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Solo Rower Gets Wind, Current Data Aid
Trans-Atlantic solo expedition rower Paul Ridley completed a charity fund-raising ocean crossing from the Canary Islands to Antigua, on March 29, 2009. Ridley's three-month solo effort ended successfully with support from his friends, family, as well as guidance from the Antigua & Barbuda Search & Rescue (ABSAR) organization using technology developed by Rhode Island ocean science and technology company, Applied Science Associates (ASA). Ridley completed a historic transAtlantic expedition to benefit cancer research, as he rowed for 10-12 hours per day with little help coming from anything more than favorable ocean currents and wind direction. "When the wind, waves, and currents did not cooperate, the journey called Row for Hope became more challenging and uncertain," said a Ridley family member. Jonathan Cornelius of ABSAR organization voluntarily offered his time and expertise as well as advanced technology provided to ABSAR, ASA's SARMAP and EDS: Environmental Data Server developed in collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard. A combination of search and rescue technology and real-time and ocean data forecasting system, ASA's software combined with Cornelius' expertise, was used to look at possible drift scenarios for family and friends who were awaiting Ridley's landing in Antigua when the crossing took longer than planned. "Jonathan (Cornelius) was wonderful, providing the perfect mixture of calm presence, knowledge of local waters, and upto-the-minute computerized wind and current data," said Ridley's father on the Row for Hope blog as he described how Jonathan Cornelius and ASA's cutting edge technology were helpful in providing predictions, advice, and tracking how Ridley and his small craft, Liv, were affected by the Atlantic ocean's winds, weather, and currents. In a 19-ft. custom built boat, provided by Aquidneck Custom, a Rhode Island boat building company, Ridley's ocean expedition began in December 2008. His planned route was to row as directly as possible from Africa to Antigua, crossing the whole of the Atlantic Ocean. While rowing more than 3,000 nautical miles, Ridley, in contact with a land-based support team via satellite phone, was entirely alone on the open
10 MTR
June 2009
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