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Posted at 12:16 p.m., Friday, August 24, 2007

Woman rowing to Hawaii rescued after only 90 miles

Associated Press

HUMBOLDT, Calif. — A British environmentalist trying to row to Hawai'i was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard just 90 miles off the California coast after rough seas overturned her boat.

Roz Savage had wanted to be the first woman to row across the Pacific Ocean alone.

She used a satellite phone to contact a friend after her boat rolled over several times Wednesday. Coast Guard members in Humboldt Bay then sent a ship and an airplane to find her, and a helicopter lifted her to land Thursday night.

"The weather was just really really nasty," said her spokeswoman, Nicole Bilodeau. "She encountered really high seas, really high winds, dreadful weather, and everything on board was wet."

Her vessel was a souped-up 24-foot long rowboat named the Brocade after her corporate sponsor, San Jose-based Brocade Communications Systems Inc. She said the goal of her journey was to raise awareness about marine conservation efforts.

Savage hit her head once when her boat rolled over, and there was a little bleeding and pain, but nothing serious, Bilodeau said. Savage has since undergone medical tests, and seemed to be in good shape, Bilodeau said.

"She's in good spirit and upbeat," Bilodeau said. "Of course, she was disappointed and sad to cut her journey short just now, but she was upbeat considering the circumstances."

Savage, who previously crossed the Atlantic in 103 days, had planned to cross the Pacific in stages. She left Crescent City on Aug. 12, and planned to cover the 2,300 miles to Hawaii over two to three months. She planned to cover the 6,700 miles to Australia by 2009.