Rules. Ships can have a max crew of 300 persons. Ships must be of a single hull design. Ships can only be human powered via oars. Ships may be constructed of any material. Ships must be deamed sea worthy by international inspection team. The begining of the race would be Norway, with a stop in Iceland and Greenland. The finish point would be a northeastern point off of Canada or some northeastern state. Teams have 1 year to build and one month to test their ships. First team across the Atlantic wins.
This would bring back to mind the days when the vikings rulled the seas in their rowing ships. It would be an international competition. Prizes would be trophies, fame, money, sponsors and so forth.
I just watched a show on the history channel where a group of people built a small viking ship.
There are small teams of people who have attempted to row across the Atlantic. A 300 person ship would be interesting to watch in competition with 50 or 60 other massive rowing ships.-- Antegrity, Feb 10 2006 The Ocean Rowing Society http://www.oceanrowing.com/ [calum, Feb 10 2006] Atlantic Rowing Race http://www.atlanticrowingrace.co.uk/ [calum, Feb 10 2006] 170 oarsmen http://www.users.gl...~loxias/trireme.htm [AbsintheWithoutLeave, Feb 10 2006] I cannot imagine the Vikings rowed across the Atlantic. I am sure they had sails.-- bungston, Feb 10 2006 are they allowed GPS ? mead?-- neilp, Feb 10 2006 sp:deemed
//The finish point would be a northeastern point off of Canada or Vermont.// Since Vermont is a landlocked state, I'd pay good money to see this race. Will the 300 crewmembers be sufficient to drag their ship across the breadth of New Hampshire and the White Mountains? Or will the winning crew go for the longer, trickier, but slightly flatter St. Lawrence maneuver and portage across lower Quebec? Stay tuned for the exciting results.
I'm tempted to draw some comparisons to the heroic efforts depicted in Werner Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo" (starring Klaus Kinski, 1982), but I suspect that these Scandinavian crews would be much more likely to listen to Wagnerian operas than Italian arias as they moved their boats closer to the goal line. And after all, it's just the White Mountains and the lesser ranges of the Appalachians, which seem far less daunting than taking a river boat from Manaus, Brazil across the Andes Mountains to Iquitos, Peru, to open an opera house worthy of an Enrico Caruso performance in the Amazonian headwaters.-- jurist, Feb 10 2006 This idea needed more Kinski from the get go. Thank you, jurist.-- calum, Feb 10 2006 Hey with global warming going the way it is, vermont may have a seacoast soon.-- Galbinus_Caeli, Feb 10 2006 Leaving aside the need for amphibious capability, I'm thinking there are some interesting design issues with designing a rowing skiff for three hundred people. Plus their food, etc. I think you could get up to a pretty decent clip. Eventually.
Bun.-- moomintroll, Feb 10 2006 I'd like it, but it seems bloody slow and non-dramatic.-- baconbrain, Feb 13 2006 I edited out vermont, but if you all want to have a land race thats fine with me. Ships could be out fitted with wheels. Think of the fierce intenational competion. And the 300 man rowing vessel is rolling down mainstreet crushing everything in its path.-- Antegrity, Mar 20 2006 No, but nerves of steel.-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 12 2016 Boner of contention.-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 12 2016 When the coxswain yells " stroke " you're going to get about a quarter second lag in the response time between the oarsmen at the front of the boat and the rear.
And food breaks should be interesting. You'll want to rotate people in and out for maximum comedy.-- normzone, May 12 2016 Why //a single hull design// ?-- FlyingToaster, May 12 2016 For such a long distance, would rowing or pedaling be more efficient, or both? Perhaps have a group rowing, a group pedaling, and a group sleeping / eating.-- RayfordSteele, May 13 2016 random, halfbakery