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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 9:35 am 
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Location: Harsens Island, Michigan
I have to admit, I am not getting much work done. I am addicted to watching this, with the tracking map on the left monitor and their blogs on the right one.

I have been watching since sunday afternoon.

I don't think I have this type of event in my blood, but it is impressive and exciting to watch.

I still don't understand the portage, and perhaps you can help me out there. I see it on a map, but do they REALLY have to carry their canoes, AI's, etc over the road for 40 miles? How do they do it? What is the strategy? Do they carry some wheels with them?

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 9:41 am 
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By the way, you are right about the wind. Are you watching SewSew tack up wind to try to get to Checkpoint 3?

Also, the Hobie 18 is now within sight of the finish. About 1 mile away at 11:30am.

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 9:47 am 
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I think the Hobie 18 has finished.

Dogslife has left Ckpt 2 in Chokoloskee, but he took the wrong route out to the Gulf. He has corrected himself, but has moved into a shallow area and will have to haul his boat across a sandbar before he is on the right track to the Gulf. Just checked the tracker and see Dogs is almost out to the Gulf. Dogs moves fast once he gets going. I think he is planning on coming in 5th in this race.

AhMaChamee has made very good time this morning and is currently getting a permit to camp in the Park. Then he will head over to Ckpt 2. Backwaterbob in a Tandem has really made good time today, but is currently stopped where Indian Key Pass meets Chokoloskee Bay. I see he is moving now to the Ranger Station for a permit. TideTraveller (Josh) is a mile behind him in the Pass.

All Hobies look good except for a tandem which has been stopped at the southern tip of Sanibel. They may be thinking of dropping. Another tandem is still further back and has almost certainly dropped.

Keith

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 10:57 am 
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Steve, you just assume you are not going to get anything done if you are watching the Watertribe tracking page. SewSew will come in 3rd in this part of the race, but he is really entered in the Ultimate Florida. I'm sure he intends to set a record for that. If he does, it will last a long time.

Ahh, the portage. Yes, they must haul their boats 40 mi. All of them have wheels, which they must carry with them the whole trip. There is an option, however, called the "boat switch rule." The people with larger boats, like SewSew, can switch to a kayak--which they haul--and have their larger boat transported to the other end. The rule is not generally liked by the purists, but it allows larger boats to compete in this REALLY grueling race.

Keith

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"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

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:08 am 
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I see Josh is at the National Park launch area in Everglades City. He's not quitting is he? That would be a shame. Maybe it's just a water stop.....

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:10 am 
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Roughly how long does the portage take? It looks like level ground, but no clear route, I could go look at last years tracks. I remember doing a 10 mile walk-a-thon many years ago, and that was an all day thing, I thought. Maybe it was 20 miles? We carried a cooler and a boom box with a group of kids. That should tell you how long ago it was! :o

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:11 am 
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Backwaterbob is at Ckpt 2. Dogs is on the Gulf 2 mi north of Pavilion Key where we camped about 10 days ago. Josh is still sitting at the Ranger Station--probably having lunch with his wife, Jackie. They are newly weds.

This trip, now, from Chokoloskee to Flamingo is the one that I do every year. You can read about some of them on my thread "Have you done any 'expedition' trips on an AI." The reports start on page 3.
http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=7276&start=30

Of course on our trips, the challenge is to relax and catch fish. We do this trip in 6-8 days. Yes, it is very relaxing. Josh did it with us about 6 weeks ago. While it was not a challenge for him, it did clearly show him the area he was going to deal with in this EC. On that trip we had NO winds. Quite a change from this year's EC.

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


Last edited by Chekika on Tue Mar 06, 2012 1:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:17 am 
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Steve, I have no idea how long the portage takes. It is actually all or mostly on a highway. And, that reminds me they may also have a rule that they don't have to do the portage. Chief got worried about having an accident. So, the rules on the portage are rather complex, and I am not up on them.

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

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:22 am 
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InTents aka Rick, Josh is maybe getting a permit and for sure having lunch with his wife. BTW, I met his wife in Ft Desoto the other day. Nice young lady--slim, trim, healthy looking like Josh.

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

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 1:11 pm 
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looking at 2010, the winner pulled his boat out of the water at 2:30pm, walked all night, and put back in the water 40 miles later at 3:35pm, so about 13 hours, after rowing/sailing for 3 weeks over about 900-1000 miles.

These guys are amazing.

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 1:40 pm 
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Location: Escondido
At least some (if not all) carry a small folding bicycle to tow their boat with on the portage for the UF. This saves a lot of time and energy.

As you can imagine, these boats are packed to the limit with spare parts and gear! :wink:

PS, The updates are fantastic -- THANKS!


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 2:26 pm 
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TideTraveller and AhMaChamee are on the move out of Chokoloskee.

Dogslife on the Gulf & Backwaterbob at Ckpt 2 are still resting.

Winds are East 15-16 mph, gusting to 28-29. The winds are predicted to be about the same the next few days, but out of the ENE. If that holds, the sail boats will do fine.

We will see who the real sailors are now. Or, perhaps we will see who has the most endurance--my bet is on the kid, Josh.

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

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 3:06 pm 
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Backwaterbob is moving. Tidetraveller looking good; almost on Gulf. AhMaChamee looks like he has stopped, but that is because he has not punched his SPOT lately, or it has stopped working.

Dogslife is still sitting on an island N of Pavilion. He has posted something about low tide, but the tide is still falling. I hope he has enough water to move, because the tide will not be coming back in for 3-4 hrs.

The others, Josh, Bob, AhMa will all be in deep water as long as they don't make a mistake.

A puddle duck from Texas has capsized and withdrawn from the race. Here is a picture of the boat on the beach in Ft DeSoto.
Image

The puddle duck was doing quite well so it is unfortunate to have to withdraw.

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: Tue Mar 06, 2012 5:11 pm 
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Wow, what a sight. On the Watertribe tracker, 2 AIs and 1 tandem (Tidetraveller, Backwaterbob, and Dogslife) are all with in a mile of each other on the outside of Pavilion. Right now it is dark outside, so not sure if they can see each other, but they probably could a half hour ago.

It is great to see Dogs moving. The fact that they are all outside of Pavilion indicates that there is no water in closer to the mainland. Dogs must have slogged his boat to water from the spot where he was resting.

AhMaChamee is apparently stuck on Rabbit Key 4 miles back. Stuck because it is low tide and there is no water within a half mile of him. The offshore winds aggravate the situation by blowing the water away from shore.

Hobies now represent 3 of the front 10 boats in the race. My guess is these fellows will sail well into the night. They are rested and ready to go. Winds are predicted to be 15-20 mph the rest of the night.

SewSew with his high-speed trimaran is south of Flamingo on a SE tack. He is nearing the keys. Once there he will tack along the keys in a NE direction. My guess is that he will reach the finish line about midnight. He will have put in about a 90-100 mile day during continuous strong headwinds. Very impressive.

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: Tue Mar 06, 2012 5:59 pm 
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Backwaterbob has stopped on Pavilion to make repairs to his mast. He will continue in the morning.

Dogs and TT are less than 30 mi from NW Cape and 50 mi from Flamingo (Ckpt 3). I think they could both make NW Cape tonight. If they have running lights on they may be able to see each other.

Ridgerunner and Greybeard are two seasoned veterins of the EC. They were in 4th place today sailing a fast Core Sound monohull. Here is their report--they are out of the race.

Quote:
We pulled into the bay at Middle Cape to heave to and reef. We had been speeding down the coast at 7 and 8 mph, often planing, in 15-20 mph winds. All of a sudden the wind went E from NE and went to 40+/- (according to park headquarters) and knocked the boat down. The mizzen was sheeted in hard and the main was unsheeted. The main dug into a sand bottom and sheeted off as we climbed onto the centerboard to right her. By the time we got her bailed and the main spars and sail back on board, we were west of the IVW headed for Mexico. So we told the Coasties what was going on, rigged the midden midshipd, and sailed slowly throu breaking waves to the beach. The Tow Boat US folks wouldn't come out in the wind, but they will try in the early AM when the winds may lay down. We are driving to Tampa to get the truck. Christie and Noel, checkpoint captains at Flamingo are great.

It illustrates that while we are all enjoying watching this race unfold, it is dangerous out there.

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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