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Marshfield man reaches halfway point in row across Atlantic

E-mail|Link|Comments () March 3, 2010 08:17 AM

Mark Wilson/Globe Staff

Leo Rosette training on the Charles in 2008. He's on a much rougher body of water now and in a bigger, specialized boat.

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

Trying to break a record has not been easy for retired deputy US Marshal Leo Rosette, who left the Canary Islands two months ago in a bid to become the oldest American to row across an ocean alone. He scalded his foot last month when his 24-foot rowboat pitched as he was mixing boiling water with dehydrated food. He has lost nearly 30 pounds. And some days he hasn't been able to row at all because of stormy weather.

But a jubilant Rosette called Tuesday from his boat, Halcyon, in the Atlantic to report that he's more than halfway to his final destination, Antigua

"I'm feeling good; breaking the halfway mark is a boost,'' said Rosette, 59, of Marshfield, in an interview with the Globe via satellite phone. He has rowed about 1,387 nautical miles since he left La Gomera in the Canary Islands on Jan. 4 and has about 1,293 more to go.

"It's harder than I thought,'' said Rosette, who tries to keep himself motivated by reading a phrase stenciled inside the small cabin where he sleeps and seeks shelter from the sun and rain. It reads: "Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever."

"I keep looking at that and say, 'It may hurt now, but when I have my cheeseburger and popsicle it will be fine,''' said Rosette, referring to the food he's craving, and will likely be waiting for him when sets foot on land in another month or so.

Rosette, who was forced to end his 20-year career with the US Marshals Service in August 2007 when he turned 57 -- the mandatory retirement age for deputy marshals -- said he remains determined to prove that he's not too old to achieve great things.

If Rosette finishes, he would be the fifth and oldest American to accomplish a solo ocean crossing. The oldest solo rower to cross an ocean was a 66-year old Ukrainian man, and the oldest American was 57.

This is the second attempt for Rosette, who was forced to quit three days after his initial try in December 2008 because of stomach pain. The first time, he set off on his own. This time, he joined the Atlantic Rowing Race 2009, to share the cost of monitoring the ocean crossing with rowers from the 30 other boats that are competing.

Woodvale Challenge, a company in Great Britain that builds boats and organized the race, is monitoring racers via satellite, plotting their daily progress on its website, atlanticrowingrace09.com, and will launch a rescue mission if the rowers trigger an emergency alarm on their boats.

"It is certainly an adventure,'' said Rosette, who has always said that the goal is to finish, not to win. "I think the hardest part is sleeping at night. It is so uncomfortable. Everything is sticky.''

He said he scalded his right foot, the same foot he uses to steer his boat, when he was mixing food a month ago and suffered severe burns. Luckily, he said, he had packed antibiotics in a first aid kit, and his foot has healed.

Rosette said he has attracted the attention of much bigger vessels, who have stopped to check on him after spotting his 24-by-6-foot craft that looks like a small speck in the water.

A French couple on a sailboat changed course to come up beside him to see if he needed anything, said Rosette, adding that he's unable to accept any help -- or food -- from anyone because his voyage would then be dubbed "an assisted row'' and he'd be disqualified.

Rosette said he talks to his longtime girlfriend, Faye Vitale of Marshfield, each morning and she reads him encouraging messages that friends and strangers have posted for him on the race's website.

"A lot of people are leaving messages, it's a big boost,'' said Rosette, recounting days spent rowing in the hot sun, and being startled by flying fish flopping onto his boat and birds collapsing on his deck to rest for a bit. "I pray for a breeze."