ROWING AN OCEAN WHILE WATCHING MOVIES

OAKLAND, CALIF.—Alone for up to five months or more, American explorer Wave Vidmar will not only row his tiny 24 foot row boat from the shores of the US towards Europe, he’ll get to listen to music and watch classic movies.

Vidmar’s custom-designed, high-tech composite row boat has some creature comforts built into its streamlined hull and safety-conscious design. In the rowing cockpit he’ll be able to watch DVD’s of his favorite movies and shows, while rowing over 3,000 miles across the Atlantic. “I’ll be able to watch movies, learn languages and listen to music (while I row). A solo expedition doesn’t have to be about complete misery” says the 41-year old adventurer.

With a DVD player from Jensen Marine mounted in his living cabin, he has a weatherized LCD screen mounted facing his rowing position, and Jensen waterproof marine speakers behind him in his rowing cockpit. During heavy storms or at night he can move the screen into his living compartment. Power is supplied by Iowa Thin Film solar panels recharging marine batteries. He plans to watch comedy, adventure, study several foreign languages, and listen to some music. CaféDVD is providing Vidmar with up to 100 movies for the historic expedition.

Though Vidmar will get to enjoy portions of his coming expedition, he doesn’t take the risk or work ahead lightly. He knows his odds of not returning from this particular route are around 1 in 4 or less. Every safety precaution has been made, and over two years of research has gone into the preparation of this expedition.

And rowing an ocean takes a lot of physical work. Energy calculations estimate work load and energy expended to be similar to running two to three 26-mile marathons, each day!

Daily he’ll update his Ocean Row Solo.com website while on the expedition. He plans to start his row from Cape Cod this early June, and finish 60-150 days later, landing in England. Vidmar’s custom ocean row boat is the first to utilize a DVD system for watching movies while rowing an ocean.

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