These questions and answers were pulled from an interview with a local radio station in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii shortly before Jason set out in Moksha for the island atoll of Tarawa, 2400 miles away.

>> HAWAII TO TARAWA VOYAGE PREPARATIONS

Q: What kind of physical training have you been doing?
JASON: none so far. For the last 3 weeks I've been on 4 1/2 hrs sleep a night. The other 19 1/2 hrs have been spent either on the phone hussling for sponsorship money to pay for the voyage and rounding up the final bits and pieces of gear, staring at a computer screen writing material for the website/keeping abreast of emails etc, conducting school fieldtrips or tinkering around on the boat. It's always the same. The pressure to get everything ready in time builds and builds and only releases once a mile away from land. Then it all becomes very quiet very quickly, and I start the process of getting fit as I go. The first week will be awful - aching muscles from not being fit, sea-sick and most likely dreadfully hot.

Q: How much food will you be taking and what kind?
JASON: 150 lbs of mainly dehydrated food. Being a vegetarian has proved somewhat of a challenge to prepare enough nutritional content for the amount of calories I will need each day - over 5,500/24hrs (2x normal). We've been dehydrating vegetables such as carrots and green peppers that grow locally on the island. A typical menu for the day will be:

- Breakfast: oats, honey/apricot jam/raisins, cup of tea
- Lunch: toast and hummus. Gatorade to restock electrolytes.
- Dinner: rice or pasta, reconstituted vegetables (carrots/peppers/onions/potatoes), tofu, lentils, split peas.
- Snacks: M+M's and Odwalla bars.

Q: Do you fish along the way?
JASON: no. I would only fish if the food ran out/went ‘off’.

Q: Did you have to refurbish Moksha after the S.F. to Hawaii trip?
JASON: not too much. Structurally Moksha is in good shape. There is the inevitable corrosion on all things metal. We are currently checking the wiring and the electrics.

There was some talk of attaching a single outrigger to the side of the boat to control the incessant rolling motion, which can become so grueling to the senses. However we decided against this plan as it would have compromised the self-righting capability of the boat.
Another idea was to install some ventilation plates in the windows beside the pedaling seat to encourage air into the cockpit. This would mean drilling holes through the windows - potentially weakening the overall super-structure. It is for this reason that we have not yet put this plan into action. It could be a hot and sweaty voyage as a result. But I'd rather work a little harder than compromise the strength of the boat.

Q: What other preparations?
JASON: with being so busy, I hardly have time to stop and think about the up and coming voyage. This - for me - is a good thing. It keeps my mind off the worry of a solo voyage. Two months ago I was having the odd bad dream of getting mown down by another ship while asleep. Now I have barely enough time to sleep let alone dream (or remember them). It's probably for the best this way. I can't worry about what isn't in my head.

>> back to REFERENCE