CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/517026
TRENDS JUNE 2015 18 CompositesWorld In this unique one-of carbon and Kevlar rowboat, Sonya Baumstein will attempt to become the frst woman to row from Japan to the US. The idea of crossing the Pacifc alone in a 7m-long, carbon fber-intensive rowboat is daunting, to say the least. Although the 6,000-mile journey from Choshi, Japan to San Francisco, CA, US, is arguably the most difcult open-ocean crossing in the world, Sonya Baumstein says she is more than ready for the challenge. "I've never done it, so there is nothing to be afraid of," she quips. Baumstein isn't entirely unprepared, however. In 2011, she rowed from Spain across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. After that, she kayaked from Washington State to Alaska. And In 2013, she paddle-boarded across the Bering Strait. Baumstein worked with America's Cup naval archi- tects Paul Bieker and Eric Jolley to help design a boat to ft her needs. The craft in fnal form features a cockpit that gives Baumstein enough space to sit and row and the boat has enough room for her to lie down in its cabin to sleep, but it weighs only 350 kg fully loaded, and is without a motor or back-up sail option. The boat's low mass is credited to the use of Divinycell foam as the hull core material. Boatbuilder Carbon Craft (Tampa, FL, US) donated the mold and the boat was infused, assembled and outftted by SpinDrift Rowing (Port Townsend, WA, US). The journey will take as long as 180 days. If she fnishes, she will be the frst woman and the frst American to row across the Pacifc. Onboard the boat are 900 dehydrated meals, 180 drink supplements, an electric desalinator that can produce 30L of water per hour, 60L of backup freshwa- ter and 75 kg of scientifc equipment. The latter will enable Baumstein to collect oceanographic data that will help scientists understand El Nino weather patterns and climate change. "The incredible cost associated with sending research vessels is prohibitive and the size of the vessels are far too big to collect accurate data at the surface level, or stay out for the duration I can." Baumstein says. MARINE Carbon fiber rowboat to enable solo Pacific Ocean crossing Source | SpinDrift Rowing