The MAD Mariner an internet magazine published an interview with us.
http://madmariner.com/podcasts

More information on Bob's house

Yesterday, several people showed up to help Bob start the rebuild. First, the mess has to be torm out. We thank each and every person. Also, his church took up a special offering. We thank each of them. They still have a long ways to go.

Anne, my wife, did set up a special account to receive any gifts. The special account is at Regions Bank. Persons wishing to make a gift of love to Bob and Jill, can contact any Regions Bank and tell them you want to make a gift. You will need Bob's address to do so. Or, you may simply mail him a check.

Bob and Jill Brown
1408 Earl Dr.
Merritt Island, FL 32952

Also, Bob had a lot of video from the recent voyage that may or may not be recovered. As well as his book. If anyone has any video or Hi Def pictures of our voyage we would like to have a copy of it.

I have known Bob a long time, 50 years. He always smiles and trys to look at the bright side. Sunday, underneath that smile I saw tears. He really needs help if It can fit into your budget or time. When I heard about it, I stopped what I was doing packed up my family and drove three and a half hours to just be there.

P.S. Please forgive my grammar.

Bob's House Burnt Down

Bob's house burnt down. Yesterday, while Bob and his family were at church his house burnt down. Bob, Jill, and Johnathan lost everything and really need some help.

My wife, Anne, is out opening a special account to recieve any donations anyone wishing to donate can. They may also contact Georgiana United Methodist Church on South Tropical Trail in Merritt Island Florida.

Or you can mail Bob and Jill a check at:
1408 Earl Drive, Merritt Island, Florida 32952.

Bob is the kind of guy that will always help, now he needs help.

We opened a web site http://www.BobBrownFamilyFund.com

Note. While it has been labled a "Suspicious" fire. The official cause is "electrical" until evidence to the contrary is found. However, it is the second recent fire in that neighborhood. It has been brought to my attention that I did not state the facts correctly, so I want to make the corrections necessary.

Thanks

Ralph

Your Hero... Wallace " Skeeter" Leeper

Posted by Charolette Bratlie

After several years following the last time I looked up the soldier who's MIA bracelet I had worn since 1968, I decided to go on a search to see if he was still MIA.

After looking at a few sites I found that he was on a list of "remains" found and returned. It was for me a feeling I can't explain when I saw his name on that list. I had to keep looking at it and the year he was found. 2002. 41 years since I first started wearing his bracelet and repeating his name in my head and in my heart. Who was this man withs such an odd name, CW3 Wallace"Skeeter" W. Leeper. Wallace "Skeeter" Leeper. It wasn't until 8 or 9 years ago that I located information about what had happened to my soldier boy. He was on a rescue mission in a Huey along with 2 other soldiers and the Huey went down.


That was the only information they had on that site about him. Over the next several years I thought of him often. About 6 years ago a thief stole some belongings of mine including my precious soldiers bracelet. I have felt guilty since because I was not wearing it. Now today I find him on the KIA list and it only matters to me that his family and loved ones are at least in peace no longer wondering. My stolen bracelet may never be returned to me but he has been returned to his family and that is what is important. Matter of fact, my bracelet was stolen near the time his "remains" were returned .


Now as I sit in front of the computer with tears on my face and an unexplained feeling in my heart, I am relieved of the question I always wondered, "Where is he, my "Skeeter" Leeper, my missing soldier?" Now I feel I have to find his family and let them know how much they mean to me to spare their son so I can live.

If only I could see what he looked like and where is he buried. What did he like to do and did he have a girlfriend or siblings? Do they want to know about me? Should I look for them or not? How can I get the money to at least go to the Viet-Nam Memorial and see his name finally on The Wall? To put my finger on the engravement dedicated to the man who has been the love of my life and my hero since I was 10 years old. My mother came in and saw me weeping in front of the computer.

When I told her why and about the thief who stole my bracelet, at first she was angy with the thief who stole it, then her anger was directed at the other thief, the thief who stole this man from his family. The thief who took this mans life and the lives of many others and for what. He was only one person in this myrid of others who have come and gone. I believe that it's not so much about dying for your country but putting your life before others because of the love in your heart for mankind and the desire to protect others.

As I ran down the love letters from others who have these bracelets and are still waiting and wondering like I did for 40 years, I looked thru all in the year they found him, I saw his name in a letter. I stopped and read the love letter and found that another one of my soldiers who is alive had posted a letter and had also been wearing "Skeeter" Leepers name on his heart since 1972. Now I feel I must search him out and hope his e-mail is still valid. I want to hear how he has lived with Wallace Leeper and when did he find out about the recovering of ou soldiers "remains".

Has he been to The Wall, has he contacted the family and so many otherquestions. I was born in Colorado whe Leeper was from, isn't that something of a connection too.From this moment on, a feeling of something different will be in my heart regarding the war which took my potential mate from me, which took the innocence of a girl by wondering most of her life, what happened? Now I will be at peace that he's not just forgotton and decaying in a place lonely and far away.

Now my soldier has come home.

Mad Mariner Internet Magazine

Yesterday,
Bob and I did a internet radio interview. They will post it on the Mad Mariner Internet Magazine on Wednesday. Tomorrow, I will do a ESPN radio interview with Johnny D.

Last Wednesday I spoke at the Seven Springs VFW on Veterans Day. I will be speaking and showing pictures at their Turkey Shoot on Saturday, November 21, 2009.

We are continuing to promote the Do More Campaign. There is a possiblity that we will do a Pacific Crossing. This trip was an overwhelming success in Media, it was an overwhelming success in completing the voyage, yet, it was a dismal failure as a fund raiser for the Do More Campaign.

I think that one of the reasons we did not get a great start in the Shirt program was that we were not believed. I think that if we did it again, people would believe us, want to wear our shirts, and the media would get more behind us from the beginning.

I am looking into the idea and talking to potential sponsors of the voyage.

Ralph

High Defination Pictures

I spent most of the day putting together high defination pictures and video. The video is for Discovery Channel UK. I am looking for high Def Pictures. If you happen to have any Hi Def pictures of our boat anywhere on the trip, I would sure like to have a copy.
Contact me by email and I will get you an upload address. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Any hi defination pictures are a giant help. My email is ralph@crosstheatlantic.com
Thanks
Ralph

Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel in the UK contacted us this week. They want more video for a Televison Series called Trawlers, Ships and Rescues. They have some part of the story where we refused to be towed in by the Royal National Life Boat in a storm off Yarmouth England.

We had asked for directions to the nearest harbor and they offered to show us in, but when they saw the boat they insisted that they tow us through the storm. We refused to be towed. They continued insisting, we continued to refuse. Finally, the Coast Guard Explained to them that we came all the way from Florida. They then showed us in. We did not know Discovery Channel was on the boat.

They filmed us coming in both from the vessel and from shore. The shore video I understand is pretty cool. It shows this large rescue vessel being tossed around and this tiny flats boat coming on through the storm.

Go Intruder Flats Boats!

I wanted to let you know that I am accepting speaking engagements on behalf of the DO MORE Campaign. I expect to get my travel expenses and I have to have the ability to promote the Do More Shirts.

Also, the boat was scheduled to arrive today. We currently do not have the funds to get it out. We still need to pay for shipping expenses. $5,700 plus an additional $300 in miscellaneous expenses. There ought to be a corporation who wants a lot of brownie points with the military for helping with the I AM SECOND Wounded Hero Voyage.

Ralph

Why The Trip

Hi Again,

Bob and I are back home in Florida after crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the smallest powerboat to ever make the crossing in human history. Bob is fast at work writing his book on the voyage and working his house painting business. I am continuing the Do More Campaign and working on Dream Boats, Inc.

I made the trip for three reasons,

The first one is a private reason, I will keep it private.

Two, to fulfill a 29 year old promise I made to God and to Sgt John Harvey, Cpl George Holmes, and SSgt Dewey Johnson the day after they were killed in Operation Eagle Claw. I was told I would be going to Iran to take back the Embassy. I did not go. They went they died. While I made the promise to the three marines it is really to all men and women who put on a uniform to protect others.

It is our goal to help wounded hero foundations in their names and to make sure their names are not forgotten. At this moment in time, more than 20 million people have heard their names because of our voyage. That number is still growing. The Do More Campaign is part of this.

Three, I wanted to show off my boats. We developed these boats that can operate in extremely shallow water and still be strong enough to cross the Atlantic Ocean. I did this to hopefully find some investors as well as to show the world the boat. There are several magazines articles coming out in November and December issues about our voyage.

I spoke at our church last night and am speaking for several VFW, Marine Corps League, and Rotary Club meetings as well as we are hoping for a national talk show like Oprah to promote the Do More Campaign.

I wanted to let each person who expressed an interest in our voyage know that we are looking for Investors for Dream Boats. Most people don’t realize how much money is involved in the boating industry or how big a deal the shallow draft and high seas stability will be once we get into production. I don’t know of another boat sold at any price that can run as shallow and still be stable in heavy seas.

My long term growth plans for the company indicate that ownership of Dream Boats stock could become a very precious possession. With a major portion of my share of the profits I want to build the Kristy Brown Memorial Hospital in Honduras.

Please don’t feel pressured to do anything. This is just an opportunity.

If this is something you would like more information on please let me know.

Ralph Brown
352-346-2365

Public Presentation

I will be showing pictures and telling the story at Northcliffe Baptist Church tonight, Sunday, October 18, at 6 pm. I hope you can join us.

Northcliffe Baptist church is on Northcliffe Blvd. Betewwn US 19 and Mariner Blvd.
Spring Hill is about 35 miles North of Tampa.

NBC news special

The following television news report ran in the Tampa and Orlando Markets,

If you saw it somewhere else please let us know at ralph@CrossTheAtlantic.com



http://www2.tbo.com/video/2009/oct/09/two-florida-brothers-cross-the-atlantic--64845/video-news/

You should be able to press CTRL and click on it at the same time, if that does not work copy and paste it in your address place.

This is a pretty good video to get our message out.

Ralph

7000 miles: Search and Rescue

This is the video taken by Her Majesty's Search and Rescue between the Shetland Islands and the Orkney Islands. We were about 40 miles from shore when this was taken. Notice the flag. The waves were still building and a few minutes later these waves got a little bigger.

Please forgive me, I pulled the recording while I made some language adjustments.

If you have not joined our team, the Do More than just say thanks to wounded heroes and families left behind team, please do. Get a shirt, wear it on Fridays, try to get your friends to join our team. We are still looking to sign up 150,000 as part of our team.

Bob and I did our part, most of the readers of this blog already stepped up and joined the team, what about you?

You can join the team at www.CrossTheAtlantic.com

internet radio interview

Internet Radio Interview Today Friday October 2, 12 pm


http://www.blogtalkradio.com/karen-rands


You GOT to hear this story……………………….
or listen to the replay at any time afterwards.

You can listen to the true story of Ralph and Bob Brown who crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a
Flats Boat,

You got to see this boat, it has no cabin, no keel, no sail, no autopilot, no escort, and they had to carry their own fuel.

Search and rescue video

Yes, we have the search and rescue video and will upload it tomorrow I think. We have to have it in a usable format.

It is pretty cool to see our boat shooting right along in ten to twelve foot seas. Pretty cool.

Ralph

Hey,

I don't have to look as old as I am. Don't laugh you will be old too one day.
I plan to stay young at heart.

Ralph

Tampa..........Home Bound

Tampa Bound, after completing the I AM SECOND Wounded Hero Voyage, from the command center in Tampa, Florida to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center just outside Frankfurt, Germany in the smallest powerboat in the history of the world to cross the Atlantic Ocean, we are going home.
Barring some kind of miracle where the Air Force can break through its red tape, we are sending the boat back on a commercial ship, to the states tomorrow. I will be flying back on Thursday, Sept 24, 2009.
Several people have asked when I will be arriving so they can make some kind of media thing. I will be arriving in Tampa International Airport at 6:22 pm on flight #1291 coming from Charlotte NC, after a long flight from Frankfurt, Germany.
Ralph D. Brown
Coordinator is Bruce 408-829-4193
Requests for interview through
SPM Communications
P.S. We received the video from Her Majesty's Search and Rescue Helicopter. This is the one that videotaped us running through gale force winds with gusts of near hurricane strength in 10 - 12 foot seas while hovering above us.
Details of the voyage can be seen on the blog at www.CrossTheAtlantic.com

It is not over, yet.

The I AM SECOND Wounded Hero Voyage is far from over. Yes, the actual crossing of the Atlantic is behind us but now is the hard part.
We must begin the publicity tour and we must find 150,000 members to join our team.
I must stop at this point and appreciate all the people who have worked so hard behind the scenes.
Let’s start with Anne Brown, my wife. After the original screw up of the shirts, (By the way if you have one they are collector’s items), she took it completely over and together with Kevin, I am sorry I don’t know Kevin’s last name, fixed it. She has hand folded, packed, labeled, and mailed every single shirt going out. Not only has she done that she took care of details for Dream Boats and our children. She has had to be mother and father to our three teenagers. Yes, we have excellent children, but they are still teens. That takes a lot of work. She has also put up with me. She delivered our oldest to college and did not have my shoulder to cry on as she said goodbye to her baby as he stepped off into the world. This trip took almost twice as long as originally planned because of storms, etc. She has had a lot on her plate. Thank you Anne,
Bob’s wife Jill, she also had to be mom and dad to their two children. She has had to drive their oldest back to college and numerous other things without Bob. She too has to put up with the extended trip. Thank you Jill.

Bruce, in Boston, has been unbelievable in all that he has done. This guy is like magic on a computer. He seems to know stuff that God must have told him. He has been Johnny on the spot day in and day out you could depend on Bruce. He has coordinated everything that you can imagine. He has been available by phone early morning and late at night and has never complained about those phone calls. He has not been paid one dime for all this work. Thank you, Bruce.
Bernie Heckmann and Trey Hacker, who took care of the website, the blog transcriptions, the email letters, and many other things. These guys worked long hard hours and always came through. Bernie and Trey thank you so much.
Renee who took care of our web site in the early stages of this trip. Renee worked day in and day out. Renee, Thank you.
John Carroll, J.C., this guy was a regular do anything get it done guy. In the early stages of the voyage he would go to each of our stops and make sure that everything was done. Thank you, John.
John McDaniels, retired Lt Col, US Army, constant source of information and contacts as well as personally driving wounded heroes to meet us. He runs a program called Wounded Warriors in Action where his wife and he personally fund recovery programs for wounded heroes. It is great people like John and his wife that put their money and time where their mouth is that make the I AM SECOND Wounded Hero Voyage such a wonderful opportunity to be a part of.
General Bob Dees (Ret), whose involvement with Military Ministry helps wounded heroes to recover from the unseen injuries that so many don’t like to talk about. General Bob Dees has been a constant source of wisdom and help. Thank you, General.
General Bryan Doug Brown (Ret) has also been a constant source of wisdom. Thank you General Brown
Rebecca and the SPM team, who on a voluntary basis have involved themselves in our press and media. After working painstakingly hard on getting the perfect press release that opens doors without closing any, they then spend hour after hour making individual calls to the editors of magazines, newspapers, and producers of Television news and talk shows. We know it takes long hard work to make the necessary upcoming media work. Thank you Rebecca and the SPM team.
Jodi and Larry Ross Communications, they have been instrumental in numerous television, newspaper, and radio opportunities. Thank you Jodi and Larry Ross Communications.
Norm and Scott Miller together with the Interstate Battery Team, and the I AM SECOND Crew, especially Charlie Brim, provided the initial funding that made this voyage possible.
Peter Rostel who gets very little credit but the one thing he did behind the scene made all this possible, he gave me credit to purchase the first boat I built back from him. When you have risked everything you own to keep a promise and get a company off the ground, you appreciate people like Pete Rostel who believe in your dream and stick their neck out to help make it happen.
To all of our sponsors, that is a different post, but thank you as well.
One thing for sure is once you start saying thank you to volunteers; you are guaranteed to leave someone out. We have had so many volunteers that have helped us at different ports and harbors that it would be impossible to name them all, but you know who you are.
To every person involved in the past or in the future, on behalf of each and every person who puts on a uniform to stand up for freedom I want to thank you, because without you we would need someone else just like you. Thank you for being you.

Armed Forces Network

Wow we just got a lot of press on the Armed Forces Network. I understand it ran in both the US and in the States.

Here are the links to two seperate articles.

Here is the first article.

http://www.afneurope.net/Home/ArticleDisplayDD/tabid/649/Default.aspx?aid=9625


Here is the follow up article.

http://www.afneurope.net/Home/ArticleDisplayDD/tabid/649/Default.aspx?aid=9624

Heartache

This is the I AM SECOND Wounded Hero Voyage presented by Interstate Battery and others.
It is all about wounded heroes. Into each heroes life usually is heartache and heartsickness. Most really miss their families and often their families suffer some sort of hard times because they are away doing what it is they do.
Bob and I both miss our families. Well, tonight, Bob went to the airport. He will be home tomorrow. I hope to follow soon, maybe as soon as Tuesday. I am waiting on the Air Force to make up their mind. Unfortunately, my responsibilities with the boat have kept me here.
Whenever someone gets to go home and you don't, it makes you a little more homesick. I guess that is an emotion every person in the military has gone through. Mine is only a couple of days, some of these men and women have months and even years in some cases to suffer this homesickness.
I hope my family misses me as much as I miss them.

Cookies and ..................

When we left Canada we were given a care package of cookies that did not make it a mile we also received the following letter.

Bob and Ralph,
As you enjoy these cookies, remember it is not only your Loved ones back home who will be thinking of you & praying for you.
We pray that the North Star, the Good Lord, whatever guides you, keeps you both safe, leads you home & blesses you & yours.
Sometimes it takes a complete stranger to make us realize how much we have, how lucky we are. We should all count our blessings more often.
You may not consider yourselves heroes but you are definitely brave, brave men. May the wind be always at your back. May you safely find your way home.
Thank you for the Inspiration
Safe Travels
Calm Waters
Deepest Respect
Joanne, Tom
Jackson, Stephen
Cartwright, Canada

I would like to thank you Joanne, Tom and family for your prayers. We also want to thank the hundreds of people around the world that were praying for us. I felt like God smiled on us. There were many times that we felt like if God did not smile on us we would have been a statistic.

Trying to get the boat shipped back

We are at Ramstein Air Force Base trying to get the boat shipped back by the United States Air Force. I talked to one General, he was very impressive. He told me he would ship it back if he could get the red tape cleared up, so we are waiting on red tape. Hopefully they will do it. They called this morning and said they were still working on it.

We of course are looking at other posibilities just in case the answer is No.
Here are a few random pictures.

Weisbaden and Landstuhl

We arrived in a town called Wiesbaden; although we have not seen them it is full of hot springs. The name actually means meadow baths. We have parked the boat at the Wiesbaden Yacht Club. At first we could not find anyone who spoke English. Now we have found several.
The Armed Forces Network has a television and radio team in Wiesbaden. We did a radio program and they did a television piece which has yet to air. I am looking forward to seeing it.
We rented the cheapest car we could find a little Fiat, with signs all over it advertising Bushbinder car rental for only $29 per day. It is pretty easy to spot us.
The first night we slept on the boat, not in the boat, because there is no "in" the boat. The last two nights we slept in the rental car. We are in the fund raising business not the fund spending business. Last night a really nice lady from the Armed Forces Network, Amanda, bought us a night in the Ramstein Inn, a super nice yet super inexpensive place to stay on Ramstein AFB.




On, Friday, Sept 11 we got a VIP tour of Landstuhl Hospital, the Fisher House, and the Landstuhl USO. We met two guys that just got blown up in Iraq Wednesday. While we were coming down the Rhine, they were being attacked by a suicide bomber. They had severe burns and you could tell they were in pain but they enjoyed our visit. It was a humbling experience. These actually wanted our autographs. They are the heroes not us.
There is so much more to say and to do. I am trying to get the boat back to the states as well as Bob and I. There is room for a sponsor to jump in now and be known as the ones who shipped the boat back. Shipping is about $3,500 by ship and air fare for Bob and me, well, probably another $1,500. We are trying to get the Air Force to help us.
It has been suggested that we keep the voyage going and even make a television show out of it. "Boating with the Brown brothers, European Tour" then off to the Middle East. The only way we could do that is with a large sponsor. Right now we have families to see and a lot of work to do. We also need to get to work getting people to join the Do More than just say thanks team. We are not even close to our goal of 150,000 team members.
More later along with pix from the last night at sea.

Getting Here Was No Small Deal

Last night we drove all night to be here for a press conference at 9 am. We did not have enough gas and getting it is not that easy in Europe. Everyone seems to be on diesel and there is none at the docks. We are trying to run light so that we can run fast so we have to stop a lot.
When we stopped at this little town, I walked up a ramp to a park area and started asking directions to a gas station. They all spoke German and very little English. I finally talked a couple of young ladies, Seven and Miriam, into giving me a ride. They were kind and took the time to get a couple of friends to ride in the car behind us.
I was impressed with her kindness and her common sense wisdom. She was willing to help a stranger, yet wise enough to be safe, so many of us find excuses not to help. I am guilty of not helping sometimes.
The gas station called the police after seeing us fill nine jugs. They pulled us over and then followed us down to the docks getting excited about the I AM SECOND Wounded Hero Voyage.
After that we drove off into the dark. Can you believe the busiest river in Europe and one of the busiest rivers in the world is not marked with lighted channel markers? Much of it has no lights at all. We were driving into the darkness and it always seemed that the canal would just open up as you got close to the end.
About 60 miles from our destination we ran aground. It was just a couple of inches deep and we are loaded down with weight. It was a hard rock bottom, the boat took it fine, and unfortunately the prop did not. The jack plate broke a thousand miles ago. Big waves often don't do equipment any favors. Since the jack plate was not working we could not suck the prop up into the tunnel. The prop hit one of those rocks and wiped out a couple of blades. So at zero dark thirty, we were out changing our prop and moving on again.
We only have a base map on the GPS so winding through a channel without lighted markers was fun. But we kept at it and arrived on time for our press conference. Unfortunately the Press, well they were not quite as committed.
But they are coming tomorrow.
Many ask “How long we are staying?” The answer is we don't know. We have to make arrangements to ship the boat back and fly back ourselves. We are trying to find sponsors for a publicity tour that could pay for the shipping or if we are lucky we can find a ship going that way with empty space.
It is very important that we get back soon as there is a lot of interest in our story. That publicity is the publicity that we will use to raise most of the money for the Do More Campaign to help wounded heroes.

After Over 8,000 Miles And 2 ½ Months Docking In Approximately 1 Hour For Landstuhl Regional Medical Center ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
After more than 8,000 miles and 2 ½ months of travel, the smallest power boat that has ever crossed the Atlantic Ocean will be docking for Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in approximately 1 hour!

After Being Stopped By The French Police, We Enjoyed A Perfect Night With An Orange Moon And We Made It To Rotterdam ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
Last night we pulled into Dunkerque Harbor in France. It was an absolutely beautiful trip from London all the way over there, glassy day, calm seas, just as nice as can be! I think God smiled on us after we had to fight for London as ever inch of ground we took to get to London was a fight. Things were falling apart. We just moved forward. We lost several things. It was a fight. But, that trip across the English Channel was just as glassy and as calm as could ever be.
However, when we got to Dunkerque we could not go through customs. We could not meet with the Harbor Master. We could not do anything until morning. So Bob and I said forget this, we are moving. We came on to Rotterdam. We got here this morning. The trip from Dunkerque to here was as gorgeous as you could imagine. The most beautiful sunset anybody has ever seen! Then a bright orange moon popped up!
As the bright orange moon went away as we were cruising along I decided to take a nap. Only one thing, I was not allowed to sleep. I had to sit up and enjoy it, because it did not take long before the French Police were coming up behind us. (Police siren sounds) They were checking us out. After they stopped us and checked out our names, and all of that kind of stuff, they let us go. But, it was kind of exciting. They were excited about the I Am Second Wounded Hero Voyage!
As we headed up we got into Rotterdam in the wee hours of the morning. We asked somebody for directions and he was a harbor pilot. He said “ah, come on over here”, so we ended up in their office and the police came out. Immigration came out at 3:00 in the morning!
We were going down the Rhine passing ships right and left. It was dark out, we had moon light and the stars were out. It was nice! Our last day at sea was some time to remember! It was the most beautiful night at sea we have had the whole trip.
Right now we are in Rotterdam. The Mayor has come out to meet with us. The newspapers are already here and the television news media are coming out.
Then we are going to shoot on down the river toward our final destination Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. It is a 270 mile run from Rotterdam to Landstuhl. We will do almost all that in one day. We will be there tomorrow morning.
Take care, God bless. Bye

Dunkerque France Closed, Moving Past Belgium To Rotterdam Holland /Netherlands !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
Well, we are in Dunkerque Harbor right now. We got in after hours and could not get the harbor master on the phone. We could not get customs and we want to get on to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center sometime Thursday morning, so we decided to go ahead and pull out. We have got maybe a half hour of daylight left with beautiful conditions. We are going to just book on up the road to Rotterdam. We are heading to Rotterdam right now with great conditions out here, so we are going on.
Thank you so much. Have a great day.
God bless you.

Land Ho ! We See The Coast Of France !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
This is Ralph with the I Am Second Wounded Hero Voyage. Land Ho! We see France, we see France, we see France! It is kind of neat. After 7,700 miles we are going to see the coast of France. We will be there in about an hour and heading up the Rhine River tomorrow. We are heading for Dunkerque right now and we will be in Dunkerque in less than an hour.
Take care. Bye

Notes

1. We leave London tomorrow morning for Calais, France then to Rotterdam and down the Rhine heading for Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate.

2. Suzuki brought us a new motor cover today, Thank you Suzuki.

3. The accurate mileage as of today is 7,682 miles according to our GPS.

4. We would appreciate anyone who copies the press release (a few blogs past) and fits it to their local press. This is an everyone issue..... DO MORE....... Be sure to change the date put Bruce as the contact person (USA) 408-829-4193

5. We are also willing to do on air interviews with Radio Stations. I am usually pretty good at stopping the boat anywhere and making the call. I have to admit I have missed a couple, but I have kept most.

6. We have been staying with the Cruising Association, The Cruising Association is the largest organised group of sailing and motor cruising enthusiasts in the UK. From its purpose-built London headquarters the Association provides members with information wherever they cruise. A members-only website offers downloadable cruising guides, up-dates to published pilot guides, and a wealth of other
information contributed by members. Thirteen Area Sections organise
lectures and social events for members in the UK, and also those
cruising in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas, and the European Inland
Waterways. visit their website at: cruising.org.uk

MSNBC did a special

Check this out

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Some pictures

Here is what the T-Top looks like every pole is broke in at least one place most are broke in two or three places. We have held it together with knives, wooden strips, and wrenches that we have wire tied and taped into place with duct tape then used a pile of rope to hold it down. We also cut Bob's pole up to reinforce it.
We also broke the motor mount for the spare motor twice. We also broke the hydraulic pump on the jack plate. The boat remains seaworthy in our opinion even though we have damaged the deck, as we have more than 500 miles to go.
We also lost the motor cover and built this make shift one out of extra signs I AM SECOND knew to bring the day before we would need them. We asked for two they provided six not knowing that we would need them to keep the motor from stalling because it was getting wet as waves and gale force winds would pound us.

New Videos

London Victory



Three Oceanic Fishing Boats



Heading into the storm

More to come

We still have a few more miles to go as we run to France and over to the LMRC medical center in Frankfurt. I would like to know who is reading this blog. Would you be kind enough to send me an email, even if you already have? Please put a small note with it and include where we met, or even if we never met and how you heard about us.
This would really help us.
Thanks
ralph@CrossTheAtlantic.com

We Have Just Stepped Foot In London And Have Set Multiple World Records ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
At 6:40 PM tonight Zulu time, Greenwich Time, Bob and I stepped foot off of the I Am Second Intruder made by Dream Boats, making world history as the smallest power boat to ever cross the Atlantic Ocean! We stepped into London Territory! It is also the first flats boat to ever cross the Atlantic Ocean, and also the longest ocean voyage in a flats boat! We have reached that point and made the step off.
We are standing at the, they call it the “Cruising Association House”, at the Limehouse Marina in downtown London. It is exciting that we are actually here! By the way it is a beautiful place. Here we are!
We will talk with you later. We still have to finish out the I Am Second Voyage when we get over to Frankfurt Germany, we will stop in Paris on the way. But, we are here now in London! What an exciting time!
God bless you, talk to you later. Bye

London Arrival Press Release

For Immediate Release
September 5, 2009
Historic Event

Made it alive

While experts said it was impossible, after surviving 7,000 miles of open ocean the Brown brothers stepped off their tiny open fishing boat at 6:40 pm, London Time, Friday, September 4, 2009 at the Limehouse Marina in downtown London making world history by setting several world records, The Smallest Powerboat to Cross The Atlantic, The First Flats Boat to Cross the Atlantic, and the Longest Ocean Voyage in a Flats Boat.

The tiny open fishing boat, an Intruder made by Dream Boats in Hudson Florida, separates itself from other smaller boats that have made the crossing is that it does not have a cabin, a keel, a sail, or an escort and it had to carry its own fuel. This boat literally runs in less than an incredible four inches of water, including the motor.

The brother’s remained completely exposed to the elements for the entire voyage and did not have a keel to right the boat in the event it were to flip. Ralph and Bob Brown survived being run over by an iceberg in Greenland, almost running of fuel hundreds of miles from shore, refusing to be rescued three separate times, surviving massive waves from the remnants of two hurricanes, being slammed into rocks by gale force winds, running out of money and many other amazing events. Although the boat retained it’s seaworthiness the attached equipment has literally fallen apart from the impact of an estimated 140,000 slams during the crossing.

The I AM SECOND Wounded Hero Voyage was made in honor of John Harvey, George Holmes, and Dewey Johnson three fallen US Marines who died in Ralph Brown’s place, fulfilling a 29 year old promise and will be used to kick off the Do More Campaign in raising funds for wounded hero foundations in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. They began their voyage at the Central Command Center, Tampa, Florida and will be continuing on to Paris and to Landstu Regional Medical Center in Germany. The record setting portion was from Tampa to London.

Details can be seen at www.CrossTheAtlantic.com
Ralph and Bob Brown are staying at the CA House, 1 Northey Street, Limehouse Basin, London

They may be contacted through Bruce at USA 408-829-4193
Ralph’s Cell +44 (0) 79 0785 2329 Usually best to call Bruce.
bruce@CrossTheAtlantic.com

Loosing Suzuki # 2

Thirty miles outside of the Thames (Tims) river leading up to London, we hit a pipe under the water. The boat slid over it fine; however, the motor did not do so well. We can't bring it up all the way because the Jack Plate bit the dust during an earlier crossing. The pump bracket broke.
The motor slammed into the metal pipe and kept right on running however, the impact caused the engine cover to bounce off and sink before we could get back to it.
Shortly thereafter we were going into 40 mph plus winds with super choppy and steep four to five footers we got the engine wet. It wanted to cut out in the middle of a washing machine type situation. Usually these are some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, but because of the storm there were hardly any vessels on the water at all. (It doesn't take a whole lot of brains to figure out why; I guess that shows you a little about us, not too smart.) I ran it super slow while getting soaked and praying, don't let us fail this close to the finish line.
It dried out enough to keep moving. Bob came up with a great idea. We had asked Interstate Battery and the I AM SECOND team to make us new signs out of corrugated plastic. We asked for two they made six. Bob made an engine cover out of three. They were the only things we had that would work and it just so happens that we received them last night, just in time.
Suzuki, if you are reading this, we need a new engine cover, a lot of pictures are being taken, and a lot more will be soon.

I Am Second and Interstate Batteries Came To Meet Us And Provided Additional Support As We Continue On To London ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
Hi this is Ralph Brown with the I Am Second Wounded Hero “Cross The Atlantic” Voyage. I want to say that we are not in London yet. We had major breakdowns yesterday as far as our t-top and we tied it with a million ropes. Every single pipe on the t-top is broken at least in one place, most of them 2 or 3 places. We are going to try to keep the t-top on the boat all the way to Frankfort.
We were into some, I guess it was gale force 8 and 9 yesterday part of the time, I am not sure, but it was pretty heavy winds against us and it was really rough on our t-top that is falling apart. We are still going to make it in. The seas were not real rough, some roughness, probably some 4 to 6 foot real heavy chop, but most of it was not that bad. It was the wind and the t-top falling apart.
We could only make 60 miles yesterday. We did stop to meet with one of our sponsors last night. The good people from I Am Second and Interstate Batteries came over and gave us some additional money which we are grateful for.
Anyways, we are still making this happen. We are grateful for everybody that gets involved in the project.
God bless you. Bye Bye

Moving on

The guys at the RNLI, Royal National Lifeboat Institution, are super. I did not know that they were all volunteers. These guys absolutely loved the I AM SECOND Wounded Hero Voyage. I tell you what these guys are Super Heroes in my book. They go into harm’s way all the time to pick up distressed vessels.
Now, they have some pretty good equipment, but these guys do it for free, well they get paid about $10 per rescue, so it is almost free. They do it because they love to do it.
This is why we need to grow the DO MORE Campaign, organizations like this one should not have to worry about financing. If everyone who hears this message or reads about our voyage donates $30 (Close to £20) organizations like this one would not need to worry about money.
Everyone says they care and they support the cause, but some really mean, "I support the cause with my neighbor’s money, not with mine." If we are not willing to come up with a small donation we are not being honest with ourselves when we say, "I support the troops", or "I support the cause".
Some say what will my $30 or £20 do? Not much, but in connection with everyone else’s $30 or £20 it can change the world. So let’s change the world.
We are heading on, the winds are out of the west at 32 to 55 knots, and we will go to as far as we feel reasonably safe. We hope to make it in to London tonight.

Being Responsible

The storm has caught us. The wind is supposed to turn out of the West and has yet to do so. If it turns out of the west we will be able to hug the coast and run all the way down to London. But since it has not turned, we are running straight into a strong wind well over 40 mph and gusts a lot higher. There are a lot of shoals all around and it is dark out, the waves are getting bigger every minute and breaking. Bob points out how irresponsible it is for us to be out there when there are plenty of ports all around for us to duck into.
Know what, he is right, so I reluctantly agreed to stop into the next port. Once we enter we find that we were the only boat there was facing directly into the wind with nowhere to hide. So I suggested we go to the next one, Bob wanted to call the Coast Guard for directions, fair enough.
They don't want to give us directions but rather send a boat to show us the way. Ok, the boat gets there and wants to tow us.
That is where I say NO WAY, they can't believe it. After further discussion with the Coast Guard, they reluctantly agree. We follow them into the next port. It was rough, real rough, but the Intruder took it well.
They were all excited as they could not believe we came all the way from Florida. They had a film crew on board, from the Discovery TV series, they are making a new series on search and rescue. I can't wait to get to see the video. Unfortunately, we will not be on time for London. In the morning we will look again, in gale force winds waiting for the turn.

The People In Wells Were Unbelievably Helpful With More T-Top Repairs ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
Make that 3 pipes instead of 2 that bust. We stopped in the town of Wells. The people were unbelievably helpful. In the short period we were here, about an hour and a half, two hours. We got all these people out here helping us and made some quick repairs and we are off.
London by 11 AM tomorrow morning or bust, hopefully not the bust!
We will talk to you later.
God bless you. Bye

More T-Top Problems ! ! ! London Or Bust ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
London or bust! Those were the words I was saying to myself, London tomorrow at 11 AM or bust, when suddenly I looked down and BAM, BAM! Two more poles on the t-top busted in half. We will get pictures of that up on the internet before too long. Bob wrapped them in tape and then clamped a couple of wrenches around them and off we are away!
Now we are at Wells trying to get gas so we can be on time tomorrow at 11 AM in London coming up the Thames. Bye

The Scottish Coast Guard Offered To Bring Us A Mechanic At 1:00 In The Morning ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
Good morning, this is Ralph. We are filling up with gas in Bridlington Scotland, and then heading down to London. Hope we will be there tomorrow morning at 11. We are committed to tomorrow morning at 11. Unfortunately there is a major storm rolling in and we have to race that storm in order to get in tomorrow morning at 11.
Last night we broke down, the first time ever our engine broke down on this 7,000 mile voyage. The Scottish Coast Guard offered to come out and tow us in, and we said “We can’t be towed in”. We were 15 miles offshore drifting out to sea. We refused to be towed in. When they did the research on the website they came back and said now we understand why you do not want to be towed in, you will lose the record. What we will do is bring you a mechanic at 1:00 in the morning to help you fix the boat! But by the time that they agreed to bring the mechanic, we found a wire that had weakened and broke. Bob and I crammed something into the console and we weakened the wire connection. Eventually it vibrated loose and broke. It has been fixed.
Now we are zooming off to keep our commitment for tomorrow morning at 11:00 in London down the Thames. Hopefully you will be there. Bye

Slept In The Rain ! ! ! Changed The Oil, Fixed The Bilge Pump and Motor Bracket.

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
Hey folks, we stopped in Edinburgh, a town in the middle of Scotland. We stopped here and slept out in the rain which was kind of fun. We refueled. We fixed the bilge pump problem that we have had. We fixed the bracket on the boat motor, temporarily at least anyhow. We changed the oil. We should be able to zoom on into La Zoom, depending on how bad the waves are. We are heading into London and plan to be there Thursday at 11:00 AM.
Now we are heading for a town called Whitby, then maybe after that another town called Grimsby. I am not sure about Grimsby but Whitby we are planning to go to. We will go from there.
We will talk to you later. God bless you. Bye Bye

Thanks To The People We Met In Aberdeen - We Are Going To Eat Lobster ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
We just passed through the eye of the storm. Never seen anything like that in my life, we just did, unbelievable!
I want to apologize to those from Aberdeen. I mispronounced the name of their city. I want to thank those guys for the lobster. We are cooking it in our 12 volt pot right now, trying to anyhow, it looks delicious!
We intend to be in Edinburgh in a couple of hours. Then we are going to London at 11:00 AM Thursday morning.
Look forward to seeing you then. God bless. Bye

London Is Planned For 11 AM Thursday! ! ! Edinburgh Is Next.

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
Hi, this is Ralph Brown with the I Am Second Wounded Hero Voyage. We are leaving the Aberdeen harbor heading towards Edinburgh. We met with some people from the Scottish television and we are going down to Edinburgh. Then we will go from there to London for an 11:00 AM Thursday morning arrival is our goal.
Thank you so much! Have a great day and God bless you!

We Ran The Very, Very Dangerous Gauntlet ! ! ! Now We Are In Peterhead Scotland.

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
Hi, this is Ralph. We are at a place called Peterhead. We ran the gauntlet early this morning. We stopped for church at a place called Wick. We now have gone down the road to Peterhead. It is kind of at the tip of the last real crossing before we get to London. We have 600 miles or so to get to London. All is well, but all is not well. On our T-top we taped a bunch of knives and wrapped them with more tape, basically holding the T-top pieces from sliding sideways and then we were holding it down with rope. Then we discovered that when we were bouncing over some waves that the bracket that holds our hydraulic pump for our jack plate broke in half, so we need to figure out how to get the jack plate bracket back up. The jack plate itself is fine. It is just that the hydraulic pump is no longer moving up and down.
I guess the Intruder itself, the boat we are in, has got some minor damage in one spot. It is going to be cheap to repair with the right materials. We could not get the right materials, so guess what? The repair broke again. I can’t imagine why. We were slamming the boat into 15 foot seas with 350 pounds of gasoline going into the air, probably 25 to 30 feet in the air, and slamming down hard. I can’t imagine why it did any damage on the boat! But, the boat as a whole is doing real fine, other than that one spot.
When it comes to companies that make things that are breaking our trip, I should not be mentioning their names. My mother taught me to always to be respectful to people and to never say anything bad about anybody. I try to live up to that, but I am no where as good as my mother about that. She is like perfect at it; I guess that is why she is mom!
Anyways, in whole things are going real well. The wind kicked back up today, the waves were kicking into our face with real, real choppy waves 4 to 6 foot at night. We are both exhausted because we had very little sleep last night because we ran the gauntlet this morning with super, super choppy 6 footers, maybe a couple of 7 footers, but not too much. Thank God we did not have the 15 to 20 footers we saw yesterday in that same area. But we had for the gauntlet itself pretty mild. They say that it is one of the worst places in the world for shipwrecks and boats going down. So, we made it through there OK and we have made it across a couple of gaps. It looks like we just have a matter of grunting out some long hours on this little haul to get into London where we can claim the title as the smallest power boat to cross the Atlantic.
You have a great day and God bless you.
We should be in London, probably Wednesday or Thursday. Bye Bye

Through The Gauntlet, To Church In Wick And Now On The Way To Aberdeen.

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
We got up early this morning and we jumped the hoop, we jumped the gauntlet. We went through what they call the Congress Smith over here, it was supposed to be real bad,but it wasn’t as bad as we thought it was going to be. It was real super, super choppy with 6 foot waves, with a lot of current and a lot of breaking waves. We have a boat load of water. But it was really not that bad.
We went to church this morning at Wick and are shooting for Aberdeen right now. It is our last major jump of any kind before we hit London. As long as the wind doesn’t change directions it should go really well.
Talk to you later. God Bless. Bye

Still in Kirkwall

As we were getting ready to leave, the media all at once showed up. Our mission is to use the publicity to raise money for wounded hero foundations so we made time to meet with them. We are hoping 150,000 people will make a donation of $30 or more and get a shirt to commerate their donation and of course wear it on Fridays.

After further inspection we feel like the T-Top is about to completely break off in our laps. We have one of the most dangerous pieces of water to go through. What I call the gauntlet, the place the North Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. If the T-Top gives way at that spot it could be a real disaster to us. The winds are about 40 mph and that should bring about 15 ft seas. Fifteen foot seas are dangerous enough without having the top of your T-Top break off in your face. There are a lot of wires running through it so we could not just toss it aside. It could be an end of the trip so to speak. We are going to do some more repairs on it before we move on.

We should be able to get that fixed and move on tomorrow early in the morning stop for church somewhere and then keep on moving.

Heading out to Aberdeen

We are heading out to a town called Aberdeen. The winds and the waves will be tough but not as bad as yesterday. We need to move the boat towards the goal.


To all family and friends reading this, Bob and I are careful. We intend to come home.

Love
Ralph

Yahoo answers the big question

I have news for them..................
The following question was posted on Yahoo Answers.....


What type of power boat is required to cross the Atlantic of the Pacific?
I know you can sail across the Atlantic or Pacific in a 30-40foot sailboat and many people have done it in much smaller craft.

My Question is: How about a power boat?
What length of boat would you need to attempt a trans-Atlantic crossing?
Obviously, fuel would be the primary concern. How much fuel capacity would this boat require?

Also, I would just like to throw in there: What price range are we looking at for a boat of this type?

Here are some of the answers in the order found.....

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
It is possible and very practical to cross Oceans in moderate sized power boats. A good reference on this subject is "Voyaging under Power", byt Captain Robert P. Beebe, whichin its third or fourth edition. Basically you need a very seaworthy displacement hull, with a slow turning diesel engine and a large fuel capacity. There are a number of off-the-shelf boats being built today that can cross the Atlantic without modification, some can even cross the Pacific easily. Foremost among them are the Nordhavn boats. The 40, 45, and 46 are about the smallest craft that can safely and reliably do this sort of thing. They all have slow turning diesels, like the lugger (a brand), and generally have only a single screw. For a backup, there may be a smaller yanmar diesel with sailboat style folding propeller. These boats can go 3 or 4,000 miles on a single tank of fuel at 7 - 9 knots continuously, which is a lot better than any sailboat in this size range. A Nordhave 46, which is my favorite, can be found used, in good condition, well equiped for under $500,000. - in this market, maybe a lot under. Good luck
Source(s):
40 years sailing/voyaging experience.


Next Answer......

Most Ocean going boats, are in the 90' or larger range with at least 5,000 gal. fuel capacity. Often much more. While smaller boats have made the crossing with extra fuel on deck etc. it's not something you would want to try. Most yachts are fine for say 1500 mile trips. Something like a Hatteras or sun seeker, once your going to England,even with refueling in Nova Scotia, you need a 3500 mile range min. to cross safely. Most of these boats start in the multimillion range. Say $5 million. There are "rust buckets" cheaper, but you really need to stay away from them. In fact a 40' sail boat is far safer and you don' loose that much speed. The power boats cruise at 12-18 Knots.


Next Answer


Last person to try it in a 45' boat left 3 years ago and had almost 1000 gallons of fuel. we will miss him. You are smoking some good **** if you think you can do this in a small power boat. Sail boats are designed for rough water, power boats are not
Source(s):
http://www.yachtingworld.com/yw/blog/200…
http://www.bluewaternav.com/atlantic_cro…

Next Answer......

Here is what you need !! worked on that awesome boat when she was in Charleston, SC, before her first attempt to break the world record, all I con say is wow.

http://www.earthrace.net/

next answer......

a very big boat.. unless u wanna die

next answer......

I think you get the picture. We are in a 21 foot flats boat that does not have a cabin or a keel. You need to read the last entry or two to get an idea.

It is called the I AM SECOND Wounded Hero Voyage, for a reason.

Coast Guard Search and Rescue Comes By

After we left Scalloway, Shetland Islands, the weather started getting rough right away. The harbor pilot followed us out. Those people in the Shetlands sure were nice people. With each and every stop it seems to get harder to leave. We were only there a few short hours and we made so many friends, people stepping up to help, from the Hotel Owner, Peter, to Maurice, his wife, to the Harbor Master and more.

It really humbled me when I saw an older couple with their canes get out of a taxi cab just to come down to the dock and meet us. Wow.

Soon after we left the Islands it became apparent that the weather report we saw was not going to give us the eight hours we expected to make the crossing. The winds picked up to about 40 mph and the waves picked up to about 10 -12 ft with an occasional 15 ft wave. They were coming out of the North West and we were heading South West. They were on our beam, coming at our side. (The most dangerous direction they could come from to our tiny little boat.) That Intruder did well. A flats boat in breaking 15 foot seas! I have always said 12 foot was my max, before I threw the sea anchor.

Out there the boat seemed to handle it well. Yes, there were about three close calls, Bob says about six. I only remember three where we could have flipped extremely easily if I did not turn the boat just right. One time we launched way up in the air and the wind caught the boat it came down on its tail and twisted sideways, well that was an eye opener. I wasn't going that fast we just hit that wave just right. God was smiling on us. Let’s face it he has been smiling on us this whole trip.

Our T-top has just about had it all the pipes are cracking. I don't understand it, the T-top is a super expensive one made with extra and larger aluminum pipes. The guy that built it and installed it says it is the best one made by anyone and he charges a lot for it. I am not sure what the problem is. It may have something to do with the 50,000 times we have slammed the boat down. By the way that number 50,000 times is not an exaggeration, it is probably low.

There is an Island half way called Fair Island where many a sea going person has decided to turn in and wait out the storm. Bob and I were going north of it and decided to go there, we turned south. We thought it was the responsible thing to do, but I did not want to be stuck there for several days. We have a mission and both of us are missing our families. We decided we could make it and did not want to stop in the middle.

Right after that, the Search and Rescue Helicopter came and checked on us. They were there watching us for a good while. I hope they took pictures and made video. After about 15 minutes they figured we did not need help and went home. Right after they left the waves seemed to kick up.

We stayed at it, soaking wet from head to toe, literally. I did not feel cold at all and it was actually fun. Yet, I was glad when we finally slipped past the first Island. Then I realized I was cold, real cold. By the time we got to Kirkwall, I was freezing, so was Bob. I could not get warm. While we were crossing I did all the driving. I was on the side getting the wind and the waves. Don't get me wrong, Bob got plenty of wind and water. I think the continuous soaking of me sucked out some heat. I, the super cheap one, broke down and rented a hotel, just to get warm. Usually we sleep on the boat unless someone offers us a place to stay, just to save money, but we needed to get warm.

Those who know me know I don't eat chocolate or much of any candy. Today, I ate all the fudge I could get my hands on, it seemed to give me energy. Then I took a hot shower and stayed there forever. Tomorrow we move on if the weather report allows. I don't know why I keep checking them. They seem wrong more than they are right. I guess it is one of those things you are supposed to do before going out to sea.

We still have more than six hundred miles before London. We hopefully can get as far as Edinburgh tomorrow, it is probably not likely. We will probably stop at Aberdeen.

The Storm Has Found Us ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
That storm we were trying to outrun is on us. We cannot outrun it now, it has found us!
The waves are huge and breaking all around us. We have about 40 miles to go. We are going south… (The remainder is garbled from the wind and cannot be transcribed)
God Bless

We Are Trying To Beat Another Storm ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
Hi, this is Ralph, we just now left the Shetland Islands from the city of Scalloway, We are on our way to the Orkney Islands, the city is called Kirkwall, I am not sure of the name. We are not going to Stromness, the largest city in the Orkney Islands which are just north of Scotland.
Again we are racing a storm. We should have left last night, but we were exhausted. When we got here the Coast Guard advised us to not leave and so we chose to not leave. Anyways, we are leaving this morning. We are much fresher. It is daylight hours and we are going to try to beat the storm. If not, you can read about us in the newspapers!
You have a great day!
God Bless you. Bye

Today My Son Goes To College ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
As we sit or approach 20 miles off the coast of the Shetland Islands, not too far off the coast of Scotland. We have already traveled 6,700 miles in honor of Wounded Heroes on the I am Second Wounded Heroes Voyage, Crossing The Atlantic, presented by Interstate Batteries and the others.
I think about what heroes goes through when they miss time from their families and they miss many opportunities as well as they often give up their life or health.
Today my oldest son goes to college. It was my goal to be back in time to take him. Since the day he was born I held him in my lap and talked about this day. Today I’ll miss it.
I feel the pain of many of those heroes. Each and every hero that gives out something for other people, I salute you!
Thank You,
God bless.

ON The Ocean Again

In a few minutes we will leave out from the Faroe Islands on our way to the Shetlands a city named Scalloway. It is 10:55 pm on Wednesday, August 26 2009.
We waited for the huricane to pass, never came. We did make some repairs that needed to be done.
Left Torshavn earler today and stopped at the next southern island known as Sandoy and the harbor of Skálavík where we picked up fuel and visited the home of the Star. We have discovered that we did not panic when the big waves hit the boat we did panic when we thought the cookies were all gone.
Relief was quick as Lyder brought another plate.
We will be heading out momentarily and driving all night. We want to be in the Shetlands early in the morning and off to Orkin Islands later. There is a low pressure over Ireland now that will be moving over across Scotland then out to sea. We want to get to the coast of Scotland before the storm.
Bob and I decided not to wait for perfect weather and jump from Island to Island down to London and get there hopefully on or before Septemer 2. I will be updating from the sea.
We heard from a retired General who is sending out some emails inviting other retired officers to ban together to pay for a leg of the voyage.

Move The Boat

After 6000 miles and over 50,000 times slamming a 350 pound fuel tank on the deck we had some damages. We spent most of the day scrounging up some resin and glass. We never did get the bi axle we sought and had to settle for some cloth and mat. The repairs are basically completed. We plan to ship some stuff back home. We have been caring all kinds of junk around the world.

We should shove off tomorrow after checking the weather. It looks like we will change out itinerary to make some stops on the way. Check out the Shetland Islands. The storms have been coming too close together to try for London in one shot. We already set several world records on this voyage, so it doesn't make sense too worry to much about breaking the record we already own.

I still owe you a detailed report on the Faroes and Iceland. Both will take some time and hopefully I will get that time tomorrow. By the way we were on the front page of last nigts newspaper, the national radio each of the last several days, and on the news tonight.

Wierd or Planned? You decide.

Weird or planned?

I know some people are tired of me saying, "What are the odds?"

Remember that guy that said,"Get Out", when I asked to go to the restroom in Iceland at the 24 hour store, 10-11. He made me so mad and I did not like my first impression of Iceland. Well that night if he would have let me use it I never would have ended up at the Pizza Factory, who let me in to use the restroom after closing the store at about 1:00 am. I went back a couple of days later to say thank you. That is where I met, Birgir.

He gave me a ride around town to meet with 66 Degrees North Clothing Store and a few others. He also told me he knew Elin Brimheim Heinesen. Get this; she is the head of the media department for the National Broadcasting Company in the Faroe Islands. She has also met with all kinds of world famous persons, a good contact to have. He introduced us.

Well Linjohn Christianson, the star of the new Discovery Show, Mighty Ships, went back to the other Island where his main home is. We needed a new place to stay while waiting out the storm. Elin had an empty apartment above her house. Guess where we are now. She is also introducing us to journalists both in the Faroe Islands and in other places. By the way she is a dynamite singer. Check out the attached slide show of the number one Island nation in the world according to National Geographic Travel Magazine with her singing in the background. It won an award in Germany. She has a web site called www.heinesen.fo




We also met Captain Jacob again. We needed directions in Greenland and the same guy is here in Faroe Islands. His directions in Greenland, right on exactly what we needed.

I don’t know what is wrong with the GPS tracking system, we are going to change the batteries, and completely reset it so hopefully you can track us on the Web site.

Unplanned Stops

Unplanned stops seem to blow up in our faces. We were completely fine going on our planned path, but when Bob and I decided to make an unplanned stop, well you probably read the last blog, we had some real excitement. We tried to find a harbor entrance where there is not really a harbor and most come by helicopter. We tried to follow two fishing vessels that disappeared in the sea fog. We were following too far behind not by choice but simply they were that far ahead of us when we made the decision to follow them.

I just learned that the area we went through is one of the most dangerous places for a boat in the world. It is also one of the most beautiful if you come in day light. Our base map only shows one small island between two larger ones. The truth is there are several tiny islands with rocks and shoals as well as swirling currents and ten to twelve foot waves breaking into the boat. Each wave filled the boat with water. They were breaking all the way through the T-Top and pushing us towards the shoals.

Obviously, we made it out alive and with only minor damage. The Intruder did just fine, not so well for my lap top. God smiled on us. Sometimes when you get in trouble, if you simply turn around and go back where you came from you can fix the problem. What a great lesson for life. Changing plans in the middle of the stream usually blows up, another lesson I have heard all my life. Sometimes if you just do what you have been taught you do real well. I have to thank my dad for that lesson.
We should have picked up the satellite phone or the radio and checked out the new location before attempting to travel in waters we did not have on our plan or a chart.

Here is a picture of the area, click on it to make it bigger. Now imagine swirling waters and giant breaking waves while pitch black and just enough sea fog to reflect the spot light back in your face. I am glad we went back out to sea, because we would have never made it without knowing where the channel was.

We are being called The Last Vikings but my hat really goes off to them they did not have a spot light or a GPS.

It Can't Sink, It Can't Sink, It Can't Sink

It can't sink, it can't sink, it can't sink were the words going through my mind along with help us Lord Jesus, and trust your equipment. Bob is saying don't panic. He did not remember saying those words to me, but it actually helped me to remember not to panic.

Hugh waves are breaking into the boat, we are being pushed up on a shoal. The boat is full of water and if it is not tied down it is gone. The antenna has fallen, the T top dry box just bounced open and all my important papers are falling, the waves are pushing us up to the rocks that we can't see, it is pitch black out with a cloud cover, our spotlight is only good for a few feet because of the fog. We are scared, I am scared both for my life and for the mission, especially the mission.

A few minutes prior to this, I was driving, it has gotten dark and I am totally exhausted so I ask Bob to drive. He too is exhausted. We have just passed a light house on the outer Islands of Faroe. There is a small town there. We decide to go back to the small town to spend the night.

When we got back we can't find the harbor, because there is none. There are two large fishing boats not too far back; we decide to follow them in. Only they are too far away and they disappear. The waves are over 10 foot and it is black out. We see a couple of light houses in the distance, and Bob wants to tuck in behind an Island.

Suddenly the waves get much bigger and start breaking into the boat. In ten minutes a relatively calm rolling ten footers went to xxxxx. Ten minutes ago we had a better chance to follow two much larger boats, but they are both gone. Ten minutes ago we felt successful having reached the Faroe Islands, ten minutes. Now the waves are filling the boat. Bob still wants to find a way to get out of the storm. I want to get away from the rocks. I don't even know where they are, you can only see the outline of an Island. We both think the storm caught up with us.

I want to get out to the open sea. I will take my chances with the bigger waves, but not the rocks. Bob, let me take the helm, gladly. It won't sink, it won't sink, it won't sink. Don't panic. Don't panic, Help me Lord, help us Lord, please, Trust your equipment. Trust your equipment. I set a course back out. The boat is full of water, more waves are breaking. We are talking to search and rescue, we only want directions, they want information, and I don't want to change screens to give them the coordinates.

Can't get the boat straight, Bob climbs out to fix the antenna, waves are still breaking into the boat. It is pitch black out and it is hard to drive by GPS only. It is slow to respond, hard to starboard, hard to starboard, why won't this heading change, too far, hard to port hard to port. Waves are still breaking into the boat. Up and down. Suddenly there is a bright star or a planet. We lock in on our bearing. We get the boat straight, trust your equipment. Bob wants me to do something, can't take my eyes off the screen, suddenly we are spinning around again, don't know where the rocks are. There is the star, keep it on the right, starboard.

We are back out to open sea. The waves stop breaking. We get in the shelter of some islands. Wow, we are still going. The mission is still on!!!!

There is a helicopter with a spotlight in the distance. Are they looking for us? We get them on the radio, they were looking for us, it is Ok, and they go home. Do we wait for day light or try to make Torshavn tonight? Bob takes the helm. He gets us there. I try to sleep. So cold, so wet, I don't think anyone makes a suit for what we are doing.

The first person we meet in Torshavn is Linjohn Christianson. Get this he is the captain of the Akamalik, the STAR OF THE NEW DISCOVERY CHANNEL TELEVISION SERIES, MIGHTY SHIPS, a Greenland Icebreaker Fishing Ship. What are the odds? He invites us over for a shower, a nap, and breakfast. I am writing this from his daughter’s computer.

Mine, well, both dry boxes got full of water last night. Thank God Panasonic gave us a Tough Book, because, well I hope I can find someone to pull the hard drive from my new anchor because that is all it will be good for. It is now time to go into full use of that Toughbook, it still works.

When I turned this one on, we were already on the home page of the Faroe Islands

God bless

We Are 104 Miles From The Faroe Islands. Waves 10 to 12 Foot And Getting Bigger ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
We are still 104 miles northwest of the Faroe Islands. We are still trying to beat the storm. The waves have kicked up to about 10 to 12 foot! They are still coming out of the southwest while we are going southeast. They are not helping us any at all. As a matter of fact they are hurting a little bit. It is kind of neat to see these big waves coming at us from the side. It is keeping us from going real fast. We have to go slow. But we are fine. We just hope to beat the storm.
We will talk to you later.
God bless
Bye

We Are 135 Miles From The Faroe Islands. Bob and I Are Both Soaked From Head To Toe From Rain And Waves ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
Good morning. We are still trying to outrun the storm! We are heading southeast and 135 miles outside the Faroe Islands. The waves are coming out of the southwest at approximately 4 to 6 foot with an occasional 9 to 10 foot wave. It is kind of choppy out, kind of mushy. You cannot make good time in this at all.
Bob and I are both soaking wet from head to toes from both rain and waves. It is raining off and on. Waves are splashing over the front of the boat.
We will talk to you later. Thanks for following. Buy the way, please tell your friends.
God Bless. Bye

Please Pray - We Are Trying To Outrun The Storm And Get To The Faroe Islands ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
We are 250 miles from the Faroe Islands, black as all get out, trying to outrun the storm. We cannot see where we are going, trying to outrun the storm, oil light flashing on and off. It has been flashing for hours. All is well. We are just trying to outrun the storm!
Talk to you later.
God Bless You.

Another Miracle ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
Last night was one of those weird ones. Yesterday afternoon we were late leaving Reykjavik harbor, surprise, surprise, surprise. It’s hard to leave when we meet so many good people and make so many nice friends. Before we left we stopped to return the keys at Brokey yacht club and there were some guys there from US who donated $200.00. We want to thank them for donating towards expenses etc, etc.
When we went to get gas, they wouldn’t take our credit card, they only take certain credit cards and that you can get. So then we were able to use that $200.00 that was donated, imagine that….to pay for gas, that was just enough gas to get to the island where we were not going to stop at but we had to stop at anyway, we almost were not going to stop anyhow, but before that the oil light came, not the change oil light, so we stopped anyway and everything was fine. We think it is just a lose wire. But we stopped and checked everything out on this island and there was this guy with a fancy camera that took lots and lots of pictures. He never said he was a photo journalist, but we sure think he was. It was one of those opportunities we needed to make. We just left Westmen Island full of gas, going very smoothly, weather is beautiful, rolling breeze, four footers, calm seas, absolutely gorgeous, and beautiful. We also know we are just ahead of the big storm. The storm is coming up behind us.
It’ll take us a couple of hours burning off enough gas before we can go faster, we will be putting along at 8-9 mph heading toward Faroe Islands. We’ll get there tomorrow around noon give or take; it depends on how we beat the storm. We should be seeing some big seas. We might get that chance. We’ll talk to you later; have a great day, and God Bless.

Icelandic Storms

There is a storm brewing and we need to beat feat to the next stop, Vestmann Island. We are trying to get to Faroe Islands then on to London. There is so much more I want to say about Iceland and the people we met here. Icelandic Seafood is coming on as a minor sponsor and 66 North is providing some tremendous fantastic cold foul weather gear as well as quality boots and gloves. We sure could have used these in Greenland.

We have been here trying to do two things, one find enough capital to finish the trip and two wait out a storm. Interstate Battery made another donation of $7,500 which we are grateful for and should cover the fuel cost for the rest of the trip and Icelandic Seafood Group is also helping us.

We are still in need of some more sponorship money!!!!!!!

We still need to get home after this voyage is over, and we are still praying that our families can come over and meet us in London. It has been a long somewhat exciting yet tiresome journey and we are looking forward to you joining us in this venture. Please tell everyone you know that might be able to help us help others. We have many little expenses that need to be met so please help if at all possible.

Then the major publicity should kick in and from that we should be able to promote the Do More Campaign in the manner it needs to be promoted.

The other issue is storms. Two are brewing back to back with a third not far behind. We figure if we get on the South side of Iceland, we can shoot between the storms to the Faroe Islands or even ride the leading edge of the storm if the waves are in the right direction. We don´t mind very large waves in the right direction. We just don´t want to use all our fuel fighting them again. If we wait another day we will be stuck here for at least a week. I have to admit this is a great place to get stuck, but we have to move forward.

Here is a link to one weather report for you to follow. http://belgingur.is/
and here is another www.stormsurf.com You will see how big the waves an wind will be if we don´t beat feat soon.

Whale Watching

The next morning a politician came out to meet us, I will have to look up his name. Seemed like a great guy. Then we met Rannveig and Vignir. They own Elding Whale Whatching Tours and quite a bit more.

http://www.elding.is/

Not only are they smart business people but they are very kind. We have been sleeping on one of their whale watching boats (Small ship). They have even let us eat with their crew. They got this cook, Helga, she can cook. That weight I lost, I think I will find.

They have tours to the Blue Lagoon, a natural hot spring, deep sea fishing, vocalno tours, and much more. This place has a lot to offer. One day I will bring my family here to see the country. It sure is nice to meet people like Rannveig and Vignir, successful and kind.

More about Iceland later.

Friends

One of the things our team is trying to do is to get this story to grow viral. The I AM SECOND Wounded Hero Voyage is a worthy cause to tell our friends. That is why I signed up for the tell your friend program on the front page. It automatically invited everyone in my address book.

If everyone does that WOW what growth.

First Impression of Iceland

I am glad I was here long enough to meet more people than the man from the 10-11, Iceland’s version of a 7-11, 24 hour store. From about an hour out to sea on the way to Iceland I had to use the restroom, WC for those Europeans who might be reading this. It was a sit down head call, for US Marines and Navy personnel. I was tired of using the 5 gallon bucket as well as tired of hanging my rear over the side of the boat.

We were almost to shore and I was looking forward to a real toilet. When we arrived we were directed by the Harbor Master to a public dock right next to the Icelandic Hydrogen sign, that is another really weird story. Customs showed right up as well as the Immigration Police. The police officer was super professional, I actually thought we were in some kind of trouble, then he ran up to his car and ran back down with a camera, can I take your picture? Sure,

We waked to a near by store and asked to use the restroom, he directed me to another store. It was after midnight and I tried to get into several restaurants and bars but I could not get in to use their restroom. By this time I had a real problem; it was fast becoming an emergency. I was about to soil my pants. I went into this 10-11, 24 hour store. Started looking for a restroom. I asked an employee if I could use the restroom, he said “Get Out”. I said please, I just came from America in a small boat and I need to use the restroom, it is an emergency. He said, “You are not in America you are in Iceland, GET OUT.” I said, please it is an emergency. GET OUT, please, I am begging you, His response, GET OUT, he looked like he was going to get violent, so I left thinking no wonder this country is in financial trouble if that is how they treat tourists. Tourism is one of their main industries. I think he thought I was a drunk. I looked red in the face from the sun and the wind, my eyes were red, I haven’t shaved in a week and I haven’t gotten my land legs back yet.

A few minutes later the manager at the Pizza Factory opened his store up and let me use it. Plop, Plop, Fiz, Fiz, oh what a relief it is.... I am so glad I stayed long enough to meet him and see so many other Icelanders. The vast majority are really great people.

Tonight we met Magnus who came by at midnight to show his kids our boat. Magnus is the star of Lazy Town a kids television show shown in 123 countries. He plays Spartacus, a super Hero. Here is what he said about our program.

Quitting is NOT AN OPTION

Click on the above pictures for a better view.
See We Eat and Drink Healthy,
This is the Internet Cafe we have been at. We will be eating there tonight. Thank you Hlynur (The Manager) It is called the Hressingarskalinn meaning the Refreshment Lodge or something like that.

I have been working most of the afternoon on emails, video, and contacts. I also have been trying to upload and embed two Islandic TV News Reports. I believe I will get them up tomorrow. When you see them you will notice a few things.

Note, we do not fear injury, Note we do not fear other problems, Like the heroes we seek to honor, WE FEAR FAILURE, WE FEAR DISHONOR. That is why it makes me so mad when I hear a politician trash our heroes who offer up their lives as a sacrafice to freedom. Your dishonor of our heroes is much more dangerous than an enemy ever was.

This is a Wounded Hero Voyage, not a vacation. It is a mission and an adventure. It is a World Record Voyage, it is not supposed to be easy. Do NOT feel sorry for us.

You will see we both have injuries, I have lost a ton of weight, (I needed to), I have cracked or bruised ribs, I have a cracked or bruised wrist, both of us have salt burns, both of us have numb toes and fingertips. Bob has swollen feet and a bruised knee.

Again, I say this to make it easy for those who know and love us. Understand Failure hurts much more than physical pain so please do not ask us to quit. In fact I ask you to stand with us and to help us.

By the way, we eat very well, just getting a lot more exercise than we are used to.

We Can See Reykjavik Harbor In Iceland ! ! !

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
LAND HOOOO! We have been watching Iceland for a while as we approach. I believe I can see the lighthouse in Reykjavik’s harbor. We should be on shore in about an hour or two.
We will talk to you later.
Have a great day and God bless.

We Got A Standing Ovation With Kids Swimming In Ice Water As We Left Tasiilaq Greenland ! ! ! Only 147 Miles To Reykjavik Iceland

Ralph via SAT phone (transcribed)
As we left Tasiilaq Greenland yesterday afternoon a whole bunch of kids gave us a standing ovation and some of them jumped into the 35 degree water with icebergs floating everywhere and the kids were swimming in the icy waters to say good bye to us. Unbelievable!
Right now we are cooking some Quaker oatmeal for breakfast/lunch and we are approx. 147 miles northwest of Reykjavik Iceland we are leaving on super, super cold but beautiful country for one much warmer.
We’ll talk to you later, Bye and God Bless.

Tasiilaq Greenland

Click on the above pictures for better viewing.

Tasiilaq Greenland is a town of about 1000 people located on the East Side of Greenland. The whole east side of Greenland is uninhabited with a few exceptions. It is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Giant mountains come to the sea, with glaciers becoming Icebergs.

Seals, birds and whales roam while the thousands of icebergs float by. It is a 400 mile run between the town of Prince Christianson (Population 5) and Tasiilaq. There is an old US Air Station nearby that is used for an International Airport. Then you either come by boat or by helicopter. When you get to town the tourism department wants you to think there is only one hotel, but there are several.

Bob and I are from Florida where it is warm. On the 400 mile run from Prince Christianson we got rained on several times. It is a fine mist of rain that covers everything, our hands and feet were frozen. At that point it is very hard to sleep on the boat.

Even though we could not afford it, we broke down and bought a hotel room. This is only the third night we bought a room (several others were bought by people that we met), since the beginning of the trip, over 45 days. The Hotel Angmagssalik (arcticwonder.com) has two sections, one modern and one older where everyone shares a bathroom. We took the older one, it saves $50. When we checked out they gave us a 40% discount.

This trip is a one of faith as well as one of endurance, fortitude, and commitment. Last week when we were hundreds of miles from Canada and hundreds of miles from Greenland and not enough fuel to get to shore, the wind and the waves were howling and blowing against us. I have to admit I was afraid, not of death, but of failure. I fear failure much more than I fear any other outcome.

We had to consider all options.
One, let Canadian Search and rescue pick us up, NOT A CHANCE.
Two, let her drift, hopefully back to Canada, refuel and start over,
Three, throw the sea anchor and wait. We chose to do the third. Thank God, the wind changed to out of the North got very cold, but we were able to motor in (180 miles at about 4 mph) on the small motor getting better fuel economy. We arrived with about a cup of fuel left. It was a tiny town population of about 36, with the only fuel for 40 miles. A two day trip had turned into a six day, survival adventure.

As we continue to pursue the prize, Completion of the trip, and a chance for publicity to sell the Do More Shirts, and raise $3,000,000 or more for wounded hero foundations; we do so knowing that we don’t have enough fuel. We depend upon God and good people from all walks of life to join our cause, promoting heroes.

For a year and a half, Bob and I tried to get funding for this trip, without success. When the good people from I AM SECOND and Interstate Batteries offered some money, for the title position, at first we said, no, it was far less than we were asking.

After further consideration, we felt like a hero is someone who risks it all without knowing the outcome. If they knew the outcome they would not be much of a hero. If our voyage is to honor heroes, how are we better than them? We decided to step out on faith, risk it all. We accepted. We left without a lot of the right equipment and without enough money to finish the trip. We even had to borrow the boat on a lease purchase agreement. Yes, it is true that I built the boat, but I sold it. We decided to depend on God and good people from around the world. (Without the good people from “I AM SECOND” and Interstate Battery we would never have made it this far!)

I still believe that. We are moving on to Iceland today. Under the present conditions we will run out of money very soon. More than 10 million people have heard about our voyage, including Buckingham Palace. When we finish, this voyage, that number will grow significantly. I am amazed at the number of companies that make money off wars but said NO to the wounded hero. Yet, I am amazed at the number of people who want to help, even small children. A few have made donations of a few dollars to Al and Pat Hagen who donated $1,000.

If you decide to join our cause, by buying a shirt or making a donation every soldier, airman, sailor, and marine in the US, Canadian, British, and Danish military, thanks you.