tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33410789998640599642024-03-05T22:31:04.258-05:00Bens Boatsbjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-88223109452973540512012-06-26T09:32:00.001-04:002012-06-26T09:33:06.623-04:00Mobile test posttrying a post from the phone...<br />
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<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGicctS-okVpY3chv11z8RGX4aqKnGRughtzXUHluqhUQ6gP7E1mueJv9WwmiGwflTfapFImmlrgOme5w7Dh8_zhrvIc6abza3-r3C1jWfha-m6OLdk5rv-_QOk_Yl5YBLByXKG_6AIfZM/s640/blogger-image--577730175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGicctS-okVpY3chv11z8RGX4aqKnGRughtzXUHluqhUQ6gP7E1mueJv9WwmiGwflTfapFImmlrgOme5w7Dh8_zhrvIc6abza3-r3C1jWfha-m6OLdk5rv-_QOk_Yl5YBLByXKG_6AIfZM/s640/blogger-image--577730175.jpg" /></a></div>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-1213135066383614912012-04-24T21:35:00.000-04:002012-04-24T21:35:23.079-04:00Kids Greenland Paddle - Part 1<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Until it's warm enough for epoxy, I can't really get much done on Sara's kayak. So, I decided to make her a greenland style paddle. There are a variety of resources available on the internet describing how to estimate sizing them, I used the <a href="http://www.qajaqusa.org/Equipment/paddles.html" target="_blank">Qajak USA recommendations</a> as a starting point. Since Sara's boat will be relatively wide compared to her size, I made the overall length and loom length a couple of inches longer than the suggested anthropomorphic size.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm too lazy to carve a paddle out of a single piece of wood and I'm too cheap to buy a bandsaw, so I laminate. I started with two 3/8" x 2 1/2" cedar boards which made the "blades" of the paddle. I then cut 3/8" out of the middle of a 1" dowel to make the loom and paddle blade reinforcement.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k536/bjalgera/b630c54b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k536/bjalgera/b630c54b.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Major pieces</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k536/bjalgera/3f122f22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k536/bjalgera/3f122f22.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glued up</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next step will be to plane the blades to the correct shape and sand it smooth. Finally, I'll apply an oil finish.</span>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-82066187196935146812012-04-18T10:49:00.000-04:002012-04-18T11:41:20.895-04:00New kayak!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have decided to build another kayak. This one will be for my 5 year old daughter Sara.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/guillemot/files/kayak/image-3047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/guillemot/files/kayak/image-3047.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is called the "<a href="http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/guillemot/kayak/jupiter_point_series/io_childs_kayak" target="_blank">Io</a>" and is designed by Nick Schade of Guillemot Kayaks. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nick offers the plans for free </span><a href="http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/guillemot/files/Io_Offsets.pdf" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, and has complete instructions on </span><a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Making-a-Plywood-Kayak/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Instructables.com</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am planning to use inexpensive luan plywood since this boat will not see hard use. The exterior will be sheathed 4oz fiberglass and I will use 2" tape for the interior seems. I think the seat will be a couple of layers of closed cell foam which should be sufficient for the sort of use this boat will see. I'm not sure about a paddle, but I may try and build a simple greenland style paddle or buy a small kids paddle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sara is very excited about this and has already name her boat "The Sara" ...very original :) She has also requested that it be painted red "like Grandpa's kayak."</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Grandpa's red kayak</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TRcEaKq4-RQ/Te7qdxXgNkI/AAAAAAAADQo/4l5RCtdt6bI/s1600/P6070098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TRcEaKq4-RQ/Te7qdxXgNkI/AAAAAAAADQo/4l5RCtdt6bI/s640/P6070098.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking out my SeaTour EXP... probably a little to big for her :)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-66721322323147476992012-04-15T10:33:00.002-04:002012-04-15T10:40:38.056-04:001M Kayak Sail<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 24px;">I was asked to provide some details of how I mounted the 1M sail on my folding kayak.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 24px;">The base of the mast is in compression and on a standard composite kayak, the standard approach is to reinforce this area with extra fiberglass and/or carbon fiber. Obviously, on a folding kayak with a soft fabric skin, this is not an option. In order to provide a solid base on which to mount the sail, I built a custom fiberglass and carbon fiber "plate."</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k536/bjalgera/Yost%20sail%20mount/PC290084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k536/bjalgera/Yost%20sail%20mount/PC290084.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carbon fiber mast base plate</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 24px;">I chose to locate the plate at the second structural frame, so the mast load is shared by the plate, deckridge, and frame. Having chosen the location for the plate, I covered the boat with parchment paper (great mold release), laid the fiberglass and carbon over it, then just had to wait for everything to get hard. A day or so later, I trimmed the plate down to size and applied some varnish to protect the epoxy.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 24px;">Next was a way to keep the plate in place. First, I added some adhesive backed 1/8" minicell foam to the bottom of the plate where it contacts the gunwales and deckridge. This provides some grip, and protection for the skin. Next, I added four D-rings, one at each corner of the plate.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k536/bjalgera/Yost%20sail%20mount/PC290085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k536/bjalgera/Yost%20sail%20mount/PC290085.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Additional D-rings glued to the hull skin of the kayak.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 24px;">I used these rings and the cleats mounted on the plate to lash the plate to the deck. This held the plate very securely, and there was no possibility of it moving or sliding around.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 24px;">Now that the mounting plate was complete, I needed to add the rigging. The side stays were terminated to the rear D-rings using some small shackles. This allowed me to easily remove the stays for traveling. I added one more D-ring for the mainsheet block, and also used it to connect a rear stay.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 24px;">I don't have any good detailed pictures of the whole setup, but this is the closest I have.</span><br />
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<a href="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k536/bjalgera/Yost%20sail%20mount/83c64467.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k536/bjalgera/Yost%20sail%20mount/83c64467.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 24px;">The mainsheet (red) d-ring is just in front of the compass and the forestay (green) is connected to the bow carrying handle. The mainsheet and forestay are cleated by the cockpit using simple plastic clam cleats, which can be seen in the lower left corner of the picture above. The cleats were connected to the boat using a small loop of line through the rear mounting hole of the cleat and then looped around the deck rigging. With tension on the lines, the cleats were held straight enough that the line would not pull out.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;">Overall, the mounting system has worked very well for me so far, and I am very happy with it. It is lightweight, and easy to remove from the kayak. The only permanent modifications to the kayak are the four d-rings for lashing the mast base, and the d-ring for the mainsheet / rear stay.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;">Feel free to leave comments, questions, or suggestions!</span></span>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-80431630148121967772012-04-05T19:55:00.001-04:002012-04-05T19:55:37.477-04:00EC2012 - The videos<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You may have seen these before, but just in case...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Setup Day and Launch to Checkpoint 1:</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Checkpoint 1 to Checkpoint 2:</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Checkpoint 2 to Checkpoint 3:</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Checkpoint 3 to Key Largo and Finish Party:</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-30262877729337822812012-04-04T21:41:00.000-04:002012-04-04T21:41:41.667-04:00EC2012 - Day 7<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2012 Everglades Challenge</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Friday, March 9, 2012</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This morning, I slept in. Emily got up on time and watched a big group of kayakers leave for Key Largo. They had arrived the previous day and had a little "stealth party" in the fish cleaning station where we were "stealth" camping.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I finally roused myself out of the tent and Emily brought me coffee and a muffin from the marina store. We finished our breakfast, the got to the task of completing the portage. After a few trips, we had everything repacked on the saltwater side.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As had been the case the past few days, the wind was still 15 to 20 mph from the east. We of course had to paddle east. We paddled away from Flamingo and entered Tin Can channel.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ranger Station at Flamingo</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not much water in Florida Bay</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The six miles from Flamingo to Buoy Key were extremely difficult. The persistent east wind combined with the very shallow water of Florida Bay caused a significant amount of current which also slowed our progress. After what felt like forever, we paddled into the lee of Buoy Key and took a break.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our next goal was Dump Keys, a pair of small islands with a small pass between them. These looked like they would be a great place to tie up if you needed to catch some sleep in the middle of Florida Bay.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching Dump Keys</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the lee of Dump Keys</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At this point, we decided to take the northern route through Crocodile Dragover. As we paddled northeast towards Big Key, the sun set and the wind started to abate.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset on Florida Bay</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We again appreciated the hours of looking at Google Earth and drawing detailed routes as we were able to stay in the channel and avoid the extremely shallow mud and weeds that border it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once we made it out of Crocodile Dragover, it was a straight shot ESE to the finish. By now the wind was almost calm and our speed picked up. Our next break was in a small gap in a sand bank south of Park Key. From there we started to see the lights of the Keys. The highlight was a fireworks show we could see way off in the distance to the southwest. The lights steadily got closer and we took one last break at the north end of Shell Key. This was the home stretch, just under 3 miles to go. As an added bonus, the wind had shifted and we actually put our 1M downwind sail up for a little while.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final approach to Key Largo</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We could soon see the individual buildings and lights of Key Largo! At this point, I started to wonder how accurate my waypoint for the finish was... I was a little worried about not being able to find Bay Cove in the dark. Fortunately, my waypoint was accurate, and we landed on the beach at 2:15AM on Saturday, March 10. We did it!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FINISHED!</td></tr>
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<a href="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k536/bjalgera/Facebook/EC%202012/ScreenShot2012-04-03at102517PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k536/bjalgera/Facebook/EC%202012/ScreenShot2012-04-03at102517PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-28830204611584230562012-04-03T22:32:00.000-04:002012-04-03T22:32:36.795-04:00EC2012 - Day 6<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2012 Everglades Challenge</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Thursday, March 8, 2012</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a short 5 hours of sleep, we had some breakfast and got the boat loaded up. This was a new and interesting experience since the tide was going out and the boat was about 4 feet below the level of the chickee. We got it done and began paddling up the Harney River. I have heard that if you time it right, it is possible to ride the rising tide up the Harney River, then make the turn and ride the falling tide down the Shark River... We did not have that experience :) As we fought the tide up the Harney River, we also were fighting a persistent east wind. We were hoping that when we turned into the Shark River we would be able to sail and have a break, but that only turned out to be half true. We did sail, but the tide was now coming up, which meant the current was against us.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shark River</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Instead of a break, we had to keep working to maintain forward progress. As we neared the end of the Shark River, we had to consider our next course. We could put our large sail rig back up and try to sail across Whitewater Bay, or continue paddling down the Joe River. We were both feeling pretty beaten down by the constant howling east wind, and we did not feel that we would be able to even paddle through the pass into Whitewater Bay. Instead, we headed SSW across Oyster Bay towards Joe River. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oyster Bay mangrove</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Joe River was a beautiful stretch of water and a fairly pleasant paddle.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a break on Joe River</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the end of Joe River is about a 4 mile stretch where we need to paddle due east across the bottom of Whitewater Bay. We were more than a little apprehensive about what this stretch of water would be like. Fortunately, by the time we got there, the wind had settled down significantly, and the waves were no issue either. We made the crossing without incident and paddled through Tarpon Creek into Coot Bay.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toes up in Coot Bay</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Following Coot Bay is the three mile long Buttonwood Canal. The canal was featureless, but protected from the wind and we made great time on our final stretch into CP3. We hit the checkpoint at about 11:30PM and while Emily checked us in and set up the tent, I unpacked our gear and pulled the boat up and out of the way. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We ate a nice hot dinner then settled down for the night.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the boat ramp in Flamingo</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-439084513295380532012-04-02T23:35:00.003-04:002012-04-02T23:35:54.350-04:00EC2012 - Day 5<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2012 Everglades Challenge</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Wednesday, March 7, 2012</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our morning began with a visit from NiteSpiritSix. Whitecaps was disappointed we didn't offer him coffee and muffins... :) </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We finished our breakfast, struck camp and got underway at about 7AM.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k536/bjalgera/Facebook/EC%202012/431052_3603337005773_1344030094_3598818_164669199_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k536/bjalgera/Facebook/EC%202012/431052_3603337005773_1344030094_3598818_164669199_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaving Lostman's Five campsite</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We made our way through the first few bays and creeks without incident, but things started getting difficult in a small bay south of Third Bay. The wind was again howling (~20 mph) from the east. We slowly made our way west to east across this bay, hugging the shore where possible. Things really came apart when we paddled south into the western end of Big Lostman's Bay.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The combination of high wind from the east and the large open bay caused us to be blown behind a small point of land. We took an opportunity to take a break and eat something and made an attempt to paddle back around the point. We failed to make the turn and ended up right back where we started. I though about trying to pull the boat around the point, but when I stepped out of the boat, I sank past my knees. At this point, we were extremely demoralized and decided to just sit and take a short nap. After a break, we changed our approach and made it around the point and into Big Lostman's Bay. About two miles later, we got a break from the wind in the channels leading to Rodgers River Bay, then Broad River Bay.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As we made the turn into Broad River Bay, we now had the wind at out backs. We deployed our 1M downwind sail and enjoyed a fast downwind run all the way down Broad River. At one point we hit 7mph, yeah!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We were committed to earning an Alligator Tooth award which meant we needed to traverse the Nightmare and Broad Creek. These are not passable at low tide, which was when we were arriving. To buy ourselves some time, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">we decided to stop and have some dinner at the Broad River campsite. This turned out to be a great idea because the next 8 miles would prove to be extremely challenging.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooking some dinner</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We got back moving at about 7PM and the first few turns of "The Nightmare" were nice and open. However, things got tough quickly. I had the path plotted accurately in my GPS, so direction finding was not a problem, but lots and lots of downed trees made going difficult. Several times we needed to stop, back up, and find another path. Twice we needed to stop and wait for the tide to come up before we could get over some larger logs. We made it out of the Nightmare and into Broad Creek at about 11PM. Broad Creek starts out open but gets narrow quickly. The next couple of miles were very difficult, but we finally made it through.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our original goal for the day was the Oyster Bay Chickee, but we were not even close. Fortunately, the Harney River Chickee was not occupied when we arrived at about 2AM. We got the boat secured, camp set up and fell immediately to sleep.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-33363334858942894072012-04-01T22:28:00.001-04:002012-04-01T22:28:26.665-04:00EC2012 - Day 4<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2012 Everglades Challenge</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Tuesday, March 6, 2012</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We learned something interesting when we woke up this morning... Florida mud stinks. After a reasonably comfortable nights sleep, we awoke to a somewhat disturbing discovery, instead of floating, our boat was surrounded by mud. Fortunately, I was able to pull the boat off the mud flat and back to the water with minimal effort. We were underway by 5:30AM and a nice reach across Gullivan Bay towards Indian Key Pass.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise on Gullivan Bay</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We reached the pass just behind a yellow Hobie Adventure Island sailed by AhMahChamee. As we were sailing into the pass, a tour boat from Everglades City came motoring out and came to a stop directly in front of us... thanks. I'm not sure he even saw us because they were all watching a pod of dolphins swimming around. We sailed past and some of the passengers waved, I suppose we were just more wildlife :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We eventually reached the end of the pass and as it opened up into Chokoloskee Bay we were slammed by the wind. The wind had shifted to the east at 20mph with gusts to 30. We pulled down the sail and tried to paddle but could not make any headway. The sail went back up and we did out best short tacking in the narrow channel, doing our best to avoid the very shallow areas of mud on either side. We made one last tack towards the airport, the hopped out and pulled the boat the last bit to the National Park ranger station. I got our backcountry camping permits and Em got our ice cream... mmm... Also stopping for permits were AhMahChamee, TideTraveller, and the NiteSpiritSix OC6 team.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We had three miles to go to CP2 and decided to try and sail there. The wind was still pretty intense and with the shallow water kicking up our rudder and leeboard, we just sailed into shore and paddled the rest of the way to the checkpoint on Chokoloskee Island.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beating upwind towards CP2</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching CP2</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This was the point at which we switched from sailing to paddling. We were planning on taking the Wilderness Waterway through the Everglades to CP3 in Flamingo. I took the rig down and stowed it in the boat. Based on the wind and wave conditions I decided to leave one of our amas out in single outrigger configuration. While the XCR is a stable paddling canoe, we appreciated being able to concentrate 100% on providing power to the boat. Emily performed the very important task of checking us in and filling all of our water jugs.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We left CP2 at about 3:30PM with about 25 miles to paddle to our campsite at Lostman's Five. As we paddled out from behind Chokoloskee, we again faced strong headwinds. Our speed dropped to 1 to 2mph as we struggled across the eastern end of Chokoloskee Bay towards the Lopez River. As we turned out of the river into Sunday Bay, the wind began to abate. Our speed picked up some and we ticked off Sunday Bay, Oyster Bay, Huston Bay and Last Huston Bay. At this point, we were officially farther than our attempt last year, woohoo!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Between Chevelier Bay and Cannon Bay is the Darwins Place campsite. We knew that NiteSpiritSix was camped here and planned to paddle by. However, I broke my cardinal rule of nighttime travel and did not follow "the pink line" on my GPS. It seemed like it was leading us into a dead end, so we paddled away from the line. This pictures shows were we ended up paddling (red) vs where we were supposed to paddle (blue)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Overall, no great loss, but I was more than a little nervous about getting lost in the mangrove in the dark.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next was Tarpon Bay, then Alligator Creek. This turned out to be aptly named as we saw an alligator floating by us as we paddled. Neither Emily or I were sure the other had seen it, and we didn't want to freak each other out, so we didn't say anything about it until we were out of the creek.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We crossed Alligator Bay, Dads Bay, then Plate Creek and finally Lostman's Five Bay at about 1:30AM. We set up camp and crashed.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-14424039989886027312012-03-31T21:32:00.000-04:002012-03-31T21:36:14.329-04:00EC2012 - Day 3<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Everglades Challenge 2012</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Monday, March 5, 2012</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a quick breakfast we got underway by about 6AM. The wind was still from the north but had moderated overnight. We had an extremely pleasant sail across Charlotte Harbor and down Pine Island Sound.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise over Charlotte Harbor</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cabbage Key</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The easy sailing ended at the southern end of Pine Island Sound. The wind was shifting to the NE and to get out of the Sound and around Sanibel Island we had to make two tacks. At this point the wind was also starting to get quite light and we broke out the paddles and motorsailed under the Sanibel Island Causeway. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As we neared Point Ybel LeatherLungs in his CLC Northeast Dory rowed past us.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the next couple of miles we traveled close together sometimes sailing and sometimes paddling or rowing. For the rest of the afternoon the wind was very light and we did a lot of paddling. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eventually we pulled away because we could paddle and sail at the same time and he could only do one or the other.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By late afternoon the wind began to fill back in, now from the east. We decided to once again take the route through Caxambas Pass to Gullivan Bay. In the best case scenario we hoped to make it to Panther Key which is where we camped on Monday night during the 2011 Everglades Challenge. We enjoyed the lights of the high-rise condos on Marco Island while we enjoyed a pleasant sail towards the pass. We made the turn into the pass and were able to continue sailing. It was nearing midnight and we decided to stop for the night. We tied up to the mangrove of Fred Key, had a bite to eat, and settled into the boat for a quick nights sleep.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This ended up being our highest mileage day; we covered about 75 miles in 18 hours.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-89738440884898846802012-03-30T23:53:00.002-04:002012-03-31T18:43:16.172-04:00EC2012 - Day 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Everglades Challenge 2012</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sunday, March 4, 2012</span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No IHOP this morning... We were woken up at about 2AM by a light rain. The wind was still out of the south but we had been sleeping for a while, so we decided to give it another go. The conditions were not any better, so we ended up sailing exactly one tack. We ended up about a mile further down Sarasota Bay, near Bishops Point. We settled in for another nap and woke up again at about 5AM. The wind still had not changed, but we didn't feel like waiting around anymore, so I started pulling the boat along the shore. About half a mile later we walked past Wally and Badger who were tied up along the mangrove. We chatted for a while, then just after 6AM noticed that the wind had started to shift. We decided to go for it and hopped in.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The wind was now NW at 20+ mph with gusts close to 40 mph. Our sail was still double reefed down to about 30 square feet and we were routinely hitting 10mph. We had a few highlights:</span><br />
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Sailboat Slalom" through the moored boats outside of the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. These big boats were tugging at their moorings and the wind was howling in their rigging. We sailed straight through the middle of the field of boats being very careful to not hit any of them or catch their mooring lines.</span></li>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sailing under the John Ringling Causeway hitting 12.8mph surfing a large wave. My boat's new max speed :)</span></li>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not hitting the Siesta Drive bridge. We misread the chart while approaching the bridge and though the vertical clearance was 18 feet, which meant we would need to drop out mast. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to beach the boat and the wind was steadily pushing us towards the bridge through some very nasty chop generated by the waves reflecting off the seawalls. Just when we though we were going to hit the bridge, we drifted nicely underneath with plenty of clearance. Checking the chart again, we realized that we had looked at the wrong bridge and this one was 25 feet. Whew...</span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The rest of the trip to CP1 was less eventful. We had the drop our mast to get under a few bridges and while nearing the Blackburn Point Bridge we noticed Stripbuilder up on a bluff waving down at us. He showed his his excellent campsite tucked between a fence and some mangrove... very stealthy :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We continued south through Venice and saw DonKeyHoTeh and MicroTom beached on Snake Island. The sail though the canal was fast but uneventful.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We arrived at CP1 at about 2:30PM and enjoyed some delicious hot dogs thanks to PaddleDancer and Etchimen, thanks! We dried out some stuff, filled our water and rested a bit. After discussing plans with some other Watertribers, we decided to head towards Hoagen Key to camp for the night. We passed a few others as we were paddling back out:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After clearing the Placida bridge, we put the mast back up and set a straight line course to Hoagen Key. This worked great until we hit a mud bank. We dragged the boat around the obstacle and finished our day. Hoagen Key is maintained by fellow Watertriber, Tyro and the Florida Paddle Trail Association.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We found a nice spot out of the wind, ate some dinner and settled down for a good nights sleep.</span></div>
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</div>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-43616231181705370582012-03-29T18:36:00.001-04:002012-03-29T18:36:07.710-04:00EC2012 - Day 1<br />
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<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Everglades Challenge 2012</span></strong></div>
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<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Saturday, March 3, 2012</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our day began with breakfast at IHOP. Several other Watertribers were also eating there, enjoying a last big meal before our adventure. We arrived at the beach by about 6AM and made our final preparations.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily took care of filling our water</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suiting up for a wet ride</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The winds were in the mid teens from the south, had been blowing hard all night and most of Friday, and we were under a Small Craft Advisory. We quickly decided that sailing out in the Gulf was not an option for us and decided to stay on the “inside,” sailing in the ICW. After roll call, Chief walked up and down the beach reminding us that we did not in fact need to leave the beach if we did not find the conditions safe. We felt fine about leaving but had our sail double reefed, which brought our sail area down to about 32 sq ft. The horn blew at 7AM and people slowly trickled off the beach. Em sat in the middle of the boat and I dragged the boat out past the sandbar just off shore. I hopped in and we were off!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're off!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since the wind was from the south, we started on a starboard tack, heading southeast towards the Sunshine Skyway bridge. The conditions in the crossing were lumpy, the waves were about 2 ft and the wind continued to build. After several long tacks, we were finally approaching the first bridge. With the combined wind and current, there was no way we were going to sail under the bridge. We saw several other Tribers pulled up on shore on the eastern side pulling down their masts and walking under the bridge. We followed suit and were through and going again in about 20 minutes.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Macatawa and MisterMoon pulling the boats under the Anna Maria Island bridge</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We continued to sail near two Core Sound 17 sailboats, one sailed by MisterMoon and the other by DragonSlayer and SmokinJoe. We repeated the procedure at the next bridge and continued to short tack down the narrow northern end of Sarasota Bay. Eventually the bay opened up and we were able to sail some longer tacks. It was now afternoon and the wind was 20+ knots, still from the south. Sarasota Bay is very long with lots of fetch, and the waves continued to knock us around. As afternoon turned to evening, we decided that we would end our day early rather than continue to be beat up by the wind and waves. We watched the sun sink over Longboat Key and made one final tack towards shore. We found a nice mangrove to tie up to that protected us from the wind and settled down for a nap in the boat.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Route for day 1:</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We square symbol with the three lines shows where we "camped" for the night</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-19449052747344789582012-02-18T12:58:00.001-05:002012-02-18T12:58:22.903-05:00Lake MichiganAt Holland Harbor channel<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZk5cDv9cgt999sgoWXW_V61WMlvln7njDt5slFI9l4buuE6tkU4j7_MT9hBeMO32OWVaz395OiN3KFtiff9Pn1CnI7i184u9xHtX7qxEGAS5QTRZRDvHsK3U7tmD6wxvEMaIgEGDRRwu/s640/blogger-image-2068796128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZk5cDv9cgt999sgoWXW_V61WMlvln7njDt5slFI9l4buuE6tkU4j7_MT9hBeMO32OWVaz395OiN3KFtiff9Pn1CnI7i184u9xHtX7qxEGAS5QTRZRDvHsK3U7tmD6wxvEMaIgEGDRRwu/s640/blogger-image-2068796128.jpg" /></a></div>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-40745948620284934322012-02-18T09:57:00.001-05:002012-02-18T09:57:32.342-05:00iPhone postTest post from the iPhone<br />
<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSCFhJGESytmSANrbZt6wtmO-LXbjSuncmlMRRhK8yd8A3lKsQgDnhSMIV1PXx96mwnFEyKgf1Hb3Sz5W3JxzWO6MKTP_L4iX0gV_aSdU4UuWFEGzmacsigvOZDvOBzr2L7dyK6eLRsfEc/s640/blogger-image--2057605782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSCFhJGESytmSANrbZt6wtmO-LXbjSuncmlMRRhK8yd8A3lKsQgDnhSMIV1PXx96mwnFEyKgf1Hb3Sz5W3JxzWO6MKTP_L4iX0gV_aSdU4UuWFEGzmacsigvOZDvOBzr2L7dyK6eLRsfEc/s640/blogger-image--2057605782.jpg" /></a></div>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-79742211938910657742011-09-17T08:59:00.001-04:002011-09-17T09:24:03.362-04:00Some pictures...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can't believe what a busy summer it has been! But... despite that I have been able to do some paddling in the SeaTour and sailing in the XCR. Some pictures:</span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sea Tour skin removal:</span></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">starting to come out of the skin for the first time</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NLhccAeqvLA/TidEVQBfgpI/AAAAAAAADlU/7gAhf3pfRRk/s1600/P7180423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NLhccAeqvLA/TidEVQBfgpI/AAAAAAAADlU/7gAhf3pfRRk/s800/P7180423.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">skin off!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EhHi7esn3ro/TidEXGs3XpI/AAAAAAAADlY/2FvITXlZGcc/s1600/P7180425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EhHi7esn3ro/TidEXGs3XpI/AAAAAAAADlY/2FvITXlZGcc/s800/P7180425.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">skin rolled</span></td></tr>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First test of the sail:</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8oj3EHRyaR8/TnSVQYhetuI/AAAAAAAADpM/BIgvwl5qTCE/s1600/P8150582.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8oj3EHRyaR8/TnSVQYhetuI/AAAAAAAADpM/BIgvwl5qTCE/s800/P8150582.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">no wind... but the sail looks nice!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">beautiful sunset over Lake Macatawa</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>...and some sailing in the XCR:</b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jgD8Wx22g1I/TnSVfC0iI3I/AAAAAAAADpU/qbshGWmozH4/s1600/P8080542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jgD8Wx22g1I/TnSVfC0iI3I/AAAAAAAADpU/qbshGWmozH4/s800/P8080542.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">loving the new Balough 5M sail</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA7Wm0jkmCLOiLt3gSyprqUPXJ2BdRI5HL0IrSAWW5y5NTgeKZ28jtXbKQlwhyphenhyphenjh76TUTdOsRowDvSZkGE20_dGy2DZYO2g9q2QyDXd3-IHtk6T6QLqrWcXwBm1YmOt0sfSwpqKBOxxAVF/s1600/P8130547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA7Wm0jkmCLOiLt3gSyprqUPXJ2BdRI5HL0IrSAWW5y5NTgeKZ28jtXbKQlwhyphenhyphenjh76TUTdOsRowDvSZkGE20_dGy2DZYO2g9q2QyDXd3-IHtk6T6QLqrWcXwBm1YmOt0sfSwpqKBOxxAVF/s800/P8130547.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sara up front where she loves watching for waves</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-75380740340730068792011-06-08T22:24:00.000-04:002011-06-08T22:24:44.287-04:00Sea Tour 17 EXP<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I've been falling behind with my blog posts, so I'll start by catching you up with my progress on my folding kayak. I would gauge my progress at about 90% complete. The frame and skin are complete, and I have had the boat out paddling a couple of times. But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The cockpit coaming:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The coaming rim is made of two sections of 1/2" aluminum, the left and right halves. The rim is set above the skin, which is trimmed to match the inside of the rim. Next, multiple strips of PVC are glued to the skin and wrapped around the rim. This continues all the way around the rim with the front and back left unglued. Here is a pic of the progress part of the way through:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ailY3jp8zmA/Td2aV4fdToI/AAAAAAAADI8/QJVcn0PbgXM/s1600/P5160273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ailY3jp8zmA/Td2aV4fdToI/AAAAAAAADI8/QJVcn0PbgXM/s640/P5160273.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The openings at front and back are to enable the removal of the skin for folding. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">That brings me to the next stage of construction, the deck zippers. I plan to install a full length zipper in the rear deck and a partial zipper on the front deck. These will allow removal of the skin as well as access to gear that is stored beyond my reach.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My final addition will be a Feathercraft K1 rudder. The rudder and foot controls will be installed after I put in the deck zippers so that I have access to the interior of the boat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In the meantime... here are some pictures of the boat in use:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dg2PehVqyuFGSjGJPHGO4DDWYmdn9PFQ7GI-5Ff8yBLDGkg2PT59VLwd0baOjJt7LAOOIN1aN6nR31U2yBy-2SjO8C3IAodFDZr_8Aw-Lt5LM1vz_2b3ilkrdA2lB6uCuY-j5iTagjwK/s1600/P6070049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dg2PehVqyuFGSjGJPHGO4DDWYmdn9PFQ7GI-5Ff8yBLDGkg2PT59VLwd0baOjJt7LAOOIN1aN6nR31U2yBy-2SjO8C3IAodFDZr_8Aw-Lt5LM1vz_2b3ilkrdA2lB6uCuY-j5iTagjwK/s400/P6070049.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</span>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-83391261410195445452011-05-24T23:15:00.000-04:002011-05-24T23:15:08.129-04:00Halfwhacker 2011<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This past weekend, I participated in the "Halfwhacker" paddling event. This event is the first half of the 150 mile <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/vkmchallenge/bushwhacker">Bushwhacker</a>, and annual event sponsored by the <a href="http://www.verlenkrugermemorial.org/">Verlen Kruger Memorial</a>. The event begins in Lumberjack Park near Riverdale, MI on the Pine River. Many of the paddlers, including myself, camped by the river on Friday night before the race. We sat around a campfire swatting mosquitoes and telling paddling stories before finally heading to our tents. On Saturday morning, we all enjoyed an excellent pancake (and sausage, ham, egg, etc...) breakfast provided by Lumberjack Park, what a great way to start the day!</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After breakfast, I finished packing up my stuff and got the boat in the water to prepare for the start. A new addition to the event this year was the Backwhacker, which is the Bushwhacker in reverse. We had a great idea to start the Backwhackers downstream of the Bushwhackers, which meant we would have to pass each other after the gun went off.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It sounds confusing, but it was a lot of fun! The first few miles went by quickly and the paddlers spread out. We encountered the first deadfalls fairly soon. The first few I could go over or under, but before long, I had to get out of the boat and drag around some large downed trees. This pattern continued for about 30 miles, until the backwaters of the Alma Dam.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yCKXOXSChIs/TdlwazqwIuI/AAAAAAAADGk/jqds2bBNjjc/s1600/P5210313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yCKXOXSChIs/TdlwazqwIuI/AAAAAAAADGk/jqds2bBNjjc/s320/P5210313.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOImF-X7D0c9xDthVgu_wIiKTBLODWMqb6u0z_TfEOYia6GXDHoWE1-Z7k5wo75E9T-syTN2ZTTVthQf3a7ggfygsaC7jULjY7J-g4DmSQRI02GqRwivowVnBLxQh1X0h5PGStSO5iGLZa/s1600/P5210315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOImF-X7D0c9xDthVgu_wIiKTBLODWMqb6u0z_TfEOYia6GXDHoWE1-Z7k5wo75E9T-syTN2ZTTVthQf3a7ggfygsaC7jULjY7J-g4DmSQRI02GqRwivowVnBLxQh1X0h5PGStSO5iGLZa/s320/P5210315.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQ_YAuVscP3SxCYWkeANnPIb_VHA3jempj6AGQ3SPt_L8UL-0_-co4_lDEx8l2TvgmP5Rv2c-0oAEiYRTtDJ5Zw_6LwXPJH-yDFw3N4ap2EnH3exAkegBpvGdep_F5gandv9SSeZLJnWE/s1600/P5210316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQ_YAuVscP3SxCYWkeANnPIb_VHA3jempj6AGQ3SPt_L8UL-0_-co4_lDEx8l2TvgmP5Rv2c-0oAEiYRTtDJ5Zw_6LwXPJH-yDFw3N4ap2EnH3exAkegBpvGdep_F5gandv9SSeZLJnWE/s320/P5210316.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The first portage is around the Alma Dam:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSeKD6bi7NEjlvNndlFRhInuFGV2bBds_1L-75F-TLv6VktpWikaDpvoIuCZESYevarq_heq0wQR1Qk6amcTs0QocQZ4WSE0FOLNVboHJVRo934BWpAwW7vjQ8wPWN274hnH2KP9NFlvH/s1600/P5210318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSeKD6bi7NEjlvNndlFRhInuFGV2bBds_1L-75F-TLv6VktpWikaDpvoIuCZESYevarq_heq0wQR1Qk6amcTs0QocQZ4WSE0FOLNVboHJVRo934BWpAwW7vjQ8wPWN274hnH2KP9NFlvH/s640/P5210318.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The put-in on the other side of the dam was not very boat friendly:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R9mROl1uWV8/TdlwiiOC18I/AAAAAAAADHE/uJchtAUW6mo/s1600/P5210320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R9mROl1uWV8/TdlwiiOC18I/AAAAAAAADHE/uJchtAUW6mo/s640/P5210320.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Fortunately, a friend of a fellow paddler was nearby and helped me carry the boat down to the water. The next few miles to the St Louis Dam were uneventful, I was very thankful that the deadfalls were finally gone! The only "obstacles" were some fairly low bridges which required me to lean all the way back when passing beneath them.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S5H_BRoM-ks/Tdlwlv6ofgI/AAAAAAAADHY/fySB5sJHLNc/s1600/P5210325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S5H_BRoM-ks/Tdlwlv6ofgI/AAAAAAAADHY/fySB5sJHLNc/s320/P5210325.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidYbk6XL_2_GVW7miCYyrc0BtQxybjGiDpwm6StRFHZeQiKwYv33kaTRbFOtcBzlqyzKXbXnB14DXh2LDsS3ACvjh1c-XlVKRLs9MQhlqhyphenhyphenHMf9PGqxYPq5Los4BIfpJlQ9Awho14ry0Ax/s1600/P5210326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidYbk6XL_2_GVW7miCYyrc0BtQxybjGiDpwm6StRFHZeQiKwYv33kaTRbFOtcBzlqyzKXbXnB14DXh2LDsS3ACvjh1c-XlVKRLs9MQhlqhyphenhyphenHMf9PGqxYPq5Los4BIfpJlQ9Awho14ry0Ax/s320/P5210326.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I portaged around the St Louis dam quickly and continued downstream. With the slightly greater current and lack of deadfalls, my speed was quite a bit faster than in the first half; I was able to keep the boat moving at about 5 to 6 mph for most of the duration. A highlight was Carl Cole greeting me from the Magrudder Rd bridge. Carl paddled the full Bushwhacker last year, but was only able to do the 10 mile Sprint this year. He let me know where some of the other paddlers were and offered some encouragement. A few miles later, I started to feel tired and was losing my energy. I ate and drank something, but what really kicked me into gear was a <a href="http://pepsiproductfacts.com/infobyproduct.php?prod_size=8&brand_fam_id=1058&brand_id=1022&product=DoubleShot+Coffee+Drink">Starbucks Doubleshot</a>. This provided the kick I needed to finish the push to the finish. Finally at about 9:30, I stopped and turned on my headlight, a 2 D-cell LED Maglite, which worked very well. I also had topo maps programmed into my GPS so I could anticipate the turns of the river, then pick them out with the light. I only hit a couple of rocks... Finally, at about 11:30pm I passed the Chippewa Nature Center River Overlook building. I was really close!</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9BRfARhS0PU/TdlwoQV1J_I/AAAAAAAADHo/KheS9b_3ojQ/s1600/P5210331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9BRfARhS0PU/TdlwoQV1J_I/AAAAAAAADHo/KheS9b_3ojQ/s640/P5210331.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The "finish line" was the canoe launch, which I knew was a little ways past the confluence of the Pine and Chippewa Rivers. I picked my way very slowly down the right bank, but still almost missed it. I pulled the boat up and took a picture of the final stats:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqGaZK8mCVjSna5iJxJ2dg1vsFf06y_A4IZPplYH4CsJ68ahXNlg2aKpNq3T4z7Lho76CSFy2jmQxo8lymgzCPwH-TUgWK4vxXPe63wGaBraDIcWr1EjxlbeaW3TdeJZoJna-BOS5PIV8/s1600/P5210332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqGaZK8mCVjSna5iJxJ2dg1vsFf06y_A4IZPplYH4CsJ68ahXNlg2aKpNq3T4z7Lho76CSFy2jmQxo8lymgzCPwH-TUgWK4vxXPe63wGaBraDIcWr1EjxlbeaW3TdeJZoJna-BOS5PIV8/s640/P5210332.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The next surprise was when my phone rang, it was Emily. She had been watching my SPOT and decided to stay up and watch me finish. We chatted for a while while, then decided it was time to sleep. I set up my tent, turned over the boat and went to sleep after a long, exciting day.</div>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-72070073215539594802011-05-07T21:28:00.000-04:002011-05-07T21:28:27.452-04:00Paddling in Holland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S2W6z4dTMYo/TcWHFEa4ygI/AAAAAAAADDA/j8JJZJZNwG4/s1600/P5070215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S2W6z4dTMYo/TcWHFEa4ygI/AAAAAAAADDA/j8JJZJZNwG4/s640/P5070215.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After becoming involved with the planning of the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/vkmchallenge/">Verlen Kruger Memorial paddling events</a>, I decided to participate in the "<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/vkmchallenge/bushwhacker">Halfwhacker</a>" which is the first 75 downstream miles of the 150 mile Bushwhacker Challenge. At first, I planned to paddle my SOF folding kayak, but Mark P. of <a href="http://krugercanoes.com/">Kruger Canoes</a> very generously offered to let me borrow his <a href="http://krugercanoes.com/prod01.htm">Sea Wind</a> for the trip. I brought the Sea Wind home after last weeks Hugh Heward event, and I have been paddling it as often as possible since then. My first trip out was a night-time paddle; I chased the sun to the west and got a couple of shots of De Zwaan before the sun went down:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHsnNunJpK6iUAZcfgI7qV5rS0Zmg1QrzISBi1JX981VdSYnWZss9L2eQ9TCEXozTs-nRQWix8xhLT2ae1EWWQ-B_ERh4G4D_dDLRgI0aqop7B2Zr36KDYParfp3p1ssrcJEck0YQnhx7/s1600/P5030102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHsnNunJpK6iUAZcfgI7qV5rS0Zmg1QrzISBi1JX981VdSYnWZss9L2eQ9TCEXozTs-nRQWix8xhLT2ae1EWWQ-B_ERh4G4D_dDLRgI0aqop7B2Zr36KDYParfp3p1ssrcJEck0YQnhx7/s400/P5030102.JPG" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I paddled back in the dark, which was fine except for the fish that kept swimming into the boat. I could see them swimming just below the surface, and a few of them actually swam into the boat; weird.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I got out again this morning for a little while in Lake Macatawa. It was nice paddling in the daylight, and also nice experiencing some wind and waves (well, boat wakes...) I paddled with my friend Dan who was paddling his <a href="http://yostwerks.com/SeaRanger0.html">SOF Sea Ranger</a>.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWXPcfU8YE-md9fOxmMqZlr6ylURxN4uJsER_5EH5F4BM5IIToFt-lXLMu9sjMRWioIfkenAYcJmyEpskxMgK6IUsVOaAjjdIhJHDMUoVW-T6GGNNHsKMpIn0bKX91JWAgpR1lZCJnGBn/s1600/P5070200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWXPcfU8YE-md9fOxmMqZlr6ylURxN4uJsER_5EH5F4BM5IIToFt-lXLMu9sjMRWioIfkenAYcJmyEpskxMgK6IUsVOaAjjdIhJHDMUoVW-T6GGNNHsKMpIn0bKX91JWAgpR1lZCJnGBn/s640/P5070200.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It was a great outing on a beautiful day. I can't wait to get out again!</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Oh yeah... and I have not forgotten about my folding kayak. I have the deck completed and I'll be working on the cockpit coaming next.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzEMRfKSBiDAruR7NP_jApoZFXeXnV390M_plPH9jK9n1evF3ytDKH5-NMNX1JlQme_8qZuxpa_4FVoyPfqDXsh1weaV3uaT6oSOSMmCUmM_sBn0fGI3fcWFWuDSoTF9TXP8ii4wcyaEc/s1600/P4290057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzEMRfKSBiDAruR7NP_jApoZFXeXnV390M_plPH9jK9n1evF3ytDKH5-NMNX1JlQme_8qZuxpa_4FVoyPfqDXsh1weaV3uaT6oSOSMmCUmM_sBn0fGI3fcWFWuDSoTF9TXP8ii4wcyaEc/s640/P4290057.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-2301713785469293062011-05-02T23:46:00.000-04:002011-05-02T23:46:27.055-04:00Hugh Heward Speed Profile<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nb9Nd5dO5L8/Tb96X7_dsTI/AAAAAAAAC_M/e0TnnhBuT_A/s1600/2011+speed+profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nb9Nd5dO5L8/Tb96X7_dsTI/AAAAAAAAC_M/e0TnnhBuT_A/s640/2011+speed+profile.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-26200395597265575712011-05-02T23:44:00.000-04:002011-05-02T23:44:17.042-04:00Hugh Heward 25<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This past Saturday, Emily and I participated in the 12th Annual Hugh Heward Challenge. We paddled the 25 mile "Half Hugh" from <a href="http://www.grandledgemi.com/parks.htm#FP">Fitzgerald Park</a> in Grand Ledge to the <a href="http://www.verlenkrugermemorial.org/">Verlen Kruger Memorial</a> at Thompson Field in Portland, MI. We had quite a bit of rain preceding the event, so the river was high; not quite at flood stage, but it was really moving!</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We were again thankful for the "carspotting" services of <a href="http://www.tomfunke.com/trailspotters.html">Trailspotters of Michigan</a>. Using this fantastic service, I could drop the boat off in Grand Ledge, drive the trailer to the finish in Portland, and Trailspotters drives me back to Grand Ledge. The only issue was that Emily had to wait around for a while in Grand Ledge and got kind of chilly (it was about 45 degrees). A few boats left while I was carspotting; Mike Smith among them:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZQ7lwLJSpfk/Tb1t7OymaVI/AAAAAAAAC7w/sbM6pD13j_8/s1600/P4300060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZQ7lwLJSpfk/Tb1t7OymaVI/AAAAAAAAC7w/sbM6pD13j_8/s400/P4300060.JPG" width="300" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> Here are a couple shots of the water coming over the dam just above the launch point:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_yr6dOvisS0/Tb1t9dw0-YI/AAAAAAAAC78/3oGX3sy2M8M/s1600/P4300064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_yr6dOvisS0/Tb1t9dw0-YI/AAAAAAAAC78/3oGX3sy2M8M/s640/P4300064.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVtNhxniDqibh_-y3p1yT1mSKo-UIji97nBwAQyrQqRi1_AlSa-3m7l2TZ-Nl_XGAX7RiONzX7_JVYvWeq_okMeofy87_0eFpl-tycOqyd1wfrVvsMvQETSGS0MDANwFa_YXPMd0l7tHU/s1600/P4300067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVtNhxniDqibh_-y3p1yT1mSKo-UIji97nBwAQyrQqRi1_AlSa-3m7l2TZ-Nl_XGAX7RiONzX7_JVYvWeq_okMeofy87_0eFpl-tycOqyd1wfrVvsMvQETSGS0MDANwFa_YXPMd0l7tHU/s640/P4300067.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Some of the other boats at Grand Ledge:</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mz3YfFOxGcg/Tb1uCKgE_gI/AAAAAAAAC8U/kD0TwdF3YOI/s1600/P4300069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mz3YfFOxGcg/Tb1uCKgE_gI/AAAAAAAAC8U/kD0TwdF3YOI/s320/P4300069.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-foc2ZTCqF2Y/Tb1uDUacwLI/AAAAAAAAC8Y/AZVUH_hx0G4/s1600/P4300070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-foc2ZTCqF2Y/Tb1uDUacwLI/AAAAAAAAC8Y/AZVUH_hx0G4/s320/P4300070.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-in481C550bk/Tb1uE6T8UTI/AAAAAAAAC8g/zq4CZK32-zY/s1600/P4300072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-in481C550bk/Tb1uE6T8UTI/AAAAAAAAC8g/zq4CZK32-zY/s320/P4300072.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQKS1bMJEw4UlcPQBilCa85JbEZrrtjeZQuhesEbQI_BkAAopbTaycLaGYMOGVZjvPQQX_drlGCIlIgw7juo7jXs80t03PhA9xVWuaD_EIFpMO-6Jomdq4oco2-jKr7Nvxrw6Iu2Mf6HG/s1600/P4300073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQKS1bMJEw4UlcPQBilCa85JbEZrrtjeZQuhesEbQI_BkAAopbTaycLaGYMOGVZjvPQQX_drlGCIlIgw7juo7jXs80t03PhA9xVWuaD_EIFpMO-6Jomdq4oco2-jKr7Nvxrw6Iu2Mf6HG/s320/P4300073.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We finally got on the water at about 9:50am. The current below the dam was very strong, and I was not used to paddling without the rudder. We just barely got past the tree on the left bank; we took out a few branches, oops! The paddling was very fast and fun!</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ayNfa77x1eE/Tb1uJdh5oaI/AAAAAAAAC84/hclvyz4fW8U/s1600/P4300077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ayNfa77x1eE/Tb1uJdh5oaI/AAAAAAAAC84/hclvyz4fW8U/s640/P4300077.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Before we knew it, we were at Charlotte Bridge, the start of the 13 mile "Quarter Hugh"</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg919OGxmsUAd_mQWvb_BnyocancZi47zmbZIcdF_ImYV41yxxvBqgJnS5cI2n3OZ9hFFJC_7O5-QnQCjU91FhZ9HOOZzUjqJqi1jkfIZ5jE1K9pYRM_OM84cnEVu9Z2qW_Q4-K-FiBQQPo/s1600/P4300079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg919OGxmsUAd_mQWvb_BnyocancZi47zmbZIcdF_ImYV41yxxvBqgJnS5cI2n3OZ9hFFJC_7O5-QnQCjU91FhZ9HOOZzUjqJqi1jkfIZ5jE1K9pYRM_OM84cnEVu9Z2qW_Q4-K-FiBQQPo/s640/P4300079.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">At about 20 miles (5 miles to go) we were caught by a fellow Watertriber "Cliffjumps" He was paddling the full 50 mile route, and was the first (and only) 50 miler to pass us:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C035wZGX8ms/Tb1uMB6IM8I/AAAAAAAAC9I/ghkt_zTQSpg/s1600/P4300083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C035wZGX8ms/Tb1uMB6IM8I/AAAAAAAAC9I/ghkt_zTQSpg/s640/P4300083.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We chatted a bit, and then he pushed on ahead. There was no way we were going to keep up with him in his <a href="http://www.epickayaks.com/products/touringkayaks/18x">Epic 18X</a>. We finished about 20 minutes later, with a total paddling time of 3 hours, 38 minutes. Our average speed was 6.8 mph and we didn't stop once. Our only breaks were to munch some snacks and drink. Our maximum speed was 9.1 mph below the last bridge, were I saw some kayaks catching up to us and was determined to not let them pass us!</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The finish was fun, chatting with other paddlers, checking out the boats, and cheering for the finishers as they continued to arrive. Some highlights:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b3k6Uv6ZIgk/Tb1uNKaSYHI/AAAAAAAAC9M/sbn3IQ_gwa4/s1600/P4300084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b3k6Uv6ZIgk/Tb1uNKaSYHI/AAAAAAAAC9M/sbn3IQ_gwa4/s640/P4300084.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gabacouache, a 26ft Vouyager canoe</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cUkT3p-UykA/Tb1uO6unc8I/AAAAAAAAC9U/I7onZpfEVzA/s1600/P4300086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cUkT3p-UykA/Tb1uO6unc8I/AAAAAAAAC9U/I7onZpfEVzA/s640/P4300086.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jon Holmes and Larry "Coach" Hoff, veterans of the 2009 Ultimate Hugh Heward Challenge</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HoelV9eA3FU/Tb1uPmKgtqI/AAAAAAAAC9c/5ll7Amu6yPY/s1600/P4300088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HoelV9eA3FU/Tb1uPmKgtqI/AAAAAAAAC9c/5ll7Amu6yPY/s640/P4300088.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Verlen's "Old #10" racing canoe</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8w1e-zfmlEsZPnf_qYokHm-RXklIPooqQgopki7qsx10E9TT8usmz_uegCgr_Ot0n_yAhrwLPmOyED7tBztM0Tc-VLMQwJ2kGRlhg0B9DfrFhL4jj7vcmSta8PZfG0VCX7B9E4NO1UGom/s1600/P4300094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8w1e-zfmlEsZPnf_qYokHm-RXklIPooqQgopki7qsx10E9TT8usmz_uegCgr_Ot0n_yAhrwLPmOyED7tBztM0Tc-VLMQwJ2kGRlhg0B9DfrFhL4jj7vcmSta8PZfG0VCX7B9E4NO1UGom/s640/P4300094.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little something Mark P picked up out of the river...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_4OPRh2dVp2JXS6FygSj1NDYpHWlxFltwBZNS88KZY-ztv5tDRJb6XjlOh-W9bD0NYVZ_9wgT6pCtgsBmaZxMdHi-_KWx72zUifjXijfCnaq3OGOSERiTRo4FjSyGqoViK9xyE2mZ6-9/s1600/P4300095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_4OPRh2dVp2JXS6FygSj1NDYpHWlxFltwBZNS88KZY-ztv5tDRJb6XjlOh-W9bD0NYVZ_9wgT6pCtgsBmaZxMdHi-_KWx72zUifjXijfCnaq3OGOSERiTRo4FjSyGqoViK9xyE2mZ6-9/s640/P4300095.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The memorial statue of Verlen Kruger</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Well, that's all for this year. Emily and I are hoping to paddle the full 50 mile route next year, probably in our folding kayaks. More to come on their progress in the next couple of days.</div>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-62353489297599109302011-04-17T14:54:00.000-04:002011-04-17T14:54:18.896-04:00Skinning the Sea Tour 17 EXP<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Finally posting again... it has been a while! I have made some more progress in getting the "skin" installed. Instead if seal skins (I couldn't find any locally...) I am using 18oz <a href="http://www.mytarp.com/vinyl-tarps-18-oz-coated-fabrics.aspx">Vinyl Coated Polyester</a> tarp material. This fabric is REALLY tough! First, it gets rolled out over the upside down hull. It is cut to overlap the gunwales by a few inches all around, then small slits are cut every few inches around the perimeter. Starting in the middle of the boat, the skin is laced tightly around the hull.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KbcUwEKzfzc/TaTgbjF-wEI/AAAAAAAAC4E/_zoBeiV3jfA/s1600/P4100052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KbcUwEKzfzc/TaTgbjF-wEI/AAAAAAAAC4E/_zoBeiV3jfA/s400/P4100052.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QM4AilrXhEU/TaTgadVgvPI/AAAAAAAAC38/pA5ZIXPd6sk/s1600/P4100056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QM4AilrXhEU/TaTgadVgvPI/AAAAAAAAC38/pA5ZIXPd6sk/s400/P4100056.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">You can see in this picture how tough this fabric is. The lacing is under a lot of tension, however the slits in the fabric do not tear; even cutting them with a razor knife was pretty hard!</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">One thing that can't be avoided with a skin of this type is wrinkles in the hull between the chines and the gunwales. I knew that this would happen, and I tried my best to keep them to a minimum. In the end, I decided to cut a couple of "darts" into the hull sides. There are two per side, and they reduce the amount of wrinkles in the hull.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My first attempt at closing the bow was a mess, lots of wrinkles and loose fabric. I cut off the first few inches of fabric and made a new bow section. The second attempt was much better. Last night, I finally finished the last dart and got the stern closed up. I flipped the boat over and will do the deck skin next.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KwM1JRzVc3M/TasxmHj1ZkI/AAAAAAAAC5M/q8dVDIgu0gs/s1600/P4170067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KwM1JRzVc3M/TasxmHj1ZkI/AAAAAAAAC5M/q8dVDIgu0gs/s400/P4170067.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TFGHJbaBaKQ/Tasxm3bv-aI/AAAAAAAAC5Q/Lpho8PgHRIM/s1600/P4170065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TFGHJbaBaKQ/Tasxm3bv-aI/AAAAAAAAC5Q/Lpho8PgHRIM/s640/P4170065.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-43603144904737219342011-04-07T22:30:00.000-04:002011-04-07T22:30:57.587-04:00Progress on the folderOver the past few days, I have almost completed the frame. The stem took longer than expected because I ended up trying a couple of different methods. My first attempt used a section of HDPE cut to fit the inside curve of the stem and screwed on. I ended up abandoning this because the HDPE didn't fit well and didn't feel very secure when installed. I decided to give the <a href="http://yostwerks.com/Bracket1.html">bent aluminum brackets</a> a try. These ended up being pretty easily manufactured using thin aluminum bar bent around a mandrel with my bench vice. These were riveted in place, and the stringers were attached with nuts and bolts.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3sCqFwTbXwIL4wYg_IbND0EcGBuIrF4KwUdDyUTRBnOCC5KFkwZwmG103N2vzla4MzCSO3e1_znbkKNL7AV9s8V0CwIVZK5nepSQ2rF0bp6CDTJhZ4tOCKdVzU2qQa54fv_2fmTKuBD2/s1600/P4050033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3sCqFwTbXwIL4wYg_IbND0EcGBuIrF4KwUdDyUTRBnOCC5KFkwZwmG103N2vzla4MzCSO3e1_znbkKNL7AV9s8V0CwIVZK5nepSQ2rF0bp6CDTJhZ4tOCKdVzU2qQa54fv_2fmTKuBD2/s400/P4050033.JPG" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The stem / gunwale / deck stringer attachment was a little trickier, and I thought long and hard about how best to accomplish it. I ended up making a slightly different version of the bracket where it was molded into a "U" shape. The deck stringer went on the inside of the "U" and the gunwales are on either side. See the pic below:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-86KhohRXWT4/TZu6kgSVrXI/AAAAAAAAC1w/nLmu078oYSg/s1600/P4050035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-86KhohRXWT4/TZu6kgSVrXI/AAAAAAAAC1w/nLmu078oYSg/s640/P4050035.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>I am hoping that I will be able to leave the smaller diameter inserts bolted on permanently to the stem and stern, but I'm not sure I will be able to get the tubes assembled without unbolting at least one side. We'll see...<br />
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After I got everything assembled, I took the frame off of the temporary supports and could not resist trying it on for size. Feels great so far!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XFojMwMv9YQ/TZ5s9IZ0i-I/AAAAAAAAC2M/bSmIm_TcfFg/s1600/P4070037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XFojMwMv9YQ/TZ5s9IZ0i-I/AAAAAAAAC2M/bSmIm_TcfFg/s640/P4070037.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-27476942858815639302011-04-01T22:33:00.000-04:002011-04-01T22:33:31.496-04:00New Boat!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://yostwerks.com/SeaTour17EXP_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://yostwerks.com/SeaTour17EXP_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Yes, I have started building another boat! I am building a <a href="http://yostwerks.com/">Tom Yost</a> designed <a href="http://yostwerks.com/SeaTour17EXP_1.html">Sea Tour 17 EXP</a> kayak. I am building it as a folder, using HDPE frames, aluminum stringers, and PVC skin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I have found this to be an extremely fast build so far. I drilled out the stringer connection points with the drill press at work (way easier than a hand drill). I then cut out the frames with a jigsaw. The stringers are made of three 6 ft sections of aluminum tubing connected with smaller diameter inserts. Eventually, I was add some shock cord to hold the sections together, kind of like big tent poles. Two frame sections were attached to the strongback and the stringers were "clipped" onto the frames.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d8fuJtfRM78/TZaCliMC-fI/AAAAAAAAC0A/XmCxfC7lMBY/s1600/P3310002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d8fuJtfRM78/TZaCliMC-fI/AAAAAAAAC0A/XmCxfC7lMBY/s400/P3310002.JPG" width="300" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next, the middle four sections were clipped in.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2sRcyGG1F_LR5rPCx_YDYURqIxdkVlM8uWsp2DrZPP5-gsWGHBIy9F62Nac9kSf7KqKMGgl5I6ALq3KFbOB7WoBpHT0Zb1UmUQxpdD4pOrvFHzSVoaco88ua6HGSmiIc13v2yewTOY5V8/s1600/P3310003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2sRcyGG1F_LR5rPCx_YDYURqIxdkVlM8uWsp2DrZPP5-gsWGHBIy9F62Nac9kSf7KqKMGgl5I6ALq3KFbOB7WoBpHT0Zb1UmUQxpdD4pOrvFHzSVoaco88ua6HGSmiIc13v2yewTOY5V8/s400/P3310003.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NlLJGvO8GDs/TZaCmnJuqAI/AAAAAAAAC0I/nTf0qpFvWpc/s1600/P3310004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NlLJGvO8GDs/TZaCmnJuqAI/AAAAAAAAC0I/nTf0qpFvWpc/s400/P3310004.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bWahvIR9Nxc/TZaCnRtPZGI/AAAAAAAAC0M/MSJfqGs-Xfg/s1600/P3310005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bWahvIR9Nxc/TZaCnRtPZGI/AAAAAAAAC0M/MSJfqGs-Xfg/s400/P3310005.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Stem and stern are next.</span>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-15670355203607240152011-03-27T15:51:00.001-04:002011-03-27T15:52:20.907-04:00Post EC2011 - Day 6<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We woke Thursday morning in a with mixed feelings. We were glad to have had a nice, comfortable nights sleep and were looking forward to seeing the kids; on the other hand, we were still disappointed by our DNF. Our first order of business was to get back to our boat and wait for my dad to pick us up. We had about a three mile walk from Everglades City back to Chocoloskee.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jeP20Uded1I/TX_4fffLUqI/AAAAAAAACr0/5DOYht46Zdk/s1600/P3100098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jeP20Uded1I/TX_4fffLUqI/AAAAAAAACr0/5DOYht46Zdk/s400/P3100098.JPG" width="300" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Once back at the boat, we finished emptying it out and laying some of our stuff out to dry while we waited for our ride. The kids were thrilled to see us again and had fun playing around the boat while we finished packing stuff up.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LrJsMhSz2QM/TX_4g5LbbAI/AAAAAAAACr8/4qrybTBipLI/s1600/P3100101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LrJsMhSz2QM/TX_4g5LbbAI/AAAAAAAACr8/4qrybTBipLI/s400/P3100101.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccZ_KumlY4G2Sey-wytbpRVrszy4aAdo0SM_I5dl5qj2aM7_pJAJCtDRiav9QyzMh3n0-YFnySxrgvVFmzgsasGz-BIlVJQ7nFA6zAXBw6AR7WMhWFwTP3PmQTUaaKFzGRFg2ZVSmakAx/s1600/P3100102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccZ_KumlY4G2Sey-wytbpRVrszy4aAdo0SM_I5dl5qj2aM7_pJAJCtDRiav9QyzMh3n0-YFnySxrgvVFmzgsasGz-BIlVJQ7nFA6zAXBw6AR7WMhWFwTP3PmQTUaaKFzGRFg2ZVSmakAx/s400/P3100102.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As my dad and I were loading the boat onto the trailer, we could see a very dark, ugly looking cold front coming from the north. We barely got things covered and strapped down when it hit. There was a blast of cold air, the wind very quickly whipped up whitecaps on Chocoloskee Bay, and then the rain hit. It continued to rain pretty hard most of our drive down to Key Largo. After settling into the <a href="http://moonbaycondo.org/">condo</a> in Key Largo, we swallowed our pride and headed over to Bay Cove to visit some Watertribe finishers. We enjoyed our time there, visiting and sharing stories. The highlight was being there as NiteNavigator and NiteSong finished. It was incredible watching them paddle in, I want to be able to paddle like that some day!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g8s_CcH2SEA/TX_4ki5knGI/AAAAAAAACsQ/cXqLAdeh3nI/s1600/P3100006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g8s_CcH2SEA/TX_4ki5knGI/AAAAAAAACsQ/cXqLAdeh3nI/s400/P3100006.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ls_zeL4xiCI/TX_4lS3aK0I/AAAAAAAACsU/F7yQ6p9bkKg/s1600/P3100007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ls_zeL4xiCI/TX_4lS3aK0I/AAAAAAAACsU/F7yQ6p9bkKg/s400/P3100007.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSSbSjSB_UK27FROzs156x4MNA3QwjlKDZpU4NI34blP7v_Opj6RkwboRpE0ig6_P6lPQOutB7wBN2SQvw1PNAQGdcoh4JIrJ4ahsQAxk9jEtBuKWlcbOsSo6TmHAasrGPyE8tC3XI75I/s1600/P3100008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSSbSjSB_UK27FROzs156x4MNA3QwjlKDZpU4NI34blP7v_Opj6RkwboRpE0ig6_P6lPQOutB7wBN2SQvw1PNAQGdcoh4JIrJ4ahsQAxk9jEtBuKWlcbOsSo6TmHAasrGPyE8tC3XI75I/s400/P3100008.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NZecl4_u2rQ/TX_4nUHw4qI/AAAAAAAACsg/7c9kxOfybmo/s1600/P3100009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NZecl4_u2rQ/TX_4nUHw4qI/AAAAAAAACsg/7c9kxOfybmo/s400/P3100009.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> We enjoyed a fantastic sunset, then headed back "home" for a great grilled steak dinner, thanks Dad!!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_YXfroiD6RdDG6BqEkPLKQ67aAW2PV-epg62LDJ0jx-VstGOWz34Pjg7wDQW86yjswEAdUkw31j3H0mH1b6lj2z-oMTlo4-f6kG2OgvVjSfpNpGm2GtnYCgla4MO4IQ4mTULQJc4Lja_r/s1600/P3100011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_YXfroiD6RdDG6BqEkPLKQ67aAW2PV-epg62LDJ0jx-VstGOWz34Pjg7wDQW86yjswEAdUkw31j3H0mH1b6lj2z-oMTlo4-f6kG2OgvVjSfpNpGm2GtnYCgla4MO4IQ4mTULQJc4Lja_r/s400/P3100011.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rjOw03vJuiI/TX_4oyywHxI/AAAAAAAACss/68jitZpKogc/s1600/P3100012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rjOw03vJuiI/TX_4oyywHxI/AAAAAAAACss/68jitZpKogc/s400/P3100012.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--713ZZi2I6I/TX_4pZjX6KI/AAAAAAAACsw/Y0x_NyIQjHk/s1600/P3100013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--713ZZi2I6I/TX_4pZjX6KI/AAAAAAAACsw/Y0x_NyIQjHk/s400/P3100013.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341078999864059964.post-55059503758612149522011-03-26T21:54:00.000-04:002011-03-26T21:54:08.788-04:00EC2011 - Day 5<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We woke fairly early Wednesday morning after a descent nights sleep in the boat.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4qajtM_MW4I/TX_4cONCs-I/AAAAAAAACrY/TkSSegSPwZM/s1600/P3090092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4qajtM_MW4I/TX_4cONCs-I/AAAAAAAACrY/TkSSegSPwZM/s400/P3090092.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We skipped hot breakfast and just had pop tarts and <a href="http://www.spiz.net/">Spiz</a>. Another benefit of sleeping in the boat was that we could get packed and underway a lot quicker. Unfortunately, while packing the boat, I noticed that Emily's hydration bladder was empty, and mine was getting close. I realized that I had forgotten to fill them at CP2, uh oh... All together, we had about 13L of water to get us to CP3.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We started sailing under partially reefed main as the wind was fairly strong, even this early in the morning. As we approached Pavilion Key, we started the experience the same pointing issues that had stopped us the night before. We made it through the channel to the east of Pavilion Key. We headed out into the Gulf, but found it difficult to make headway in the short, steep waves.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1Lt6Lfn2XIo/TY6PkW7eIJI/AAAAAAAACyM/mHAFnSIowYY/s1600/wednesday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1Lt6Lfn2XIo/TY6PkW7eIJI/AAAAAAAACyM/mHAFnSIowYY/s400/wednesday.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Looking at the conditions, our VMG, and the charts, we decided to give paddling a try. We turned towards shore and beached in the Huston Coves. I pulled down the mast, packed up the sail, and removed one of our ama / aka sets.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-A1nA4nHpCnc/TX_4dQfkpBI/AAAAAAAACrg/Tbt9Ov2_dwI/s1600/P3090095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-A1nA4nHpCnc/TX_4dQfkpBI/AAAAAAAACrg/Tbt9Ov2_dwI/s400/P3090095.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We pulled / paddled our way to the entrance of the Chatham River, hoping for a break from the wind. Unfortunately, since the wind was from the east, we were paddling dead upwind and we did not get much protection from the mangroves. The farther we went... the tougher it got... the more we started to think about quitting. I kept looking at the charts, trying to figure the distance from where we were to CP3. I didn't know the exact distance, but I figured it was probably about 80 miles. We kept listening to the radio, hoping to hear that relief was coming... no such luck... in fact it sounded like we were going to have more of the same for the next couple of days. It was getting near lunchtime and we were near <a href="http://www.evergladesdiary.com/dir_north.html#watson">The Watson Place</a> campsite. We were hoping to tie up, eat some lunch, and come up with a plan. Unfortunately, the site was occupied, so we paddled up the river a bit more and pulled up next to some mangroves to eat. As we floated, we discussed our options. Based on how things were going, our limited water supply was really worrying me. We didn't feel like we had enough strength to paddle all the way to CP3 in the present conditions. After much agonizing thought, yes even some tears, we decided to turn back towards CP2 and drop from the race. We turned up Huston Bay channel and enjoyed a tidal current and tailwind push towards Huston Bay. In the small bay just north of Huston Bay, we crossed paths with PaddleMaker and SavannahDan. The tried to talk us into continuing, even offering to share their campsite with us, but we were really finished. After chatting for a while, we went our separate ways. One thing that really surprised us was how open the wilderness waterway was; lots of big bays that were getting pretty choppy in the strong winds. A few times, we would stop paddling and just hold our paddles up in the air and get pushed along at a pretty good clip.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-XMK1YuJLw2w/TX_4eOEWuhI/AAAAAAAACro/ap5CKvLTUhg/s1600/P3090096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-XMK1YuJLw2w/TX_4eOEWuhI/AAAAAAAACro/ap5CKvLTUhg/s400/P3090096.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As we neared CP2, we kept trying to make cell phone contact, hoping to call my dad in Key Largo to come pick us up. However, cell coverage is extremely spotty, and we never did get a call out. Finally, just after sunset, we landed on the beach at Chocoloskee (again at high tide, so no mud) We were met by the checkpoint volunteer, Scully (not sure about the spelling...) who told us that we were the third boat to return that day. He also told us the Chocoloskee hotel had no rooms left, but offered to give us a ride to Everglades City to find a room there. We got the boat pulled up and covered up and hopped into his truck. He dropped us off at <a href="http://www.captainstablehotel.com/">The Captains Table Hotel</a>, where we got a beautiful room. We both took nice long showers, then headed to a restaurant across the street</span>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8tLRHkPDvh35d4vaxUS43PJIMxnutE9bz5A9O_OkqnFoXd6HmqtAMZyMOyNpPGbKDeZWvf2QHPm-K3kXklhGvxdSLMDr_97n2a0X45FpG4fRo3ImJ2WDebt1C2pDZd1IUFENJBYrzBI_/s1600/P3090097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8tLRHkPDvh35d4vaxUS43PJIMxnutE9bz5A9O_OkqnFoXd6HmqtAMZyMOyNpPGbKDeZWvf2QHPm-K3kXklhGvxdSLMDr_97n2a0X45FpG4fRo3ImJ2WDebt1C2pDZd1IUFENJBYrzBI_/s400/P3090097.JPG" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After eating, we took a walk, then headed back to the hotel. We were pretty beat, so after watching a little TV, we went right to sleep, looking forward to seeing the kids and my dad the next day.</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span>bjalgerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09495702275327750514noreply@blogger.com2