|
 |
CNN LIVE TODAY
David Clark, 77, Completes Solo Journey Around the World
Aired December 7, 2001 - 11:55 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, a new story about an old man and the sea. Today, a man described as the "oldest sailor" is expected to pull into port in Florida. It will mark the end of a harrowing round of a world journey. CNN's John Zarrella joins us now from Miami with more on all this. Hello, John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Miles. Well, here is a real feel good story to end Friday's program here on, imagine this, circumnavigating the earth all by yourself, except bringing your dog along. About half way around, you end up in a bad storm off of Cape Town, South Africa. Your boat goes down. You lose your dog, and you have to start all over from that point, raise money to continue your journey on, and you do all this, when you started, from here in Fort Lauderdale, two years ago, at the age of 75.
And now, two years and two years -- two days later, David Clark is about to return here to Fort Lauderdale, the Marriott Marina, his wife is here to greet him, Lynda Summers Clark, and Lynda, two years he's been gone. What are the emotions going through you right now?
LYNDA SUMMERS CLARK, WIFE OF SOLO SAILOR: I'm really excited, and I'm really happy, and I can hardly wait for him to get here so I can give him a big hug and kiss, and, you know, it's going to be a very emotional time for him as well as for me, because all of his family is here. All of his children and his grandchildren, and it's a very exciting day for him.
ZARRELLA: And they're all out on a boat, right now, to greet him, to wave to him as he sails in. What possessed you to let him go for two long years?
CLARK: I didn't have anything to say about it. He makes his own decisions. He -- I asked him to think about it, because he locks himself into things. When he says he is going to do something, then he does it -- or tries. And, so I knew once he committed himself to doing it, there wouldn't be any turning around, and so all I could do is just give him my support.
ZARRELLA: He becomes the oldest person to ever solo around the world in a sailboat. We're showing some pictures, now, that have been e-mailed back during the course of his journey, and that's all you ever saw of him for two years, right, were those pictures that came back?
CLARK: That's right, just pictures.
ZARRELLA: Has he changed?
CLARK: Well, I don't think he looks like he has changed. He told me he put on weight, but I did too. So, we'll both have to take off weight together, I guess. But, no, communicated with him through ham operators and through e-mails when he was in port, and things like that. But I haven't seen him since he left. So, this is going to be an exciting day.
ZARRELLA: Lynda, thank you so much for taking some time for us. Again, now, his family is out there. There are going to be some fire boats to greet him, Coast Guard boats escorting him in, a band, a color guard, all that is certainly appropriate for 77-year-old David Clark, who will make his way back here in about 30 minutes. We expect him here at the dock, at the Marriott Marina Hotel.
Then a big luncheon, I guess he'll have quite -- probably won't eat seafood, I don't think. Probably have a big steak or something when he gets here. At one point, he spent 30 days on the water all by himself. Again, lost his first boat in a gale. For three weeks he raised money and donations came in to buy a second boat in South Africa, Miles. So it has been one heck of a two years for 77-year-old David Clark -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Boy, oh, boy. No seafood for him. Is his lovely bride still beside you there? Is she still there?
ZARRELLA: She sure is.
O'BRIEN: A couple things -- first of all, if you could just ask her how long is the honey-do list right now. I can only imagine, after two years, he's got some chores. Secondly, what did she bake him or make him?
ZARRELLA: Miles O'Brien wants it know what the honey-do list will be when he gets back, and what are you going to bake him or make him when he gets back?
CLARK: Well, I got him a cook book that's a four ingredient cook book that he can make me dinner when I get home from work. I'm still working full-time. And when I get home, he can have dinner ready.
ZARRELLA: That's the honey-do, make the dinner.
CLARK: Yeah, right.
O'BRIEN: I didn't know it, but that was all encompassing.
ZARRELLA: There you have it.
O'BRIEN: All right. He comes back and right in the galley there, captain. All right. All right, we are looking forward to seeing that arrival. Thank you, both of you, very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
|
|
|
|
|
