Since Oct. 7, two Americans have been attempting to row a boat across the Atlantic Ocean. Their boat, the "American Star," is the only American entry out of 50 international two-person teams participating in the longest rowing race in the world.
The race – called the Atlantic Rowing Race – started at Tenerife in the Canary Islands and extends for 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to Barbados in the West Indies. Boats have been finishing throughout the month.
"Their boat has no motor or sail," said John Ponticorvo, a member of the Wanda Canoe Club in North Bergen and a teacher at the Jersey City campus of the Hudson County Schools of Technology.
Ponticorvo’s middle school class – comprised of students from around Hudson County – has been following the day-to-day details of the race as part of its studies of the world’s oceans.
One of the two Americans is John Zeigler, who lives in River Edge and owns a business in Carlstadt. He did most of his training for the race on the Hackensack River. He and his partner, Tom Mailhot, spent more than a year training for the event.
Through an Internet site, students documented the progress of the American team as the two men oared their way into the history books. Competitors in the Atlantic Rowing Race have two goals: To join a unique group of people who have successfully rowed across an ocean in an open boat, and to better the record crossing time of 41 days and two hours set in 1997.
Most teams, according to racing officials, take between 50 and 100 days to accomplish the feat. The American Team, which landed on Barbados on Dec. 4, took 58 days.
Before leaving on his trip across the Atlantic, Zeigler told organizers that he had wanted to make the trip after hearing about Sir Chay Blythe’s doing it in the late 1960s. Blythe organized the first Atlantic Rowing Race in 1997, but it wasn’t until this year that Zeigler entered..
For a year, Zeigler, 50, could be seen rowing his way up and down the Hackensack River trying to build up strength for the 3,000 mile race. Although he had won numerous other water-related events, this race was to prove his toughest.
Studied by students
Ponticorvo, who has worked with Zeigler on numerous sailing projects along the Hackensack River, found a way to bring together two apparently different parts of his life: his love for watercraft and his teaching at the Schools of Technology.
"We are friends," Ponticorvo said. "He started me off in marathon racing about 15 years ago and I did some races with him. But this takes the whole thing onto another level. More people have climbed to the top of Mt. Everest than have rowed across the Atlantic Ocean."
Since his students were scheduled to study oceans during this third of their school year, Ponticorvo thought having them track the race and interview Zeigler later would fit right in.
Ponticorvo hopes to get Zeigler to come into school later this month.
Carlos Aguilera, a seventh grader at the Schools of Technology’s middle school, had his list of questions prepared. He wanted to know if Zeigler ever wanted to give up during the race: Was he ever afraid during the journey? Did he ever get hurt? Did he miss his family?
Ambika Sukul, an eighth grader, said he researched the trip on the Internet, following where the rowers were at during a given moment.
"I want to know how they survived," he said. "I’m not sure I would have been able to."
Sukul, who is interested in pursuing a career in medicine, wondered if Zeigler might be able to provide the students with survival tips when he comes to the school later this month.
Race came at convenient time for class
Ponticorvo is one of five teachers – called facilitators – and 45 kids who are monitoring the race as part of an innovative program called Explore 2000 at the middle school level.
Students – with supervision of the facilitators – design their studies and set up a time line in which to complete certain aspects of the project.
"This is a very creative program," Ponticorvo said.
While some aspects of the school are the same as other public schools, the classes these kids take often give them much more freedom to explore themes, and, in fact, encourage them to seek new directions in study.
The school year is broken up into a cycle of three, with three months dedicated to a specific subject. This segment is dedicated to a study of oceans and the next segment will be a study of outer space.
As part of the program, Concept II – one of the Atlantic rowing race’s sponsors – lent the school an indoor rowing machine. This is a machine that many of the rowers in the race used to train.
"We’ll be using it in each of our educational modules for a different thing," Ponticorvo said. "Right now, we’re using it as part of physical fitness and mathematics, in conjunction with the ocean studies."
Adam Azzarello, a student from Bayonne, and Ghulam Mehmood, from Jersey City, were working the machines during their interview. Both students like the freedom on the school to explore new ideas.
When asked what he thought of the race across the Atlantic, Azzarello called it "real cool." Mehmood called the American racers "heroes."
"I like the idea that he’s the first American to do it," Azzarello said.
Mehmood said he had questions for Zeigler, too, concerning weather and where the sailors got their fresh water.
"Did one of them stop rowing for a while so the other had to row all alone?" Mehmood asked.
Would Azzarello do it if he had a chance?
"No way," he said.
Amid Bridgelalo and Vincent Martinez, both Jersey City natives, pondered the need for teamwork between the two America rowers.
Some lessons took them out of the classroom
This year’s studies took students out onto the water several times, both to explore areas via canoe or to help tag fish for studies by other environmental organizations.
"We went out into the swamps," Azzarello said. This was part of a project Ponticorvo thought up to introduce kids to the local environment, and sponsored by the U.S. Canoe Association and the American Canoe Association. Both Azzarello and Mehmood found a canoe trip they took physical exhausting, and they said they did not like driving around in circles.
Students Derrell Gregory and Naya Scarbrough both spent time in the canoes. Scarbrough had an edge. She said she had spent two summers canoeing so that it was no problem for her.
The canoe trip took the kids into the Meadowlands, where they got to observe nature and study the environment. In other trips, kids from this class went up the river with Hackensack Riverkeeper Bill Sheehan, taking water samples and performing other experiments.
Ponticorvo, who has been involved with the program for about four years, said students have taken a variety of trips from Sandy Hook to Secaucus, tagging fish or simply learning about the waterways with the Riverkeeper.
"Captain Bill took them to observe different parts of the wetlands," he said.
"I took them on the eco tour, and they helped my staff for water testing," Sheehan said during a telephone interview. "They are also involved in our Urban Fish Program." (This is a study of fish in an environment in close proximity to cities, such as Jersey City and New York City.)
"I did a presentation for the students late year at the Liberty Science Center," Sheehan said.
Ocean and water studies for students in the program, however, can include nearly any water-related activity.
Benjamin Gomez and Naadir O’Neill, both of Jersey City, decided they would address animals in water environments, particularly reptiles. So they set up tanks in their classroom, monitoring their activities, learning what they eat, what temperature they thrive in.
Gomez said the lizards they have require temperatures between 80 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and that when the skin color darkens and develop spots, the creatures are too cold.
While Gomez has been encouraged to become a veterinarian, he said he wants to play basketball. O’Neill said he would pursue zoology. Both boys said field studies conducted by the class require teamwork.
Muhammad Ashraf, a teacher in the program for the last two years, said students have a calendar of events they need to accomplish during the semester, ending with reports and final projects, as well as an evaluation. Students are judged on a variety of aspects from content to format of their project reports, and how well they kept up with their schedules.
Ponticorvo said the program will wind up late in December, and that he hoped to bring Zeigler into the school in time for the kids to interview.