Hopeful for 2008...
December 30, 2007 - Day 174 6.2714N,167.9691W
I am making reasonable progress toward the Equator, though the winds are still a problem, carrying me west more than I would like. There also appears to be a secondary counter flow southwest of me which merges with the primary one around 5N-170W, which we are trying to confirm. Given the winds, I probably will not able to avoid this secondary flow. I am not surprised at all that the Pacific would throw yet another trick at me like this; I mean, why make it easy, right? In comparison, my 96-day single-handed Atlantic crossing from the Canaries to the Caribbean Sea was a cake-walk!
EDUCATION PORTAL
Please pass on the good word.
Perhaps you are the parent of a student or support educational efforts in the community. Maybe you are an educator or know other educators. In each case, we believe that you will be pleased to see our revamped Education Portal page, accessible by the left margin menu as well.
The new Education Portal page includes a promotional video, courtesy of Ümit Gökçe. The page introduces our education partners: the National Museum of Education (NMoE), WhaleNet and the Northwest Invention Center. This collaborative efforts among our four nonprofit organizations has produced activities and competitions for different student age groups, and my dispatches are being rewritten for K-4 and 5-8 grade level. I am especially excited about these age-appropriate dispatches, because my goal has always been to capture the imagination of young students.
HOW TO SUPPORT
Your donations are tax-deductible. If you would consider financially supporting the above, then any donation which is sent to be applied to "The Education Fund" or which arrives at Around-n-Over with an indication that it is intended for educational purposes, will be treated as "Restricted Funds." Such donations will be applied directly to the collaborative educational effort by our four organizations.
We welcome individual donations as well as corporate funding of The Education Fund.
Corporate funders can also contact NMoE directly about our joint effort. In addition, a visionary corporate decision maker may consider becoming the Title Sponsor for our Education Portal throughout 2008; imagine: "Your Company Education Portal."
JOIN US!
On the Education Portal page, educators will find quick links to various activities developed by our partners. Questions can be sent to me at sea by students, and as they follow the journey, their participation can be encouraged in the competitions already in place. We are seeking classrooms to participate in our programs. If you are an educator of such a classroom, please contact the NMoE.
The competitions are divided into age groups each with 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes, and there is a deadline. The "Seawordy Competition" encourages students to submit a letter wishing me well on my trip, asking questions, so forth. Our goal is to engage at least 8,000 students with this activity, one for each mile that I will row on the Pacific. "Erden's ETA Competition" includes activity pages to help work through the process of navigation, environmental components & math skills. "Ocean Studies/Research Competition" provides my on-board gear list, and asks participants to design a teaching aid or science experiment that I could make, build or use on board to educate students.
We look forward to increased participation by schools and educators in our collaborative educational programs in 2008.
May 2008 bring all of us great health, happiness among true and loyal friends, and success as we each envision it.
Erden. |
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