Victor J. Mooney survived sharks & starvation for HIV/AIDS cause
For Victor J. Mooney, he does not need to imagine. He has lived it.
Mooney, a resident of Brooklyn New York just weeks ago completed a Herculean voyage across the Atlantic Ocean from the West African Coast to the Caribbean, landing first in St Martin before making the trek across to the Virgin Islands.
"It’s been a long arduous journey, ten years in the making. I tried several other times to make the Atlantic crossing and I didn’t make it very far. This time I was privileged to finally make it across the Atlantic Ocean,” he said, speaking to this news site yesterday September 1, 2014.
“I departed the coast of Africa on February 19, 2014 and I landed 130 days later in St Martin,” he said. He arrived in the Virgin Islands just over one week ago and was at the Scrub Island Resort before coming to Tortola and checking in at Nanny Cay.
“It was a tough row…I ran into some obstacles along the way, I ran out of food. I lost 80 pounds when I arrived on French St Martin. There was a shark that put a hole in my cabin. I was able to stop some of the water coming in but I still had to pump it out every hour and a half,” he recounted.
“To me, it was just another reminder of humility, that you are not in control and it anytime the Father can shut down the mission,” he said.
“The mission was centred on HIV/AIDS to encourage voluntary testing and ironically when I arrived in the Caribbean it was also National HIV/AIDS testing day, so for that I was very gratified that my arrival coincided with that day,” said Mooney.
He noted that AIDS in general continues to wreak havoc in the United States, in the Caribbean and also in sub-Saharan Africa. “On this row back to the United States I feel more special that I am able this task of encouraging testing for HIV/AIDS,” he said.
Mooney told this news site that while the voyage from Africa was rough, he had extensive damage done to the boat and oars while in the Caribbean.
“I cracked a rowing oar coming across from St Martin to the BVI and I broke two rowing seats, which I thought was kind of strange because that didn’t happen rowing across the Atlantic. This shows that rowing from St Martin to here is not like rowing across a lake. It is still the ocean and that again reiterates that on my journey back to the States I really have to remain prudent in my seamanship. We will be running into high shipping lanes, reefs, rocks and small inconveniences,” he said.
However he noted that he has help from a technical team based in St Martin that will provide him with the guidance he needs to navigate safely on the water. He said that because of the safety gear on his boat he is visible to larger traffic.
He said too that his oceanographer and meteorologists are advising him to make shorter trips with stops along the way to better survive the elements.
Mooney said that because of the serious condition in which he arrived in St Martin, the United States Coast Guard has been alerted as to his pending departure from the Caribbean and trek back to the USA and they will be on standby to render assistance to him.
“They will be monitoring my signals and will be on alert if I do have to request help,” he said.
Since his arrival he has had to extensively repair his boat which had suffered considerable wear and tear from the rough seas and shark attacks.
He said he enjoyed his time in the Virgin Islands and was impressed with the hospitality he received on Scrub Island and at Nanny Cay.
He said that he has had the privilege of having lunch with Deputy Governor V. Inez Archibald yesterday September 1, 2014. Today he has on his agenda sharing some remarks to students of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College on the importance of never giving up and persevering.
Mooney departs the Virgin Islands tomorrow September 3, 2014 between 3:30 and 4:00 am and will be rowing his boat bound for New York via Puerto Rico.
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