The Spirit of Zayed construction is underway
Man to row from Africa to New York, then Djibouti to Abu Dhabi.
/Global Warming News Articles/ - BROOKLYN, NY, August 12, 2008 - "The world's most expensive rowing boat" is being built, which will be used to pay homage to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, the founder of the UAE. Later this year, Victor Mooney, a college administrator, hopes to cross the Atlantic by rowboat from Dakar to New York before flying to Djibouti and tackling the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden to complete his odyssey in Abu Dhabi.
Mr Mooney says his plywood boat, the Spirit of Zayed, will carry golden number plates bearing the names of wealthy UAE sponsors in a bid to finance his epic voyage for Aids and environmental awareness.
The oarsman says he plans to leave the Senegalese capital on December 1, World Aids Day, before rowing about 16 hours each day towards the Caribbean and then up to New York by the middle of next summer. The second leg will see him leave Djibouti in August 2009 and attempt to negotiate Somalia's lawless coast before rowing to the UAE capital. Once there, his plan is to transport his boat to Sheikh Zayed's mausoleum on Nov 2, the anniversary of the late President's death.
The seven-metre plywood rowing boat, currently being built in Maryland, will have seven wooden splinters from dhows and the roof beams of royal residences embedded in its hull all collected, says Mr Mooney, during a bike ride through all seven emirates last summer. The vessel will rely on solar panels to power equipment including a satellite telephone, a laptop for e-mail access, a GPS system for navigation and an MP3 player, on which Mr Mooney plans to listen to jazz tunes during his solitary voyage.
"I believe the spirit of Zayed is an oasis of humanity, which I hope to share with the world", said Victor Mooney from New York.
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Lisa Samuels
Mooney Worldwide Group
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Brooklyn, New York
USA 11202
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