The RNLI Flag Day was an opportunity for staff to promote the charity. Volunteers raised money during the day, selling souvineers. The lifeboat was alongside the quay in the evening, offering the opportunity for locals and visitors to have a look onboard. Unfortunately, light rain was falling in the evening, so there was not many people down the quay.
Theodore Rezvoy, a rower attempting to row from New York to Scilly and on to France was stopped by the US Navy.
On a day when “Teddy” Rezvoy had already needed to right his transatlantic rowing vessel twice, having been flipped in the waves, and needing to repair his rudder in shark-infested water (white sharks), Teddy saw a ship on the horizon. “A painkiller [from the ship] would be great,” Teddy thought to himself. He radioed the vessel for a painkiller. The US Navy vessel then approached.
The Navy was suspicious and on high alert after the events of 11 September 2001 in New York.
The Navy dived under the yellow rowing boat (pictured above) and confiscated his “weapons”, a penknife and flares. Teddy was lifted aboard the USS Doyle.
“They asked me if I have some explosive material or some weapons. And they took from the boat my knife and flares and everything dangerous - they took it all,” said Rezvoy.
The Navy then attempted to bring aboard the rowing boat, a process which was unsuccessful and damaged the boat. The rowing boat was then cast adrift.
OceanRowing.com explains: “He got to sleep on a hard birch in the hallway. … The boat that his father had so lovingly devoted most his time to was lost. The U$100,000 expedition money was gone, a serious blow to Teddy?s U$200/month income back in Ukraine. His personal clothes, pictures, food, tech - all was lost by a single cut of the towing rope. Back on land, Teddy was handed the last piece of hope - the Argos tracker. The Marines had left the emergency beacon, but for some reason gone back for the Argos tracking unit before releasing his boat.
They continue: “If Teddy had been an American rower there would have been CNN, ABC news, AP and Reuters raising hell right now. Teddy?s papers were clear and he had all the right in the world to row out of US to France. Even the coastguard came over to see him off at Battery Park.
”But Teddy is from Ukraine. Back at ExplorersWeb office in Manhattan, he already plans for a fresh start next year. He says he takes full responsibility for what happened and wishes no harm to the US Navy. He only hopes he?ll be let back into the country next year to follow through on his adventure.
”It was people like Teddy who once built America. They came from Europe on wooden boats and feared nothing. They made a country based on Freedom and Justice for all. We love that. We need to protect that. But more than our lives, we need to protect the American dream. The dream that if a single guy dreams up that he can row in a small boat all the way to France, he has the right to try.”
He rowed across the Atlantic in the opposite direction in 2001 (due west). Should he complete the challenge Teddy would become the third person in history to complete a ‘return trip’ rowing across the Atlantic.
Links:
a href=”http://www.rezvoy.com/English/indexENG.htm” target=”_blank”Rezvoy.com/a: “Theodore Rezvoy”
a href=”http://www.oceanrowing.com/Theodore_Rezvoy_2003/Media/Explorersweb_14_July_engl.htm” target=”_blank”OceanRowing.com/a: “Hello, where is my boat”
The Scillonian will be sailed extended day-trips on Wednesdays. It will depart Penzance at 0800 an hour and fifteeen minutes earlier to encourage more day trippers midweek. This is the first time an earlier departure time has been planned on a normal sailing day. The corporate special sailings with Trading Pages and Pirate FM earlier this season were used as a test for early sailing times. The take up on these days proved that additional time to spend in the Islands is just what day trippers want.
If the early sailings in August are busy this will encourage us to offer more flexibility during 2004.
In the small hours Friday morning, St Mary?s Lifeboat was called out to a yacht. At around 3 am, the Whiteheads attended a French yacht that had dragged anchor, ending up ashore on Gugh. St Agnes Coastguard were at the scene. The lifeboat towed the yacht to St Mary?s harbour. The shaft was slightly damaged, but was soon repaired. She left for France on Saturday 26.
This was the third time the lifeboat had been called out in a week. Before Saturday, it had not been called out since February.
Thanks to Andy Brown.
The grand summer charity ball, the KIWOHEDE fund-raiser, was a great success. Erica Hicks? event sold 150 tickets. iBernard and the Kelp Pit/i made their debut and iTouching Cloth/i also played. Artwork donated by local artists rasied over ?1000. The total raised for the Tanzanian charity was ?6,618.80.
The 5th Tresco marathon will be held on Sunday 18th April 2004 with a maximum field of 125 runners.
The Tresco Marathon was first run in 2000 when Island Hotel head chef, Peter Hingston, wanted to raise money and awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, as his daughter has the condition. The marathon has since become an annual event and continues to raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, with over ?100,000 raised to date.
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The challenging course consists of 71/2 laps, each with 3 hills, run on rough concrete roads around the island of Tresco. The course record is 2 hours 53 minutes and 49 seconds.
For more information and to request an application form visit the a href=”http://www.tresco.co.uk/about_tresco/tresco_marathon.asp” target=”_blank”Tresco website/a.
Help to fight Britains most common life threatening inherited disease.
Alan Knight
St Mary?s Lifeboat was called out twice during the weekend, both times in the middle of the day.
The Cornishman reports that on Saturday, the lifeboat went to the aid of a German yacht off the east coast of St Martin?s with engine failure and sail problems. The lifeboat towed the yacht into St Mary?s. On Sunday, the lifeboat and local services went to a local catamaran that had capsized and a person that had been seen in the water.
Theodore Rezoy of the Ukraine set off from Manhatten, New York on 2 July in an attempt to cross the Atlantic. He will be rowing a purpose-built boat, expecting to complete the first stage of his journey when he passes Bishop Rock in September. He will then continue to Brest, having travelled 3365 miles.
He will row at night, to avoid colliding with shipping. He expects to take 60-80 days to complete his journey.
This row comes 108 years after George Harbo and Frank Samuelsen of Norway arrived in the Islands from New York, after rowing for 55 days.
Erica Hicks, 20, who has lived on the Isles of Scilly most of her life took a gap year between college and university last year. This is not unusual, however, not many people chose to take a trip to Africa to help educate children over there. Before returning from the six-month experience, she pledged to raise money for the children she taught in Tanzania.
The Grand Summer Ball in Tresco?s Community Hall on Saturday 5 July will raise money: ?In aid of the KIWOHEDE project in Tanzania for the education of abused and under-privileged girls.?
For those interested in going tomorrow, the dress code with black tie, but ?heels must not be worn in the Hall.? There will be a buffet supper, live music and an aution of local artworks. Tickets cost ?20 from Tideline, Phoenix Stained Glass or Tresco Stores. Boats will leave St Mary?s at 7:40 and 8:40 pm, and return at 11:45 pm and 12:45 am, return tickets cost ?5.
Miss Hicks took six-months out, helping educate African girls as a part of the KIWOHEDE (Kiota Women?s Health and Development Organization) project. In a special edition of Scilly up-to-date she says of her experience:
“Yesterday my session at KIWOHEDE was cancelled because, when I got there, the girls had to have a rehearsal in preparation for this morning (a television crew are supposed to be coming over for a programme).
“It was really awful. This girls had to stand up in front of everyone and tell their life stories. They were all trying really hard not to break down … One of the girls had been forced into being circumsized, another had had to work looking after and cooking for children who were older than her - for no money. One day she burned the food and, after having been severely beaten by her employer, managed to run away. She said all she wanted was to go to school, so, after a lot of hard work, she managed to save up 3,000 Tsh (about ?2.40). She took the money to a head-teacher in order to start but the head took the money and chased her away. … all the girls, who has mostly been crying, suddenly became hysterical and started sobbing and screaming on the floor. … The social worker, who had come for the afternoon, informed me that two of the girls had been possessed by the devil. Right. I didn?t know quite how to respond to that. The girls were pretty much all OK by the end of the afternoon and even came to see if iI/i was alright because iI?d/i been crying.”
Erica?s article concludes: “The co-ordinators … do their best to help the girls; they counsel them, provide shelter and an encouraging environment, organise home visits, prepare informal classes and inspect workplaces looking for other neglected girls. However, with little money available, it is often a struggle to provide even the basics for the girls, let alone fulfil many of their dreams of going to school. The counsellors help [the girls] to come to terms with their past, but often, the girls are forced back into the same way of life simply because there is no alternative; because there is no money.”
All proceeds from the ball will be going to the KIWOHEDE project.
John Evans has been appointed head of the Five Islands? School, 14 months into the controversial federation project, after Paul Mulligan, the headmaster who started off the project, resigned for personal reasons.
John Evans has been appointed head for the rest of this academic year, and until the end of the next in August 2004.
Mr Evans said to Clive Mumford for iThe Cornishman/i: “I have always believed that the school has the potential to be a really great one. … I am looking forward to working with the children, staff, governors and officers to move the school forward in it?s achievements.”
Secretary for Education, Philip Hygate, said: “He brings great knowledge and experience of school improvements to the isles.”
Mr Evans has been a teacher for 38 years in schools right across the country. He has served as a head in schools for over 18 years. He is an experienced trainer of teachers and headteachers and an adviser on school improvement — so if anyone is going to serve the school well, it should be Mr Evans.