56 Mile Row for Tuna

I'm 59 years old.

Now I feel greatly diminished.

I love the fact you're 59. Makes the feat even more impressive. I'm going to see where my heart rate is while peddling my revo. I bet it will be pretty close. And these kinds of endurance feats aren't really out of reach for many of us. Some 70 year old guy is currently rowing across the Atlantic. His name is Stein Hoff and He's more than half way there:

https://my.yb.tl/soloatlanticrow2016/map-only/


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Now I feel greatly diminished.

Anyone who goes to the water in human-powered boats, whether for fishing or solace or exercise, is part of a brotherhood of kindred souls.   We are all one on the water, not in competition, but in solidarity and goodwill.

"Back when the boats were made of wood and the men of iron". 59 years young!

How do rowboats and kayaks compare for long distances?   How far do you folks go on a long trip?  How does paddling and peddling compare?

I think rowboats have the advantage over most fishing kayaks. 10-15 miles makes for a pretty long day for most of us. I think my longest was 22 miles out in the ocean. If someone got serious and did a ton of cycling to cross train I think you could get into the 40 mile range. If I'm trying to cover 2-3 miles quickly I can usually cruise around 4 to 4.5 mph. No way I could maintain that pace for 16 hours but maybe someone in better shape could. This is on a hobie Revo, pedal kayak. A skilled paddler in a sleek boat could do something similar and I think yaktrap (Todd) has. The other option would be to try something similar in one of the sailing kayaks but maybe that's cheating

Awesome accomplishment!

How do rowboats and kayaks compare for long distances?   How far do you folks go on a long trip?  How does paddling and peddling compare?

I think rowboats have the advantage over most fishing kayaks. 10-15 miles makes for a pretty long day for most of us. I think my longest was 22 miles out in the ocean. If someone got serious and did a ton of cycling to cross train I think you could get into the 40 mile range. If I'm trying to cover 2-3 miles quickly I can usually cruise around 4 to 4.5 mph. No way I could maintain that pace for 16 hours but maybe someone in better shape could. This is on a hobie Revo, pedal kayak. A skilled paddler in a sleek boat could do something similar and I think yaktrap (Todd) has. The other option would be to try something similar in one of the sailing kayaks but maybe that's cheating

Awesome accomplishment!

Rowing has numerous mechanical advantages. Much longer lever arm with the oars means you can go faster as the tips of the oars are way faster than paddling, and you get to not only use the largest muscles in the body but you can also use your weight to pull the oars.

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BTW, after this experience, will there be another attempt for albacore this year or future years? You don't have a "I'll get 'em next time" statement. Some years the tuna don't get this close to shore.

Good stuff as others have said. Well done.

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...BTW, after this experience, will there be another attempt for albacore this year or future years? You don't have a "I'll get 'em next time" statement. Some years the tuna don't get this close to shore...

Good stuff as others have said. Well done.
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This was more about fitness and seamanship, so I'm not too disappointed about not catching a tuna.  I might do it again if the tuna come in really close, but most likley I'll wait several years before doing it again.

Awesome experience, thank you for sharing it with us. As my questions were already answered above I'll just say: I hope in as good of shape as you when I'm your age! Thanks for the inspiration.

Great job Tinman!


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Inspiring! I will stop complaining of 12mph Puget Sound cross winds now. 

You'll get one next time.

Great row, and has others have said, the row is different than the peddle and the paddle.  Don't want to steel the thread, but it's very helpful to know the currents as well as the tides if you head around Puget Sound.  You can frequently move a short distance to catch a favorable current regardless of the direction of the tide.  This is a great chart to have for fishing as well as long distance paddling:
http://nsgl.gso.uri.edu/washu/washuc77001/washuc77001_part3.pdf

You can pick your area, and see how the currents change which is very helpful for fishing.  I've paddled a sea kayak non-stop from the launch at Nisqually to Alki beach as well as from Belfair to Seabeck, both are about 40 miles.  You can move 50 feet to one side and go from 3.5 to 5.5 mph (gps) with no change in paddling effort.  The sea kayak was 23" wide by 17' long, hugely different than my 27" girth trident 13, in which 20 miles would be a good effort.

Again, not a comparison between your long ocean row and and a sea kayak in Puget Sound, but 56 miles in open water is impressive.  Nice job.

Great row, and has others have said, the row is different than the peddle and the paddle.  Don't want to steel the thread, but it's very helpful to know the currents as well as the tides if you head around Puget Sound.  You can frequently move a short distance to catch a favorable current regardless of the direction of the tide... 

You can pick your area, and see how the currents change which is very helpful for fishing.  I've paddled a sea kayak non-stop from the launch at Nisqually to Alki beach as well as from Belfair to Seabeck, both are about 40 miles.  You can move 50 feet to one side and go from 3.5 to 5.5 mph (gps) with no change in paddling effort.  The sea kayak was 23" wide by 17' long, hugely different than my 27" girth trident 13, in which 20 miles would be a good effort...

It's hard to predict currents in the open ocean, but my course was designed to take advantage of the usual southbound current along the coast.  I started in Oceanside, and landed 18 miles south in Pacific City.   Here is my actual GPS track.

Spectacular!

Back in 1989 I built a lapstrake dory skiff that I loved rowing around Monterey and Santa Cruz, later in Oregon bays and lakes. You've taken it to a whole other level!

Thanks for sharing your adventure!

Dave