Summertime. It's the time of year when some heed the call to hit the open road, like CNET News.com's Daniel Terdiman. (Follow him on Road Trip 2007 as he travels through the Southwest, testing gadgets and taking in scientific and natural wonders along the way.)
For one woman, it's the open ocean that beckons. This time, it's the Pacific. And she's going to row. By herself. Roz Savage, a 39-year-old Brit, plans to set off from San Francisco next week in a 24-foot boat to row across the ocean in three stages, her first stop being Hawaii. In all, she plans to travel about 6,700 miles, ending up in Australia in 2009. (Previous experience includes a solo jaunt across the Atlantic.)
It's a bid to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific and to raise awareness about the effects of pollution--in particular, plastic--in our oceans. Her trip is a project of the Blue Frontier Campaign, whose focus is on "seaweed (marine grassroots) efforts" surrounding ocean and coastal conservation.
Savage will rely on a variety of tech gadgets to keep her company and keep her on course. Among the safety equipment: a positioning beacon from MarineTrack, which will post on its Web site her latest position. She'll also have two laptops onboard, a PC and a Mac--running Windows, too, via Boot Camp. Savage will also carry a satellite phone, from which she'll send updates to her Web site.
And according to a story in the San Francisco Chronicle, she'll take along a couple of iPods loaded with music (from classical to classic rock) and audio books (from philosophy to Harry Potter).
(This raises the inevitable desert island question: what gadgets would you take with you? Let's assume two things: the gadgets will enjoy long battery life and you won't actually run into any of the cast members on Lost.)
In a recent interview with NPR, Savage talked about first coming up with the idea to row across the Atlantic. The former IT consultant said: "My first thought was that is the best idea I've ever had. Of course, my second thought was that was without a doubt the worst idea I've ever had."
Luckily, she went with her first thought. Follow Savage along on her voyage across the Pacific by visiting her Web site.