EC 2014 9.0

and if you needed inspiration for 2015 - Key Largo at Sunset

Congrats to Team Kruger with an impressive 100% completion rate during the EC 2014.  Another dip of the paddle to:

• MicroTom (aka Tom Dyll) and WaterLily (aka Erika Dyll) - Kruger Cruiser
• NiteNavigator (aka Bob Bradford) and whitecaps (aka toby nipper) - Kruger Cruiser
• Peacepaddler (aka Sandy Krueger) -Sea Wind
• WindwardMark (aka Mark Rowe) and LeewardLauren (aka Lauren Fry) - Kruger Cruiser

"The 2014 WaterTribe Everglades Challenge has come to an end with the arrival of the last boat being tracked. I'm very thankful that every participant is safe and for the number who said, "I'll see you next year!" Lord willing, yes. Thanks again to our Chief for the opportunity to volunteer as race manager and to every volunteer for their commitment and professionalism in representing WaterTribe. Especially to my dear friend, Dana Clark. We're a team! So long for now, Key Largo. We'll be back!" - Paula Martel event director.

I couldn't have said it better myself even if the teleprompter was front and center!! "cut print wrap!!", another EC in the record books; stories lore and legend will immerge; keep your eye on the bubble, you powder dry and watch your top knot!!

EC 2014 - 8.0

Peacepaddler (aka Sandy Krueger) is on the move after a long @ss night in Florida Bay; she is about to navigate Jimmy Channel.  The tribe waits in an...tsipation as she makes her way to Key Largo.

EC 2014 - 7.1

With the big storm cell that came through yesterday and the need to get off the gulf, Sandy takes to the inside and is now crossing Whitewater Bay!!  Woo hoo!!  Bold move!!

EC 2014 - 7.0

Impressive in so many ways!! Welcome to Key Largo!!

EC 2014 - 6.2

Ole Salts Toby (L), Bob (R) gettin'er done Everglades Challenge 2014

EC 2014 - 6.1

Good work Ben, thanks for tracking Team Kruger!! 

 

Wednesday evening update for Team Kruger...

• Bob and Toby at CP3 resting up before the final push across Florida Bay
• MicroTom and Lily in the southern reaches of Joe River, probably headed for CP3
• Mark and Lauren on Shark River, I believe headed for South Joe Chickee
• Sandy southbound in the open Gulf approaching Plover Keys.

Looking good everyone!

EC 2014 - 6.0

"Keeper moving"

 

 

Quotes heard around the world during the EC 2014

"This event is harder then poking a cat under a porch with a wet rope" - Kneadingwater

"I'm as clueless as a checkpoint manager with no cell coverage" - Kapakahi

"Us old foxes is trap-shy; especially when the bait comes looking for us!" - Whitecaps

"I reckon you done what you done because you didn't know we was who we was. And if we ain't been who we was, we'd have still been much obliged for you to have done what you done" - Delirious WaterTriber, a conversation with the Coast Guard.

Inspired by Jed Clampett

EC 2014 - 5.1

 

"Ben - a - Drone"

"I saw in your blog post that you don't have Microtom's SPOT link... his is one (of 9) that are not coming through on the WT site for some reason. - I've sent out the Ben - a - Drone" to gain intel"

"BTW... they are in, or have recently finished the nightmare, SPOT has not updated in a while, I'm assuming due to heavy mangrove vegetation... but feel free to make up a more interesting story :D"  - Ben A. (Kruger canoes research and development center Area 51)

EC 2014 - 5.0

I assume this is a thumbs up photo op and Mark and Lauren are not trying to hitch a ride somewhere; they are really making good time. WindwardMark and LeewardLauren had a quick sleep on Lulu key from about 7:30p.m. on March 3, and then left to take advantage of the tide just after 10:00 p.m. Slept a bit more (IN their Kruger cruiser!) tied to a mangrove near the Park office and got their Everglades permit at 8:00 a.m. Here they are at CP 2, about 9:30 a.m. on March 4. Night of March 4 at Rogers River chickee and for March 5, I thought I heard "S Joe," but that looks a little out of the way, so I'm not sure. Marcia Fry reporting.

Leeward Lauren and Windward Mark just pushing off from the mangroves near the park office. Just before landing here they had a bivouac of several hours right in their Cruiser. Lauren had a little sand crab keeping her company, and actually slept. Helps to be short. I guess Mark battled mosquitos and slept less. But they're in great spirits and excited about the Wilderness Waterway to come. Marcia Fry reporting

 

"Where's my food"- Bob

Bob and Toby have made their way down to Tarpon Bay; They are in a pretty remote area; from what my sources tell me Bob is sleeping with one eye open, gators, sharks, snakes and the most worrisome predator - Toby; let me tell ya, that boy can eat; one eye open and your hand on your grub bag.

Sandy did a big push and snuck into CP2 in the wee hours of the morning; that makes for a long day on day 3 of the challenge; hat's off for staying with it!!

I am not 100%  sure where MicroTom and WaterLilly are (possible CP 2); I can't seem to get a current read on their SPOT; but I am sure they are somewhere between "having a ball" key and "what the ..." island!

EC 2014 - 4.1

Reports from the EC event appear like magic, just like in the movies; drama intrigue suspense...

Received a call from Sandy in the wee hours of the morning; doing well, pacing herself and getting the sleep she needs to keep it moving during the day; Sandy states a bit of fog dead calm early on.

Had a brief conversation with Paula Race Manager; working on about 4 hours sleep; once again she is in the thick of it managing the event, doing meet and greets, shaking hands and kissing babies.

Paraphrasing Frank McCloud from the1948 Humphrey Bogart movie Key Largo: "When your body says one thing and your head says another, your body always loses." 

Mind over matter - stroke, stoke, stroke...

EC 2014 - 4.0

Scareman crunches the data from last night:

This was in another thread, but I thought you all might enjoy this bumped out by itself. Enjoy

Night 3 - 3-4 AM Updates - correlated to map in another posthttp://watertribe.org/forums/topic/ec2014-tracker-images

Back at Wiggins Pass

1. Katamount is showing camped at Wiggins Pass as of 2 AM
2. Clewless Spot is from 6 PM in this image.

Naples / Gordon Pass

1. Peace paddler is on the beach a few houses up from Gordon Pass at 9:50 PM
2. SeaHare was shown in the Gulf approaching Gordon Pass with an old spot around 2 AM
3. Kokopedal appears in the Gordon Pass, but old SPOT image from 5:30 PM
4. 3 camped on South side just inside Gordon Pass - Dorsalis as of 10:18 PM, PaddleMaker/SavannahDan as of 10:41 PM, FalconSails as of 11:41 PM
5. DieTired/DieTired2 were at the Bayview PArk boat ramp in Naples inside and across from Gordon Pass at 1:04 AM

Marco Island

1. Izsatarock was on th Gulf side of Keewaydin Island since 7:04 PM
2. Echofin as of 1:10 AM was inside of Keewaydin Island moving at 1.2 kts
3. 3 camped on Gulf side of Sea Oat Island. Swapg8r since 12:54 AM, JammerJim since 1:05 AM, and TideRider since 12:53 AM
4. 5 camped on North side of Capri Pass. OneEyedJake since 2:54 AM, Calypso since 2:54 AM, BeastOarMan since 2:39 AM, Ouachiski since 2:45 AM, and LifeAquatic since 2:27 AM
5. AhMahChamee on Gulf beach near Marco Island Southern tip at 12:20 AM
6. DancesWithWaves on North side of Caxambas pass as of 1:22 AM
7. Wildblue showing at 10:14 PM 0.6 kts in Caxambas Pass near Dickmans Point

10,000 Islands area from Gullivan Bay to CP2

1. DivesWithKraken/WyomingWolf on SE tip of land of Cape Romano with 1.4 kts
2.  JibeTurkey SW of Cape Romano Shoals as of 2:49 AM at 1.8 kts
3. OffTheCharts/WaveRider appear stopped in Gullivan Bay at 0 kts as of 11:32 PM
4. SailBirdMike in Gullivan Bay as of 2:50 AM moving at 1.1 kts
5. Several on NE tip of White Horse Key; Seiche as of 10:47 PM, KneadingWater 10:33 PM, KiwiBird as of 10:38 PM, and SpiritWalker as of 5:28 PM
6. Just North of White Horse Key is AlexO moving as of 2:43 AM at 0.9 kts
7. SeaDogRocket is on SW side of WhiteHorseKey as of 1:55 AM
8. deke was on Panther Key's SE side of Gomez Point at 2:49 AM
9. BermudaBoy is out in the GulfPicnic Ke SW of WhiteHorse/Panther Keys at 11:12 PM at 0.7 kts
10. Picnic Key has a few moving; Sundance/GoldenSun as of 11:43 PM at 1.92 kts and HammerStroke at 11:43 PM moving at 2.36 kts. PaddlePeddler was there at 12:11 AM
11. JuzCuz was barely moving in Indian Key Pass at 1:10 AM at 0.3 kts
12. Yakmandu was flying exiting the Indian Key Channel into Chokoloksee Bay at 2:54 AM at 4.4 kts

CP2 has many

1. BackwaterBob at 1:46 AM
2. SaltyFrog at 10:14 PM
3. Mishigma at 2:38 AM
4. Santiago at 1:54 AM
5. SandyBottom at 1:41 AM
6. Frenchman at 12:48 AM
7. TideTraveler at 1:53 AM
8. TriMan at 1:24 AM
9. COjones/Spicey at 7:14 PM
10. Pelican/Falcon at 2:54 AM
11. JustSurf at 12:33 AM
12. PrivateHam at 1:22 AM

Wilderness Waterway

1. PenguinMan on Lopez River at 8:10 PM at 1 kt
2. NiteNavigator/Whitecaps at Lopez River and Crooked Creek at 2:52 AM moving 4.3 kts
3. DogsLife at Darwins Place as of 2:45 AM
4. ChumBucket/TriSherpa moving at 2:49 AM at 2.5 kts
5. IronBob/TheJuice moving in Oyster Bay at 2:54 AM flying at 4.3 kts

Gulf Everglades National Park

1. RumRunner/TreadingWater near Little pavilion Key at 2:53 AM 0 kts
2. PedalOn/Sherlock moving in Gulf SW of Pavilion Key at 2:30 AM at 2.5 kts
3. 2 (3) on New Turkey Kay; JungleJim/MtnMama as of 10:44 PM and Driftwood with 1 kt at 9:12 PM
4. KnotSynced/Aleutian offshore West of First Bay at 2:50 AM at 1.2 kts
5. MosquitoMagnet West of First Bay at 2:48 AM flying 4.2 kts 
6. KayakVagabond West of First Bay at 2:53 AM moving at 3 kts
7. DancesWithMullet is way offshore WSW of First bay at 2:50 AM at 0.4 kts
8. MisterMoon/PlumbCrazy WSW of First Bay at 2:46 AM at 0.7 kts
9. Vikingur/Broadsword at West of Broad River 12:44 AM at 0 kts
10. Sawhorse West of Highland Point at 9:42 PM at 0 kts
11. RiverSlayer/Whale just North of Broad Creek as of 12:18 AM at 0 kts
12. Coastie/ClamCounter West of Ponce de Leon Bay at 4:13 AM moving 4.7 kts
13. AeroSparrow passing Northwest Cape at 3:54 AM moving at 3.3 kts

Florida Bay

1. RidgeRunner/PorkBelly in Tin Can Channel North of Palm Key at 4:19 AM at 1.7 kts

That is all I got - Whew!!!

See mapper images in ec2014 images thread-http://watertribe.org/forums/topic/ec2014-tracker-images

EC 2014 - 3.0

Picnic Island is a bit crowded with 15 WaterTribers camping on Day 2.

From top of the island clockwise: SailbirdMike, JammerJim, SwampG8r, TideRider, Dorsalis, DieTired/DieTired2, deke, PeacePaddler, OneEyedJake, Calypso, DancesWithWaves, BeastOarman, Ouachiski, and DivesWithKraken/WyomingWolf.

Lauren sent a voice memo from their tent at Wiggins Pass. They had a great day of sailing, plus some head winds. And dolphins! Photo is Mark somewhere around Bonita Beach, I think.

Marcia Fry - reporting.

 

Sandy called in stated she was dog tired, not from paddling but from being tossed around in the wakes of huge powerboats; well rested on her way to CP2.

Bob and Toby swing in behind Marco Island; I think they know a good place for breakfast and a decent watering hole

EC 2014 - 2.1

Picture of the day goes to Microtom aka Tom Dyll and daughter Ericka just coming under Matlacha bridge behind Pine Island about 90 minutes ago. Photo taken by Walter Wedemeyer a man on a mission; thanks so much for the great photo op!!

Toby and Bob called to say hello; doing great pulled over to do a little house keeping and make up some drinks for the day; all is going well, enjoying the cruise aspect of the EC this go around; they shout out a big hoo-raww to all the participants out there!!

Sandy called getting thrown around amongst the large boats on the ICW; hanging tough; says she misses the singing of the John Bell Duo last night as winds were light and they could doa little socializing on the water

EC 2014 - 2.0

The whining has dissipated; I realized it was all about character and needed an attitude adjustment; so I went out - 6 degrees and shoveled another 4"of snow in my boxers and slippers; nothing like a little adversity to put things into perspective (down internet is nothing to the man in boxers, the upside to this fable is the neighbors called the police and I will get my picture in the paper..... again)

Danny reports Sandy still taking a well deserved rest at CP 1; other Team Kruger members have topped off water and left.

Sandy text 631 est stating her alarm did not go off; running her CP checklist getting underway shortly; Bob and Toby appear to be up and moving about.

Previous whining posted on FB

Well I got up at 3am central time to update the kruger blog and sneek onto the mapper while traffic was minimal; as my luck would have it internet access is sketchy; Now I am doing a bit of whinning cause I am not sure if it my laptop or internet provider; I had high hopes, like a boy on prom night.

Thank goodness for our man in the field Danny Laboy who has picked up the ball and been updating via FB; and a big shoutout to Ben Benjamin Algera who is working with the NSA and... accessing data, encrypted files and posting; the effort these two have put in is above my pay grade. A dip of the paddle to you both.

From what I have gathered from my limited sources team Kruger Canoes has cleared or is at CP 1; the mapper is down and I can't seem to log into the SPOT database, so I am useless.

Sandy Krueger did call and say she was going to sleep a couple hours at the CP 1 and push on; call was around midnight.

I will attempt to log into the blog later this morning to see if I can post... adventure on, paddle paddle.

EC 2014 - 1.1

Bob and Toby making tracks on Sarasota Bay; WT tracker is over loaded so you can go to the blog and look at SPOT location upper right corner.  Keeper moving boys.

Sandy is well on her way making great time; looks like she is committed to the inside route for the time being; again WT tracker is suspect so you can get Sandy's SPOT location upper right corner of the blog.

paddle paddle...

EC 2014 - 1

Here's a quick pic post the mandatory team meeting from Friday; Toby, Sandy, Jan and Bob.  In case you live under an aluminum Grumman canoe, been buried up to your neck in snow (end of the month paperwork or tax returns) or just plain don't know what the heck is happening; we have the start of the Everglades Challenge in about 82 minutes.

What this means for you the viewer is a whimsical look at an amazing event by a bunch of adventure based hard hitting salty sea-dogs.  Now if you want facts and stats you are at the wrong website -  head to mylifeisboringandicrunchnumberscauseidonthavealifeandilivevicariouslythoughstats.com  - cause this ain't that place.

So from the command center at Kruger Canoes World Head Quarters - Midwest affiliate,  the stage is set; I'm prepared to live on black coffee vitamin C and Red-Hots to bring you the very best marginally humorous look at the event.  Coffee's on the boil, let's start this thing!!