2015 EC/UM Volunteer Race Manager Report
The following is my personal race manager report related to the 2015 Everglades Challenge and Ultra Marathon. This is the fifth WaterTribe event I’ve managed and there is always something to be learned related to the role.
The registration process on Friday, March 6, 2015 went very well thanks to the help of returning and new volunteers. i.e. DirtyLittleRunnerGirl, Lorri Worline, MangoQueen, MoonDance and NiteSong. Signage directing participants turning in paperwork regarding where to “Start” would have been helpful at the new pavilion and will be posted in the future.
An Inspection Team of veteran WaterTribers, who were not participating in this year’s events, was formed and seemed to work fairly well. The team members inspected classes they are familiar with for first time participants and those who had not completed a Challenge. The team agreed the concept is a good one but clarification of the process and their authority needs to be addressed. Thanks to Inspection Team members ExcitableBoy, Iszatarock, NiteNavigator, RunsWithBeer, SailBirdMike, Santiago and WhiteCaps. Chief inspected Class 6 boats.
Roll call on launch day, March 7th, went well. A horn to signal the start would be beneficial. Following the launch, registration volunteers organized and packed up paperwork and supplies. Chief stayed at the pavilion while I drove to St. Pete Beach to pick up my luggage with the plan of heading to CP1 later in the morning.
After returning to the pavilion, around 9:30am I received a call from a participant on the water that they heard on their VHF radio that the Coast Guard cancelled the Everglades Challenge. I told Chief and, as you can imagine, it wasn’t news he ever wanted to hear. My phone started ringing and it didn’t stop until early evening. The Coast Guard issued a press release communicating they had terminated the Everglades Challenge without any communication with Chief. Soon after the press release was sent, Chief received a call from the Coast Guard advising him they had placed the Everglades Challenge on a “mandatory Coast Guard weather hold” and that all participants were to get off the water and wait for further updates. This instruction meant that every shore contact, close to 200, needed to be called and asked to relay the message. This would not have been accomplished as quickly and efficiently but for the help of six wonderful volunteers (DirtyLlittleRunnerGirl, Hollywood, KayakMan7 and his wife and mom, and Whitecaps) who divvied up float plans and in a calm and professional manner called every shore contact in just over an hour. While the volunteers made the calls, my phone was glued to my ear relaying what I knew to participants and/or shore contacts. Chief was in communication with the Coast Guard throughout the day hoping to meet with someone. Coast Guard had begun to monitor the Forums and the WaterTribe Facebook page and based on posts were questioning if everyone was accounted for. Chief would call me and I would call the Coast Guard with locations of specific individuals based on their SPOT URL or my personal call log. There wasn’t a question they asked that couldn’t be answered. I believe this and WaterTribe’s safety precautions began to reassure them of WaterTribe’s commitment to safety. Just after 6:00pm, Chief received the message from the Coast Guard that they were cancelling the Everglades Challenge at CP1. After some discussion, it was decided that the checkpoints after CP1 would not be staffed. This decision was based on a communication from the Coast Guard stating fines and or legal action could be possible if it appeared in any way that the Everglades Challenge was continuing past CP1.
Chief continued to request a face-to-face meeting with the Coast Guard. When he didn’t receive a response to that request on Saturday, he made the decision to head home for the night in case they contacted him about meeting on Sunday. They didn’t so he headed to CP1 on Sunday morning. DirtyLittleRunnerGirl and I left the pavilion on Saturday around 6:30pm and headed to get something to eat. It had been a long day. We stayed with friends in St. Pete Beach and drove to CP1 on Sunday morning.
There couldn’t have been two better checkpoint captains at CP1 than MoonDance and Iszatarock. I’ve seen this posted by several participants and agree wholeheartedly. Their individual skills complimented each other and they did a great job at communicating what was known to those who arrived. Special thanks to them for their patience and understanding. They certainly went above and beyond during a very difficult and unexpected situation.
So…now what do I do? I had taken two week’s vacation from work to support WaterTribe by managing these events and now there are no events. My role as race manager ended…but my commitment to Chief and WaterTribe had not. I knew there would be those who understood they are captain of their own vessel and would continue south on their own knowing they would not be tracked or supported by WaterTribe after CP1. I was shuttling the truck for one of them and knew those guys hadn’t driven from Arizona to paddle 62 miles. DirtyLittleRunnerGirl and I headed south from St Pete Beach on Sunday morning and enjoyed the award ceremony and lunch at CP1. We spent the night with our HookedOnSUP friends then drove to Chokoloskee on Monday for our annual grouper at Camilla Street Grill and breakfast at Havana Café. Spent the night at the marina (great place) then headed to Key Largo on Tuesday visiting Clyde Butcher’s Gallery on the way (don’t miss it). It was great to pull into the Bay Cove Motel and head to Mrs. Mac’s. I fully support Chief’s decision to offer a party in Key Largo. The caterer worked with us to provide a meal for a price that was very reasonable. There were 100 RSVPs and close to that many attendees for the party on Saturday. A good time was had by all. SharkChow gave out his “special awards” and RiverSlayer gave out a few recognition awards. We ate, chatted, laughed, made new friends, connected with old, sailed, paddled… and as a result were able to calm down a bit.
It’s always been my practice to be particular about to whom and for what I give my volunteer time. Nothing that happened this year changes my commitment to WaterTribe. Lord willing I’ll see you next year. In the meantime…see you in MD and NC!
