Hobie Cat Forums

Our only stock TI-2man in this race, Pelican and Falcon (aka Nick Hall and Mark Hall) was chugging along, amidst the pack of AI's, until it took a U-turn today.

Now, far as I can tell, it's headed north on a trailer, doing 14.5 knots - a new TI record??



Maybe repairs, or maybe they both have to go to work today too.

And our wooden Hobie wanna-be Teak (& KoKoPedal) are still in the race, hanging nicely with the other Hobies.




No traumas to report here. Just tired, wet and cold sailors, like all the rest.

Ands who can forget Standupguy? Better not. He's not THAT far behind our fast, stable, pricey Hobie Adventure Trimarans.



Think you're tired? Seeing HIM in your rear view mirror must really be motivating!

Here is a video of Standup guy in another 179 mile race in Belize, I have a feeling his custom 18 ft SUP cost way more than an AI. You have to respect the guy and his cause, he's actually going all the way to Key West (another 100 or so miles further than the rest. My hat is off to him.
Bob

I tried calling Jim (CaptChaos), no answer. This was his first EC, pretty impressive effort.

Jolly is about to finish. But first,..

Look at the maze of shallows these guys have to thread through! (You can right click these photos to see them enlarged).



He's doin 4 knots right now. If stuck, he plans to build a raft with his Amas and float some of the gear in tow. Depending on the tide, he may need to get out and pull.



The EC saves the best for last.

Day 3- 8.30pm update:

A couple hours after sunset, most folks are still on the move. It's a clear night (no moon) with NE winds that are beginning to back down toward single digits. The tide is slack right now. Seas are calmer. Looks like EVERYONE is headed into the Choko Bay checkpoint at the same time!



That's Shred at the Indian Key Pass entrance. Penguinman is still recuperating inside, maybe waiting on the tide.

Our lone Dog is really out there in front, taking advantage of the conditions. We'll see if he can make the last checkpoint before resting. I doubt it.



JollyRoger is still zigging and zagging in the dark toward the finish line. He's got mad navigational skills. But gotta be careful. He can taste it now.

I wondered about Dogs--would he make Flamingo tonight. He has about 25 mi to go but no winds. My guess is he will lay over a few hrs on Cape Sable, wait for the tide to help him and then go in to FLM, sign in, take a break, and then head for the finish line.

I'm signing out. See you in about 4 days. We will be in Chok tomorrow morning and maybe see some of these folks--although they like to get up early & get goin'!!

Keith

_________________
I sail: S FL, Key Largo, Everglades to Cape Romano, Ft Desoto, Cedar Key

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

Makes sense. Not too many dry camp spots left, at the edge of the glades. Even Flamingo looks pretty god-forsaken!

Day 3 ending - half hour till midnight update:
Jollyroger is in the books. 2 Days, 16 Hours, 7 Min He's #5 to finish and only the 2nd solo sailor.
He shattered the class 3 (Sailing Kayaks and Canoes) solo and doubles records.

I'm guessing they don't spray champagne on you at the end of this leg, but I hope he gets a warm shower and dry bed.

Midnight - Start of day 4

Funny thing is, Dogslife has company. A couple serious guys, with a mono and a Tamanu trimaran built by Chief.

Will they all sit still or will one of them blink and make a run for it? Interesting moment. They "appear" to be still or slowly drifting. Maybe waiting for the others to go to sleep, then pull anchor?



Ever see that SNL spoof where three bad guys are in an extended standoff, all pointing guns at each other, but continuing to go through their day? (Dropping off laundry, picking up the kids, shopping for produce?) Somehow reminds me of that.

Shhhhh,... They're sleeping. (Likely with one eye open).

Low tide turns at 2 AM and is high at 9 AM. There's some moon showing, early in the morning. That would be my cue.

I pulled over to an island to get a hot meal, re cooperate and make a hot thermos of coffee before attempting a night run.

However, shortly after leaving, I was quite shaken in open water caught in a gale. With all sails completely rolled in, I was still being pushed at 4+ knots in huge seas and it was completely dark. I will admit that experience scared the heck out of me. Freaked out. You have to constantly be on the watch for markers. If you hit one of those going 4+ knots at night you're all done when your aka collapses. Plus my hands were swollen so bad they looked like the stay puff marshmallow man's hands so I was unable to get my gloves on. That plus several other factors led me to realize that this adventure was no longer appealing. Being out that night was foolish. There were many other factors that led to the DNF which I'll write about later.

On the brighter side, the jib system I developed worked wonderful although it only was used wing on wing because of the wind. Very thankful I had the opportunity to try the EC but there won't be a second try. And it heightens my respect for those who do this event.

_________________
Jim

Good on ya for having a go Jim! Hope the hands get better quickly (and the nightmares go away LOL)

CaptnChaos :
Jim my hat is off to you my friend, this race is one of the most difficult things I have ever seen anyone attempt. I have huge respect for all the guys. I have been trying to prepare for this race for 4 years now but have never been able to get my physical skills up to par (it's on my bucket list). For this reason I continue to be inspired and have been exploiting my engineering skills to be able to one day complete the race on my own terms (within my own abilities). This race is the reason I developed my sail systems (to exploit the wind as much as possible for this race). The new 300 sq ft soft wing sail system I am designing for my TI (my current system is 260 sq ft), is specifically for this race (the new system is still in the design and testing stage). This race is also the inspiration for me trying to develop a solar/electric/fuelcell clean propulsion system (since gas motors are not allowed) where I can provide 60 hrs of continous clean power to propel my TI at 4.5mph (been working on that one a couple yrs now, I will solve it eventually, (300 miles@4.5 mph = 60 hrs). I'm hoping everything to come together in time for next years race. Even if I never complete the race I'm having the time of my life practicing and getting prepared (OK-- and figuring how to cheat my way through it).
I am inspired by guys like yourself and Dogslife (Paul), and the other Hobie Adventure sailers (I'm a huge fan). I'm also inspired by guys like SewSew (Randy Smyth)with his incredible Scizzor, and Showme (Scott Schulte) with his experimental electric (class 6) entry (thinking outside the box).
My hat is off to you guys.
Bob

Ditto on the respect for CaptnChaos and anyone who even starts this race. I'm just an Adventure angler, not a sailor and get hooked on this race each year. You guys rock!

I was sorry to see that StandUpGuy had his electronics and gear stolen during the night. It's still unclear if he'll get it replaced in time to continue or have to quit. He was doing an impressive race!

Dogslife appears to finally be moving again and getting reading to make the turn toward Flamingo. The Penguinman is on the Wilderness Waterway and Shred checked in at CP2 this morning.

I found this video Dogslife made during the NCC challenge last year on the Watertribe web site (www.watertribe.org), which I hadn't seen before. Hopefully he brought his camera along this trip, for all of us armchair sailers dreaming we could do this stuff.
Awe Inspiring