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SEATTLE, Washington -- Two years ago, OAR Northwest rowed
across the North Atlantic Ocean and into the record books. The four
Seattle rowers became the first-ever crew to row unassisted from New
York to England, mainland to mainland. On August 4th, OAR Northwest
members Jordan Hanssen and Greg Spooner are taking to local waters
for their next rowing adventure.
Starting and ending in Gig Harbor on
Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, the intrepid rowers will
circumnavigate the peninsula entirely by rowboat. The nearly
400-mile counterclockwise route will take them through the Puget
Sound, out the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Pacific Ocean. The
route then heads south along the Pacific Coast and into Grays Harbor
and inland rivers. The rivers connecting the crew back to south
Puget Sound are sure to be a highlight. The Black River, located
southeast of Olympia, is home to the Black River National Wildlife
Refuge, and is one of the 10 most scenic rivers in the United
States. Also known as “Washington’s Bayou,” sections of the river
will test the rowers’ route-finding abilities, but dazzle them as
they encounter jungle-like waterways, lush wetlands, over 40 bird
species, and rare indigenous wildlife. The expedition is expected
to last two to three weeks.
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“Washington’s beautiful waterways were begging us to sightsee,
explore, and test our bodies once again,” explains OAR Northwest’s
Jordan Hanssen. “This trip is also preparation for a 2011 rowing
expedition through the North American continent from New York to
Nome, Alaska - over 7,000 miles!”
During the August circumnavigation of the Olympic Peninsula, the
crew will make daily blog updates with picture and video content to
their website,
www.oarnorthwest.com
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