Ready, Set, GO!

This weekend, the Ocean Angels take to the seas.

We've been cheering them on for a while now, and put in a donation to get our faces on their boat. The donation goes towards breast cancer research.

Come to find out, they aren't the only ones going naked. There's a pair from London rowing naked in support of Asthma research. They will have a satellite phone for receiving text messages and posting their thoughts. There's also these two Berkshire boys rowing in support of Sparks (medical research charity) and Headway (a head injury charity). The Berkshire boys say in their article that they'll bring 6 liters (almost 1.6 gallons) of sun creme. Lastly, because he's a single and can't row as fast, there's Simon who has also said he will row naked for the Willow Foundation charity.

All-in-all, this is part of a much bigger event: The Indian Ocean Rowing Race. There are 11 teams competing to be the among the first to cross the Indian Ocean. The different team sizes are:

• 1 team of 8, which will probably be the first since they have the most people-power.
• 4 teams of 4, which include the Ocean Angels and a group of Aussies in budgie smugglers.
• 4 teams of 2, which include the guys I linked to above, except Simon.
• 2 singles, which are brave people to attempt this huge trip alone.
  

This isn't your typical canuding trip. It's a 4,350 mile trip with threats of 50 foot waves and an array of dangerous ocean critters. There's a lot that can go wrong, and it's a long trip back to civilization. I really hope they all make it back to civilization safely. If they're lucky, they'll cross the finish line in Mauritius in 60 to 100 days.

The true nudists can answer this question of mine: Is 1.6 gallons of sunblock enough protection from the sun for 3 months? Or will we see naked lobsters crossing the finish line? Also, will they forget to put on clothes after 2 or 3 months of nakedness? I hope so -- it's big publicity if they're all smiles, naked, and crossing the finish line. They should keep that uncomfortable clothing off their freshly burnt skin.

The race website has a cool scoreboard of each team's progress. The naked ones to watch are #13 Pura Vida (Ocean Angels), #9 Southern Cross (Berkshire boys), #2 Dream It Do It (Londoners), and #3 Old Mutual Endurance (Simon). I'll be cheering them on, and I'll have more posts in the future about their progress.