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By Helen Snell - Tallahassee, Florida - USA

Gary Blankenship and Noel Davis have partnered again this year for the Watertribe Everglades Challenge and Gary's wife, Helen has graciously agreed to send us reports of the fellows' progress. Here is a LINK to the Watertribe race reports. and HERE is one to the viewer. Joe Mullen, who send us.

Monday March 3, 2008 @ 14:30
 
The guys got underway and cleared Rabbit Key Pass after a late breakfast in the company of Ridgerunner and Greybeard. The winds are light to moderate from the south. They'll be entering the dead zone for cell coverage, so I don't know when I'll next hear from them. Hopefully, the wind will cooperate and they'll make good time to CP 3.
 
Helen

Monday, March 3, 2008 @ 10:25hrs.
 
The guys made it to CP 2 after sailing all night. They at least slept in shifts, but conditions made swift travel impossible. Gary said they had to tack all night long, beating into the wind from Cape Romano to Indian Key. They stayed reefed the entire time since one of them was in the cabin. They apparently had an easy time getting into Choko though, so there is a silver lining here. They are both going to get a hot meal and then they'll be off for CP 3. I'd say they definately earned a hot meal after the last 2 1/2 days. This has been a really wet year so far and if weather forecasts hold true, there's more to come. They are still having a great time and in high spirits. Gary said that Ridgerunner and Greybeard beat them to CP 2 by five minutes, and SOS & DWSB were also in there somewhere, but I can't remember his reference to time, so I'll leave it at that. Hopefully the WT will update the results page with everyone's time soon.
 
Till next time, Helen

Sunday March 2, 2008 18:45hrs.

The guys had a great sail this afternoon and they are coming up to Marco. They are going to keep sailing toward CP2. They are going to hope for good conditions at CP 2, but if not, then they'll anchor and wait for the tide. They are having a great time.

Till next time, Helen

Sunday March 2, 2008 @ 13:48 hrs.

Gary called and said they really need something to deter the motor boats (I say a paint ball gun and a call to the local MP!). The weekend warriors are apparently out in large quantities and no law enforcement around, imagine that.

Anyway, they are sailing around 4 knots and were about 8-10 miles south of San Carlos Pass. He estimates that they're about 50 miles from CP2. The wind is out of the east and the conditions are still too rough to go below so they're swapping time at the helm and napping in the cockpit while the other steers. This is working well for them and keeping their energy up as the intend to continue through the day and night, still trying to stay ahead of the forecasted front. Their spirits are high and they are having fun in spite of the environment.

Later, Helen

Sunday, March 2, 2008 @ 09:16 hrs
 
Gary called and said the conditions are really rough and wet. When they hit Charlotte Harbor, they reefed. The waters have been upgraded to a commercial washing machine. They are currently at the bottom of Pine Island Sound, making their way towards the gulf. They were almost flipped by a huge power boat wake this morning. Luckily, it didn't happen. They took turns sleeping during the night and kept Oaracle going the entire time. They both sound well rested and are proceeding towards CP 2. Noel is currently at the helm. They hope to beat the front which is forecast to come in. Looking at the Watertribe's website, it seems two boats are damaged, and Dr. Kayak and Sanddollar have dropped out at CP 1. There is a lot of speculation that the conditions are worse then the reports Crazy Russian is getting off of the bouy/bouies(?).
As always, I hope everyone has a safe journey.
 
Till next time, Helen

Sunday March 2, 2008 @ 2:15

The guys called at 2:15 this morning to report that they made it to CP 1 at 01:26 hrs. (I was asleep so I hope I got the time right) They sounded good and were heading out to CP 2. I hope to reach them or vice versa this morning and see where they are at now. I got the impression that they were going to go through the night, and given the forecasts, thats probably a good idea. Sadly, Randy Smyth broke his boat and apparently made it safely to the beach, but will be out from here on. He made an impressive showing and established a new record time to CP 1. It seems like those boats are really fast, but they always seem to break something(remember, I'm not a boat junkie and don't fully understand all the technical reasons for this, so this is just my observation)

Till next time, Helen

Saturday March 1, 2008 @ 20:35

The guys have seen it all today - good wind, no wind, lots of wind...they were surfing in the gulf at 10 knots at one point. Being conservative, they opted for going in at Venice while it was still light as opposed to trying the others later. They are damp and chilly, but will keep on sailing towards CP1. At present they are still sailing at 2 1/2 - 3 knots. The wind gets flukey in the IC so if it gets too light, they'll row, but they are in good spirits and will hopefully get into their long underwear before the evening progresses. I'm hoping they make it to CP1 today, but it all depends on the wind in the IC and the traffic. At least the later it gets, usually the lighter the traffic.

Till next time, Helen

Saturday, March 1, 2008 at 15:25 hrs.

Gary says that he kept on rowing south, but now, thankfully, the wind has picked up and they are making way between 4 1/2 - 5 1/2 knots. They have seen a lot of Chief today, but with the increase in wind speed, it seems he has now passed them. They are south of Sarasota and he estimates that they still have somewhere around 40 or so miles to CP1. They believe Dave on Cudjoe is southward, parallel to them, but further out in the Gulf. Gary sounded a little tired and was heading in for a nap. I imagine that since the sky is clear, the sun is probably raising the afternoon temperature considerably. Noel is taking over the helm at present. Keep hoping for good winds for the guys. Does anybody know a good "Wind Dance"???

Till next time, Helen

Saturday, March 1, 2008 11:19 hrs.

Lugnut just called and he has the jib up and is currently rowing. The wind has died, except for a puff here and there. He said Chief coasted by him earlier, and then he passed Chief under oars. His GPS indicates they are only 10.6 miles from the start, south of Anna Maria. It appears that sailing conditions will be tough compared to the previous two years where they enjoyed ample winds from the right direction. He feels that the kayakers will be doing well in the fair conditions, but that the sail boats will be struggling. The wind is forecast to clock around to the north east, but it hasn't happened yet. At least they got out of the bay before it decided to die.

I imagine that all the weekend warriors are filling up the intercoastal waterway, so I'm sure that the kayakers will have their hands full dodging them. Its amazing that they have no regard for non-motored vessels or the rules of the waterways.

I'll be crossing my fingers that the winds will pick up.

WN

Saturday, March 1, 10:54 AM

This from Joe McMullen: The start was fine I put some short videos on youtube.
Joe

Saturday, March 1, 2008
08:30 am


Gary and Noel are in high spirits! Noel says the sky is blue and Gary is sort of pinkish. The only rescue this year was one of the bumpers which apparently went overboard as Gary was attempting to tie it on. The bay was choppy and hairy and they encountered the tide which slowed their progress out, but they are now in the gulf and making 3 knots. Last years description still holds, but has been downgraded to a residential washing machine, bay wise. They can see both Core Sound 20's ahead of them and they feel that they are comfortably at the back of the fleet. The winds are out of the east and they think they're in for a pleasant day of sailing and seeing the many gulf sites. They plan to sail on to CP1 and take advantage of the conditions to rest up while staying under sail.

Bill Lanning met up with the guys and another person from the north whose name is escaping Gary at the moment, took pictures of the start and intends to forward them on to Chuck, so stay tuned and be on the lookout for them. Also, the Chief has linked Google Earth to each racers log entries and it gives a good visual of the fleets progress. This can be viewed on the Watertribe website.

So, all in all, they are off to a good start and I reminded them of my standing orders, 24/7 with out stopping.

Till next time, Wingnut

Friday, February 29, 2008

When we spoke tonight, Gary said that there are a lot of high tech boats entered this year and that they are kind of intimidating in their appearance. In spite of them, both he and Noel are really geared up and ready to go. They got Oaracle on the beach without incident and spent the day mingling with everyone and admiring all the boats. Doing what boat junkies do best, LOL. The weather is still cold and they both hope to get a good nights rest, if thats possible, and get off to a good start tomorrow. I hope they don't encounter any overturned kayaks like last year. Of course, they are still under orders to sail 24/7, nonstop. I expect to hear from them after they launch and get under way.

Till next time, Wingnut

Thursday February 28, 2008

The guys made it to the campground and spent most of the day catching up with everyone. As of our conversation, he indicated that Kiwi Bird is camped next to them. Matt, Mark(Manitou), Savannah Dan and Paddle Maker, and There and back again are all on site, as are Super Boo and her Dad. They had an uneventful trip there which is always a good thing. Gary found the contrast between the Tornado Catamaran and Matt's Sand Flea quite interesting as they were sitting somewhere, side by side. I hope he got a picture of them as it would be interesting to see both ends of the spectrum of class 4 boats (at least I think they are both class 4). He said that the Tornado has a 31' mast. Personally, I always left the raising and lowering of the mast to Gary, but I still can't imagine what it would be like to have to handle a mast that long, but then, thats me. Since Gary made the carbon fiber mast, he has indicated that it takes hardly any energy to go through the routine of lowering and raising the mast, which considering the filters(obstacles), its an added plus. Anyway, the weather there is pretty cold and windy and they expect to spend a quiet evening trying to rest up and stay warm.

Till next time, Admiral Wingnut!

This is Gary's Frolic2 "Oaracle" in which he has sailed the last three years.

click images for larger views

The scene on the beach Friday

Matt Layden's "Sand Flea"

"Sand Flea" and the Tornado - side by side.

Last year's winner "Southern Skimmer".

Not sure - does anyone know this one?

Lots of high tech boats in the race this year.

Noel of www.furledsails.com calls home.


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