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Mistakes I did NOT learn.

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Started 5 years ago by whitecaps
Latest reply from Santiago

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whitecaps
Member

My mind works a little different. I have a background in a hi voltage electrical field background (hands on not a behind the desk type). Been a safety advisor, and went kinda off the norm. Some will for sure disagree with my theory and yep I expect the what learned from my failure stuff but I do not learn from that as I already know how to fail.. In the field I was in for a living there was no second chance.

I do not want to know why you or your equipment failed, I only look at why you or your stuff did not fail.

I would rather learn from a survivor then a forensic report.

So with that over, what worked for you, food, sleeping, planning, etc. No almost if I changed this or that, just what worked 100 percent or at least what you would be happy with all the time ok.

My boat choice 100 %, my paddling partner way an above the fun meter, my food choice ok, my sleeping stuff no problem, I was comfy, fed, and slept some, with someone I could laugh with at the stupid stuff we did while doing it. (some seen my lights so maybe later I will post where I get them.) we had no problem lighting up the markers at night in Florida Bay.

We finished with an adventure not an ordeal and with laughs at each other. Oh yea we screwed up, made wrong decisions, got bug bit, wanted a steak, and even seen weird stuff that was not there, all the normal stuff that makes a watertribe event so neat. We also seen gators, crocks, sea cows, cool plants, neat birds, and a few things that do not exist. Ya just have to be aware of your suroundings and learn to look.

What else is there? So what worked for you?

toby

Posted 5 years ago #
JoeWildlife
Member

From my Challenge experience over one year old and a couple MR340s. Why I did not fail:

Mad River Monarch, Sawyer Loon, Kruger Sea Wind used in these races: Only the most comfortable and efficient solo canoe designs out there. Fast enough to keep things interesting, yet capable of keeping you upright and dry in the worst conditions you may find yourself in whether it is extreme sleep deprivation in the swirling currents of a flooded Missouri river or a maelstrom in Whitewater Bay after a 36 hr+ marathon paddle.

Food: I eat often, eat lots, racing not a time to worry about high fat or high sodium foods. The body is a furnace and you have to fuel it.

Hydration: I have plenty! play catch up now and then by guzzling an extra water bottle. Go easy on the energy drinks and Gatorade. Stretch your arms, legs, and back once in awhile. I mean, extend and contract muscles to full extent to check for cramping. AT the first sign of a cramp, you gotta rehydrate a LOT and get some sodium in ya.

Preparation: I try to know the course the best I can. Should have known more, but I lucked out. Have waypoints, routes/tracks, etc. Have chart on your gps, and marked up charts of course.

Health: I prepare for the inevitable stomach upset and body pain. Zantac acid reducers, and antigas/good antacids (aluminum and magnesium, not calcium. avoided any other time I don't like eating metal, but there is a time and place for everything). An assortment of aleive, ibuprofen, and excedrin, used sparingly and according to label directions, in rotation. Excedrin has caffeine in it.

Fails: My main fail was a 12V lithium power source for LED bow and stern lights, gps, etc and kept charged via solar panel. Next time a couple/three 8aa alkaline battery packs for the gps and self contained long lasting LED navigation lights. simple 2 cell LED MagLite clamped slightly aft of me on the cockpit rim is all the lighting I've even needed. And a cheap $14 everready headlight.

I guess pretty much everthing worked okay, and the main reason was the research done most often by reading forums and listening to the more experienced racers and athletes.

Joe

Oh and for these old eyes a magnifying glass and reading glasses so I can read the charts and open those damn combination locks at the checkpoints.

Posted 5 years ago #
danceswithwaves
Member

Toby,

It's said that the Inuit avoid adventures because adventures involve danger. In their harsh environment, the less danger the better. So, they have habits that eliminate adventures. The habits involve equipment choices, preparation and sound decisions. There are so many variables.... Having said that, I have to say that just starting the whole thing worked for me. Sailing down the southwest coast of Florida is quite enjoyable... the sunsets, the loggerheads, the cruise liners (just a condo moving or not ), the in/out of passes. The experience is, overall, incomparable. Royd

Posted 5 years ago #
Chekika
Member

Great attitude, Royd.

Keith

Posted 5 years ago #
CleanSlate
Member

I've only done the 2012NCC, 2013EC, and 2013OkoumeUM but my secret to finishing each of them was the following:

1. Find out the weakness (and breaking points) of your boat/equipment well before the race. In pushing my vessel hard during the derby before the races, I broke a few things and then fixed them and made them better and stronger as well as identified good spares to take along. I was then good-to go and largely trouble-free during the races.

2. Try out all new ideas or equipment changes well before the race. The race itself is not the time to try out something new or see if something will work. You want tried and true equipment that you can rely on.

3. Since my goal was finishing and not winning, I sailed conservatively with the goal of not putting myself in a situation where I might capsize. I figured if I kept making forward progress and nothing broke and no other mishap happened, I would eventually finish. By sailing conservatively, I increased the odds of no mishap happening.

4. Get lots if rest, keep the calories coming in, and stay well hydrated. I felt better after the EC than I did after the shorter NCC and OkoumeUM mainly because I took the EC at a more substainable pace. I did the EC at the pace that was right for me and at a pace I could keep up for a much longer 30 day expedition. I was taking the attitude that I was on a 30 day expedition but I was only doing 5 or 6 days of it. I wasn't racing anyone else.

Posted 5 years ago #
YukonJohn
Member

A short list of what I did right during EC2013:

1) My clothing choices for the conditions were spot on: Wet suit, rain pants, fleece, semi-dry top, neoprene boots, neoprene gloves, and stocking cap. I imagine I was pretty rank by the 8th day.

2) Food choices: Ritz crackers, sausage, cheese, trail mix, freeze dried dinners (When possible), oatmeal (When possible), cranberries, and granola bars. When cooking was not an option crackers, sausage, and cheese were my staple diet.

3) A willingness to fix things when they broke. I was creative.

4) A willlingness to laugh at myself for my mistakes.

5) A positive attitude.

Everything else was a learning experience.

YukonJohn

Posted 5 years ago #
MisterMoon
Member

Crew comfort was important and our bean bag chair for the off-watch was a key component of this strategy. We were on the boat for all but about 6 hours for the whole challenge. The ability to get some rest in relative comfort made keeping going a lot easier.

Posted 5 years ago #
MicroTom
Key Master

Not stopping before CP1.

Spending the least amount of time at CP1.

4 hr rest 1st night And then not stopping for more than 10 minutes on the way to CP2

Fixing an aluminum rudder with about a 20 degree bend by using a cut log as a hammer

Buying ice cream for WaterLily when we could. (North end of Pine Island, Glades Haven marina across from ENP HQ, Mrs Mac's)

Not carrying more than 4 gallons of water for 2 people at any time.

Singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall to each wilderness waterway marker we passed.

Always making forward progress even if it meant paddling against the tides.

Exception, waiting for high tide and doing the Nightmare at night.

Sailing a Kruger Cruiser in 20-25 without a working sprayskirt. Only minor bailing required.

Equipment:
Thermacell might even carry two next time

Tiller/pole steering to supplement the foot controls on the canoe when sailing. This probably prevented me from breaking a foot control cable in heavy conditions. Very thankful to not be one of those who broke their rudders.

Double dry bags. Nothing got wet

Eureka Apex 2 tent. Cheap and worked

Nice soft boat cusion as eithe a back rest or seat cusion. Sat about three inches higher which was a nice change of pace.

Desitin (zinc oxide) to cover up 1st and 2nd degree burns on my hand and wrist before the blisters popped.

Buffs to keep the sun off of out neck and face

Posted 5 years ago #
DonKeyHoTey
Member

No "best cheeseburger in paradise" this time, MicroTom?

++++

A good Cuban dinner to go from Havana Cafe (CP2) was "priceless" -- though I feel really badly that ZTH's rations had drowned by the time he could go off-watch and eat his, so that's actually a mistake I DID learn.

The value of having been there before. Not that it's ever the same, but at least it feels vaguely familiar.

The value of a second mast (albeit a small one) -- for about half a dozen reasons, not least loss of the primary one overboard (thankfully didn't happen -- perhaps like carrying an umbrella?).

The value of a sturdy, bolt-less rudder!

The value of buffs.

(Thank you, MicroTom, for most of these)

DKHT

Posted 5 years ago #
ZeroTheHero
Member

Don't sweat the dinner DKHT, it was just a casualty of pushing hard. In the long run it was ok. I wished I had enjoyed it but whatever. We didn't fail in sailing constantly. We pushed hard. We weren't afraid to keep going, and we didn't have any serious gear failures. We navigated well, pushing far offshore at times. And we gambled hard at the end, a check we almost cashed to 100%. As it was we went from 3rd to 2nd in class and 5th overall. Nothing to complain about.

Posted 5 years ago #
BeastOarman
Member

I learned the company of others can push you far further than what you can do on your own. Thanks One Eyed Jake, Calypso and Ouachiski for helping me through those tough first days. Thanks Life Aquatic for a fun run on the outside, what I really hoped to do this time.
I also learned that night time is the best time.

Posted 5 years ago #
DonKeyHoTey
Member

So true about night-time, BeastOarman. Most of us don't get to experience real darkness anymore, where we live. I've done four ECs now, and I would swear each time it's been moonless, stormy or both. DARK -- and so magical. Reminds us of what our forebears experienced -- every night.

-DKHT

Posted 5 years ago #
PainenDias
Blocked

Running the race in a catamaran was a gamble but the extra speed was what was needed so we could compete against far more experienced crews. Get offshore and don't hit anything. Plan to be wet, and cold! A kevlar mainsail becomes just an expensive tent when you are sleeping in a drysuit on a trampoline that has broken twice and your butt is under water when you roll to the middle. Suck it up! This is the adventure of your life! Cold food is a given, eat everything. Drink water from milk jugs tied to the center beam and some gatorade generic buried in the styrofoam inside the hulls. We ain't gonna sink, but we are expecting to swim! And we did swim, when we pitchpoled in Florida Bay 20 miles from the finish and going faster downwind than I have ever gone before due to a jammed mainsheet ring at the top of the mast. The safety knife worked great when I cut that sucker off so reefing was a non-issue, at least for the last 20 miles. The anchor with the chain and line fell off the front trampoline kinda like we hoped it would, nailing us to the bottom so we had time to catch our breath and regroup while recovering. A guy with a 150 Yamaha on the back of a flats boat made that a moot point as he rolled the boat up easily. I did have my 12 foot yuloh ready as a righting pole in reserve.

Accepting a tow would be prudent! Wrong! Should have sailed it on and finished in a few hours. Guy was great, but towed me straight into the gale and led to sail damages (no jib at the end) Also dumped us safely at the Florida Wildlife Commission dock next to a low bridge with a fast tide and very little chance to sail out. Add in the coming storms and we tied off the dock as if a hurricane was coming. Prudent, but try to get your boat back later that day, or the next when everyone who was there the day before is off duty and everyone else thinks you are trying to steal a boat. Enjoy the ambience, be polite! Laugh! Life is good! The guy they sent to get us out of the lockup was a Watertribe fan and had tried to get time off so he could kayak with us! He finished the criminal background check, but then asked for boat registration. Ain't never done that! It is a beach toy! Got proof of ownership? Nope! Got cell phone pics of me scratching my crotch on the tramp after peeling a dry suit down to my ankles. Yup, must be your boat! Ok, so we lost a day, but all you get at the end is a teeny wood paddle, a necklace, and a meal! We got 2 whole days left, officially! And look how far we made it before we crashed!

So the key was attitude, fortitude, and amplitude. We are going to sail farther, faster, and harder than we have ever done it before. We will finish this adventure and we will shriek with laughter when recalling all the silliness that prevailed! We had a great time, and we will be back next year going for style points because we already know how to finish!

Thank you Mistermoon for busting our chops on the inspection and DQing us! You were right! But we took your advice, appreciate it immensely, and it motivated the crew (we did beat you do CP2). All in fun but the craziest fact is we only sailed together twice after buying the boat and it only got sailed a total of six times before the EC2014. And coming from Miami we don't even have the luxury of saying there was too much snow to sail! We are looking at a year of racing and tuning before EC2015 and YES Mistermoon! We definitely want you to inspect us next year cause it brought us up a level and was good luck!

Posted 5 years ago #
ZippyChick
Member

Our biggest "what worked" from the folks who came in dead last (but finished):

We did "shakedown" runs down the coast in April and December to scope out the territory. We're saltwater paddlers and we've done plenty of camping, but Florida is not just ANY saltwater, and Florida kayak-camping poses special challenges. We learned quite a bit about the tides, winds, and general environment--and used almost all of it.

Posted 5 years ago #
whitecaps
Member

ZippyChick, no such thing as last place! You finish you be the same as 1st to me, you just either suffer or have more fun is all.

toby

Posted 5 years ago #
SailBirdMike
Inactive

Lazyjacks. Lazyjacks worked very well, and may have saved my skull in a jybe off of Cape Sable when the reef point tore out of the sail.

Auto-release clamcleats for my rudder and leeboards. Nice to have them pop free when the water got too skinny.

Feeding Children Everywhere meals... there is NOTHING quite like having hot food on the boat, ready to eat, at all times. A lentil, rice, veggie, and mineral rich casserole that tastes great warmed me up and kept me going all the time. FCE is an amazing charity, helping children here in the USA and around the world... I'm proud to carry their banner when I sail.

Cooking details are here: http://claritysailingadventures.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/feeding-children-everywhere-meals-keeping-warm-on-a-cold-boat/

Posted 5 years ago #
PrivateHam
Member

Jetboil and freeze dried meals meant hot food and coffee while underway. The scrambled eggs and bacon packs were delicious on a wrap with a small chunk of cheese. A thermos of hot water toward the end of the first night stopped the shivers right away.

Modified camping cots made into tramp/haka replacements and held a one-man tent perfectly and securely. Slept dry, warm, bug-free, racoon-free, and in comfort while at anchor. It was tough to get out of them and back into wet clothes after only a few hours of sleep.

Posted 5 years ago #
Santiago
Member

This was my third EC attempt and first finish. Stubbornness pays! Lots of things went wrong the previous two years including broken sail rigs (multiple times), navigation mistakes, and a mysterious leak which turned out to be a cracked hull. Oh, and there was that incident last year when I lost five hours paddling back to retrieve a PFD and PLB that I left hanging in a tree at a campsite <hangs his head in embarrassment>

But this was my year of redemption. The EC went exceedingly well for me. So what went right?

A new Greenland paddle from Bill Bremer at LumpyPaddles. Bill and I met at an interstate exit once, talked on the phone and emailed many times. He is meticulous in customizing the paddle to fit the paddler. He coached me long distance. I can’t say enough good things about Bill or his paddles. Although this is my first GP and I received it only a week before the race and only had time for a ten-mile test paddle with it, I decided to use it as my primary paddle for the EC and I used it 85-90% of the challenge. Only one small blister and minimal fatigue (Aleve is a wonderful thing too).

SPIZ energy drink/meal replacement. 512 calories per 16-oz serving. I prepackaged the chocolate flavored powder in Ziploc freezer bags, and then cut the corner off the bag to fill my 32-oz bottle. I mixed two servings at a time and I had not problem drinking half and saving the other half for 3-5 hours later. It tastes good, fills me up and gave me the fuel I needed. Best of all, allowed me to not eat so many protein bars, all of which taste like sawdust. I also had some bottles of Ensure which were very convenient. And a daily Snickers or Payday bar was a nice treat.

BCAA (Branched-Chain Amino Acid) powder mixed in my hydration bladder. I mixed it weaker than recommended and drank it throughout the EC. The grape flavor I bought from GNC tastes good and it was a nice break from water or Gatorade. It might not be right for everyone but it worked for me. Worth checking out.

The most significant thing that went right this year was paddling with a couple of great WaterTribers: SandyBottom and TideTraveler. Great people, fun conversation, and tremendous knowledge. We pushed one another to keep moving and we watched after one another. And when the storm hit Thursday in Florida Bay, with blinding rain and 45-50mph winds, I took great comfort in knowing they were right beside me. We travelled three wide so if someone capsized, the others would see and could help. We ducked behind islands a couple times to strategize and catch our breath, but decided the best thing to do was to keep moving and island hop if necessary.

All in all, a great EC. See you next year on the beach!

Posted 5 years ago #
Sirtackalot
Member

1. Bivy bag with sleeping bag and matt rolled inside is quicker and easier than setting up the tent.

2. Tupperware is water tight and keeps food from getting crushed

3. Refilling gatoraid bottles and adding powder works just fine

4. Gortex dry pants, love them

5. Hand held Garmin 76 color is great for finding your way around the backside of Marco Island at night. But will still never do that again.....

6. Tying the small dry bags with food in them together inside the hull of the TI. Pull on the string and you can get to everything. No more lost food inside the hull

Posted 5 years ago #
chumbucket
Member

SailBirdMike,

Where did you get the Feeding Children Everywhere meals? Being a vegetarian, they look very appealing to me. I would like to try them out.

Posted 5 years ago #
Macatawa
Member

chumbucket wrote:

SailBirdMike,

Where did you get the Feeding Children Everywhere meals? Being a vegetarian, they look very appealing to me. I would like to try them out.

+1... I looked at the website and it seems they only sell them in a mason jar... not so EC friendly :)

http://www.store.feedingchildreneverywhere.com/collections/135324-all-products/products/808408-fce-lentil-casserole

Posted 5 years ago #
SailBirdMike
Inactive

I got them in the field distribution packages from Feeding Children Everywhere, as I carry their name while sailing. If you get the mason jar full, you can divide it up and baggie it. I will be speaking to them about possibly arranging a purchase in bagged form for adventurers soon. And yes, they are indeed delicious! Buying that mason jar full provides 40 servings to needy children worldwide, which is a nice bonus.

Posted 5 years ago #
LeewardLauren
Member

1.       Planning and listening. We spent over one year surfing the web for EC stories, gathering intel from the discussion forum, and picking the brains of willing watertribers. We even did a mini challenge in April last year, when we paddled from Fort Desoto to Estero River (http://lmsmallcraft.blogspot.com/2013/04/estero-river-challenge.html).

2.       Hot meals, usually twice per day. Once per day, we boiled 3 pots of water with the jet boil: 1 for Mountain Home backpacker meals for immediate consumption, 1 for a thermos meal for several hours later on the water or for a bedtime meal, and 1 for a thermos of instant coffee with hot chocolate powder. Usually Mark does this while I’m packing up the tent, so it’s typically a morning routine. That means lasagna, beef stroganoff, or turkey tetrazzini for breakfast, but those taste GREAT for breakfast and leave us ready for a long day.

3.       Mixing it up with the rudder. What a difference it makes to be able to take a break from steering with foot pedals! When there is no wind or current, we take the rudder out of the water and go hit-and-switch just to liven things up. When we need the rudder, we take turns.

4.       Routes and waypoints plotted on Google Earth, transferred to the GPS. Thanks to Macatawa and JoeWildlife for helping us with this! Macatawa, your distance matrices were awesome!

5.       Sea anchor. This may sounds silly for a canoe, but this allowed us to take a much needed snack break and reef the sail on the chop of Florida Bay.

6.       Joining other Watertribers on the water. We learned so much from you! And we met some great people who helped us navigate and kept us moving.

7.       Having the right paddling partner. Some call the tandem paddle craft a “Divorce Boat,” but, we call it the “Love Boat.” Where there is love, there is forgiveness, patience, and comfort. We had a nice talk with IronBob and TheJuice on this topic. It’s no wonder there were so many familial teams out there.

Posted 5 years ago #
SailBirdMike
Inactive

Chumbucket (and others) - I'm going to make arrangements with Feeding Children Everywhere so that I can distribute the meals to those who'd like to use them on adventure challenges/races. Looks like they'll run about $2.00 each bag (2-3 servings/bag) plus freight. If interested, let me know!

Posted 5 years ago #
Peacepaddler
Member

This was my first EC and it was a success! First and foremost I never never forgot that I was out there to have fun and I did!! Over the top! Toby, even if you asked for a complaint, I do not have one!

I paddled my Kruger Seawind, I slept in my Kruger Seawind. When I do it again, that will remain the same. I went through more wind and waves than I ever thought I could and had a blast doing it! That boat is amazing!! For those of you who do not know me, coming down to Florida, this was the first time I have been on big water, the ocean. and the first time I have ever sailed, with some one or by myself! I loved it! I did go to "Bootcamp" a week before the EC where Whitecaps taught me as much as he could so I could go out and succesfully paddle the EC solo! Thank YOU Toby, Success!!!

I eat and eat and eat...... Spiz is on the top of the list! Quick and full of everything you need! Everything! Dried meals, oatmeal ect I just eat cold, I don't bother messing with boiling water all the time. I did a couple of times, I really don't care when I am out there. Candied Ginger is in the bag every day, it helps with inflimation and eases pain in muscles and joints! I found vegtable mixtures in bags that you open and just squeeze out, perfect for on the water! I stayed hydrated drinking mainly water and a couple of times a day EmergenC.

I used a Garmen 78sc and charts, I always knew where I was. When the storm hit while I was on the Gulf, knowing saved my butt :)

I had so much fun and can't wait to do it again! Faster next time!

Posted 5 years ago #
Chekika
Member

You did great, Sandy. We're all proud of you.

Keith

Posted 5 years ago #
whitecaps
Member

Cool stuff to me. A lot of neat tricks here from tupperware on. Ya wanna be a finisher have a fun attitude, Ya wanta be a racer you had better be able to suffer, and a lot.

Gear helps, but when all is done and said it is just you that makes it to the finish. Seen to many with sub standard stuff and awefull boats beat out the bad boys and finish. I seen plastic 55 gal drums made into a boat finish a 340 mile event when surf skies DNF. Attitude!

Some like the Iniute always played it safe with no adventure true, but they never discovered other places with better hunting and a warmer climate! I do not study them much as I have no desire to struggle, but I have learned a little about cold stuff from them.

The wierd ones with adventure and risk in thier hearts are the ones I study, ya gonna die anyhow sooner or later so see something differant doing it.

toby



Posted 5 years ago #
BeastOarman
Member

I learned my map case is absolutely watertight. Not a drop leaked out, until I opened it and dumped half of Florida Bay on the garage floor. No worries, maps are waterproof anyway. My cheaters are all plastic, so no rust even.

Posted 5 years ago #
whitecaps
Member

Pete anything a guy that has done a couple with a 1st in backwards rowing I listen too. Gator tooth just to make it a challange! You speak, I listen.

toby

Posted 5 years ago #
Mexican
Member

I did NOT learn to trust my maps!! On one section of i believe day 3, i pulled out my phone (which has good detail of google satellite maps) that was in my dry bag and decided to keep it tied on my bungees. Later in the eve, i moved stuff around to access my cockpit and i un-hooked it. After replacing my kayak skirt later, i didn't re-attach my phone...i later heard the dreaded 'plop' sound and frantically looked at all my gear in front of me...it was only later when we stopped that i realized i had lost my dry bagged cell phone. I was so concerned with staying focused on nav that i wanted that little bit of re-assurance, now someday during a long drought, some lucky machine or person may find a perfectly working cell phone at the bottom of a bay.

I ended up just being a little slower with ensuring proper nav for the rest of the race, but i love my maps, and they never failed me.

-Mex

Posted 5 years ago #

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