WEBVTT 00:00:00.996 --> 00:00:02.807 In June of 1998, 00:00:02.807 --> 00:00:08.147 Tori Murden McClure left Nags Head, North Carolina for France. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:08.147 --> 00:00:10.469 That's her boat, the American Pearl. 00:00:10.469 --> 00:00:12.913 It's 23 feet long and just six feet across 00:00:12.913 --> 00:00:14.881 at its widest point. 00:00:14.881 --> 00:00:19.873 The deck was the size of a cargo bed of a Ford F-150 pickup truck. 00:00:19.873 --> 00:00:22.357 Tori and her friends built it by hand, 00:00:22.357 --> 00:00:25.051 and it weighed about 1,800 pounds. 00:00:25.051 --> 00:00:27.414 Her plan was to row it alone 00:00:27.414 --> 00:00:29.364 across the Atlantic Ocean -- 00:00:29.364 --> 00:00:31.500 no motor, no sail -- 00:00:31.500 --> 00:00:35.262 something no woman and no American had ever done before. 00:00:35.262 --> 00:00:36.841 This would be her route: 00:00:36.841 --> 00:00:41.068 over 3,600 miles across the open North Atlantic Ocean. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:41.068 --> 00:00:43.683 Professionally, Tori worked as a project administrator 00:00:43.683 --> 00:00:45.478 for the city of Louisville, Kentucky, 00:00:45.478 --> 00:00:47.289 her hometown, 00:00:47.289 --> 00:00:49.704 but her real passion was exploring. 00:00:49.704 --> 00:00:52.188 This was not her first big expedition. 00:00:52.188 --> 00:00:56.554 Several years earlier, she'd become the first woman to ski to the South Pole. 00:00:56.554 --> 00:00:58.783 She was an accomplished rower in college, 00:00:58.783 --> 00:01:02.265 even competed for a spot on the 1992 U.S. Olympic team, 00:01:02.265 --> 00:01:06.189 but this, this was different. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:06.189 --> 00:01:12.830 (Video) (Music) Tori Murden McClure: Hi. It's Sunday, July 5. 00:01:12.830 --> 00:01:14.711 Sector time 9 a.m. 00:01:14.711 --> 00:01:17.892 So that's Kentucky time now. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:17.892 --> 00:01:20.237 Dawn Landes: Tori made these videos as she rowed. 00:01:20.237 --> 00:01:22.536 This is her 21st day at sea. 00:01:22.536 --> 00:01:25.299 At this point, she'd covered over 1,000 miles, 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:27.969 had had no radio contact in more than two weeks 00:01:27.969 --> 00:01:31.409 following a storm that disabled all her long-range communications systems 00:01:31.409 --> 00:01:33.123 just five days in. 00:01:33.123 --> 00:01:35.144 Most days looked like this. 00:01:35.144 --> 00:01:38.905 At this point, she'd rowed over 200,000 strokes, 00:01:38.905 --> 00:01:41.227 fighting the current and the wind. 00:01:41.227 --> 00:01:44.710 Some days, she traveled as little as 15 feet. 00:01:44.710 --> 00:01:46.219 Yeah. 00:01:46.219 --> 00:01:48.866 And as frustrating as those days were, 00:01:48.866 --> 00:01:51.908 other days were like this. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:51.908 --> 00:01:55.019 (Video) TMM: And I want to show you my little friends. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:55.019 --> 00:01:59.930 DL: She saw fish, dolphins, 00:01:59.930 --> 00:02:02.461 whales, sharks, 00:02:02.461 --> 00:02:05.340 and even some sea turtles. 00:02:05.340 --> 00:02:07.615 After two weeks with no human contact, 00:02:07.615 --> 00:02:09.937 Tori was able to contact a local cargo ship 00:02:09.937 --> 00:02:12.863 via VHF radio. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:12.863 --> 00:02:16.648 (Video) TMM: Do you guys have a weather report, over? NOTE Paragraph 00:02:16.648 --> 00:02:19.782 Man: Heading up to a low 00:02:19.782 --> 00:02:22.267 ahead of you but it's heading, 00:02:22.267 --> 00:02:24.147 and you're obviously going northeast 00:02:24.147 --> 00:02:26.051 and there's a high behind us. 00:02:26.051 --> 00:02:27.909 That'd be coming 00:02:27.909 --> 00:02:30.416 east-northeast also. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:30.416 --> 00:02:32.019 DMM: Good. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:32.019 --> 00:02:35.925 DL: She's pretty happy to talk to another human at this point. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:35.925 --> 00:02:38.367 (Video) TMM: So weather report says nothing dramatic 00:02:38.367 --> 00:02:40.980 is going to happen soon. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:40.980 --> 00:02:42.991 DL: What the weather report didn't tell her 00:02:42.991 --> 00:02:46.089 was that she was rowing right into the path of Hurricane Danielle 00:02:46.089 --> 00:02:50.187 in the worst hurricane season on record in the North Atlantic. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:52.138 --> 00:02:55.133 (Video) TMM: Just sprained my ankle. 00:02:55.133 --> 00:02:58.848 There's a very strong wind from the east now. 00:02:58.848 --> 00:03:01.286 It's blowing about. 00:03:01.286 --> 00:03:04.165 It's blowing! 00:03:04.165 --> 00:03:06.859 After 12 days of storm 00:03:06.859 --> 00:03:08.693 I get to row for four hours 00:03:08.693 --> 00:03:10.837 without a flagging wind. 00:03:10.837 --> 00:03:12.527 I'm not very happy right now. 00:03:12.527 --> 00:03:14.196 As happy as I was this morning, 00:03:14.196 --> 00:03:18.050 I am unhappy now, so ... NOTE Paragraph 00:03:20.200 --> 00:03:22.195 DL: After nearly three months at sea, 00:03:22.195 --> 00:03:24.888 she'd covered over 3,000 miles. 00:03:24.888 --> 00:03:26.908 She was two thirds of the way there, 00:03:26.908 --> 00:03:30.438 but in the storm, the waves were the size of a seven-story building. 00:03:30.438 --> 00:03:32.614 Her boat kept capsizing. 00:03:32.614 --> 00:03:35.818 Some of them were pitchpole capsizes, flipping her end over end, 00:03:35.818 --> 00:03:38.303 and rowing became impossible. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:38.303 --> 00:03:40.536 (Video) TMM: It's 6:30 a.m. 00:03:41.706 --> 00:03:45.060 I'm in something big, bad and ugly. 00:03:45.060 --> 00:03:47.660 Two capsizes. 00:03:47.660 --> 00:03:53.477 Last capsize, I took the rib off the top of my ceiling with my back. 00:03:56.356 --> 00:03:59.839 I've had about six capsizes now. 00:03:59.839 --> 00:04:02.346 The last one was a pitchpole. 00:04:02.346 --> 00:04:05.295 I have the Argus beacon with me. 00:04:05.295 --> 00:04:07.083 I would set off the distress signal, 00:04:07.083 --> 00:04:11.309 but quite frankly, I don't think they'd ever be able to find this little boat. 00:04:11.309 --> 00:04:13.120 It's so far underwater right now, 00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:17.299 the only part that's showing pretty much is the cabin. 00:04:17.299 --> 00:04:20.434 It's about 10 a.m. 00:04:20.434 --> 00:04:23.127 I've lost track of the number of capsizes. 00:04:23.127 --> 00:04:26.169 I seem to capsize about every 15 minutes. 00:04:26.169 --> 00:04:29.582 I think I may have broken my left arm. 00:04:33.204 --> 00:04:34.667 The waves 00:04:34.667 --> 00:04:37.024 are tearing the boat to shreds. 00:04:38.556 --> 00:04:40.042 I keep praying because 00:04:40.042 --> 00:04:42.550 I'm not sure I'm going to make it through this. 00:04:43.128 --> 00:04:45.447 DL: Tori set off her distress beacon 00:04:45.447 --> 00:04:48.341 and was rescued by a passing container ship. 00:04:48.341 --> 00:04:52.325 They found her abandoned boat two months later adrift near France. 00:04:52.325 --> 00:04:55.506 I read about it in the newspaper. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:55.506 --> 00:04:59.779 In 1998, I was a high school student living in Louisville, Kentucky. 00:04:59.779 --> 00:05:02.333 Now, I live in New York City. I'm a songwriter. 00:05:02.333 --> 00:05:05.630 And her bravery stuck with me, and I'm adapting her story 00:05:05.630 --> 00:05:09.252 into a musical called "Row." 00:05:12.990 --> 00:05:14.639 When Tori returned home, 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:16.473 she was feeling disheartened, 00:05:16.473 --> 00:05:17.667 she was broke. 00:05:17.667 --> 00:05:19.956 She was having a hard time making the transition 00:05:19.956 --> 00:05:22.115 back into civilization. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:24.085 --> 00:05:26.718 In this scene, she sits at home. 00:05:26.718 --> 00:05:28.965 The phone is ringing, her friends are calling, 00:05:28.965 --> 00:05:31.171 but she doesn't know how to talk to them. 00:05:31.171 --> 00:05:34.166 She sings this song. It's called "Dear Heart." NOTE Paragraph 00:05:34.166 --> 00:05:37.522 (Guitar) NOTE Paragraph 00:05:40.331 --> 00:05:44.046 When I was dreaming, NOTE Paragraph 00:05:44.046 --> 00:05:47.297 I took my body NOTE Paragraph 00:05:47.297 --> 00:05:50.617 to beautiful places NOTE Paragraph 00:05:50.617 --> 00:05:53.937 I'd never been. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:53.937 --> 00:05:57.211 I saw Gibraltar, NOTE Paragraph 00:05:57.211 --> 00:06:00.601 and stars of Kentucky NOTE Paragraph 00:06:00.601 --> 00:06:03.875 burned in the moonlight, NOTE Paragraph 00:06:03.875 --> 00:06:07.451 making me smile. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:07.451 --> 00:06:10.714 And when I awoke here, NOTE Paragraph 00:06:10.714 --> 00:06:14.161 the sky was so cloudy. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:14.161 --> 00:06:17.534 I walked to a party NOTE Paragraph 00:06:17.534 --> 00:06:20.995 where people I know NOTE Paragraph 00:06:20.995 --> 00:06:24.222 try hard to know me NOTE Paragraph 00:06:24.222 --> 00:06:27.426 and ask where I've been, NOTE Paragraph 00:06:27.426 --> 00:06:30.514 but I can't explain NOTE Paragraph 00:06:30.514 --> 00:06:34.369 what I've seen to them. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:34.369 --> 00:06:41.242 Ah, listen, dear heart. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:41.242 --> 00:06:44.359 Just pay attention, NOTE Paragraph 00:06:44.359 --> 00:06:48.395 go right from the start. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:48.395 --> 00:06:54.313 Ah, listen, dear heart. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:54.313 --> 00:06:57.052 You can fall off the map, NOTE Paragraph 00:06:57.052 --> 00:07:01.532 but don't fall apart. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:01.532 --> 00:07:03.377 Ooh ooh ooh, NOTE Paragraph 00:07:03.377 --> 00:07:08.245 ah ah ah ah ah. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:08.245 --> 00:07:11.589 Ah ah, NOTE Paragraph 00:07:11.589 --> 00:07:14.421 ah ah ah. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:14.421 --> 00:07:17.630 When I was out there, NOTE Paragraph 00:07:17.630 --> 00:07:21.020 the ocean would hold me, NOTE Paragraph 00:07:21.020 --> 00:07:24.364 rock me and throw me, NOTE Paragraph 00:07:24.364 --> 00:07:27.684 light as a child. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:27.684 --> 00:07:31.121 But now I'm so heavy, NOTE Paragraph 00:07:31.121 --> 00:07:34.325 nothing consoles me. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:34.325 --> 00:07:37.761 My mind floats like driftwood, NOTE Paragraph 00:07:37.761 --> 00:07:41.035 wayward and wild. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:41.035 --> 00:07:47.582 Ah, listen, dear heart. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:47.582 --> 00:07:50.717 Just pay attention, NOTE Paragraph 00:07:50.717 --> 00:07:54.456 go right from the start. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:54.456 --> 00:08:00.748 Ah, listen, dear heart. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:00.748 --> 00:08:04.208 You can fall off the map, NOTE Paragraph 00:08:04.208 --> 00:08:08.132 but don't fall apart. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:08.132 --> 00:08:12.334 Ooh. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:14.912 --> 00:08:18.139 Eventually, Tori starts to get her feet under her. 00:08:18.139 --> 00:08:20.600 She starts hanging out with her friends again. 00:08:20.600 --> 00:08:24.478 She meets a guy and falls in love for the first time. 00:08:24.478 --> 00:08:27.543 She gets a new job working for another Louisville native, 00:08:27.543 --> 00:08:29.818 Muhammad Ali. 00:08:29.818 --> 00:08:32.558 One day, at lunch with her new boss, 00:08:32.558 --> 00:08:34.926 Tori shares the news that two other women 00:08:34.926 --> 00:08:37.689 are setting out to row across the mid-Atlantic, 00:08:37.689 --> 00:08:41.381 to do something that she almost died trying to do. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:41.381 --> 00:08:44.502 His response was classic Ali: 00:08:44.502 --> 00:08:46.418 "You don't want to go through life 00:08:46.418 --> 00:08:50.175 as the woman who almost rowed across the ocean." NOTE Paragraph 00:08:50.175 --> 00:08:52.172 He was right. 00:08:52.172 --> 00:08:53.890 Tori rebuilt the American Pearl, 00:08:53.890 --> 00:08:55.678 and in December of 1999, 00:08:55.678 --> 00:08:57.954 she did it. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:57.954 --> 00:09:00.995 (Applause) (Guitar) NOTE Paragraph 00:09:04.873 --> 00:09:07.404 Thank you. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:07.404 --> 00:09:10.305 (Applause)