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Everglades Challenge


Tom Lathrop

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Tom, you commented on the advantage a monohull has over a cat in rough water.  I'm not a cat sailor, but I would have expected so stable a platform to be good in all but big waves.  Why are cats at such a disadvantage?

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Graham has made little progress over last twelve hours or so. Tracking has Southern Skimmer about 4 miles east of Flamingo. Reports are that the persistent east winds have blown the water out of the already shallow Florida Bay. Speculation has been that Graham is either stuck in the mud or anchored waiting for conditions to improve. They have been having 15kt head winds. Very recent tracking data has them making slow progress. They are out of cell phone range.

There is a Sea Pearl waiting in Flamingo.

Dawn Patrol is also closing in.

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Tom, you commented on the advantage a monohull has over a cat in rough water.  I'm not a cat sailor, but I would have expected so stable a platform to be good in all but big waves.  Why are cats at such a disadvantage?

Jeff

My comment is a relative thing.  A small catamaran like a Hobie or similar can be very rough on the crew.  They are much more exposed to the elements than the crew of a monohull like Southern Skimmer.  Cold water hitting you for a day or two with no place to hide can take the lead out of your pencil.

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I saw that too, Dale.  I assumed it was the webpage version of a typo.  If I remember correctly I checked the results page after the winner got to Key Largo but before it was posted to the results page so there wasn't a winner posted yet.

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You are right I had not noticed that line before. I suspect it is a typo so to speak. The Challenge runs through March 9th. Watertribe policy is not to call the race. To race or not to race is solely the decision of the participant.

Some uncertainty is inevitable as they are racing in an area with limited communication. Satellite tracking has been helpful but it is a little inconsistent.

The cat finished in an amazing time. Each participant is in their own challenge. Their skills, endurance, and equipment and mother nature.

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Here is a quote from Gomez on the WaterTribe site.

Lumpy is at the finish and has Southern Skimmer crossing the line at 15:58. Something about pulling the boat using snow shoes for the last few hundred yards. Congratulations you guys!

I also congragulate Graham for a well fought battle against the elements.

Dale

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HI! Mrs. Designer here....    I talked to roo (graham) this afternoon.    They spent all of yesteday at a Florida Bay spa - they had a mud bath, healthy foods...Ensure and V8, had a good excercise workout (pulling/rowing/shoving) and got a good nights beauty rest - so it must have been a spa... and  I"ms stuck here working while they are lolly gagging around in the Bay.

Actually, I think he has arrived or is within a just a lick of arriving at the finish.  Whew.  As far as I know he was second in.  Ther are still a couple of boats whose whereabouts we cannot pinpoint who might have been in contention. 

I will post again when I have more news

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When Doug and Graham find the time, I'd like to read a wrap up of this year's race. What happened, and how the boats performed. Always seems to be a big buildup, interest during the race, then it ends and we never find out what happened (unless you subscribe to SCA, but that takes months).

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One of the unique things about the Everglades Challenge is that it is foremost a challenge between an individual entrant and the course.  As such, there are no trophies awarded in the usual sense.  It's my understanding (I may be wrong) that each entrant who finishes gets an award that is identical to the other entrants. 

I guess that is why there is no great hullabaloo about the winners.  I do agree that it would be nice to have some kind of wrap-up to each year's Challenge that discussed the entrants and the conditions they endured.  You can eventually see the bare results on the EC website.

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