I'm sure some of you have heard about the annual Watertribe 1200 mile race (and 40 mile portage) around the entire Florida Peninsula, called the Ultimate Florida Challenge.
http://www.watertribe.com/
I really did not know much about it until Vivian over on the KFS Hobie site put me on to it. Now, here is the kicker: Pelican has adapted a Mirage drive to his Kruger Sea Wind expedition Kevlar canoe-yes, I said canoe!
http://www.krugercanoes.com/
Pelican just completed the race using a combo of paddle, pedal, and sail, using a Balogh sail rig. Unfortunately, his Mirage drive malfunctioned near the end of the race and he lost a number of hours getting it going again, but he did finish the race within the allotted time. His time for the 1200 miles was 26 days, 16 hours, and 17 minutes. The winner finished it in 19 days, 6 hours, and 48 minutes. Here is a pic of Pelican's rig. Note those all too-familiar pedals sticking up from the middle of his Kruger! Pretty amazing what some folks not only attempt, but actually complete successfully out there!
Here are the results of this year's race--I believe just completed today, in fact. Under "Select Challenge", click on "Ultimate Florida Challenge 2006". Also note all the other big time races and Challenges around the country, but mostly in Florida.
http://watertribe.com/DataAccess/Result ... eID=EC2006