Show Date: March 9, 2005

WOMEN ADVENTURERS AND SEVEN WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Pam Eastlick for the Marianas Variety

Greetings and welcome to The Deep column and the deepest radio show on Earth. The Deep is the science talk radio program that takes you from the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of the universe. This week on The Deep hosted by Jim Sullivan and aired at 6:00 this evening on K-57, we’ll talk about some astounding ladies. Expect a live expedition call from Maud Fontenoy who will be rowing solo across the Pacific Ocean while we talk to her. Then we’ll explore the seven wonders of the solar system. We’ll have other expedition calls and our science news updates as well as taking your phone calls. Tune in tonight! And don’t forget to log on to www.thedeepradioshow.com for all the latest and deepest news!

WOMEN ADVENTURERS
Our main expedition call this evening will be from Maud Fontenoy. In 2003, this 27-year-old French woman was the first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean from west to east. But Maud isn’t resting on her laurels. We will be talking to her as she follows in the wake of Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki. Maud is in the middle of rowing solo across the Pacific from Peru to Tahiti. That’s right, she’s rowing across 4,300 miles of open ocean alone in a cedar wood and fiberglass rowboat.

She left the Peruvian city of Port Callao in January and expects that it will take four or five months to reach Tahiti. She’s been at sea 55 days already and covered over 2,600 miles. She has a little over 1,700 miles left to travel. The first part of the journey was the hardest as she had to fight the Humboldt Current, which flows north and not toward Polynesia.

Her boat, the Oceor, was built in France in 2003 and is 25 feet long (7.5 meters). It’s made of red cedar and covered with fiberglass reinforced with Kevlar. The boat has several independent watertight compartments. Power is supplied by three solar panels on the boat’s enclosed deck. The central cockpit is open to the air. The boat’s prow holds Maud’s supplies of food, clothing, oars, the desalinator for fresh water and safety equipment. The enclosed stern contains the sleeping berth, the galley, the desalinator and the electric system; all contained in roughly three cubic feet. All the boat’s interior spaces are decorated with drawings done by French schoolchildren who are following Maud’s incredible adventures.

Maud has no chase boat; she is truly alone on the open ocean. But she does have a GPS navigation system, a satellite communication system and a cell phone and this is how we will bring this incredible adventuress into your living room. Don’t miss The Deep this week as we bring you history in the making.

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
People have always been interested in extremes from the highest mountain, to the longest mustache, to the farthest distance rowed in a rowboat. The Romans named the seven wonders of the ancient world 2,000 years ago and we’ve certainly created some modern wonders that to replace the ancient wonders that are no longer with us.
There are many wonders on Earth, but we’re beginning to travel beyond Earth. It’s public show week in the UOG Planetarium, and one of the adventures that will delight you and your family is The Seven Wonders of the Solar System.

You’ll learn about the solar system’s largest mountain and its biggest storm and other wonders as well. Seven Wonders of the Solar System is an encore presentation and there have been new robot expeditions to several different worlds since it was produced. Tonight on The Deep, we’ll talk a little about what we think the seven wonders are and then we’ll take your phone calls to find out what you think. The rings of Saturn? Olympus Mons? Mimas the Death Star Moon?

Then join us in the UOG Planetarium this Thursday, Friday or Saturday night at 6:30 and 7:00 p.m. for Planetarium public shows. Our 6:30 show is Lives of the Stars. You’ll learn how stars are born, how they grow old and how they die. Then stick around for Seven Wonders of the Solar System and see if you agree with my choices! Don’t forget, Planetarium shows are always free!