Sleep-Deprived Daredevil Lands His Balloon Safely
Photo Credit: biskuit
We hear about these thrill seekers' challenges a few times a year, and it's always interesting to me how these types of exploits are at the mercy of sleep. If there's one thing that could derail such extreme feats, it's the need for sleep when there's no one else to take over the job.
This man's voyage seemed especially daunting. His basket was a 20th of the size of those used by Richard Branson to cross the same ocean. So he couldn't climb above bad weather. The trip covered 2,000 miles - from the shores of Newfoundland, Canada, to France. According to the story, he has a great fear of the ocean...so maybe he was trying to get over the fear?
He dropped from 11,000 feet to 9,000 feet when he began to fall asleep. And here's the best part, as reported by the Telegraph: "At one point I saw lights coming out of the darkness towards me. I thought it was a plane with its landing lights on and got hold of my strobe light to warn it away, but the lights were still there. Very bright. Then I realized it was a planet. It's the lack of sleep."
Which made me wonder: was the feat about traversing the Atlantic or was it more about trying to stay awake? Often people hack sleep to complete solo missions like this: Why You Can't Hack Sleep.
He did make it across the pond. He landed three days after takeoff in the Burgundy countryside. I hope he got a nap in while awaiting his crew to arrive (they found him an hour later), even though he did land in a field of cows.
You can read David Hemleman-Adams's blog about the adventure: Up, Up and Away
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: sleep deprivation ballooning, health and wellness
1 Comments:
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