May 21, 2012
By Mera McGrew
Roz Savage and Andrew Morris, two British ocean rowers, were planning to set off on a record-setting voyage across the Northern Atlantic this week. However, fragmented icebergs and unusual amounts of ice have forced the ocean-rowing duo to cancel their expedition.
Savage released a statement saying, “The chances of hitting ice — and the serious consequences of a punctured hull in freezing North Atlantic waters — meant that the risk to our safety was simply unacceptable.“ Morris commented, “we came here to do something inspiring, not something stupid.”
Savage, 44, and Morris, 47, had teamed up to become the first male-female team to cross the North Atlantic, test themselves physically and mentally, arrive in London for the beginning of the 2012 Olympic games, and also to raise awareness for environmental issues.
Experts say that the unusual quantities of small shards and fragmented chunks of ice that are blocking the ocean rowers route are largely due to an event that occurred two years ago — when a chunk of ice four times the size of Manhattan broke away from the Petermann Glacier in Greenland.
Given the immovable deadline of reaching London in time for the start of the 2012 Summer Olympic games, the rowing duo doesn’t have the luxury to wait until the ice melts and or disperses so they have decided to postpone their row.
Savage said, “It seems ironic to me, as an environmental campaigner, that our bid to row the Atlantic has been scuppered by the disintegration of the Greenland ice sheet, most likely as a consequence of climate change. “
Both Morris and Savage are hopeful that the cancellation of their voyage will draw attention to global warming and the melting of the polar ice caps.
The pair is now making arrangements to have their boat, Bojangles, shipped back to England so that they can complete the 125-mile row from Bristol to London, originally planed to be the last leg of their 2,500+-mile row, in time for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Savage and Morris say that they plan to continue to monitor ice conditions in the hopes of making the expedition next year.
Top image: Savage and Morris rowing past an iceberg in Tapper’s Cove. Photo from Savag’s blog.