I haven't posted a writeup since 2013 and now I remember why; it took more calendar days than the event itself! Hope you enjoy: http://www.gregstamer.com/2020/04/08/kayakvagabond-everglades-challenge-2020
Greg
KayakVagabond EC 2020 Report
(9 posts) (5 voices)-
Posted 3 months ago #
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Thanks StumblingThunder! For me writing about this stuff is harder than actually doing it. I stopped several times while writing this piece thinking it was too long and readers would be bored. Very happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Posted 3 months ago # -
Floatsome
MemberNot only did I enjoy your writeup, which took me places vicariously that I haven't been able to go in a few years, if ever. I also wish to stress how valuable your experience has been and continues to be to me. Indeed, you once introduced me to the Bumfortable seat as you passed through Flamingo and I tried to hoard cheeseburgers awaiting KiwiBird. Thus you might say you saved my a##!
Dave
Posted 3 months ago # -
LOL, thanks Dave! I can rest (sit?) more easily now, knowing that I have made a contribution to "ass-ology"! ;^) Jokes aside, I'm glad the bumfortable helped!
Posted 3 months ago # -
Jarhead
MemberI've been away a while, just read your awesome report. I enjoyed it from start to finish. It's really fun to read details about someone's adventure, especially when they were pushing hard under tough conditions. Knowing the places pretty well that you described made your descriptions even more vivid.
Sailing solo can have its challenges, but you top paddlers, including all of the SUP finishers, are some tough dudes!
Posted 2 months ago # -
Thanks Bill, glad you enjoyed it!
On one of my first ECs, seeing you dance circles in MoonShadow, while awaiting a bridge to open on the ICW, was truly an inspiration! I remember thinking, "that guy is a virtuoso!"Posted 2 months ago # -
BeaV
MemberThat is a great race report Greg! I read it again for the second or third time today and compared our times and locations a bit closer than before. Your weather was our weather, it seems, as we were fairly close until after Marco Island.
Our first meetup at CP1 had us arriving as you were leaving. MAKK and I felt bad for you after you said how you were still trying to recover from the Tampa Bay crossing (we didn't do the crossing)...you looked like you were. As we paddled away from CP 1, chasing you into the night, we too were wondering if we should make the Charlotte Harbor crossing that night or rest on Cayo Pelau. We pulled onshore at Cayo Pelau to hydrate, eat, put on extra clothes, look closely at our paper maps, and decide what to do. We decided to go for it and paddled past you as you were setting camp. I thought to myself, "Greg is camping...what am I doing going forward out into the harbor?" I said to Kendra "we'll just work our way out into Charlotte and if it looks too bad, we'll turn back". About half way across, I was wishing I was back with you!
We chose to go to shore at Sanibel Causeway because of those winds you described on your crossing out to Estero Island. We decided to avoid that slog while you went on, passing us by sometime in the afternoon.
I think we overtook you while you slept some on your way to Marco. We arrived too early for the tide so we went outside of Marco and when we were hit with the winds back on the Gulivan Bay, we were windbound again, now on Coon Key. This would be the second time you pushed past us while we were sitting on a beach in the middle of the day. I hate sitting on a beach in the middle of the day!!!
Great job to you and the other top paddlers... justkeeppaddling, IronBob and the Juice, and bustedrudder. And class 3 boat, Leewardlauren and Windwardmark, who weren't too far behind even though they did the Wilderness Waterway. I believe they set their fastest time ever under what was a tough year to do such a thing.
Posted 2 months ago # -
Thanks Beav! It's always fun to gain perspective on what was happening around you and where others were.
You guys rocked, especially with the extra windage of your larger volume boat. That must have been tough this year, and especially dealing with being windbound. I knew you and Kendra were often close, I just didn't know where. I agree that Leewardlauren and Windwardmark had an amazing run and I kept crossing paths with them. I was touched (and impressed) by how polite (and quiet) they were when they landed at Wiggins and saw my bivy and were afraid that they had disturbed my sleep.
I wish there was an app that you could press "play" and see where and when other people crossed your path during the EC, using the saved tracks from the event.
It seems that the intense headwinds this year compressed the playing field, as compared to years with strong downwinds or light winds where the faster teams often open up big leads. It made for great competition and a great challenge. To me 2020 was one of the more memorable ECs, on several levels.
Greg
Posted 2 months ago #
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