Mistermoon

Everglades Challenge 2011

2011-03-11T13:17:00.001-05:00

Obviously, I need to work on my launching strategy next time.

2011 Everglades Challenge Stragglers Start

2011-03-09T21:56:00.000-05:00

Gary and Oaracle

2011-03-04T07:20:00.001-05:00

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Loaded up and ready to go

2011-03-04T07:06:00.000-05:00

Pictures taken right before I pulled out yesterday and at our Ft. Desoto camp this morning.One bit of good news is that I can type on my Blackberry now. I hit my left thumb with a hammer last weekend and it's been excruciatingly sore and tender.Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Final Preparations

2011-03-03T00:44:00.000-05:00

Putting the finishing touches on my GPS data in both units. All the routes through the narrow confusing bits are plotted, as well as all my waypoints. I have a marine chart chip and a topo map chip to help me visualize everything. I also printed out tide tables for several key points along my route and stuffed them in the notebook with all my charts. But I really need to go to bed now...

Plight of the Navigator (apologies to Andrew Linn)

2011-02-28T21:00:00.001-05:00

I really wish I'd written this account of the various dilemmas we all face as we work our way down the the west coast of Florida. Andrew Linn, who has proved himself to be one tough dude by sailing 200 miles up the Texas coast in an 8' box of a boat called a Puddle Duck Racer, who built a 23 foot boat on the beach before the start of last years Texas event, sailed it the 200 miles up the coast

Expedition PFD

2011-02-26T20:48:00.002-05:00

The rules require all kinds of stuff and recommend others. Here we see me in my PFD all outfitted and ready to go for the race. It's not easy to see everything from this fuzzy little camera phone picture, but here's what I've got in or on my PFD: Handheld VHF radio for communicating with other boats, the authorities, to request bridge openings, and to call for help. Flashlight Emergency strobe

SPOT holder

2011-02-26T18:27:00.001-05:00

Fabbed up a tray to hold the SPOT satellite tracker. The SPOT need to be face up with a clear view of the sky at all times in order to work properly. I'd rather have it in my pocket, but since I can't I made this little wooden tray to hold the SPOT. The tray is screwed to the tiller and the unit is held in place with a bit of shock cord. Here it's secure and out of the way and where it has a

Link for tracking me on Spot

2011-02-25T10:34:00.007-05:00

Here is mapping link for tracking my progress separate from the Watertribe site. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0NzN9qgj2Q8XGXC7KF0YzI2SazE5iTYxQ The Watertribe mapping link is here and on a tab at the top of this page. Part of the rules of the event require me to carry a satellite mapping device called SPOT. This device contains a GPS and a small transmitter

Downhaul

2011-02-19T17:23:00.001-05:00

The other end of the downhaul.Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Jib Downhaul

2011-02-19T15:59:00.001-05:00

Installed a jib downhaul today. No need to go forward to get the jib off.Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

And all I've got is my grotty 30 year old DS...

2011-02-18T16:57:00.000-05:00

One of the class 4 competitors this year is Yellowthing (aka Meade Gougeon). Meade is sailing two-up this year with his brother Jan. I don't know how old these guys are, but they are past the retirement age if you catch my meaning. Here's a cool time lapse video of his new i550 going together this year. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing this boat on the beach at Ft. Desoto. However, I

I'm sure glad THIS is on the east coast of FL!

2011-02-11T12:09:00.001-05:00

Stats

2011-02-01T21:47:00.005-05:00

Here are the start/finish stats for the last 10 years. The first two years had dismal finishing percentages. Since then it's been 60-80% of starters have finished. Click the graph for a larger, more readable version.

A little more about the EC2011

2011-02-01T15:09:00.003-05:00

So how big is this event anyway? Now that the registration deadline has passed, it looks like we'll have 67 boats on the beach for the entire 300 mile Everglades Challenge. There will be another 11 boats on the beach for the Ultra Marathon, a shorter event run simultaneously with the EC. The UM finishes at CP 1 in

Everglades Challenge Route

2011-01-31T23:04:00.003-05:00

Here we go, the route of the Everglades Challenge. We start on Saturday, March 5 at Fort Desoto Park at the mouth of Tampa Bay.Along the way we have to stop and sign in at three checkpoints. To keep it from being too easy (hah!) the organizers have made it so the checkpoints are placed as diabolically as possible. Oh, and did I mention there is a time limit?The first CP at Placida is about 68

Holy crap, only 33 days more to go!

2011-01-28T15:58:00.001-05:00

The realization has come over me there are only 33 more days until I need to be on the beach at Desoto ready to go. What do I have left to do? A lot, I'm afraid.With this post I'm spurning myself to action. It's supposed to be nice this weekend, so I commit to pulling the boat out and start working on some of the details still undone.

Yet another test of mobile posting to Blogger.

2011-01-27T18:32:00.000-05:00

Here we are at Sand Island on last year's FL120. Good times.

Another test

2011-01-27T18:27:00.001-05:00

Pardon my testing. Now working on waterproof typing.Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Testing the ability to post from my Blackberry.

2011-01-27T17:54:00.001-05:00

Ok this may be cool. I'll have a way to update this blog on the road.Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

2011-01-27T17:51:00.001-05:00

Test of sms posting to blog.

Committed, or I should be...

2011-01-23T19:36:00.002-05:00

OK, I'm now totally committed: I paid the entry fee for the 2011 race. I'll be going solo this year with the intention of running in an ad-hoc team with Lugnut and Plumbcrazy and maybe Root.Am I excited? Yes. Apprehensive? Not so much about the race as I am about getting everything ready.I figure I'll get there, though.Follow me on twitter @mistermoon_EC11

Everglades Challenge 2011

2010-03-05T18:10:00.007-05:00

Am I having a mid-life crisis? My wife Lori thinks so. If I am, at least it's not a the typical one one so often seen in these parts. I'm not buying a Corvette, taking on a mistress, or dying the gray out of my hair. Perhaps those things would alleviate my middle-aged angst, but they just aren't for me for numerous moral, legal, and financial reasons. And men with dyed hair aren't fooling