2014 everglades challenge

^^^

If you're in a proper sailboat Doug, then you can't muck around in the intercoastal, and you'll have to forego those restaurants I was talking about.

 

Ec

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But maybe I can follow the race one year-just for the restaurants-that would be fun too. Any boat of mine would be very shallow draft-either 15.6' or 18-20'. Are you going to or have you done the Challenge? What about sailing the course as a training excercise a few months before the EC?
When I was a kid I sailed and powerboated from Panama City to Nah-leans.
Great fun!

 

Noooo, I've never done the EC Doug. Don't think I will for a few more years? What appeals to me is the father-son/daughter combination... then maybe I'd get some sleep.



Furthest I ever did something like that solo was about 600nm with a well-tuned Hobie 16, along a more northerly coast without it being a race. But it was wonderful.

Your draft isn't the problem, so much as where the wind and navigable water is. While the kayaks and sail-assisted kayaks can paddle/scoot down the intercoastal, it would be the kiss of death to take a performance sailboat into that narrow channel from Tampa to Marco Island.

What is singular about the EC is that it is such an adult, Corinthian endurance test where the entrants have the latitude to decide what suits their abilities.

I think if you have a good Class 5 boat, then the main area that it may be a big advantage to reconnoiter, is Florida Bay.

 

Agreed on the Florida Bay issue. Because that's where you can make or lose a lot of distance by cutting the right corners But its also where you can quickly get stranded by a shift in wind and tide

 

...

Six hours into the race, and the tracker is now loading and showing positions.

Bumpy and Machoman are shown on the beach at Desoto, they'd apparently started and sailed a bit, but then turned back.

Leading the Class 5 fleet is SOS doing about 6kts, a mile or so off Nokomis beach, behind him (5-6 nm?) are Puma/Steerswithbeers, doing 2-3 kts, who are a little further offshore, and Sewsew (7nm?) in 3rd, doing under 2kts. Swampmonkee is a couple of miles behind Sewsew.

Wind at Venice airport at the moment is 12mph from the northwest, Sarasota airport 8mph from the west.

Here's the link to the Tracker.

 

Photos:

 

More:

 

Yet more, then the freighter showed up with the shipping channel full of small craft:

 

At last:

 

...

Were there any A-Class boats there Hoyt? Inserting their foils from below?

lol

Who's your favorites?


...

Tracker is on the blink again... You have to be lucky and try it when everyone else ain't.

 

Ec

Thanks, Hoyt! Looks like it's pretty light. Over here on the opposite coast we have 12-15......

 

I saw nary a foil. I have been trying to open the tracker since arriving back home to no avail.
However, there is some news. http://sandybottomkayaker.blogspot.com/
http://watertribe.org/forums/

http://watertribe.org/forums/topic/tracker

 

Ec

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I wouldn't really expect to see foils on these boats-unless it was DSS-maybe one day...
PS-thanks for the links...

 

DSS wouldn't help much. These boats are already able to plane with the RM they have. DSS would add very little

 

...

Here is perhaps a hot tip?

Try goosing the tracker with only Class 5 chosen.

Just did it and here's what it shows:

SOS is off Stump pass, doing 8 knots.
Puma/Steers w Beers is just south of Venice doing 3.3 knots
Swampmonkee is perhaps a mile behind doing 6 knots.

Sewsew is north of his position 2.5 hrs ago, off Siesta Key doing 1.2 kts and abreast of 'Vikingur' (a Hobie 16 I vaguely recall). From this it looks like Sewsew has some problem. Bummer.

Bumpy/Machoman are still shown on the beach at Desoto.

...

On the intercoastal there's a class 5 Sundance/Golden Sun, far behind the above, midway between Spanish Point and the swing bridge.

And Crazy Russian (who's proa has some people excited) is off Longboat Key doing 3.5 kts.

...

Just refreshed the tracker and now it shows SOS inside Manasota Key almost at the first checkpoint.