The schooner Anne floats by the Riverwalk in downtown Wilmington, appearing well worn though still a hearty vessel. Her lines and markings tell a story, as do the bulkheads below. The story, carved into exotic hardwoods, is one of a lifetime of adventure and of a quest for something sailor Reid Stowe calls “a timeless space.” That state, that feeling of perfect isolation and independence, is part of what Stowe was seeking when he began his effort to sail for three straight years without stopping back in 2007.
Today, having completed a record-breaking voyage, both the boat and the sailor have returned home. Stowe’s sailing adventures began on the Intracoastal Waterway at his family’s beach cottage just behind Ocean Isle. He built his first boat with the help of his father, Harry. It was a 1,400-pound catamaran and in 1972, at the age of 20, he left for his first major solo sailing adventure.
Stowe described it, “The boat had no motor, no radio, no electronics and no electricity. I sailed the boat directly across the North Atlantic to Europe and then down to Africa and then back across to southern Brazil. I spent a year up the Amazon River and then over to the Caribbean and back to here.”
Stowe then built his schooner, using one of the most significant designs of the last 150 years. “It’s the most important boat in American maritime history because for a very long time it was the boat you saw everywhere, hauling cargo, being used as pilot boats and for naval battleships.” Using local trees for his planks and masts and steel rigging salvaged from Wilmington junkyards, Stowe put together a boat that he felt would be both strong and comfortable.
While living on the waterfront in lower Manhattan, Stowe hatched his plan to conquer not only a record but to test the limits of his own stamina. On April 21, 2007, he and his girlfriend, Soanya Ahmad, set out to sail the world for 1,000 days without stopping. Fifteen days into their voyage, they were hit by a freighter.
It took a month to do the repairs while drifting in the water, but that event wasn’t enough to deter them. Eight months later, Ahmad realized she was pregnant. She was not prepared to give birth at sea. The pair sailed on two more months to Australia and Ahmad flew back to New York. Stowe continued on. While some might question his motives or commitment to his family, both Stowe and Ahmad had prepared themselves to be isolated together, so isolation apart became a doable thing. They communicated by phone weekly and via email daily, sending messages and photographs, knowing that their dream was something he had to finish, and she didn’t want him to live with regret.
While preparing for the trip, the couple had done some serious planning with regard to their nutrition. They planned meals for three years worth ahead of time, they were not going to stop and restock. Their diet was mostly dried goods and fresh fish. They ate pasta with sauce, different types of rice, different types of grains, beans, dried fruit, nuts, peanut butter and jelly, olive oil, honey, and coffee. They even found an innovative way to augment their protein supply. They grew bean sprouts in the boat and cooked them to fill their protein quota.
Stowe referred to the trip as his “Mars Ocean Odyssey,” and published an article in International Space Magazine titled “Seafarers of Today Provide a Model for Spacefarers of Tomorrow.” Stowe said his trip was analogous to a Mars mission in that at 1,000 days, the time was about the same and, after the departure of Ahmad, the isolation and loneliness was similar. But the end result was a record-breaking effort, the longest sea voyage in history at 1,152 days.
Upon returning to New York and reuniting with Ahmad and his now 2-year-old son, Darshen, the family eventually got restless and set out for another journey, this time together. They wound up in Supanaam, Guyana, where Stowe made some repairs to the boat. Sadly, Stowe’s mother and the schooner’s namesake, passed away in September. With his father suffering from Alzheimer’s, Stowe has returned to his homeport along the Cape Fear River to care for him.
Stowe feels that despite all of the criticism he’s faced for choosing to continue his voyage in spite of his son’s birth, his trip has a real value that is grasped by thousands of supporters.
Leave a Reply