Unfazed Savage back on the blue
Ocean rower Roz Savage left Geraldton on Saturday morning, determined to complete her voyage across the Indian Ocean.
Ms Savage was still a little bemused by the media frenzy that had surrounded her unscheduled stop at Leeman.
Having left Fremantle and rowed about 350 miles against the Leeuwin Current, she was still only 100 miles from Fremantle and 20 miles from the WA coast when she discovered that
the locker containing her fresh watermaker was not watertight.
Deciding to return to shore to have it repaired, her support crew hired a crayboat to tow her in.
That sensible decision was portrayed by Perth media as a “rescue”, which obviously puzzled Ms Savage.
“I was not rescued because I didn’t need rescuing, it just made sense to get the boat repaired and restart my voyage from Geraldton,” she said.
“Whether I start my voyage from Geraldton or Fremantle makes no real difference, I will still row across the Indian Ocean.”
With the necessary maintenance done by Shayne Donegan of Donegan Services, the boat was transported to Batavia Marina by Keith Brockwell of Geraldton Mobitow and returned to
the water on Friday afternoon.
After a good night’s sleep, a relieved Ms Savage settled into her little craft and was waved off by a small group of supporters.
Unlike some previous trans-oceanic adventurers, Ms Savage is not broadcasting her position by GPS or her intended landfall.
Due to the danger posed by pirates, her GPS co-ordinates are known only to her parents and support crew.
GARY WARNER
