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PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 7:40 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:14 pm
Posts: 3323
Location: South Florida
Hi Alan,

I always say "I'm too old to do the Everglades Challenge," but I've done the Flamingo (CP3) to Chokoloskee (CP2) solo the past 2 years. I actually got my first AI in 2007 with the EC in mind, however, just never got around to it. In the years since, I've done many, many trips along coastal Everglades, just not the EC. Now...?

Frankly, I think I've learned more about the EC competitor mindset this year, than any other time. They are a special group of people. "Tough" is the first word that comes to mind. "Relentless" would be the second. "Goal-oriented" would be the third.

A friend of mine, Rick Parks, aka InTents, suggested we do the EC next year, in a TI of all things. One thing is for sure, as friend WhiteCaps has said "Every trip you do not make is one you will never be able to do again, think about it." Our friend Terry Wilson's untimely passing has brought it all close to home.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 8:30 pm 
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Location: Kailua 96734
"Nutz" pretty much sums it up too. :wink:

WAY TO GO PAUL!!! You did it the hard way, without a spinnaker or Hakas. I just hope you made it through this year without any damage to the boat or the body.

You challengers all get a standing ovation from the Hawaiians, especially those folk who went solo in the TIs this year.

Thanks for posting all the drama Chekika!


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2014 4:03 am 
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Location: South Florida
The Official times to Key Largo Finish:
Competitors.............................................Finish Time.................................Route

    SirTackAlot and WindWatcher TI..............4 Days, 9 Hours, 57 min..............Outside around Cape Sable
    PedalOn and Sherlock TI........................4 Days, 9 Hours, 57 min..............Outside around Cape Sable
    ChumBucket and Trisherpa TI.................4 Days, 11 hours, 24 min.............Wilderness Waterway including Nightmare
    Dogslife AI........................................4 Days, 14 Hours, 3 min..............Wilderness Waterway including Nightmare
    Triman TI.........................................4 Days, 17 hrs, 16 min.................Outside around Cape Sable
    PrivateHam and Jimbo TI......................4 Days, 17 Hours, 23 min.............Outside around Cape Sable
    PenquinMan AI...................................5 Days, 5 Hours, 43 min...............Wilderness Waterway including Nightmare
    BackwaterBob TI................................5 Days, 6 Hours, 22 min..............Outside around Cape Sable
    Pelican and Falcon TI..........................5 Days, 7 Hours, 22 min..............Wilderness Waterway including Nightmare
    Hollywood TI.....................................5 Days, 7 Hours, 0 min..............Outside around Cape Sable
    Sharknado TI.....................................5 Days, 8 Hours, 13 min..............Outside around Cape Sable
    Sundance & GoldenSun TI......................6 Days, 8 Hours, 15 min..............Wilderness Waterway including Nightmare
    Juzcuz AI..........................................6 Days, 9 Hours, 58 min..............Outside around Cape Sable
    Dietired and Dietired 2 TI......................6 Days, 13 Hours, 52 min..............Outside, but went in to Whitewater Bay

    AhMaChamee AI..................................Resting past mud flats................Outside, but went in to Whitewater Bay
    Kraken & WyomingWolf TI.....................Made it to CP3 (?), but DNF...........That is a shame; they were doing so well
    Moose & Squirrel TI.............................Made it to CP3, but DNF..............They had high hopes

To give these results some perspective, doing the EC via the Wilderness Waterway including Nightmare is a significantly more difficult challenge than staying on the outside. Recognizing that, I would recommend any first timer(s) in an AI/TI stick to the outside route around Cape Sable (weather permitting.) Once you get that amazing experience under your belt, doing the WW/Nightmare is an option.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon


Last edited by Chekika on Sat Mar 08, 2014 5:26 am, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2014 4:43 am 
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Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:14 pm
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Location: South Florida
Triman (aka Mark Ellison) has responded to my comments. Here is his statement on the WaterTribe forum:
Quote:
Triman here. I raced hard and have the blisters, sunburn, photos, and chigger bites to prove it. It is not my fault if my SPOT only worked intermittently. My wife was worried sick and my friends and family were unable to track me. . I arrived at Chokoloskee at 7 pm and left at 1:40 I peddled out against the current and sailed all day in a light north wind which turned SW then SE at Cape Sable. It took me 5 hours to double the last cape against the current in a stiff breeze and I nearly lost my mast. I slept in my survival bag near the entrance to Flamingo after being unable to make headway and being deeply exhausted.and set out again at first light. I left Flamingo at lunchtime along with Dogslife and finished the race just after midnight . I pushed myself and my boat to the limit and finished well. Any insinuation that I did anything else is deeply hurtful.

My apologies to Mark. It certainly sounds like he can prove beyond any doubt that he did the EC and was the first solo TI to finish. He finished shortly after Dogslife and that is an achievement.

If it was the SPOT (3rd generation?) and the WT implementation of it, that is unfortunate, and something that should be straightened out before next year. Chief will undoubtedly give it his attention after he finishes the UF--Chief is in the UF with 3 other competitors. The UF is the circumnavigation of FL in about 30 days, a 1200 mi trip. He is using an AI. Update: Chief dropped. I happened to be in Chokoloskee when he came in. His boat seemed fine. Lots of responsibility for Chief with so many competitors, so, maybe he just decided he had too much to do.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon


Last edited by Chekika on Thu Mar 13, 2014 10:26 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:20 am 
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Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:09 am
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Location: Florida
Definitely lookin forward to seeing you today Keith!


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 10, 2014 8:14 am 
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Keith,
Sorry I missed you at Key Largo (or maybe I didn't and just forgot). Anyway, I REALLY appreciate your play by play of the EC this year. It is fun to go back through your posts and relive the event. Focusing on just the Hobies makes it much easier to see how all the Hobies did (vs trying to distill it from the WaterrTribe site).

It also makes me wonder....with so many Hobies in this year's event perhaps in the not too distant future we could have a Hobie Island only distance race.

Bill W.


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 7:57 pm 
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Location: Wichita Falls TX
For the record, Moose and Squirrel finished the challenge in 6 days 19 hours. Dives with Kraken apparently was awarded a finish of 8 days even. Those are the facts - very easily verified on the Watertribe site. Now that I'm back home in Texas, I can clearly see that what I suspected is true: Findmespot.com has a full set of tracking data for us for the entire event. So I don't see how the tracking problems could have been caused on our end.


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 4:53 am 
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Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:14 pm
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Location: South Florida
Chumbucket--No, I think we missed each other. I did not notice your name on the back of your priceless WaterTribe shirt, and I am pretty inconspicuous. See you next year at the start, if not sooner.

Last Update – Official Results from WaterTribe Results Official Results board.

Some boats/people listed as DNF on the WT Results board at various times during the race, did finish. I believe the following listing is correct, but please jump in with corrections and additions you feel necessary. Your thoughts on the WT EC2014 are welcome.

The Official times to Key Largo Finish:
Competitors.............................................Finish Time.................................Route

    SirTackalot and WindWatcher TI..............4 Days, 9 Hours, 57 min..............Outside around Cape Sable
    PedalOn and Sherlock TI........................4 Days, 9 Hours, 57 min..............Outside around Cape Sable
    ChumBucket and Trisherpa TI.................4 Days, 11 hours, 24 min.............Wilderness Waterway including Nightmare
    Dogslife AI........................................4 Days, 14 Hours, 52 min..............Wilderness Waterway including Nightmare
    Triman TI.........................................4 Days, 17 hrs, 16 min.................. Outside around Cape Sable
    PrivateHam and Jimbo TI......................4 Days, 17 Hours, 23 min...........Outside around Cape Sable
    PenquinMan AI w/ jib...........................5 Days, 5 Hours, 43 min...............Wilderness Waterway including Nightmare
    BackwaterBob TI................................5 Days, 6 Hours, 22 min..............Outside around Cape Sable
    Hollywood TI.....................................5 Days, 7 Hours, 0 min..............Outside around Cape Sable
    Pelican and Falcon TI...........................5 Days, 7 Hours, 22 min..............Wilderness Waterway including Nightmare
    Sharknado TI.....................................5 Days, 8 Hours, 13 min..............Outside around Cape Sable
    Sundance & GoldenSun TI......................6 Days, 8 Hours, 15 min..............Wilderness Waterway including Nightmare
    AhMaChamee AI..................................6 Days, 8 hours, 55 min..............Outside, but went into Whitewater Bay
    Juzcuz AI..........................................6 Days, 9 Hours, 58 min..............Outside around Cape Sable
    Dietired and Dietired 2 TI......................6 Days, 13 Hours, 52 min..............Outside, but went into Whitewater Bay
    Moose & Squirrel TI..............................6 Days, 18 Hours, 57 min..............Outside around Cape Sable
    Kraken & WyomingWolf TI......................8 Days, 0 hours, 10 min..............Outside around Cape Sable
    Danceswithwaves TI……………………...DNF, “molded in brass nut at the base of the mast step cup had pulled out of the boat”
    Dorsalis TI……………………………………….DNF, broken Mirage Drive pedal shaft
    Kokopedal AI…………………………………..DNF, developed leak in seat pin area, could be fixed temporarily on beach, but gear wet and electronics damaged.
    FlyingFox AI……………………………………..DNF, cause not known, first woman to attempt EC solo in an Island.

There were 21 Islands, many piloted by rookies, only 4 DNF. Of those that DNF, 3 were for insurmountable mechanical problems. That is very impressive.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon


Last edited by Chekika on Thu Mar 13, 2014 5:11 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 5:01 am 
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Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 6:29 pm
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Location: High Point, NC
It would also appear that the TI's were at least as dependable as the AI's, something that was challenged either here or on the WT site shortly before the race.

.............


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 6:06 am 
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Location: South Florida
I think the Islands did great this year as I stated above. The WaterTribe EC will continue to be a pressure cooker for Islands, especially when the winds are up--maybe next year. There were several Mirage Drive failures this year. To Hobie's credit, they have been VERY active in reaching out to owners that experienced mechanical problems. Owners have expressed their appreciation on the WaterTribe forum, http://watertribe.org/forums/topic/dorsalis-mechanical-failure-of-hobie-ai-mirage-drive/page/3

Since we are touting our boats, I want to point out that Dogslife and PenquinMan solo-piloted their AIs to great times even though they did the Wilderness Waterway route (35-40 mi longer, difficult to navigate, fighting counter currents) and ran Nightmare--a particularly onerous section. You know, I always question the wisdom of taking an AI/TI down the WW and nightmare--but they did it! Hooray! Clearly, some Island owners continue to put themselves and their boats to the fullest personal challenge of the Everglades Challenge--and win.

In addition, if you want to parse the results further, my feeling is that ChumBucket & TriSherpa in their TI--who also did the WW & Nightmare--were amazing. Kudos to them for their success.

SirTackalot finished solo in his Tandem, after he lost his partner in dramatic fashion off Broad River.

The rest of the AI/TIs? They did great, too, in their own way and to their own drummer.

As we know, Hobie continuously listens to their customers and continue to improve their boats. Bravo to them.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:40 am 
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Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2014 8:01 am
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Thanks for the shout out Chekika. :D I would really like to link up with you South Florida folks sometime on a more leisurely trip. And, I echo the comments regarding Hobie's quick response regarding the mirage issue. It is nice to get a letter directly from the president, and follow up with update on what they are doing to fix the problem. I am sending them my peddle shafts for further analysis.

I would also like to give a shout out to PenguinMan (aka Jim Czarnowski) the Hobie rep. He always has a smile on his face and was very responsive and concerned for the competitors who experienced the failures. Jim's laid back and chill demeanor epitomizes what Hobie is all about. He is a lot of fun to hang out with.

Incidently, while sipping beers at the finish in Key Largo, Jim told me that the TI was acutally created as a result of the Everglades Challenge. Interesting that the TI's birthplace has also become its testing ground.


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 10:51 am 
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And our own announcer Keith did a GREAT job of making sense of (and filling in much of the missing) data from this years adventure. Took it from very frustrating to much more enjoyable. Thanks Keith!

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 11:20 am 
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Location: Forster, NSW, Australia
What an honour roll! And thanks again to Keith for bringing the event to life for us all.

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2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 11:57 am 
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Location: South Florida
Thank you, Gentlemen!

Keith

PS ChumBucket, we are doing a Cape Romano trip out of Goodland to honor our friend, Terry. There will be at least 4 WT who have completed the EC: Whitecaps, AlexO, DolphinGal, TideTraveller, and probably more joining us. I moved the dates to Mar 28-30 or 31 to accommodate more people. http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=50615

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 2:27 am 
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Location: Punta Gorda, FL
The impressive list of EC completions this year is gratifying to me. I view it as vindication.

Several years ago, while working at a sailboat dealership, the AI first came to my attention. I got so excited, I convinced the owners of the dealership to take on the Hobie line and my wife and I bought our AI's. It turned out to be a bad business move and we never sold many Hobie boats. I'm convinced that a major reason is that there was no such thing as a TI at the time and here in God's Waiting Room we have lots of people of a certain age. Old. They sail together. They have always sailed together. They don't want separate boats.

Anyway, for whatever reasons, the business did not do well with my advice and I have always felt guilty. I have also always felt that I was RIGHT! The AI (and now TI) are such wonderful boats for this part of the world that I kind of view them as "cheater boats" for the Everglades Challenge.

The swarm of them on the beach at Fort Desoto, the list of completions, and even the DNF's prove it. I was right, darnit! ;)

By the way, they're also great for people of that certain age. Our very first AI customer was in his 80s at the time and still sails the boat today. The speed of the AI gives him range that would be impossible for a paddler of his age and condition, even in a fast but tippy sea kayak, and the stability means that the concern people of a certain age have about capsizing is erased.

I'd like to know the ages of the EC participants this year.


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