Such fun to be had! Exciting times on Tampa Bay!
Smack dab in the middle of Tampa Bay we watched as Rebdog and CaptainMorgan leak-tested their submarine...we thought.
It turned out that the submarine really was a tandem kayak and wasn't really supposed to be sitting several inches under water. After 45 minutes of manuevering and pumping we managed to get the submersible slightly above water and cold guys back aboard. Blue means cold, right? CaptainMorgan on ice?
After a few (quite a ) minutes of chasing down stray paddle floats, paddles, pumps and hats the four of us began moving in the direction of land.
The submersible wasn't done with us yet and began slowly heading for the bottom bow first. About 30 minutes of hard paddling a half submerged kayak and Rebdog and CaptMorgan went for another swim. While trying to right and pump the sub, we noticed our friends The Three Amigos (TideRider, SwampG8tor and JammerJim assisting another paddler (their second rescue of the day). JammerJim and TideRider broke off from theit group and were headed our way. We thought help was on the way! But nooo! JammerJim was taking on water at an alarming rate in his rear compartment and headed for shore in a hurry. OldSeaBee joined our group as we decided that it was time to radio for outside help. I made the call to the Coast Guard and directed them in. Happy to see those guys!
As the Coast Guard arrived and took over, SwampG8tor and OysterSlayer drifted by headed for shore. OysterSlayer believed he had a compromised compartment and his kayak was unstable. SwampG8tor had rafted up with him and they were headed for shore and to check on JammerJim The five of us rafted together to escort OysterSlayer into Bimini Bay on Anna Maria Island.
Shortly after landing we got the word that the Coast Guard had shut down the race and was telling paddlers to head for the nearest safe harbor. What a disappointment! Spent the night camping in place.
Lots of discussion in camp and on the way home about what went right and what went wrong. Learning from adversity!