l’île d’Ouessant, which is located about 60 nautical miles from the French port of Lorient. She had been at sea for 129 days, leaving Halifax on July 6 in a specially designed 7.3-metre boat propelled only by Paquette and the currents.

In September, the rower got a helping hand from the world’s largest ocean liner – the Queen Mary 2. Paquette capsized and lost some key items, including her anchor, iPhone and satellite phone, after she was hit by the remnants of Hurricane Humberto. The Queen Mary 2 received her call for assistance and agreed to help out the young rower. The crew donated food and supplies, including a new satellite phone and two anchors. Paquette had been part of a six-person crew that rowed the Atlantic Ocean in 2011.

In praise of Thomas Doggett and the Thames watermen | The Guardian

The world's oldest continuously held sporting event took place on Friday on the sunlit waters of the Thames. Six young men bent their backs to send their sculling boats skimming up the river on the flood tide, past the National Theatre, Festival Hall, London Eye, the Houses of Parliament, Lambeth Palace, MI6 headquarters and Battersea power station before one of them was declared the 299th winner of Doggett's Coat and Badge: a real coat, of the scarlet cloth associated with Thames watermen, and a real badge, an engraved silver medallion the size of a dinner plate, to be worn on its left sleeve.

Rowers race on the Thames as they strive to win the 299th running of Doggett's Coat and Badge. Photograph: Felix Clay for the Guardian

Nowadays few people are familiar with the race for newly qualified watermen, held over a stretch of four miles and five furlongs from London Bridge to Cadogan Pier in Chelsea, but it has been held annually since 1715, making such contests as the Ashes (first played in 1882) and the Wimbledon championships (1887) look like mere striplings. The organisers compensated for its one unavoidable suspension, between 1939 and 1946, by holding nine races in 1947 to make up the deficit and assure an unbroken list of winners dating back to its creation by an Irish actor and theatre manager named Thomas Doggett as a way of celebrating King George I's accession.  Read more; In praise of Thomas Doggett and the Thames watermen | Richard Williams | Sport | The Guardian

The 2013 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships

The Nantahala is going huge this September 2-8, as top international paddlers converge on the Gorge to compete in the 2013 Freestyle World Championships.

This prestitious international event has been brought to Western North Carolina with the support of the Golden Leaf Foundation, and through a community focused effort led by the The Nantahala Gorge Organizing Committee, the Swain County Chamber of Commerce, Swain TDA, Smoky Mountain Host, USA Canoe Kayak, and the International Canoe Federation.

A Week of Festivities

More than being just another kayak competition, the 2013 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships are a celebration of the vibrant cultural and paddling history here in the North Carolina Smoky Mountains. In addition to watching the world’s best freestylers duke it out on the 2013 Wave, spectators will enjoy live music from regional bands, craft fair specializing in traditional appalachian handiworks, and a variety of interactive family activities. Other featured events will include a raft race, special rates on rentals and activities, Cherokee tribal dancing and cultural presentations and demos by top performers from across the southeast.

For more information about the event, ticketing information, and to learn more about freestyle kayaking competition, visit the official event website: http://www.freestylekayaking2013.com/.

Welcome to Watermen News. So what defines a Waterman or Waterwoman…

Welcome to Watermen News. I hope to make this an informative news and information page about everything having to do with watermen and their unique aquatic and marine lifestyles. But first we have to try and define watermen, waterman or waterwoman...

Wikipedia defines watermen as river workers who transfer passengers across and along city centre rivers and estuaries in Britain and its colonies. Most notable are those on the River Thames and River Medway, but other rivers such as the River Tyne and River Dee, Wales also had their watermen who formed guilds in medieval times.

Webster defined waterman as "a person who makes his living from the water (as by fishing, crabbing, or oystering)", and it is of Middle English origin.