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Female US rower completes historic solo journey from California to Hawaii

theguardian.com

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Re: Female US rower completes historic solo journey from California to Hawaii

#61

Post by gpm »

varenc wrote: post #36
bluGill wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know how to verify it, but I've been told that drinking seawater is acceptable to do and is just enough to keep you alive. If I were to do it though, I would invest in some water filters which are fairly cheap and can remove a lot of things that you wouldn't want to be drinking.

This is false. Sea water is >3% salt and human kidneys can't produce urine with that much salinity or greater. Since they need more water to extract that much salt, the net effect is dehydration. This rower probably had a desalination machine, or just a big reservoir of fresh water. (Though there might be some obscure edge case, and if you're about to die of dehydration that a little bit of seawater will buy you a mi…

If you're about to die of dehydration - and have been rehydrating with fresh water - you'll be low on salt too so a bit of seawater should in principle be in the right direction for both and help. In practice I wonder if your digestive tract might object to the salt water too strongly for this to work though.

If you're about to die of dehydration - from sweating - and have not been rehydrating you're already also hypernatremic (too salty) as well so I sort of doubt it would help. Sweat is less salty than your blood so it increases salt concentration.

Re: Female US rower completes historic solo journey from California to Hawaii

#62

Post by moab9 »

gpm wrote: post #59
jjcm wrote: post #48

This is no joke. I've done the crossing from Moloka‘i to Oahu (~45 miles) in a canoe several times, and those open ocean waves can get very nasty (largest I've dealt with were around 15m tall). I can't imagine the mental endurance required here, let alone the physical. My longest crossing took 9 hours, and I was completely drained by the time I touched shore. 44 days is absolutely insane. Such a huge accomplishment.

Canoeing 15 meter waves!? I've bailed off of lakes at like 2 foot waves for fear of swamping (admittedly fully laden canoes, but still). Are you just using standard open canoes you'd use on a lake (potentially with some air bladders to keep from swamping?), or something special for this?

Large rolling ocean waves CAN be very gentle, especially compared to lake chop. I've done both in very small craft. Chop is scary.

Re: Female US rower completes historic solo journey from California to Hawaii

#63

Post by antonymoose »

echoangle wrote: post #18
mobilemidget wrote: post #15

All i think about when people row, kayak or swim these distances in these waters is 'SHARKS'. Which i read and saw enough about that the chances of meeting one isnt that big, but my brain still associates these activities/areas with it.

I thought sharks only attack stuff that looks like wounded animals. Would a shark really attack a boat?

Do sharks have a history of attacking small vessels? I’ve had dolphins mess with my kayak over the years so I can believe it.

Re: Female US rower completes historic solo journey from California to Hawaii

#64

Post by Izikiel43 »

gpm wrote: post #59
jjcm wrote: post #48

This is no joke. I've done the crossing from Moloka‘i to Oahu (~45 miles) in a canoe several times, and those open ocean waves can get very nasty (largest I've dealt with were around 15m tall). I can't imagine the mental endurance required here, let alone the physical. My longest crossing took 9 hours, and I was completely drained by the time I touched shore. 44 days is absolutely insane. Such a huge accomplishment.

Canoeing 15 meter waves!? I've bailed off of lakes at like 2 foot waves for fear of swamping (admittedly fully laden canoes, but still). Are you just using standard open canoes you'd use on a lake (potentially with some air bladders to keep from swamping?), or something special for this?

Not 15 foot, 15m. 15feet ~ 5m, so 45 feet ~ 15m

Re: Female US rower completes historic solo journey from California to Hawaii

#65

Post by gpm »

Izikiel43 wrote: post #64
gpm wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canoeing 15 meter waves!? I've bailed off of lakes at like 2 foot waves for fear of swamping (admittedly fully laden canoes, but still). Are you just using standard open canoes you'd use on a lake (potentially with some air bladders to keep from swamping?), or something special for this?

Not 15 foot, 15m. 15feet ~ 5m, so 45 feet ~ 15m

Oops, fixed (astonishment that this is doable... intensifies)

Re: Female US rower completes historic solo journey from California to Hawaii

#66

Post by Izikiel43 »

bluGill wrote: post #33
koolba wrote: post #31

That’s incredible. What does one eat and drink on a trip like this? The article talks about her cooking. With a fire or one of those little butane stoves? Can a small canoe carry enough water for a trip like this or do you rely on rain water too?

I don't know how to verify it, but I've been told that drinking seawater is acceptable to do and is just enough to keep you alive. If I were to do it though, I would invest in some water filters which are fairly cheap and can remove a lot of things that you wouldn't want to be drinking.

No, you die faster if you drink seawater.

Every account of people stranded at sea that survived points to them getting hydrated through rainwater, or fish/turtle blood that they hunted, or even dirty non salty water enemas.

Re: Female US rower completes historic solo journey from California to Hawaii

#67

Post by jjcm »

gpm wrote: post #59
jjcm wrote: post #48

This is no joke. I've done the crossing from Moloka‘i to Oahu (~45 miles) in a canoe several times, and those open ocean waves can get very nasty (largest I've dealt with were around 15m tall). I can't imagine the mental endurance required here, let alone the physical. My longest crossing took 9 hours, and I was completely drained by the time I touched shore. 44 days is absolutely insane. Such a huge accomplishment.

Canoeing 15 meter waves!? I've bailed off of lakes at like 2 foot waves for fear of swamping (admittedly fully laden canoes, but still). Are you just using standard open canoes you'd use on a lake (potentially with some air bladders to keep from swamping?), or something special for this?

Quoting this comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48875676

> Don't think of these waves like the ones you encounter at shore. Open ocean waves are moving mountains.

> It isn't this: /(

> It's this:

        .,-~^^~-,.    
  ___.-/          \-.__
The canoes are outrigger canoes specifically designed for open ocean wave surfing. They're made to ride these mountains. There are air bladders in the front and the back, and the canoes are easily recoverable when (not if) you flip.

This vid shows off the canoes on a small ~4' wave: https://youtu.be/deIpUyBp_6Y?t=251, but the mechanics are the same.

Re: Female US rower completes historic solo journey from California to Hawaii

#68

Post by jjcm »

jjcm wrote: post #67
gpm wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canoeing 15 meter waves!? I've bailed off of lakes at like 2 foot waves for fear of swamping (admittedly fully laden canoes, but still). Are you just using standard open canoes you'd use on a lake (potentially with some air bladders to keep from swamping?), or something special for this?

Quoting this comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48875676 > Don't think of these waves like the ones you encounter at shore. Open ocean waves are moving mountains. > It isn't this: /( > It's this: .,-~^^~-,. ___.-/ \-.__ The canoes are outrigger canoes specifically designed for open ocean wave surfing. They're made to ride these mountains. There are air bladders in the front and the back, and the canoes are…

two other unneccessary details:

1. that 15m one was the most fun I've ever had on a wave, ever. Think of it like going down a ski slope in a canoe, except the ski slope moves with you for miles.

2. we had one of the motorized lead boats sink that year due to them. Interestingly, you're more safe in the canoes on them than you are a standard boat.

Re: Female US rower completes historic solo journey from California to Hawaii

#69

Post by WalterBright »

gpm wrote: post #59
jjcm wrote: post #48

This is no joke. I've done the crossing from Moloka‘i to Oahu (~45 miles) in a canoe several times, and those open ocean waves can get very nasty (largest I've dealt with were around 15m tall). I can't imagine the mental endurance required here, let alone the physical. My longest crossing took 9 hours, and I was completely drained by the time I touched shore. 44 days is absolutely insane. Such a huge accomplishment.

Canoeing 15 meter waves!? I've bailed off of lakes at like 2 foot waves for fear of swamping (admittedly fully laden canoes, but still). Are you just using standard open canoes you'd use on a lake (potentially with some air bladders to keep from swamping?), or something special for this?

Putting an outrigger on your canoe will make it much more seaworthy.

Re: Female US rower completes historic solo journey from California to Hawaii

#70

Post by gpm »

jjcm wrote: post #67
gpm wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canoeing 15 meter waves!? I've bailed off of lakes at like 2 foot waves for fear of swamping (admittedly fully laden canoes, but still). Are you just using standard open canoes you'd use on a lake (potentially with some air bladders to keep from swamping?), or something special for this?

Quoting this comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48875676 > Don't think of these waves like the ones you encounter at shore. Open ocean waves are moving mountains. > It isn't this: /( > It's this: .,-~^^~-,. ___.-/ \-.__ The canoes are outrigger canoes specifically designed for open ocean wave surfing. They're made to ride these mountains. There are air bladders in the front and the back, and the canoes are…

Ok yeah those boats look a lot more suited for this than the kind of canoes I'm used to, e.g. (no affiliation) https://www.esquif.com/en/canoe/prospecteur-17/

Looks and sounds like a blast!

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