in a boat.
Yup.
Tyson is getting on a boat with two other guys and they are going to attempt to beat a world record known as the Bermuda Challenge.
It's a 780 mile one-way trip from New York City to Bermuda.
They will be in a 37' Statement Marine Center Console.
You may recognize this boat from my post here.
Chris, the boat owner, Nick Buis, co-owner of Statement Marine (the company we work closely with), and Mike, a former offshore-racer attempted this challenge last year. On September 21, 2011 they departed NYC and made it about halfway and then had to turn around. They were faced with 12'-14' seas.
This is what they were attempting to get through:
Nasty!
The boat is equipped with GPS, live streaming video, and a sat-phone for communication which is nice... until the sat-phone and video gives out. Last year, me and thousands of other boating enthusiasts sat in front of our computers watching this:
Basically, the GPS on the boat pings a satellite and records the location to an online server. Anyone can log on to the website to view their location. But the sat-phone not working was making everyone pretty nervous. We were worried that they had:
1. Hit something in the water and had broken the drives/props,
2. The fuel bladder had burst so they would not have enough fuel to make it to Bermuda, or
3. Something terrible had happen and someone was injured.
We were all frantically updating the website to watch their progress and posting on the boating forum what "might have" happened.
When the seas are 10' plus, you are technically going a longer distance. Instead of driving a straight shot on a level surface, they were maneuvering around waves that were similar to hills, making their trip longer and therefore burning more fuel.
They made the right choice and came home safely.
This time it will be Chris, Nick, and Tyson. Tyson is perfect for this because he isn't scared of anything... oh and he knows a lot about boats and can fix damn near any problem they might face.
He flew out of Fayetteville, AR this morning at 7:30 and will get to New York around 4pm. They will eat dinner and then hit the hay. At 9:06am they will depart. They will be escorted out of New York by the Coast Guard and a helicopter will follow them for a few miles off shore to get video/photos. Then they are on their own to Bermuda.
If they have good seas at 1-3', stay on track, and keep their speed around 40mph, it will be a 19 hour journey.
Talk about stress a girl out! I am with Tyson 24/7 and when I'm not with him, we talk on the phone every few hours.
I am confident they will be fine and Chris assures us that the video and phone will work this time!
Ain't nothin' like a glitch when you are 400 miles offshore!
So if you have room for an extra prayer, these guys would sure appreciate it!
Adios chicas!
Oh my! Talk about a nail biter!! I'm sure it will all go smoothly... But I'll say a little prayer too! Can't wait to hear all about it
ReplyDeleteThanks for the support! I'm so glad they made it safely and beat the record!! Woohoooo!!
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