Rowing the Atlantic: Lessons Learned on the Open Ocean

What an inspiration this book was, unforgettable.

Roz Savage needed 103 days to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a rowboat. Yes, a rowboat. Admittedly, it was a high-tech rowboat, with a carbon fiber hull, GPS, satphone, and even more bells and whistles, but still: a ROWBOAT! So tell me, what have YOU done with your life? But Savage doesn't just tell us this story to brag about her accomplishments. She also tells us of the misdirected life she had to overcome to reach that point; the dismal career that ate up her twenties; the marriage that she entered for the wrong reasons and then left, she admits, in haste; her decision, at thirty-six, to become an ocean rower and physical adventurer. And she tells us what she learned, both good and bad, from the experience. The lessons Savage brings out of her experience rowing the Atlantic solo and unsupported are not necessarily the ones you might expect. She finds stores of resilience in the oddest places, and her determination to perform this remarkable task is reinforced in largely the opposite of the ways most people would anticipate. And even though she comes dead last in the Atlantic Rowing Race, she comes out of the experience transformed into a hero. In case you get the notion to follow in Savage's footsteps, she makes plain just how great the difficulties she endured were. Her frank narrative of her struggles and accomplishments makes plain that this is very difficult. But she also makes plain that in her difficulties were the seeds of her greatest accomplishments. And she shows you how your difficulties, even if they aren't as dramatic as hers, are where you will find your true humanity. In a world that produces few heroes, Roz Savage is one. And she's a hero not because she is larger than life, but precisely because she lives life more completely and absolutely than most people would dare. Give a copy of this book to your daughter. Study this book yourself. Each of us would be well advised to learn from Roz Savage what it means to be completely human.

I've followed Roz Savage's Pacific row blog since her launch from San Francisco in 2008, and I was afraid that "Rowing the Atlantic" wouldn't hold any surprises for me. I felt like I knew her already. I'd read plenty of details from her backstory and how she came to ocean rowing. But my fear was definitely unwarranted. With the same no-nonsense aptitude she seems to have developed for any challenge, she makes the storytelling transition from blog form to book appear effortless. My wife and I read "Rowing the Atlantic" aloud to each other on the drive down to Florida for our beach vacation, and it opened up topics for conversation and discussions we'd never had before in 18 years together. It was the perfect book to share. There were revelations that made my jaw drop, observations that made us laugh out loud, and lessons that I ruminated for days as I looked at my own life and the path I've followed. In her own way, Savage shows that an ordinary person has the capacity for extraordinary. While her story is unique and complex, I think every reader will find some element that resonates with his or her own life. Savage has a gift for inspiring readers to see broader possibilities while never coming across as preachy or egotistic. The way she unspools the adventure of crossing an ocean is in turns hilarious, nail biting, and touching. It's Roz Savage's willingness and talent for sharing her life experience--tempered with a British flair for understatement yet full of vivacious personality--that made me into a fan. It's her positive attitude and undaunted belief, forged in her own experience, that we can make a better future for ourselves that has turned me into an advocate and supporter.

It wasn't until I read the simple paragraph above at the end of chapter 21 describing the embrace shared between you and your wonderful mum at the end of the race that I could breathe normally again. Even though I knew the ending, my heart was in my throat for the duration of the incredible journey you took me on. Along the way I had many doubts that "we" would ever make it. I say "we" because your book has that rare capacity to put the reader right in the cramped boat with you, almost experiencing your despair, hopelessness, sense of danger, exultation, the discomfort: aching shoulders, blisters on hands, boil on your poor bum, even the sting of the salty spray of the of the wind on your face. You lay bare your heart (among other body parts) and your honesty comes through every sentence. Thank goodness you gave your readers the luxury of that lovely massage at the end. We needed that! Your former life on your commute and at the office: "flourescent-lit, gray blandness of it all depressed my spirit, but I wanted the money and prestige, so I pushed my doubt aside and got on with it. Everyone else seemed to find it quite normal, (me: lol) and I hoped eventually I would too." Luckily for us you never did find that life normal so you were able to take us on a grand adventure, that definitely would not have been as much fun if we had to stay in the office with you. It was amazing to watch you evolve from being so materialistic (how many people know this about themselves, much less admit it?) and then to express so beautifully your new philosophy of life of which I have no room here to comment on, other than to say you could write a whole separate book on just that, and I would proudly display it on my (read often) bookshelf alongside Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and Tolle's "A New Earth." (Also any books by Patrick McDonnell creator of "Mutts" comic strip). Btw, when I finished reading "Rowing the Atlantic" late last night, I then read a bit of Teddy Kennedy's "True Compass". A wonderful book as well, but in the bit I read, he was sailing in his luxury yacht... just wasn't the same. Roz Savage is dedicated to wonderful causes: to bring awareness to Climate Change, plastics in our oceans, etc. Can one 5'4" beautiful English woman make a difference in how we treat our beautiful planet? Well, for me, as I sit writing this review at my favorite Starbucks armed with a journal (a la Roz), I made sure to order my coffee in a "for here" cup so it wouldn't end up in a landfill. I plan to tweet Oprah about Roz and encourage others to do so if you enjoy this book: it would not only make a fabulous selection for her book club, but with the Oprah sticker on the front of the book, just imagine how fast the Roz message might get spread to the far corners of our oceans and earth. It can't be fast enough!

Roz Savage tells a bold tale of overcoming obstacles I can't even begin to imagine. But after reading this extraordinary adventure, you'll feel like you too can do anything! Roz recounts the events in her life that led her to make a break with the past and ultimately her decision to row the Atlantic. You have an onboard seat for the amazing 100+ days of rowing. Even better she shares the life lessons she learned along the way. And there are many. Treat yourself and a friend or two, to spend some time with a wonderful and engaging adventuress. You won't be sorry. You may even find yourself looking for a new adventure or two! Get this book!

This is the story of a young woman who realised that being ordinary just wasn't enough and set out to discover who she really was. She did this by entering the Atlantic Rowing Race in 2005; rowing a 23' boat 3,000 miles alone across the Atlantic Ocean. She had no experience and her expectations were based entirely on optimism and the determination to at last do something entirely on her own. Roz Savage switches smoothly between the story of her voyage and the events in her life that led to it, and the two lines intersect perfectly. She describes her thoughts and fears as she deals with a series of disasters, all overcome by ingenuity or sheer persistence or by ignoring them. She includes some very personal revelations and her self-deprecating style is quite moving. I had to pause every so often just to absorb what I had just read. Roz demonstrates by often painful examples that getting outside one's comfort-zone is extremely uncomfortable. She reveals her innermost thoughts and weaknesses, but leaves us to observe her strengths. It is very well written and both exciting and intimate, so I could almost hear Roz's voice narrating as I read. Unusually for me, I read the book straight through at one sitting. Rowing the Atlantic is entertaining and inspirational at many levels and I cannot recommend it too highly as a good read for anyone of any age or background. It's a keeper--a book to re-read every year or so and ideal as a gift for `teens and adults alike. My wife and I have had the good fortune to meet Roz Savage and were very impressed by her, but until reading this book we had not realised just how special she is. Clearly by not seeking to rely on friends, Roz has made many of them.