Switters in Tampa Bay March 6

[switters]

I am trying to get a meeting scheduled that Friday or Thursday so I can see the start of the everglades challenge. Anyone else going?

If I cant get there on the 6th then I will definitely be in Tampa the week of the 9th for an EBS.

Oh yea, confirmation, I'll be there from the 6th-8th.

[switters]

Staying Friday night in Pinellas Park.

Launch is 0700 Saturday morning.

[Gulfcoastbreeze]

You should be there this weekend...it's Gasparilla. On second thought...maybe it's best to avoid the masses on the bay!

[switters]

Anyone else going to be in the area for this?

Anyone who has lived in Tampa, have any idea of something to do after the 0700 launch and the 1700 flight out?

[switters]

As the sun was coming up over the bay I watched the Everglades challengers stuffing the last few items in their boats. An unbelievable amount of gear was stuffed, shoehorned, compressed into the kayaks. 100 pounds of gear into a 20 pound kayak is my new saying.

Chief was walking up and down the beach, "20 minutes", then "ten minutes". And still more gear disappeared into the kayaks and small sailing boats on the beach of Fort Desoto. At "8 minutes" the bottom of the sun was leaving the top of the watery horizon".

At the end of the countdown the kayaks were hurled into the water, the some catamarns were hurriedly drug down from the hight tide mark. The core sounds and sea pearls were rolled on fenders and then drug and pushed into the shallows.

The lone exhibition entry this year was a hawaiin racing outrigger canoe. At the start they picked it up and ran it into the water hitting the sand bar about fifteen feet out with the aft end still up on the sand. It came to a complete stop. But the good natured crew laughed with the crowed, lifted over the bar, and were soon gone in a flash of well coordinated paddles.

Still on the beach was a wooden, deep keeled canoe with outriggers and a mast. It left the beach like a rented mule leaves the barn. dug in and resisting every inch of the way.

And then there was the solo entrant in a home made wooden boat.
..... got to check in for my flight, more later with pics.;)

[Concordia...41]

I like your descriptions :D - can't wait for the pictures!

- M

[switters]

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk221/switters_bucket/DSC01721.jpg

"20 minutes!"

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk221/switters_bucket/DSC01708.jpg

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk221/switters_bucket/DSC01704.jpg

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk221/switters_bucket/DSC01727.jpg

[switters]

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk221/switters_bucket/DSC01741.jpg

like a rented mule, just wont budge

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk221/switters_bucket/DSC01720.jpg

go the mullet

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk221/switters_bucket/DSC01714.jpg

The famous EC 22, a past winner as I recall and homebuilt just for this race.

[switters]

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk221/switters_bucket/DSC01706.jpg

nice bimini on a sea pearl

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk221/switters_bucket/DSC01725.jpg

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk221/switters_bucket/DSC01702.jpg

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk221/switters_bucket/DSC01719.jpg

Go the Mullet, I hope this guy has a good go of it.

[switters]

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk221/switters_bucket/DSC01733.jpg

The little dots at the left are the kayakers

And there they go, taking with them a bit of my desire, and leaving me with dream of my own.

[The Bigfella]

Excellent.

Some damn ugly boats in there though....

[LeeG]

yahoooooooooooo!

ugly,,you should see some of the past winners

[switters]

A Tornado won again this year, second year in a row.

[LeeG]

http://watertribe.com/ChallengeViewer/ChallengeViewerContent.aspx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbRgcb0cEro&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO57OY_zL8o&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpqV2V-Qfkw&feature=related

[Glen Longino]

Thank you Switters!
Great pics and colorful language.
Reminds me of the many reasons I Don't Do Competition!
But I appreciate those who do.
"It left the beach like a rented mule leaves the barn." Priceless!:)

[Concordia...41]

Since I don't think I've asked my dumb question for the day...

What the heck?

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk221/switters_bucket/DSC01702.jpg

[StevenBauer]

What the heck?



You mean the downwind sails on the seakayaks?


steven

[LeeG]

it's another arcane religious observance for sunrise

[wtarzia]

...Still on the beach was a wooden, deep keeled canoe with outriggers and a mast. It left the beach like a rented mule leaves the barn. dug in and resisting every inch of the way.

--- And that is exactly how it felt (since I remember having to drag horses out of the barn, in my youth). I was the crew on that outrigger (the guy in the white shirt and hat in one of the photos); I spent three months in the gym for that moment ;-) . That is a deep-keeled proa (19 inch wide hull, V-keel). Since we had no room in the tiny spaces to store rollers, we had to do without them. The option was carry the rollers on the outrigger platforms, but with horrid windage, so we opted for a slow start. Later we had bad luck with a hull leak and had to drop out at the end of the day -- couldn't find the leak.

The start of that race was magical -- the feeling is more than the sunrise in the photos. Hard to explain, even though I am not a competitive person myself (the race for me was a great excuse to find a bunch of like-minded people in the same place at the same time).

The kayak sails mentioned above seem odd but on a downwind courses in a little wind produce more power than the paddler can. They are on bungy, so they store out of the way flat on deck and spring up on release -- very tidy.

I love that EC22 boat, I'd build/buy one in a second if I could -- perfect example of a boat designed for a specific job, with no frills but everything it needs. Great coastal cruiser if you do not insist on eating supper at a table, and demonstrably fast.

The boat "Mullet" did well in the race for something so short. I think he took the "deep water" route to Key Largo (south to the keys, then ENE) to avoid groundings and get better wind angle (the EC22 and the Tornado did more or less the same I think). The EC race is nice for rewarding smart sailing, because some boats that do not look fast often end up placing well (i.e., Layden and his 8-foot decked sleep-aboard sailing pram, Sand Flea).

Lot's of fun, and sometimes lots of wasted money and time, (sigh... boating, in nutshell) , but I have no regrets "dragging the mule" to the water, except that it is so hard getting away there from Connecticut to try again. -- Wade

[switters]

wtarzia,

PM me if you would like the rest of the pictures of your boat and I 'll send them to you. The quality isn't great and I'm not a professional by any means.

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk221/switters_bucket/DSC01711.jpg

sorry to hear about the leak, I followed as much of the race as possible but without knowing all of the tribe names I had a hard time matching them up with boats.

It was one of the best mornings I have ever witnessed, best of luck next year.