Where did the Pine Forest come from? What about the Oak Savannah surrounded by grasslands? Where are the Bison herds? There should be mangroves. Yep, just ran into another one, thinking it was a mirage. How about the skeletal overhanging trees reaching for the sky out of the mangroves? Is it Halloween? I have to find that opening to Coon Key and beyond into the Gulf of Mexico. The opening is multiple cruise ships wide. How am I missing it? I retrace my steps toward the lights of the small town of Goodland, trying to get a fix from my GPS, and map and compass. The GPS arrow is going in circles. Is it the GPS or my brain going in circles? If I dawdle to long I get blown back upwind toward Goodland. I scream in frustration. I dip my head in the water to clear my fuzzy mind. I am being a fool. I know that. For hours, I have been circling around in this small body of water searching for something I just can't comprehend. In my mind, I am surrounded by inpenetrable forest on 3 sides, and the lights of Goodland off in the distance.
Hours before, Noyesmaybe and Hiawashe passed me just as the light of day faded away. Hiawashe turned on my stern light for me as they headed toward the pass. I was following Noyesmaybe's light, and thought I saw a red channel marker where they were headed. Seemed pretty straight forward, until my mind took a headlong dive into the gutter. The stern light and the channel marker both disappeared at the same moment. Okay, just keep going where you last saw the light!! Disoriented, and sleep deprived, this became an insurmountable task.
My float plan included getting sleep every night. I was physically and mentally ready for the race. My boat was ready as well. I knew from my race in 2013 that I don't function well after pulling an all-nighter. This became abundantly clear, as I took a 5 hour hallucinogenic tour around Key Largo before I actually found the Pelican Cove Motel and the finish line in 2013.
Sometimes people learn from their mistakes. Other times they need it pounded into their heads with a sledge hammer multiple times before they get the picture.
This year, my run to Checkpoint 1 was very good. The wind God's were smiling on all of us. By Monday morning I was still sailing in the Gulf. Dolphins were following me down the coast. It was a day to remember. In this race you have to "Make hay when you can." As night descended I kept sailing, forgetting my vow to sleep; hour upon hour upon hour until the sun came up. By Tuesday morning the wind had shifted, clocking from the South. Admiral Snackbar and I headed into the Gulf again to round Marco Island straight into the teeth of the headwind. It took us a couple of hours to figure out this was a mistake, and headed back inside, fighting the headwind up to Goodland. In retrospect, this cost me the race. If I hadn't tried to round Marco Island, I would have found Coon Key in the light of day, instead of wondering around in circles in the dark.
In 2013 I wrote that "Paddling the backwoods of Florida is like falling down a black hole." A hole I could not get out of in 2018. And I was still 10 miles shy of the backcountry, the Northern end of the Everglades, and Checkpoint 2.
I slept under the bridge in Goodland Tuesday night. Wednesday morning I tried again, fighting the increased headwind until 10:00 a.m., the cut off for Checkpoint 2. I was still miles away, exactly where I had been many times 14 hours earlier. With head hung low, I knew my race was over.
Went back to Goodland where I commiserated over Grouper sandwiches, Beer, Fries, Key Lime Pie, and live music with Dave Gentry (Gentrification) who had ended his race their as well. We found rental cars in Marco. Dave headed to St. Petersburg, while I headed to Key Largo, to watch the rest of Team Wisconsin cross the finish line. It was a beautiful site.
In a Challenge where finishing in the time allowed is winning, I would be hard pressed to say that anyone, myself included, who did not finish lost. We were all out there, fighting our own demons, and putting it all on the table. For the second time I have never felt so alive. And that's why you do these crazy things.
YukonJohn
