Robert Suhay, the 51-year-old sailor who's attempting to break the world record for a 300-mile unassisted solo sail, was nearly run down by a tugboat this morning. He's okay, but the Coast Guard has told him to get some sleep. He will anchor and do just that after he hits the turn around at the Sassafrass River. Read updates here.
In the meantime, his wife Lisa has written this article for the Christian Science Monitor called, "What tech would you stake your life on?"
She writes, "It appears that the GPS was the most critical piece of gear because he needs to stay on course so as to both make the record and not become exhausted by getting lost, backtracking, or ending up in areas that would require too much tacking (an exhausting route adjustment or turning maneuver for a small boat sailor).
A good GPS device can mean efficiency of effort, accuracy, critical weather updates, or the lack thereof on a trip such as this.
As tweets and e-mails pour in from all over the country, I realize the piece of gear I should have sent with him was a SPOT GPS tracker that he could tap (much like a Star Trek communicator badge) and ping a satellite with his location.
For $100, I could be much calmer right now because this piece of gear does motion-activated tracking."
S.O.S. = Spot Our Sailor! Help us track Robert. His communications are out. We need spotters. Sail #168317
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