1000 Days at Sea

After years working on the project, Reid Stowe is finally weighing anchor and sailing away, and he's decided not to step back on firm ground again until 2010. The challenge is not so different, he says, from a space trip to Mars. Reid will set off on his 70 foot gaff-rigged Schooner Anne from North Hoboken, New Jersey, on April 21, hoping to remain for 1,000 days on the ocean, out of sight of land and without stopping or resupplying. Should he make it, he would break the current continuous sailing record of 657 days held by Australian Jon Sanders, who circumnavigated the globe three times from 1986 to 1988.
The challenge seems ambitious enough for a solo sailor. But Reid won't be alone actually. At his side will be Soanya Ahmad, the Queens-born daughter of inmigrants from Guyana. She first knew of Reid's plans three years ago, while photographing the piers where the "Anne" is anchored. One year ago she moved to the boat. During the trip she will focus on photographing, videotaping, organizing, and inventorying as well as operating all of the computers and communications equipment.
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