Roz Savage

So far so good! I love reading about people and their crazy adventures.

I have mixed feelings on this. I wanted to know more about actually rowing the Atlantic and less about the author's personal growth.

I find the idea of dropping out of the rat race to do something adventurous admirable but I also think she made some very poor decisions. I think they type of people who make the leap to pursue this type of thing are much more accepting of risk than I am though, so I don't know why her behavior surprised me.

It was just OK but now I want to learn more about ocean rowing so I need to see what other books are out there.

FYI: author just started rowing the Indian Ocean solo this past week. You can follow on her blog.… (més)

Just finished a preview copy of Stop Drifting START ROWING and LOVED IT! While I may be biased because I read every ocean rowing book I can get my hands on, Roz' second book is better than most I've read. While it includes the typical (?) tales of rolls, malfunctions, mistakes (like swimming away from her boat and almost not getting back), avoiding shipping, shark tales, etc., it is so much more. To me the most powerful element of this tale, aside from the sheer audacity of a transPacific row (!), is her commentary on the failing health of the ocean. I am NOT a tree hugger or anything approaching an ardent environmentalist, but this story is as compelling an argument for conservation and environmentally ethical living as any I have read. Amazingly, the most memorable parts of the book for me were those that spoke to the proliferation of plastics throughout the ocean. Reading her encounters with plastic from small bits clogging her water filters to larger chunks and whole bottles/items almost everyone is sobering, disillusioning, and mobilizing all in one. PICK this book up (preferably buy it--mine is on pre-order from Amazon) and read a great ocean rowing tale, a story about personal growth, snippets about wonderful people she met along the way, observations about the world in which we live and things we all need to do to ensure its existence as we know it, and so much more. Happy reading.… (més)

“Stop Drifting, Start Rowing” is not just a tale of adventure and daring but the inspiring story of a woman who totally turned her life around to fulfill her dreams. At age 34, Roz Savage, left her faltering marriage, sold the bulk of her worldly possessions and set out to become a world adventurer, an environmentalist, a writer and a speaker. She holds four world records for being the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. This book details rowing across the Pacific, alone, in her custom boat, "the Brocade," including several pages of color photos.

Savage covers her struggles with storms, failing equipment, one evacuation. She also describes the peaceful solitude and beauty of the sky and ocean, which she heartily appreciated after completing the 8,000 mile crossing in three stages totaling 245 days.

The point of Savage’s feat was not just to achieve a record, but to call attention to the threat to marine life caused by thoughtless and unnecessary use of consumer plastics, which escape to live in the oceans and also in the stomachs of birds and fish. Having spent time on Midway Island and seen, first hand, the nests of albatrosses containing plastic lighters, netting, bottles, and more, I empathize with Savage’s disgust at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Environmental pollution, as well as global warming, are international problems which Savage is striving to publicize through her exploits, writing and speaking engagements.

For readers like me who can’t imagine spending 245 days rowing alone in the Pacific, living the experience through “Stop Drifting, Start Rowing” is a good alternative.… (més)