Explorer welcomes attacks by Great White Sharks
Solo explorer Wave Vidmar will row 3,300 miles from USA to Europe and expects to be attacked by Great White sharks as large as his boat.
Online, May 25, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Not many people would welcome the chance to be attacked by a Great White Shark up to 25-feet long, but then again, most people are not like professional explorer Wave Vidmar. Vidmar will embark on a two to four month solo ocean row across the North Atlantic from USA to Europe this Summer. Why? For science, research, education, and of course the adventure of it all.
Vidmar will launch from the East Coast, most likely Chatham, Massachusetts, sometime in this coming Summer. From there, the American will row, by himself, some 3,300 miles towards England. His 24-foot custom designed and hand-built ocean row boat is made of carbon fiber, Kevlar, and foam - and not much bigger than the Great White sharks he expects will attack. The Kevlar is for "shark protection" he adds.
Typically Atlantic Great White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) will follow the tiny ocean row boats for hours to days, then attack by biting the backs of the boats. Vidmar hopes to be equipped with a 'shark tag' and tag the animal so that researchers may gain further insight into their habits in the wild.
During Vidmar's expedition, people at home will be able to visit his website and read daily updates, see images, live tracking, or receive tweets via Twitter.
Besides being attacked by Great White sharks, Vidmar also faces other dangers such as giant waves over 40 feet tall, hurricanes, and the biggest threat - being run over by cargo and container ships, most of which cannot see Vidmar. But Vidmar takes it all in stride, "I'm not a thrill-seeker, I mitigate my risks by doing as much research and preparation as possible. Besides my missions of science and education, I strive to inspire other to reach for their own dreams and goals".
You can follow Vidmar's adventure at his website: www.oceanrowsolo.com