"The Italian, who has already rowed the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and walked across Alaska twice pulling a sled, said he was proud of the epic 11,000-mile non-stop journey and his fans' e-mails kept him going."
Another example of super human feats. Some of the pics of him made me think of Rambo after his 400k+ marathon, but only he makes Rambo look a bit over wieght. Dry food and Distilled salt water for 300+ days while rowing across the Pacific!!
http://news.aol.com/article/man-stops-just-short-of-rowing-pacific/276650
Submitted by truckstop13 on Sun, 12/14/2008 - 12:20am
Rambo was looking a bit scrawny after we did that race. His body was feeding on itself, not a pretty sight!@#$
I saw this guy on the TV tonight, wasn't he rescued 100km short of the mainland, guess he will have to do it all over again.
Maybe he can be talked into paddling the Murray River Canoe Marathon next year, nice warm holiday in OZ.
#1 Sun, 12/14/2008 - 1:11am
I don’t know about this one, but I read the story and this sticks out.
Italian adventurer Alex Bellini floats (like, not rowing) in his boat Friday moments before being rescued off the eastern coast of Australia. Bellini, who left Lima, Peru, on Feb. 21, had just finished (?) an epic solo ocean row of 9,500 nautical miles and needed some "help" making the last 65 to shore. (????finished???)
"I am pretty satisfied. I am fulfilled," (and I never made it to the finish line ? Aahh, The glory of denial.)
During that time he lived on dried food ( no fishing ??) and distilled seawater and did not set foot on land once. (Duh!)
"I did not fail," (My mind just blows at this point.)
"I received more than 30,000 emails on my sat-phone. (a lot of time spent NOT rowing) It has been not really a one-man adventure (duh. See sat-phone). I was alone at sea, but I was not completely alone," he said. (Say no more !)
Late on Friday, with the eastern Australian town of Laurieton almost (?) insight, Bellini contacted his wife, (…coast guard, how about the coast guard ???) and asked her to call for help (I thought that Satphone transmitted 30,000 emails, what the …???)
he did not think he could make it, Australian police said.
According to police, Bellini was "nearing exhaustion". (close, close, but no …)
Police sent a vessel ($$$$$$) and Australian Search and Rescue ($$$$$$) dispatched an aircraft. A New Zealand registered tug boat ($$$$$$) in the area was directed to assist, and picked Bellini up late on Friday at around 4 p.m. local time.
"The solo rower is reported to be in a good condition but extremely exhausted, the police statement said.
On arrival at the Australian port of Newcastle on Saturday morning, Bellini was greeted by his wife and waiting media. Looking thin, and heavily bearded, he had lost 33 pounds during the journey ( less satphone, more fishing !! ), which started in Lima on February 21, his wife Francesca Bellini said.
"He was looking confused. ( Yup, No kidding there !! ) He had to be carried by someone
( the wife greets, but doesn’t carry ???) to get to the Customs," she told Reuters.
Despite his ordeal, Francesca Bellini, who helped organise the voyage, said her husband loved the sea and would have fond ( yeah uh huh, sure so! ) recollections of the trip. Although he failed to reach dry land, his wife said they still regarded it as essentially a full crossing of the Pacific Ocean.
(Seizures I feel ‘em comin’ …)
He is not, however, the first person to row solo across the Pacific.
(… and release, ...there there…)
Asked why her husband did it, Francesca Bellini said: "He is an extreme sportsman. He is not a 'record man'. He is just doing it for himself.
(With 30,000 emails, satphone, website blah bah dee blah bedee blah it’s all about me, me me !!)
EGOMANIAC !!
Bellini said, however, he had promised his wife that he would not attempt to do it again.
(No shit, if you are doing this for yourself, finish that sucker and don't come cryinging for mama or all the rescuers with your sat-phone)
No wonder a "tug boat" rescued him.
Too many chines and love handles on your beauty. Get an outrigger and learn to fish !
Rambo at least finishes.
#2 Sun, 12/14/2008 - 5:39pm
I did cry for Mama .... but she wouldn't come get me ..... so i had to finish .. sob..sob.
Rambo
#3 Sun, 12/14/2008 - 5:51pm
Alex Bellini, 11,000-mile. wow
#4 Sun, 12/14/2008 - 5:59pm
Quite often you have to be escorted to shore by Customs in a foreign country, so i recon 65 miles out is a finish. He was sometimes carried further than the days rowing progress by a mean current multiple times, so he did the mileage.
Rambo
#5 Sun, 12/14/2008 - 9:10pm
Cmon Ramboscie you know as well as I do your not finished until the jobs done, harsh but true. Better luck next time!!!
#6 Mon, 12/15/2008 - 5:40am
Hard to believe stopping so close to one's goal, but at the same time, hard to judge the guy unless you've spent 10+ months by yourself paddling 10,000 miles. I would have been crying for the tug far sooner.
#7 Mon, 12/15/2008 - 5:54am
Helluva piece to row across, eh?
Armchair critics have no credibility.
#8 Mon, 12/15/2008 - 6:09am
Maybe if he paid the rescue bill I might have some sympathy for him. I'm sure he'll make plenty of money selling his story. Great effort, no arguement there.
#9 Mon, 12/15/2008 - 6:25am
I remember about 10-15 years ago a guy rowed from Japan to the west coast. When asked if he practiced before, he said no and that he'd have plenty of time to get used to it. I forgot how long it took him, but he was about a half mile from shore at the only possible point of landing, battling currents for 4 days refusing any help. The US Coast Guard finally persuaded him to let himself being towed in.
No sat-phone, no internet, no e-mail. no book.
Now that fellow truly did it for himself, and in my book finished his journey.
#10 Mon, 12/15/2008 - 7:22am
Quibbling a bit here, don't you think boys?
65 miles at the tail end of 11000 is nothing but a technicality. His book can be titled "11000 miles minus the last 65". Dont know if he was going for a record( in which case it would be incomplete) but the achievement still is impressive
The sat phone or email would be the only way these days to fund an adventure like this unless it was some independently wealthy guy, so wouldn't say the spirit of adventure is dead because of that. We bring cell phones and radios for downwinders- I think a sat phone would be stupid not to have.
Don't be haters. Give the man props
#11 Mon, 12/15/2008 - 8:24am
Painteur you're a real piece. Down playing such an accomplishment... 15 years ago there wasn't the same tech gadgets that we have available today and if there was you know damn well he'd be roking them. No one claimed he was the first to cross the Pacific, jus the most recent. This guy walked across Alaska for Christ sake... TWICE! Like the kids say these days your just another Hater. 11,000 miles!!! In a boat half the size of a yugo! SOLO!!!! The longest I've ever continuosly paddled was 50 or so miles and I was pretty stoked on that. I couldn't imagine what type of person just sets out one day and says, "today is the day I'm going to cross the pacific... in my row boat." Take a look in the mirror and ask yourself if your that person, if you have the nutz the courage... it. I don't, but I respect the few that do.
#12 Mon, 12/15/2008 - 6:41pm
lol
the funniest thing is everyone's getting angry at painteur's joking/sarcasm. i thought it was funny. my wife who hates ocpaddler.com even thought painteur was funny.
#13 Mon, 12/15/2008 - 7:02pm
wait, your wife hates ocp? oh no. I'm crushed.
#14 Mon, 12/15/2008 - 7:30pm
does your wife hate ocp because it takes you away from your husbandly chores?
jcwife: "I thought you said you were going to clean the garage!!"
jc9: "wait, wait, another hypr thread just posted.."
jcwife: "I HATE THAT STUPID WEBSITE"
#15 Mon, 12/15/2008 - 8:29pm
don't worry keizo, she still likes you. i never told her you created the site.
i think dacho just about hit the nail on the head.
#16 Mon, 12/15/2008 - 9:06pm
it was meant to be sarcastic of course. I agree about the fantastic accomplishment of rowing 11000 miles. Viva Italia!
Now imagine you are doing the solo and you quit 50 yards from shore. Would you say you finished, even technically?
#17 Tue, 12/16/2008 - 6:51am
I hope Alex found what he was looking for.
#18 Tue, 12/16/2008 - 7:17am
I actually found the story about the rower I referred to. Gerard d'Aboville a french man who first crossed the pacific from Japan to the Oregon coast in 1991.
During my search I ran into a lot of articles of people doing this kind of stuff and in the greater scheme of life I respect the Alex Bellini's of the world. I need to go back to Sarcastics Anonymous and re-learn the fine line between sarcasm and pettiness. My apologies to all.
Here is the D'Aboville story and you might understand why I was so inspired back then.
http://www.oceanrowing.com/Gerard_d_Aboville/index.htm
Haven't found the video yet.
#19 Tue, 12/16/2008 - 9:36am
lol painteur, i actually went and did all the math to figure out how far short of the finish line in you would stop in the solo to be comparable. but i stopped short of saying it because i figured forum police would get angry.
it turned out to be slightly less than 2 tenths of a mile. so if you're super duper tired at the end of the solo, just get a ride for the last 2 tenths of a mile from your escort boat and claim you're a finisher.
#20 Tue, 12/16/2008 - 9:58am
Remember Apollo 13 ? Tom Hanks.
Alex's journey would have mad a great reality show.
Maybe the finish line is important from many perspectives but if you stand back and look at it. Is it really? I think if you put it all on the line, That's what its all about , And in the end you'll have no regrets.
#21 Tue, 12/16/2008 - 11:06am
Checked out oceanrowing.com There is truly some some sick stuff on there. Trans Atlantic one man race, guys who have rowed across various oceans multiple times. Who would have thought.
#22 Tue, 12/16/2008 - 12:27pm