Who are these two eegits?

Ok Hamslicer, you think it's a worthwhile endeavour, I think it's a waste of time, we'll have to agree to disagree.

car said:

clubman, you gave away one too many hints, and your identity is now known.

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The secret is out dudes!

I'm in two minds on this one.

On one hand, there is something in the human nature (for some at least) which is always trying to push the envelope. While most of us play it safe, we need the Christopher Columbus types willing to sail off the edge of the world as well.

On the other hand, I think some of these extreme sports/events go a little too far, with participants recklessly endangering their lives and vast resources being spent to protect/rescue them.

CCOVICH said:

.. (Ellen McArthur etc.).

At least she had an Olympic medal ..

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You sure ? I don't think so.

I think Gearoid Towey needs to calm down and find a quieter life. Since the Olympics he's done other extreme sports things. Guy needs to get boring like the rest of us, well me anyway .

TarfHead said:

You sure ? I don't think so.

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You're right, but she was a world champion. (And the fastest 'Star in a reasonably priced car' on Top Gear-a better accolade than anything in a boat IMHO!)

tiger said:

I'm in two minds on this one.

On one hand, there is something in the human nature (for some at least) which is always trying to push the envelope. While most of us play it safe, we need the Christopher Columbus types willing to sail off the edge of the world as well.

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Yes, but I though we had established the world was round, we found the South and North Pole, conquered Everest, walked on the moon etc. so I'd rather see endeavour applied to something new and interesting, but that's a matter of opinion I guess.

tiger said:

On the other hand, I think some of these extreme sports/events go a little too far, with participants recklessly endangering their lives and vast resources being spent to protect/rescue them.

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Spot on.

CCOVICH said:

Yes, but I though we had established the world was round, we found the South and North Pole, conquered Everest, walked on the moon etc. so I'd rather see endeavour applied to something new and interesting, but that's a matter of opinion I guess.

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Yes but my point is a general one. For every Christopher Columbus that does something new & interesting, there are a hundred other similar personality types doing something "pointless".

tiger said:

Yes but my point is a general one. For every Christopher Columbus that does something new & interesting, there are a hundred other similar personality types doing something "pointless".

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According to this, Chris (as per the Amstel ad) was only following others as well, and didn't really do anything new at all.

ronan_d_john said:

According to this, Chris (as per the Amstel ad) was only following others as well, and didn't really do anything new at all.

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Interesting theory. But I thought it was really the vikings who were first:
[broken link removed]

Sorry - Double post for some reason

Carpenter said:

The cost of the rescue effort will probably outstrip any funds raised for a charitable cause.

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AFAIK the two lads had to provide all safety equipment and for all contingencies through sponsorship. No helicopters or rescue services were physically deployed in order to facilitate their rescue. The beacon, EPIRB, which they activated did most of the work for them notifying rescue sevices as to their exact position and request ships in the locale.

Also I think this kind of endeavor is highly admirable (sure it's just my personal opinion) but I do think that if we don't try to extend ourselves in all areas of society then nothing can be achieved that hasn't already which would, abviously, lead to a stagnant state and enevitable regression universally, IMHO!

I don't suppose they endangered anyone else's lives in their adventure, unlike others who do endanger the lives of others without setting off with proper equipment etc . I also think coastguards etc need 'live' exercises etc to keep sharp. So while I would consider it a pointless and total waste of time and effort I wouldn't overly criticise them. but neither would I sing their praises which is what RTE appeared to be doing. Or were they too just filling airtime?

Do you know what struck me though. How come there is always exactly the same amount of News??
Like in the Star there are 15 pages or whatever, and the evening news is the same length of time every night.
Maybe there is stuff going on like this every day and we don't hear about it if it's a busy news day.

How come there is always exactly the same amount of News??

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And how come everyone dies in alphabetical order when youre reading the obituaries.

Theres always news, the newspapers have so many words that need to be printed to fill their sheets and radio/tv have a time slot to fill. They will write the words to fill that amount of space no matter how much news there is. Ever notice after reading a newspaper and you feel you didnt acually read that much, go back over the paper and you may find that some lines have more double spacing then others.

I had posted about this yesterday but it seems to have gone missing

I have to say I am surprised at some of the comments that this topic has elicited - In my opinion these guys should be lauded for their efforts for being able to take on the physical and mental challenge of such an event, and not vilified as "drunken eejits".

This was not two blokes who decided to hop into a punt after a couple of jars and row across the pond but a well respected and regular international event that was set up to emulate the first rowed crossing of the Atlantic by two Norwegians in 1895. The Atlantic Rowing Race this year had entries from 26 teams from various contries around the world. In addition the Irish attempt had a large amount of charitable donations riding on it.

Obviously we are entitled to our own opinions on the merits of one sport or endeavour over another but in the spirit of AAM don't close you minds to reasoned debate about something you don't immediately agree with.

An update on the individuals concerned:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Rescued rowers may try ocean race gain [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]By Senan Hogan[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Irish Examiner 16/01/06

TWO Irish rowers who nearly died when their boat capsized in a transatlantic race have not ruled out another attempt at the challenge. Gearóid Towey, 28, from Kilworth, Co Cork, and Ciaran Lewis, 34, from Dalkey, Co Dublin, were greeted by an emotional band of family and friends at Dublin Airport yesterday.

The weary pair had been travelling for nearly a week since a Spanish supertanker rescued them from a force seven storm near Bermuda.

Visibly surprised by yesterday's reception, Towey and Lewis were hugged by family members in an emotional reunion.

Towey said: "We're very relieved to be home.

"We wouldn't rule out doing the race again. We'll have to have a think about it."

Lewis added: "Technically, it was one-in-a-million freak weather conditions that got in the way so we were unfortunate in that respect but very lucky to get out of it."

The pair flew from the southern Spanish port of Cartagena yesterday morning after docking with the Hispania Spirit.

The 98,000-tonne cargo vessel rescued them after they sent an emergency distress signal from their 23ft Digicel Atlantic Challenge boat which had been smashed to pieces by a huge wave.

They had been taking part in the Atlantic rowing race across the ocean.

They had problems earlier with their rudder and were then capsized by a wave.

Towey said last week that he feared for his life.

"The moment I had my biggest fear was when I was in the water when it capsized - I thought this is it, I'm going to drown."

The pair had been raising money for Concern and the Merchant's Quay Project.

The rowers described how they were plunged into the water after a 10-foot wave hit their 23ft vessel.

"For a few moments when the boat capsized it felt like life or death," said Towey.

"But as soon as we got ourselves together, we just clicked into survival mode and we did what was necessary to pull ourselves through."

Towey said he and his partner would reflect on the experience and make a decision on another attempt at the 40-day race.

"Getting across the ocean was something that we wanted to do. We'll give it a bit of time to do a bit of thinking and see how we feel after that.

"Life is there to be lived and these are very exciting things to do," he added.

The men revealed how lucky they were that the Spirit of Hispania was nearby to rescue them.

Lewis said: "The crew told us that they had not taken that route in over three years. They normally sail by the Bahamas. So we were very lucky in that regard. We were in the middle of nowhere basically and it would have taken days in the life raft to get help."

The pair told reporters that they presented the crew of the supertanker with a framed picture of their adventure, which was painted by a friend in Ireland.

Lewis said: "They basically saved our lives at the end of the day."

The rowers had a reunion with family and friends at the Great Southern Hotel at Dublin Airport.
© The Irish Examiner 2006
For breaking news stories all day, every day, click www.breakingnews.ie.
[/FONT]

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Lewis added: "Technically, it was one-in-a-million freak weather conditions that got in the way so we were unfortunate in that respect but very lucky to get out of it."

Ah, the freak wave, the scourge of all those that go to sea.

The fall back excuse for many seafarers for why things go wrong when they are actually either unprepared (no lifejackets), doing something they shouldn’t be doing (drinking onboard), going somewhere they’re unfamiliar with, or are out in weather they shouldn’t be at sea in, or in a boat insufficient for the sea/weather they’re out in.

Ronan d,

Are you saying that freak waves don't exist ? Or are you saying that these guys didn't have life jackets or had been drinking ? Or are you saying that they shouldn't have been there in the first place ?

...and the RTE news last night wasted the first 7/8 minutes talking about these two incredible cretins.....

efm said:

Are you saying that freak waves don't exist ?

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Freak waves do exist. However, without specific reference to these guys, I was implying that many times when freak waves are cited as causes for "accidents" at sea, that it's quite possibly other reasons for the "accidents".

However, specifically here, these guys were in boat at most 1m high above the sea in seas where normal storm size waves of up to 7-8m can be expected.

Therefore, waves which are of normal storm size would appear 7 or 8 times higher than their vessel, and while these may indeed appear freakish to them in their tiny boat, they would not have been actual freak waves.

Therefore, my final comment regarding being in a suitable boat for suitable conditions is probably relevant here.

efm said:

Or are you saying that these guys didn't have life jackets or had been drinking

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To be clear, I didn't say this.

But since you mention it, neither of the guys were wearing wearing a life jacket. As one of them freely admits [broken link removed] Specifically "Gearóid was in a pair of shorts, I had nothing on, ready for sleep."

And also, having admitted that the boat was flipped over and took on water in this same article, this would lead one to reason that they did not fully follow all their own safety procedures, mentioned [broken link removed]. Specifically, "The boat is designed for rough seas. In the event of a capsize the boat will re-right - providing the hatches are closed! "
He mentioned swimming out the door when the hatch flooded after the boat flipped over. Do we therefore assume that they did not have the hatch closed?

And finally, to compound everything else, they left their vessel and jumped into the liferaft, which in the opinion of most experience seafarers, is on most occasions, not the right thing to do. (Reference reports after the Fastnet and Sydney-Hobart races in the past).

So, given the information to hand, in bad weather (not freakish), it was poor seamanship, and insufficient following of safety precautions, and an unsuitable vessel for the conditions that got these guys in trouble, and very unlikely to have been a "freak wave".