Sometimes fact is much better than fiction! This certainly will be true of the memoir Atlantic rower, Victor Mooney, will publish this year. Mooney visited Island Water World in St. Maarten in August to share his book plans to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his four-month-plus transatlantic row in a 24-foot Brazilian-built rowboat from Maspalomas, Grand Canaria, to St. Martin, FWI.
As a sneak peek, Mooney lost 80 pounds of body weight along the way, and his Spirit of Malabo was damaged by a shark, the latter of which was refurbished by Island Water World and Custom Fit Marine during his stopover in St. Martin. He then continued his row, with stops in the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. Mooney was hijacked by pirates in Haitian waters but recovered his boat in a multinational effort. The boat was sent to Miami, where RMK Merrill Stevens made repairs. Mooney finally arrived at New York’s Brooklyn Bridge on November 29, 2015, completing his mission to encourage voluntary HIV testing in memory of his brother who died of AIDS.
“I was grateful to return to St. Martin/Sint Maarten with my wife, for she is the Captain of the Spirit of Malabo. I hope this forthcoming book will inspire people from all walks of life to never give up and not to be afraid to dream,” says Mooney.
Mooney plans to launch his book on June 27, 2024, at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort, Casino, and Spa with side events in St. Martin (FWI) and Anguilla. www.facebook.com/VictorJMooney/
