ScottWidmier

Whew! They way I read your post was that we were going to be back at Navarre later that night because of noise. Now it sounds like the location could simply come with some additional entertainment to watch. I am glad after the glowing report Ray gave of the island after his visit weekend before last. Most likely you would be using Plum Crazy rather than Little Gem. Plum Crazy is the purple boat we sailed to the Oar House at the BEER cruise. She moves rather well under sail and even better under oar.

Forgot to mention, we will be submitting a float plan along with the names, boats, and contact information for everyone who is participating. The fog article in the recent Small Craft Advisor really convinced me of the importance of that.

Sorry about that Steve but the route choice was limited by where we are allowed to pitch a tent on shore for the smallest boats. However, I was thinking of you when both Ray and Pat (both locals) suggested Spector Island (furthest west in the chain?). We should have some people joining us for that night launching from the park right near the island to motor over and join us. I was hoping you could park your boat at Navarre and either ride with someone else (you are welcome to join me) or jump in one of the support folks cars and join us on the island. Then, you could either pitch a tent for the night or catch a ride via boat and car to your boat at Navarre. Craig, it is definite that Spector Island (again, if we are thinking of the same one) will be less restful that when we camp in the Ft. McRee area. The worst I have heard about is some airplane noise and lights from the barges traveling the intercoastal. This is coming from Ray who lives in Ft. Walton beach and has stayed on that island. Also comes from several other folks he knows from the area who use those islands as their overnighting spots. The island we have identified has deep water on its southern side away from the intercoastal and is higher than most so we should have land to block the lights. We will just have to deal with airplane noises though they seem infrequent at night. Now, the T&G run all night I am assuming is not every night but regularily scheduled? Is it possible they let the folks living around the base know when these exercises are going to happen so that they are not alarmed? If so, some of the folks who live in the area could check and we could revise our plan accordingly. One final note, that spoil island near FWB is our aspirational stop but we easily might find ourselves overnighting at Navarre if the weather doesn't cooperate. Heck, we may even have a nice night-time sail back to Navarre if it does turn out to sound like WW3 at Specter Island despite our precautions. The most important thing is that we remain flexible and just have fun sailing together in a beautiful area. I don't think we can go wrong anywhere we stop.

I just got the paddles I ordered from Jamestown and they are not the same as the ones that are pictured. Bummer!

There are plenty of places you can put in and join us for part of the time. You could join us for saturday night by launching from Navarre or Pensacola Beach and sail back to those points on sunday.

I think it will be a really fun trip in a lot of different ways! Glad you will be able to make it.

I took an old clumsy pair of production oars and sanded them down to reduce weight. I also cut them in the middle and used a galvanized chain link fence post as my collar to connect the two pieces. It works to an extent but I think a joint that is metal on metal would work better than mine which is metal on wood. Duckworks sells double paddle ferrule sets http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/misc/saw-frh/index.htm that might work. For oars I would probably go with the stainless set myself but that still is $20, a lot more expensive than my chain link fence post. Another option I am toying with for a boat I am designing is telescoping boat oars. I like the idea of fewer parts and a quicker assembly time. With telescoping oars you can grab them and use them as paddles until you extend them. Also means you only need to store one shaft per oar rather than two. The only 3' to 6' (Telescope from 3' to 6' length) I can find are for paint rollers, are fairly thin, and I question as to their rigidity for rowing. Might be ok for a smaller boat but I am still seeking sources for a little beefier option. Some of the telescoping poles out there have fiberglass shafts which might be a little more rigid than aluminum. The oarblade would screw on to the threaded end. Well, I did a search and found something already made that might work fine for my purposes. I think it is meant to be a paddle but looks like it would work as an auxilarly oar for a small boat like the one I am designing. Good price anyway: http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=15071&engine=adwords!6456&keyword=telescoping_paddles

Here is the google-earth file of the route: http://texas200.com/florida120-revised.kmz We will launch and recover from Pirates Cove near Josephine, AL. It is a classic old-time Florida hamburger joint with marina and they are receptive to events like ours. In fact, they are hosting a woodenboat get-together the first weekend in May. Thursday, May 14th we will have a meeting at 9am that is not required but will be a chance to get to know everyone and start together. I do realize some folks may not be able to make it until Thursday morning. We then sail 15 miles but through the twistiest portion of our route to the spoil island across from Ft. McRee that has been called Sand Island but is marked as Robinson Island on Google Earth. This is a beautiful camp-cruising spot with protected anchorage for deeper draft boats. Tent camping is common on these spoil Islands. Hopefully we will arrive with plenty of time for swimming and socializing. Anyone want to set up a beach grill? Friday, May 15th is a long sail with 38 miles as the crow flies. This is a challenge after all! However, it is a beautiful sail through protected waters and no narrow channels (unless you are deep draft). We stop at the westernmost spoil island in Santa Rosa sound with nice protected anchorage to the south. Pat Johnson scouted this for us the weekend before Thanksgiving and reported perfect conditions including a 45 degree angled beach which may even allow wing-keelers to step off dryfoot on the sand. There is also a real-nice public park and boatramp nearby if people want to join or leave us there depending on schedule. We could easily ferry people over from the park to join us on the island. The 38 miles is repeated in reverse on Saturday, May 16th. On both days we have a couple of great bail-outs in case the weather doesn't cooperate. One is the town of Navarre which has showers, a nice launchramp, a convenience store, and a good restaurant and bar. There is also a convenience store in Pensacola Beach right off of ill-named quietwater beach. This is the beach behind flounders and there are docks available. We stop Saturday night on the barrier island off of Big Lagoon a mile past Sand Island, our first night stop. This is a good opportunity to walk accross to the Gulf and enjoy the waves! Our final day, Sunday May 17th, we sail the sortof twisty 15 miles back to Pirates Cove where we will have an early dinner and awards ceremony (gotta have those funny awards!). Anyone who is interested in helping with awards please let me know. I am really excited about this route with beautiful and soft white-sand beaches to camp on and some legs to challenge us.

Not sure of the size but atlanticsailtraders.com has a gaff main in good condition for $175 that seems like it might fit a vacationer or pocket cruiser. Details: NEW/USED Used CATEGORY Main Sails RANGE 15' 1" - 20' KEY 1511 LUFF 15'11" LEECH 25'11" FOOT 11'0" CLOTH_WEIGHT 6 oz LUFF_TYPE Tape SAILMAKER BOAT STOCK_# 40180 BIN_# 17C CONDITION Good NOTE Gaff Rig Main, Peak = 10'10", Full Batten Pockets, Full Roach, Loose Footed, Grommets only on luff and peak, lite soil PRICE $175 TYPE Gaff10'10Pk

You are missing an option on your poll. Over time, I have finished and launched 7 boats: 1 pocket cruiser, 1 summer breeze, 1 flying mouse/cartop carrier, 1 C12 "Little Gem", 1 12' dory of my own design "Plum Crazy", and most recently 2 mouseboats for the kids. So, I went ahead and checked finished boat and on the water. Of these boats, I still have Little Gem, Plum Crazy, and the 2 mouseboats. The other option I could have checked is that I have plans but haven't started building. I have several sets of plans some of which I have decided I won't build. However, my running favorite right now is the Chincoteague skiff of 16' long. I want the extra 4' over Little Gem for some additional stretching out space but the 16' skiff is still a V bottom which I have found exceptional for dealing with powerboat chop on a light-wind day. Not only is this perfect for where I sail but the V bottom also gives better handling including tracking. Downside is the 13" draft with board up and drying out at an angle both of which are a little less desirable for my preferred small-boat cruising grounds in western Florida. If people are looking for plans, I bought but will not be building Welsford's Sweet Pea and Mickalaki's FatCat2 and Normsboat. I also have plans for an outboard boat from bateau.com called the classic 16 that I won't be building either. Drop me a line if interested. Heck, I might throw them into the pot as prizes for the Florida 120....

Go to http://texas200.com/florida120.kmz to see a google earth overview of the proposed route. Comments welcome.

Ken, that looks absolutely wonderful! Very professionally sewn. I am falling in love with open boat cruising in the south mainly because permanent cabins seem to trap heat making sleeping hard. Your tent just looks like a wonderful place to spend an evening listening to nature. I made a dodger so that I can overnight on my 12' "Little Gem" and have taken a couple of trips and spent several nights nice and snug. Though I will admit to a few uncomfortable stormy nights being tossed like a pair of socks in a washer at the Cedar Keys Messabout but that wasn't my tent or boat's fault. My dodger is made so that I can sail with it up in place in case of rain though I haven't given that a try yet. One needed addition to make boat-camping fun is some sort of cover for your open area of your cockpit primarily to keep it dry of dew. Nothing worse than to crawl out of a nice and cozy boat tent just to sit in a puddle of cold dew. Or, to begin the day sailing with a cold and wet bottom. Here was the solution I whipped up for my boat and it made a huge difference on a recent cruise. It is a simple boom tent but with two 5'6" sticks with nails in the end holding the cover out. Bungee cords hook onto the nails and cleats on the deck of my boat making setup a minute long affair. Maybe not something you can use on your boat but effective for those with booms.

For details, please refer to the earlier post. To indicate interest, go to http://www.texas200.com/phpBB2/index.php and register so you can participate in the planning discussion. Passphrase is Lee. Hope to see you there!

The weekender is a fun little boat but, rather than changing the plans, why not look for another boat that fits what you are looking for. Unless you just like tinkering for tinkering sake (I can sympathize). Anyway, I think the 16' CHINCOTEAGUE SKIFF will be my next build. She looks like the weekender but is beamier and V bottomed for better rough-water (including motorboat chop) sailing. Has a wonderfull entry into the water that you can just visualize cutting the waves. She has tiller stearing attached to a great rudder design. http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/sf/dayboats/other/c-skiff/index.htm

Thanks for that definition! Our event will be raid liked but with no catering and not lasting a whole week it doesn't qualify as a raid under that definition. May is looking like the preferred date (despite the poll).

Click on this link and it will give you an idea of what a raid is: http://www.shipyardraid.ca/ . Essentially what we are doing for the Texas 200 and Florida 120. BTW, Chucks middle name is Lee in case you need to register.

I am glad you will be joining us! The registration for login for the Texas200 forum is free and it does provide a nice forum for us to do some planning on without it getting buried in one particular forum.

Chuck of Duckworks and Texas 200 fame started discussion topics for the Florida 120 on the Texas200 site. If you are at all interested, please check into that forum and vote, under the organization section, for the date that you would prefer. http://www.texas200.com/phpBB2/index.php

Yep, that is a lot taller mast than mine . Probably be quickest just to walk across the road...probably 100 feet. I will start working out the specifics for the trip now that I have enough people interested.

Steve, where I am hoping to stop for the night in Navarre is just on the other side of the bridge. Supposedly, there was an old park there that got destroyed by a hurricane. All I know is there is an empty beach that we might be able to camp at. Anyway, you could just as easily pull up to the dock in front of Juanas on the other side of the bridge and be a short stroll away from where we are. Of course, the other option is to stop at gulf shores national seashore if we can't find a place in Navarre. BTW, how big is your boat? I went under the Navarre bridge just fine with my 26' sailboat and can't remember it even being a tight fit.

Lots of replies at trailorsailor so it looks like it is a go. Now have to figure out a date. Thinking either April 16 to 19 or may 14 to 17.

Possible dates are April 16th to 19th or May 14th to 17th.

The idea for the Florida 120 grows out of the Texas 200. Basically, it is a raid with the objective for everyone entered to finish the course. Each night is a predetermined stopping point which allows for some socializing plus a safety check on how everyone is doing. Wonderful opportunity to grow your navigation skills! The route for the Florida 120 will be from Perdido Bay to Santa Rosa sound. Tentatively, we will launch from a marina in Wolf Bay and return to that marina so no shuttle needed. This also means we will have windward work hence the 120 miles rather than 200! The itinerary is: Day 1: Wolf Bay to Sand Island in the Big Lagoon. Day 2: Big Lagoon to Navarre area on Santa-Rosa sound. Day 3: Navarre to Sailboat Cove on the Big Lagoon. Day 4: Sailboat Cove to Wolf Bay. Each day is between 30-40 miles with places where we can pitch tents on the beach each night. The big question is if we can find a beach past Navarre or camp on the beach at Gulf Shores national seashore. If the latter is the case, then we will make up the distance by plotting a circular course. One advantage/disadvantage (depending on how you look at it) of this area is there are a lot of recreational boaters around and a significant part of the trip, from Pensacola Beach to Navarre, will have road access to the beach. This means, if anyone has to abort for any reason it isn't that far back to civilization, a road, and your trailer. This is protected water sailing with a handy beach to park your boat should the weather turn nasty. There will be four classes within which you can finish the Florida 120 challenge each with its own "I done it" shirt and plaque. This is in part to keep people coming back and to encourage people to ween themselves off motors and/or to go in smaller boats. Class 1: Motorless Anyone who does the challenge without a motor in or on the boat. Class 2: Motor Contingency For people who have motors in or on their boat but do not use them for the entire course...some may ask why these two classes? However, there is a huge mental difference between having motor as backup and not having a motor at all. Class 3: Limited Motor For people who use their motor within 300 yards of the nightly stopping points. Especially needed for those with larger boats Class 4: Unlimited Motor Just like it sounds...those who want to accompany us and do the challenge but want to use their motor rather than bob n bake or want to do the challenge in a motorboat. I would prefer if people would committ to one of the four classes at the beginning and not switch during the challenge. This encourages planning and perserverance on the part of the people signed up for the challenge. As a side note: When I have done the BEER cruise in Pensacola area with my 26' boat I think I would have qualified for Class 3. I probably could have done it as a class 2 if I have had the extrinsic motivation. One nice thing about the coast is reliable winds! I have started a discussion over on the Texas200 forums (http://www.texas200.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=213) since I consider the Texas 200 the "parent" of this idea.

I am so looking forward to this messabout! I will be coming Friday morning (hopefully) with a poptop camper and my 12' dory "Plum Crazy." My family (wife & 2 kids) saturday afternoon when we will be launching the kids new mouseboats...most likely without the sailing rig though. How many other folks are going to make it?!?

My kids and are are building two mouse-boats which are 8' V bottom prams. Small enough for the kids to be able to paddle as kayaks but large enough that I can climb on one and use it. Mouse-boats are distributed as free plans by Gavin Atkin via Duckworksmagazine.com. They have a V bottom giving better ride in the water and a bit more shape to the bow and stern that the brick or Puddle Duck racer. This just makes them look a little better IMHO and move better through the water. Not any harder to build either given my perspective of having built mouseboats and a puddle-duck. I have modified the kids by adding a leeboard and going with a lateen rig. I plan on bringing them this weekend for Bud's Nickajak messabout if you can make it.