A man who set out to row himself across the Atlantic Ocean last year, but sank three hours into the journey, vows to complete his mission — and he hopes he’ll have Barclays behind him.
Victor Mooney, whom some bloggers have dubbed “Looney Mooney” after he attempted to row from the old slave-trading post, Goree Island, Senegal, to the United States last May, announced his second try last Wednesday, unveiling a new (but still-unbuilt) boat.
“It [will be] virtually unsinkable and professionally built,” he said, a reference to his less-than-seaworthy, self-made first boat, which sank three hours into his trip, forcing the Senegalese navy to rescue him.
This time, Mooney will need $75,000 to make this dream a reality — $50,000 for the boat and another $25,000 for supplies and to support his family for the three months he estimates the journey will take.
He hasn’t gotten any corporate sponsors, but that didn’t stop him from splashing the Barclays logo on renderings of the boat (it’s not likely that the financial behemoth will touch anything that links it, again, to slavery).
But Mooney, who once got free workspace from Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner, is always optimistic.
“Barclays is good for Brooklyn,” he said. “I commend Barclays.”
The bank, which recently signed a naming-rights deal for Ratner’s proposed Nets arena, provides anti-retroviral medication for its employees and their families in South Africa. Mooney is hopeful that Barclays will do the same thing in Brooklyn.
But even though there’s still plenty of work to be done, Mooney is convinced that everything will happen according to plan.
“This battle is not mine,” said Mooney, who lost a brother to AIDS. “This battle is God’s.”
Mooney’s enthusiasm will not be dimmed. When The Brooklyn Paper awarded him its coveted “Don Quixote” award at the end of 2006, Mooney took it as a compliment.
“Don Quixote, a timeless image of humanity, is often viewed as an example of modern times; an individual personality of extraordinary imagination, defiant of the role society has assigned him,” he wrote on his Web site.
Whatever floats your boat, Victor.
