Boston.com - He boasted that he had the physical strength, the mental toughness, and the maritime technology to row 3,600 miles across the steely Atlantic, from Cape Cod to France, faster than any human in history. Turns out, Charlie Girard lacked all three. Just over 50 miles into his row, the 26-year-old Frenchman called for the Coast Guard to rescue him. Yesterday, Girard expressed disappointment with the denouement of his voyage, which he had called Atlantique 2007. "The sea was very, very hard," he said. "I was very tired, too."I think it will take many days to stop the nightmares."

His initial attempt was launched June 30, when he set off from the Orleans Yacht Club with 100 days worth of condensed milk, cereal bars, and dehydrated snacks. His plan was to break the record set in 2004 for a solo row across the North Atlantic: 62 days, 19 hours, and 48 minutes. But the harbormaster towed him back a few hours later after his boat sprung a leak.

Before I totally trash this guy let’s at least give him some credit.  He did complete 1% of the total trip.   If you’re one of his sponsors or donated money for his boat that’s got to be some consolation right?    And let’s not forget that this was a massive improvement from his first trip when he lasted approximately 20 minutes.   I mean if the Frenchman continues to improve at the same rate from trip to trip he’ll have this record in no time.    Now if he could just overcome the nightmares he’d be home free.

And just for the record I think the coast guard should have let this guy die.  Listen, I have no problem with people pushing themselves and trying to win imaginary records.  But don’t start crying for help when you run into trouble.   Risking your life is just part of the deal when you do shit like this.  I mean if you’re going to call the Coast Guard anytime your life is in jeopardy, what’s the point of doing it in the first place?    Same thing with Running of the Bulls, Climbing Mt Everest, David Blaine tricks etc.   The bottom line with all these stunts is that if you fail you should die, end of story.   In fact, if 100 people haven’t already died trying to get the record you’re trying to break it’s probably not worth a record having in the first place.