Roz Savage

Roz Savage

Stop Drifting, Start Rowing is based on my Pacific crossing between 2008 and 2010, it is a book about having a big dream and making it happen, showing what even a short, fortyish, and not very athletic woman can achieve given enough determination and dedication. It describes my failed attempt of 2007 and the soul-searching that ensued, followed by three successful voyages to make me the first woman to row solo across the Pacific. I share the insights I gained along the way - psychological, spiritual and environmental.

 

At what point did your realise that you didn’t have it all and wanted something more?

 

I’d had an increasing sense that the job I was doing, as a management consultant, didn’t mean anything to me apart from the money. Basically, I was doing a job I didn’t like to buy stuff I didn’t need. What really brought that home to me was an exercise I did one day: I wrote two versions of my own obituary – the one I wanted, and the one I was heading for if I carried on as I was. I realized I was heading in completely the wrong direction if I wanted to end up with a life of meaning and happiness.

 

Why did you decide that rowing was the way that you would find the person on the inside again?

 

My choice to row was really driven by my newfound environmental passion. Just at the time that I was realigning my life, as part of my new and more conscious way of living I had an environmental epiphany and was horrified at what we are doing, not only to our planet, but really to ourselves. This environmental mission was half of my motivation for the ocean rowing voyages, on a par with the personal quest. I was looking for a way to get people’s attention for my message, and the fact that I’d rowed quite seriously at college was enough to give me the delusion that rowing across oceans was something I was vaguely qualified to do.

 

Why was it important to you to raise awareness of the heavy toll that human beings were taking on the earth?

 

When I had my belated epiphany, it seemed so obvious to me that if we carry on the way we are, human beings are not going to have a long and healthy future – that the damage we are inflicting on the very fabric of our planet is going to rebound on us in a very real way. When I looked into how much we’ve changed the soil, water and atmosphere, even in my lifetime, the rate of change was seriously alarming. What could be more important than the continued survival of our species?!

 

When did you first start to feel happy and that your life had meaning again while at sea?

 

It’s kind of a trick subtitle. Being at sea is actually not really relevant to the search for happiness and meaning, I discovered. Being alone on the ocean has the advantage of giving me lots of time to think, but happiness and meaning are accessible to anybody, at any time. They aren’t things you find, they’re things you create. And they’re most definitely not something you can buy!

 

What were your biggest highs and lows on your journey?

 

It was really tough in 2007 when I had my failed attempt on the Pacific, when my boat capsized 3 times in 24 hours. I would have carried on, except somebody decided that I needed to be rescued, and sent out the US Coast Guard without asking me first. I didn’t feel that I needed or wanted their help, so was not best pleased about this! I felt it was an insult to my self-reliance as an adventurer – I pride myself on not needing help while at sea, and if I want it, I’ll ask for it.

 

The biggest high remains my arrival in Antigua after spending 103 days rowing the Atlantic in 2006. That had been my toughest voyage, partly due to atrocious weather, partly to the fact that it was my first ocean and I was having to learn a lot, very quickly. But it’s true that the size of the sense of accomplishment is proportionate to the size of the struggle – so to set foot on dry land, having succeeded in my mission, was the most amazing feeling!

 

What advice would you have for anyone who wants to do the same?

 

Have a very clear reason why you are doing it. And the more good reasons you have, the better, because you will need to draw on every single ounce of motivation that you have when the going gets tough. And make yourself a very big To Do list!

 

Please tell us about your subsequent talks and lectures since you have returned.

 

I’ve done about 40 speaking engagements this year. For a natural introvert, I talk a lot! Mostly they are motivational and inspirational, although sometimes I’m asked to talk specifically on environmental issues, particularly the plastic pollution I witnessed on the Pacific.

 

What is next for you?

 

I’m busy right now promoting my book, and we’re also in the very early stages of talking about a feature film based on my life story. After that…. I’m looking for my Next Big Challenge, and I’ve set the bar pretty high!

 

 


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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