Talking About Adventure In Small Boats
Scareman
Member
Shore contact Scareman here reporting for OneEyedJake, and Calypso will be paddling with OEJ.
Weather sounds gorgeous, and is forecasted nice enough that OEJ may even leave his drysuit at home this year. Last year was freezing and we needed the drysuit.
After talking with both OneEyedJake and Calypso tonight, they are ready to go Saturday at 7 when the bagpipe blows!
Scareman
Member
10 AM Day 1 - OneEyedJake and Calypso are approaching the Cortez Rd Bridge to Bradenton Beach.
They will likely stop at Ken Thompson Park for a quick bit for lunch (map here).
Then a next stop may be Snake Island in Venice for a night paddling gear change (map here).
I am off to coach 2 soccer games, watch 1 basketball game, coach baseball, then deal with the ice storm hitting tonight. I wish I was in the EC this year!!!
Scareman
Member
OneEyedJake and Calypso camped at CP1 after landing shortly after 1 AM.
They have joined-up with Ouichiska and BeastOarman.
Calypso had problem with her seat on Day 1. The pain for her coming down Lemon Bay was so bad that she was almost incoherent. Hang in there Calypso, only 240 more miles to go.
Sometimes after the EC when I paddle with so much pressure on my rudder pedals, it takes 6-8 months for the nerve damage to recover in my feet.
I find it interesting that BeastOarMan is paddling with OneEyedJake. The three of us were paddling across Charlotte Harbor together on Day2 last year. This is BeastOarman's first EC in a kayak.
Scareman
Member
Day 2 morning departure from CP1 at 7:30 AM EST for OneEyedJake and Calypso. It looks like they may be with BeastOarman and Ouachiski.
As of 11:30 AM EST, they were beside Hoagen's Key and heading into Charlotte Harbor (map here).
Where will they go now? I will have to see if they head West towards Cayo Costa and Captiva Island (map here), or push to the East side of Pine Island towards Matlacha. If they head East, they should get a nice push from the flooding tide to Matlacha Park (map here), which is where OneEyedJake and I have stopped in both EC 12 (to camp late at night) and EC 13 (for a quick lunch).
Matlacha has a high tide at the bridge at 3:30 PM, so they may time it just right to ride the flood around pine island, then ride the ebb out to Sanibel/Ft Myers. I get the tidal info from this source also - http://www.localtides.net/matlacha-pass-tide.php
Scareman
Member
The bunch of four (OneEyedJake, Calypso, BeastOarman and Ouachiski) as of 2:15 PM Day 2 is East of Mondrago Rocks in Pine Island Sound - West side of Pine Island.
Pine Island Sound is full of WaterTribers, with a few on the outside. Many others down through Estero Isalnd and a few into CP2.
Scareman
Member
It is 9 PM EST Day 2 and the 4 paddlers have stopped to rest on Picnic Island.
OneEyedJake, Calypso, BeastOarman, and Ouachiski have joined several other WaterTribers for a wonderful camping spot. Deke, EchoFin, DivesWithKraken/WyomingWolf are showing there on the island.
In EC 2013, I stopped with OneEyedJake and BarksAtWaves to camp here, and we had a crowd of WaterTribers here last year. It was so cold that Andy (OEJ) made a fire. Luckily we found a metal rack that we used to hang our soaked gear to dry in the bitterly cold conditions in 2013.
I doubt the fire is needed this year, but I have seen other reports that some people had cold nights last night.
Scareman
Member
At 10:30 PM, 7 more paddlers are converging on Picnic Island, 4 from the North coming from the East side of Pine Island, and 3 from the West from Pine Island Sound.
By 11 PM, there mat be14 waterTribers on Picnic Island, plus any local power boaters that frequent the island.
Scareman
Member
Picnic Island is a bit ocupied with 16 WaterTribers.
From top of the island clockwise: SailbirdMike, JammerJim, SwampG8r, TideRider, Dorsalis, DieTired/DieTired2, deke, PeacePaddler, OneEyedJake, Calypso, DancesWithWaves, BeastOarman, Ouachiski, Clewless, and DivesWithKraken/WyomingWolf.
Scareman
Member
Day 3 morning, and they are off.
There is now and ARMADA cruising under the Sanibel Causeway and off of San Carlos Bay. As of 9:15 AM EST, OneEyedJake, Calypso, BeastOarman, Ouachiski, Swampg8r, TideRider, and Jammer Jim were heating towards the Gulf and CP2.
They left Picnic Island around 8:15 AM EST
Scareman
Member
Day 3 3:30 PM - Passing Wiggins Pass. Were they wiggling as they paddled past Wiggins Pass? (map)
Swampga8r and TideRider went inside around Estero Island while OneEyedJake and Calypso went on the Gulf side - after leaving Picnic Island together this morning. They are all meeting at the Gulf side now at 3:30 PM, but the inside guys are still inside the pass a bit.
Scareman
Member
They tried and failed to make it through the Culvert at Isles of Capri Fire Dept. We scraped through last year.
Night 3 as of 2:54 AM they were camped - all 5 of them that I can determine by Mapper and SPOT.
5 camped on North side of Capri Pass. OneEyedJake since 2:54 AM, Calypso since 2:54 AM, BeastOarMan since 2:39 AM, Ouachiski since 2:45 AM, and LifeAquatic since 2:27 AM
Scareman
Member
The group is now passing Panther Key at 2:45 PM EST on Day 4 after leaving Marco Island this morning.
I am guessing they have about 12 miles to Everglades City for permitting, but the Rangers Office closes by 4:30, and they stop servicing permits shortly after 4 sometimes based on my experience.
At their pace of 2.6 kts, they would arrive in over 4 hours.
However, they have to fight the tide that peaks at a only 2.7 ft at 4:40 PM at Indian Key, and at Everglades City the high tide is 2:40 PM and at 4.3 ft with a low at 9:42 PM.
My SWAG for their arrival at Everglades City is 7 PM , or if they travel 3 more miles to CP2 in Chokoloksee and get a hotel room they could arrive around 8PM.
Scareman
Member
OneEyedJake has arrived at CP at 7:18 PM on Day 4 on the Turner River side.
If you are looking Andy's tracks, they will be mixed with his SPOT data from a training run the previous weekend with Calypso. Calypso's tracks are also in the EC mapper from their last training run before the EC to Crooked Creek Chickee and Pavilion Key.
How did they get to CP2? Swerving on a dirt road - well...kinda: Turn left after Panther Key, wiggle up into Fakahatchee Bay, then scoot through some hidden mangrove tunnels (maybe?) into Gate Bay, then West Pass Bay, and finally through Lane Cove before arriving at the Rangers Station in Everglades City. Easy Peasy!!!
Scareman
Member
Morning Day 5 of EC 2014 and OneEyedJake has his camping permit for Rodger's River Chickee and South Joe River Chickee.
Calypso's equipment issues update: Seat fixed that was killing her Day 1, headlamp Dead, 2 flashlights Dead, GPS Dead.
Despite the gear issues, Calypso is doing great physically!
Scareman
Member
Morning Day 6 - OneEyedJake, Calypso, and Ouachiski are camped at Rodgers River Chickee.
Day 5 started by getting permits at the Everglades City Rangers Station. They must have hitched a ride, maybe hada nice breakfast, and then headed out on the Wilderness Waterway at about 10 AM . It is about 36 miles from Choko to Rodgers River. They paddled from Chokoloksee to Rodgers River and arrived at the chickee at 1:24 AM.
Look at Andy's track at the chickee. They must have been usingthe GPS to find the chicckee, but the charts show it in the middle of the island. The chickee is Northwest of that island. They finally found it after about a 20 minute delay - not fun at 1 AM and you want to rest and warmup.
Scareman
Member
Morning on Day 6 and there is no SPOT activity as of 8:17 AM from the bunch on Rodgers River Chickee, and that may be OK if planning to catch a rising tide through Nightmare.
The tide at Onion Key/Lostman's River shows a falling tide until 3 PM today, but the Lostman's River entrance shows Low Tide at 11:30 AM.
They have 6.5 miles to the Nightmare entrance off of Broad River, which could be about 2 hours paddling depending on winds and tides. Tides should help them get there.
I am not sure if they are taking the Nightmare, but if they should be OK since the water at low tide Lostmans River Entrance is still shown at +1 ft at 11:30 AM.
Scareman
Member
As of 1:15 PM EST, SPOT updates on SPOT are not showing up for last hour and winds are picking up near the Nightmare about 15-20 based on SailFlow predictions.
However, direct e-mailed SPOT updates are showing OneEyedJake and Calypso near Broad River Chickee. since about 12 PM on Day 6. I do not know if they turned around or headed into the Nightmare.
I estimate a 3-5 hour journey from Broad River entrance to the Nightmare and exiting to arrival at the Harney River Chickee.
I think I would want to be sheltered from possible 70 mph winds in the great cypress roots versus up on Broad River Chickee.
Hoping for a safe trip for the paddlers through this storm front.
Scareman
Member
Cathing up on some updates for Andy that I had in other posts...
As of 9:30 PM on Night 6, many WaterTribers are entering Oyster Bay from Shark River. OneEyedJake, Calypso, SeaHare, TideRider, Swampg8r, Ouachiski, and maybe others not on the Mapper.
This has to be comforting to paddle around other folks after weathering today's storms.
Will they stop at Joe River Chickee (about 5 miles from current position), South Joe River Chickee (about 11.5 miles from current position), or keep paddling to stay warm and make it into Flamingo (about 22.5 miles from current position near Oyster Bay Chickee)?
Night 6 as of 5:26 AM EST - Positions and Speeds
Gaggle update...most of this Gaggle group continues to move at 3 kts through Coot Bay approaching Flamingo. The gaggle should arrive at Flamingo around 7 AM on Day 7 Friday morning March 7th. It appears they did not stop through the night and are pushing through to Flamingo with an Estimates 6:30 AM arrival barely still making this Day/Night 6 of the EC (clock starts Day 7 at 7 AM). The group includes OneEyedJake, Calypso, TideRider, Swampg8r, JammerJim, Ouachiski. They had a turned out of Oyster Bay and came through a circuitous route along the SE side of Whitewater Bay hopping from mangroves to mangroves.
Scareman
Member
CP3 Arrival 6:38 AM Day 6, including the Nightmare!!! Great job Andy and Mary!
Squeaking in under the last few minutes of the 23rd hour in Day 6, OneEyedJake and Calypso have arrived at Flamingo after completing the Wilderness Waterway through the Nightmare - Congratulations - Once you arrive at Key Largo, you will receive your Gator Tooth!!!
What to do? What to Do??? Crossing Florida Bay will expose people to high winds at 18 mph sustained awith gusts around 25 mph. Weather looks a little better tomorrow. Tides at Flamingo are at 2:41 PM today/Friday and 4:24 AM Saturday.
If it was me and I had paddled almost 24 hours through the storms, I would wait to leave at 4:30 AM on Saturday Day 7. Catch the tide through Tin Can, lower winds across Florida Bay, but the winds are forecast out of the East later on Saturday at 10 mph.
Maybe you take off at 6 PM tonight when the watre is high and slack, but winds could still be high but out of the W.
Scareman
Member
OneEyedJake, Calypso, TideRider, Swampg8r, JammerJim, Ouachiski are underway crossing Florida Bay as of 4 PM EST on Day 7, March 7, 2014.
I guess they were worried they would miss the good food at the Saturday Banquet and Awards Cermony at the Bay Cove Motel.
As of 7 PM EST, they reached Dump Keys and took a bit of a break. By 7:20 PM they were moving again.
Prediction time..3 AM EST (+3/-1 hrs) Arrival at Bay Cove.
I am SWAGGING a 7.5 hour duration from Dump to Key Largo (without real wind data this is tough). So that makes a 3 AM landing at Key Largo my prediction. Assuming in these conditions, getting through Twisty Mile and Jimmie Channel at night, and dealing with the wind in the dark on the large fetch. They could reduce the time a bit, or could easily add another 3 hours.
The gaggle includes OneEyedJake, Calypso, TideRider, Swampg8r, JammerJim, Ouachiski just past Dump Keys moving at 3.6 kts. PeacePaddler is a bit ahead of them moving at 4.8 kts near End Key before turning SE for the Twisty Mile Channel
Let's see how close they actually come to landing at 3 AM EST on Day 7.
Scareman
Member
As of 9:46 PM on DAy 7, here is the gaggle on the map
As of 1:30 AM EST on Day 7, the gaggle of 6 kayakers is between Bottle Key and Butternut Key.
As of 1:45 AM EST on Night 7, this is OneEyedJake's Track across Florida Bay as he and the gaggle of paddlers approach the finish of EC 2014!!!
Scareman
Member
FYI - There has been a Small Craft Advisory during the night while the gaggle moves across Florida Bay at night:
WHUS72 KKEY 080328 MWWKEY GMZ031-032-042>044-052>055-072>075-080930- /O.EXT.KKEY.SC.Y.0012.000000T0000Z-140308T1000Z/ FLORIDA BAY INCLUDING BARNES SOUND, BLACKWATER SOUND, AND BUTTONWOOD SOUND- BAYSIDE AND GULF SIDE FROM CRAIG KEY TO WEST END OF SEVEN MILE BRIDGE-HAWK CHANNEL FROM OCEAN REEF TO CRAIG KEY OUT TO THE REEF- HAWK CHANNEL FROM CRAIG KEY TO WEST END OF SEVEN MILE BRIDGE OUT TO THE REEF- HAWK CHANNEL FROM WEST END OF SEVEN MILE BRIDGE TO HALFMOON SHOAL OUT TO THE REEF- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM OCEAN REEF TO CRAIG KEY OUT 20 NM- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM CRAIG KEY TO WEST END OF SEVEN MILE BRIDGE OUT 20 NM- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM WEST END OF SEVEN MILE BRIDGE TO SOUTH OF HALFMOON SHOAL OUT 20 NM- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM HALFMOON SHOAL TO 20 NM WEST OF DRY TORTUGAS OUT 20 NM- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM OCEAN REEF TO CRAIG KEY 20 TO 60 NM OUT- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM CRAIG KEY TO WEST END OF SEVEN MILE BRIDGE 20 TO 60 NM OUT- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM WEST END OF SEVEN MILE BRIDGE TO SOUTH OF HALFMOON SHOAL 20 TO 60 NM OUT- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM HALFMOON SHOAL TO 20 NM WEST OF DRY TORTUGAS 20 TO 60 NM OUT- 1028 PM EST FRI MAR 7 2014 ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT... * WINDS AND WAVES...FRESH NORTHWEST TO NORTH BREEZES WILL BLOW NEAR 20 KNOTS AND GUSTY FOR A FEW MORE HOURS OVERNIGHT. SEAS UP TO 7 FEET ARE EXPECTED IN DEEP WATER ACROSS THE STRAITS OF FLORIDA. WINDS WILL TURN NORTH AND DECREASE AFTER MIDNIGHT. THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN ALL LIKELIHOOD WILL BE DISCONTINUED BY 430 AM. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY MEANS THAT WIND SPEEDS OF 20 TO 33 KNOTS... AND/OR SEAS 7 FEET OR HIGHER...ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FOR SMALL CRAFT. INEXPERIENCED BOATERS...ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH SMALLER VESSELS...SHOULD AVOID OPERATING IN THESE CONDITIONS. && $$
WHUS72 KKEY 080328 MWWKEY GMZ031-032-042>044-052>055-072>075-080930- /O.EXT.KKEY.SC.Y.0012.000000T0000Z-140308T1000Z/ FLORIDA BAY INCLUDING BARNES SOUND, BLACKWATER SOUND, AND BUTTONWOOD SOUND- BAYSIDE AND GULF SIDE FROM CRAIG KEY TO WEST END OF SEVEN MILE BRIDGE-HAWK CHANNEL FROM OCEAN REEF TO CRAIG KEY OUT TO THE REEF- HAWK CHANNEL FROM CRAIG KEY TO WEST END OF SEVEN MILE BRIDGE OUT TO THE REEF- HAWK CHANNEL FROM WEST END OF SEVEN MILE BRIDGE TO HALFMOON SHOAL OUT TO THE REEF- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM OCEAN REEF TO CRAIG KEY OUT 20 NM- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM CRAIG KEY TO WEST END OF SEVEN MILE BRIDGE OUT 20 NM- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM WEST END OF SEVEN MILE BRIDGE TO SOUTH OF HALFMOON SHOAL OUT 20 NM- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM HALFMOON SHOAL TO 20 NM WEST OF DRY TORTUGAS OUT 20 NM- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM OCEAN REEF TO CRAIG KEY 20 TO 60 NM OUT- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM CRAIG KEY TO WEST END OF SEVEN MILE BRIDGE 20 TO 60 NM OUT- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM WEST END OF SEVEN MILE BRIDGE TO SOUTH OF HALFMOON SHOAL 20 TO 60 NM OUT- STRAITS OF FLORIDA FROM HALFMOON SHOAL TO 20 NM WEST OF DRY TORTUGAS 20 TO 60 NM OUT- 1028 PM EST FRI MAR 7 2014 ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT... * WINDS AND WAVES...FRESH NORTHWEST TO NORTH BREEZES WILL BLOW NEAR 20 KNOTS AND GUSTY FOR A FEW MORE HOURS OVERNIGHT. SEAS UP TO 7 FEET ARE EXPECTED IN DEEP WATER ACROSS THE STRAITS OF FLORIDA. WINDS WILL TURN NORTH AND DECREASE AFTER MIDNIGHT. THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN ALL LIKELIHOOD WILL BE DISCONTINUED BY 430 AM. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY MEANS THAT WIND SPEEDS OF 20 TO 33 KNOTS... AND/OR SEAS 7 FEET OR HIGHER...ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FOR SMALL CRAFT. INEXPERIENCED BOATERS...ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH SMALLER VESSELS...SHOULD AVOID OPERATING IN THESE CONDITIONS. &&
Scareman
Member
OneEyedJake and Calypso finished 3:37 AM EST on Night 7!!!
The gaggle of OneEyedJake, Calypso, Ouachiski, TideRider, Swampg8r, JammerJim arrived at the finish together.
All 6 will earn the Shark Tooth for completing the EC, and also earn the Gator Tooth for completing the Wilderness Waterway via the Nightmare.
Great Job!!!
Finally after many days, I get OneEyedJake's avatar to show up in the last position before the finish on the "ALL" mapper update. Here they are moments from the finish.
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