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Monday, July 3, 2017

A Mari Usque Ad Mare


File:Skipper Stowe.jpgThe Canadian national motto is "A Mari Usque Ad Mare." This means "from sea to sea." It derives from the Latin Vulgate translation of Psalm 72:8 in the Bible. It could apply also to the voyages of Captain Reid Stowe on his home-built schooner Anne, on a more worldly basis. This gaff-rigged schooner, built on the model of the 19th and early 20th century fishing schooners, is nearing its 40th anniversary of launching. The owner and overseer of the Anne, Reid Stowe, left the New York/New Jersey harbor with his partner, Soanya Ahmad, aboard the  Anne just over 10 years ago, finally completing a 1,152-day nonstop voyage without resupply, an extraordinary feat of endurance and resourcefulness. Reid's primary modus vivendi is the depiction of life as he sees it in art and artistic expression, including "GPS art", akin to the environmental artistic displays of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Here is a recent article on Reid Stowe, from the Spear's magazine, entitled "Whatever Floats His Boat."

An interview with Tom Ashbrook of NPR's On Point summarizes the challenges of the journey: