12/22 Bushy Park to Castle Pinkney to Palmetto Islands County Park

Amazing day on the water! We got started about 9:30 at Bushy Park and as we headed down the Cooper River there was some wind and waves. Morg was getting soaked and his quote for that section was "my primary job this week is to figure out the spray skirts!" The fellas at the nuclear power school kept and eye on us as we looked sketchy in our buff neck and face guards. The little creek west of Daniel Island was so much fun to go through. I have looked down on it from 526 for years and wanted to got through there. We had to pull some maneuvers to avoid a gas ship as he headed to town creek. On Castle Pinkney we stopped to have lunch (picture). PB&J on hamburger buns is delicious. The we headed back up the county park near my house with a westerly wind at our backs.Great day!

The Uncle Joe

The catalyst for me doing the EC was unquestionably Joe Coen. He was one of my first bosses and beyond that became a friend, brother, and father figure. He is sick and during our conversations and hanging out he just said, "Do this. Life is short. Spend the money, take the time, and do this." So I am. We hope he will be tracking us (and no matter what I am sure he will be) and I wanted to name the boat after him. His brother in law called him Uncle Joe and I always liked that so our boat is the "Uncle Joe."

TinyTanks and SaltyMac

So one of the WaterTribe, which is the organization that puts on the EC, traditions is to have a tribal name. The head honcho is Chief and some of the guys I have been planning my adventure with are known as Lawless, Mr. Mako, and TriMan. The man that sold me his TI is Bacon (he is a police office but he also might just like pork..unsure). So Morg and I have decided on our names. Mine was easy as I will be known as TinyTanks. Bill calls me that based on my number of trips to the restroom. Stress Incontinence or incomplete voiding, I don't know, but I pee a lot. Morg tried to be BigM which is a nickname I gave him. The whole nickname is "Big M Little Organ." :-) Unfortunately that was taken so he will be known as Salty Mac as his birth certificate says Malcolm.

If you track us this should be the symbol you see.

12/22 Float Planning

So I thought I would show how Morg and I plan the trips. Google Earth is amazing. You can see below that we can use the software to determine distances and then we can actually upload the coordinates into our GPS. We are planning to put in at Bushy Park and come out at Palmetto Islands County Park. The park is right beside my house so we can just strap on the wheels and walk the boat home.

** Ignore the green line. Out plan is the red line.

Dry Suit (semi)

So you probably wouldn't expect FL to be cold ever and while ECs vary from year to year the chances for 30 and 40 degree nights are very real. Add to that the boat we have chosen which is know to be wet. In fact the person we bought if from said "you will be wet from the moment you put it in the water until you get off the water." To battle this I invested in a dry suit. Technically it is a semi dry suit but it seems to work fine. Around the neck is a neoprene gasket and the hand holes have latex. The zipper are also water proof and in case you are wondering the one on my mid section is a "relief zipper." That is important for TinyTanks.

12/8 From Paradise Island Landing to Remley's Point

It was a cold day my friend....

Seriously it was really cold. We didn't see 50 degrees which wasn't a problem except for my hands. Early in the cruise Morgan being as strong as he is broke his rudder controls which left me steering for the majority of the trip and I learned something. When surfing in the waves they break right over the sides in the back and temporarily flood the cockpit. Of course the boat is self bailing but when your hand is on the rudder control on the side of the boat it stays wet and cold.

We believe the rudder was stiff because we didn't have it locked down. We'll test this next time.

The other thing I will say is that when the wind blows the boat moves. Kinda pin you in your seat acceleration. Pretty fun!

A little background on the Everglades Challenge (EC)

I have been following the EC since the 2016 race. I believe Bill mentioned it to me but regardless I remember sitting around googling past races with him during the summer of 2016. Here are some of the high level facts and I will include a link to the website if you want more detail.

• The EC is a 300 mile small boat race from Tampa to Key Largo
• The race is an "expedition-style, adventure race" which essentially mean you are to carry with you everything you need and while you can resupply you cannot have anyone assist in that.
• There is a list of required equipment for safety's sake
• All participants must have an PLB (Personal Locator Beacon)
• All boats must have a SPOT which is left on to track (there is a link on the site to track us)
• The Race begins at 7AM 3/2 and the cutoff to finish is 7AM 3/10
• You can choose how to finish it (your course) and what you compete in (you boat)
• Courses:
• If you finish the race you receive a paddle regardless and the coveted sharks tooth (think beach store trinket but it means much more)
• If you go inland and take the 99 mile Wilderness Waterway through the Everglades National Park you get the alligator tooth
• There are 3 check points where you are required to stop and sign in
• The boats are broken into various classes based on propulsion and size. No boat can be propelled with anything except wind and human power. Look to the wide for more information but we will be attempting in a Hobie Tandem Island.

Tracking us..

Morgan and I will be using a SPOT device during our training and also the race. You can view our tracks by going to the link below.

Click Here

So it has begun...

Hello Friends,
The purpose of this blog is for me to catalog my adventure to complete the WaterTribe Everglades Challenge. I have mentioned it to some of you already and a few have asked how can I follow you and that is the purpose of the blog. I hope to capture the reasons, the research, the preparation, the training, and the event itself. I will commit to putting live features as well succinct vignettes post mortem. So before I begin I want to thank a few people. First would be Jesus for blessing me with the means and ability to attempt such an adventure. Kathryn for her support throughout. Who can boast that they have a wife that supports an annual "man week?" Bill for stoking this fire and Joe for convincing me that time is never guaranteed. Lastly, thanks for Morgan going shoulder to shoulder with me into the adventure.

Lets begin (what has in earnest already begun),

Beau