[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 50 (Tuesday, April 13, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S3656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     MICHAEL ``MICK'' BIRD AND THE TRANS-OCEANIC ROWING EXPEDITION

 Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise today to bring my 
colleagues' attention to a very exciting expedition. In September 1998, 
Mr. Michael ``Mick'' Bird completed the second leg of an unprecedented 
24,000 mile voyage around the world. On August 19, 1997, Mick Bird 
started rowing out to sea from Fort Bragg, California in his vessel 
Reach. After 66 days of rowing, on October 23, 1997, Mick arrived in 
Hilo Bay on the Big Island of Hawaii.
  After putting the Reach in drydock in Hawaii, Mick returned to his 
home base in California to raise support and prepare for the next leg 
of his historic journey. Mick returned to Hawaii last summer and put to 
sea in Reach on July 18, 1998 rowing for the Gilbert Islands, about 
2500 miles southwest of Hawaii and halfway point between Hawaii and 
Australia. On September 22, 1998, 66 days and more than 2200 miles from 
Hawaii, Mick made landfall on Majuro in the Marshall Islands, a bit 
north of his intended destination in the Gilberts. Mick is now happily 
home in California with his family preparing for his next leg to the 
north central coast of Australia; another 2500 mile row.
  Mick Bird, a former U.S. Air Force officer, is of Pacific Island 
descent and has family ties to the State of Hawaii. His voyage is more 
formally known as Trans-Oceanic, which is the name of the non-profit 
organization sponsoring this attempt at the world's first solo 
circumnavigation of the globe by a rowing vessel. The goals of this 
expedition are, among others, to explore the limits of the human 
spirit, to raise awareness about ocean ecosystems, to be an example of 
individual achievement as well as teamwork, and to generate support for 
the National Tuberous Sclerosis Association. The expedition is also 
using its World Wide Web sites (www.naau.com and www.goals.com/
transrow) to create a direct link between Mick's vessel Reach and 
educators and students to share experiences and practical applications 
of math, science and geography.
  I would like to congratulate Mr. Bird on his very impressive 
accomplishments to this point, and to express my good wishes for the 
safety and success of the rest of this voyage around the world. I also 
wish to commend him and Trans-Oceanic for enhancing public awareness 
and education. I encourage my colleagues to have a look at Trans-
Oceanic's web sites and share them with educators at home to follow 
along with this amazing journey.

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