Jo Le Guen, |
Training for the Atlantic |
Pierre Denis, Frank Festor, |
Frank
is from France, Angela from USA.
How
Frank and I met
Some are familiar with our previous project. Differents? For those who are not- The plan was to row across the North Atlantic in June of 2006 with a crew of four differently abled individuals. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we had to postpone and revise our project. To find out more about it you could visit the website “Keep it blue” and search Google for Jo Le Guen. The short story: Keep it Blue, president Jo Le Guen did some whistle blowing against a huge oil corporation during the Erica oil spill. It came back to bite him and kill Differents? We never intended to use our crossing as a platform to speak against this company. They feared us, so they stopped us! Death by politics! Ouch! Just in case they visit our website, I would like to repeat our mission statement, just so we are clear!
To
inspire, motivate and effect positive changes in the lives of those who are born
differently abled and those who suffer serious trauma in their lives. To raise
monies for charities which improve the quality of life for people with
disabilities or who are, as we prefer to say, differently abled!
Jo Le Guen has crossed the Atlantic by oar 2 times and lost all of his toes to gangrene attempting to row across the Pacific. Jo decided he wanted to form an all differently abled crew to participate in the ocean fours race 2006. He found Frank and then when he was looking for someone else he found me. My friends in the amputee coalition of America know how much I like ocean rowing so they forwarded Jo’s E-mail to me saying I was crazy enough to be interested. They were right. Jo was looking for a male amputee. I am neither however I was not about to let him look by me. We E-mailed back and forth for a week or so, “I do not know because you are a paraplegic?” I do not know because you are a woman?” then he Google searched my name, looked at all of my accomplishments and decided that maybe I could “do the job.” Jo Le Guen and Frank Festor came to Long Beach in May of 2006 to see if I “could do the Job.” I took them rowing at the Long Beach Rowing Association. We went surfing at San Onofre. After meeting and spending some time together both Jo & Frank decided that I could indeed do the Job. Together with Pierre Denis, an amputee from Belgium, we were a crew of four.
We traveled and trained together all year and were all devastated when we could not participate in the 2006 crossing. Then we did what we always do. Adapt, Revise, Arise, and Find a new way to accomplish our goals and Go On! Born of Differents?, the idea of Jo Le Guen, We become Row of Life. Officially entered to row in the pairs class of the Atlantic Crossing 2007. Jo Le Guen and Pierre Dennis give us their blessing.