American Rower Gives Special Thanks After Facing Lenny Alone At Sea.

ATLANTIC OCEAN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 26, 1999--

Tori Murden has something special to be thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend. After surviving 20-foot seas, winds of 77 knots and a rogue wave that capsized her 23-foot rowboat, Murden is thankful just to be floating alone in the Atlantic Ocean.

"Right now, I'm one of the luckiest people on earth," she said in her daily log.

Just days ago, the eye of the storm that produced Hurricane Lenny passed directly over the American solo rower. The conditions fully tested Murden's resolve of becoming the world's first woman to row solo across an ocean.

The trans-Atlantic crossing is attempted without aid of wind or sail, without a motorized device of any kind and without support of an escort vessel. Murden has been alone at sea in the American Pearl rowboat for 75 days. She is 340 miles from landfall in the Lesser Antilles.

Up until two weeks ago, Murden was making excellent progress on her record-breaking odyssey. She had advanced 2,430 miles -- averaging 42 miles per day -- when Lenny started growing into a Category 4 hurricane. Last weekend, Lenny suddenly changed direction from its northeasterly course and headed straight for the American Pearl, 350 miles east of Guadeloupe. On Sunday, Lenny's eye passed directly over Murden at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT).

After Lenny passed, 25-knot headwinds prevented Murden from rowing westward toward the Lesser Antilles. Murden used the break to rest, observe two dolphins she's named Stanley and Stella, and plan her assault on finishing the 3000-mile ocean crossing.

Murden is anxious to finish. "The good news is I am rowing again. The seas are calm enough to make some progress even into the wind," she said on Thanksgiving Day.

Murden yesterday battled 10-15mph headwinds from the southwest and still managed to row nearly 20 miles. She is targeting an arrival in Guadeloupe or Antigua in the first half of December.

With Lenny's passing, Murden's tracking team in Louisville, Ky., is upbeat. The team notes that American Pearl lost little ground throughout Lenny's vicious attacks, attributing the success to the performance of heavy sea anchors that worked to stabilize her position.

By this Monday (Nov. 29) technical support teams in the U.S. and France will begin again to make logistical plans for Murden's arrival in the Lesser Antilles. With a couple days of rowing behind her, support teams hope to project where Murden might reach landfall and then make plans to coordinate the arrival.

Murden is no stranger to the peril of hurricanes. Last year, the rower was rescued at sea after surviving back-to-back strikes by Hurricane Bonnie and Hurricane Danielle. She capsized more than 20 times, ending with a violent end-over-end "pitchpole" that bruised her ribs and dislocated her shoulder.

Murden was rescued by a merchant vessel after spending 85 days alone at sea, a world record for a woman solo rower.

This year, Murden's east to west solo row began Sept. 13, 1999 when she departed Tenerife, the Canary Islands on her self-built, 23-foot custom rowboat.

The effort is sponsored by Sector Sport Watches, No Limits(R) Sports & Tech Wear, Fontana Candida Italian Wines and Fifth Third Bank of Louisville. Murden is a member of the Sector No Limits(R) Team, an elite group of international athletes who dare test and transcend the outer limits of human potential.

Murden's progress, message logs and related information is available at www.adept.net/americanpearl.com. Information on Murden, world records and the history of solo rowers is accessed at www.oceanrowing.com.