Wave Vidmar's name might have helped shape his destiny.
"My dad was a surfer and professional water skier," he said. "I've always been around water."
A lifetime of swimming and boating led the 44-year-old Martinez resident and professional explorer to plan a 3,500-mile transatlantic solo voyage -- by rowboat.
Right now he is trying to find sponsors to offset the estimated $225,000 price tag for an adventure that involves rowing from Cape Cod, Mass., to somewhere in Europe.
"We're aiming for England, but we could end up anywhere from Scotland to Spain," said Mr. Vidmar, who moved to Georgia from California last year.
The departure window for such a voyage runs from June 1 to the end of July, because of weather, ocean currents and prevailing winds. To get ready, he is training regularly and has secured a location to build his boat.
Now all he needs is money. "I do have some in-kind sponsors," he said.
The developers of the Hammond's Ferry project in North Augusta contributed a 2,500-square-foot commercial building to construct the 24-foot rowboat, which will be made of composition material packed with electronics.
"It's the most advanced rowboat design in the world," he said. "It will be a floating science platform."
The plans include a network of cameras, medical monitoring devices, weather instruments, navigation aids and other equipment that will give the voyage a strong educational component.
"We'd like to have solar panels, possibly a hydrogen fuel cell, too," he said. "During the trip I'll be able to shoot and edit video for a mini-series and will be composing music, too."
If he can get the boat built and launched -- and reaches Europe -- he would be the fifth person -- and the first American -- to do so. The trip is expected to take three to four months.
"The shortest it's been done is 62 days and the longest was 140," he said. "My goal is just to make it across safely."
Reach Rob Pavey at 868-1222, ext. 119 or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.
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If he needs adversity to be happy, he should be ecstatic when this is over.
Why not take a few undesirables from here with him?