Random Shots and Thoughts from WaterTribe Ultimate Florida Challenge 2006 - Part 2

Sun - April 30, 2006

Random Shots and Thoughts from WaterTribe Ultimate Florida Challenge 2006 - Part 2

This is the 2nd part of my random selection of pictures from the Ultimate Florida Challenge 2006 including more pictures from the start. See also Part 1.

	8 of 10 UCF racers at Fort Desoto beach a few minutes before the start. From the left to right: Pelican, ManitouCruiser, ThereAndBackAgain, Sharkchow, Wizard, AlaskanSeaHorse, SandyBotton, and Doooobrd. Missing; DrKayak and me, Wayfarer.
	ManitouCruiser aka Mark Przedwojewski with his Sea Wind canoe. Fort Desoto beach, a day before the start. A veteran of WaterTribe Challenges. I believe that he has completed all challenges in Florida. Mark builds Kruger Canoes. He finished the UFC in 19 Days, 7 Hours, 38 Min, less than 1 hour behind Warren Richey.
	SandyBottom aka Dawn Stewart packing her Dreamcatcher a day before the start at Fort Desoto. She completed the UFC in 29 Days, 13 Hours, 33 Min. She doesn't say that she would do this again, but she wants to be faster. SandyBottom's Ultimate Sea Kayaking Challenge with training diary and blog.
	Wizard aka Matt Layden leaving Fort Desoto beach on the board of his Enigma Matt completed the official part of the UFC in 19 Days, 12 Hours, 55 Min. Then he sailed further south and crossed Florida again through Lake Okeechobee to return to his home at Jensen Beach. Matt Layden's Ultimate Florida Challenge Blog - race blog for Wizard in TCPalm
	Sharkchow aka Warren Richey ... ... somewhere beyond the horizon. I shot this picture before sunrise on March 6 from a small beach near Sanibel bridge. I suspect that Warren was there in the afternoon of the previous day. I have participated with Sharkchow in three WaterTribe events but I have never shot a single picture of him. He and his kayak are not very visible at the start (he needs a more fancy boat), and during the race I have no chance to see him. He wrote some articles on the UFC for the Christian Science Monitor and we are looking forward to see his longer story in the Sea Kayaker Magazine.
	During EC 2004 I had located a perfect camping spot south of the Little Hichory Bay - a high ground with tall pine trees, totally hidden from the waterway. I had used a tip from Johny Molloy's book From the Swamp to the Keys: A Paddle through Florida History. This year, I found that spot totally trashed by a hurricane. Most pine trees were down and I even couldn't enter the forest. So, instead I stopped at a place in the vicinity of condos. It was my rest stop before paddling out through the Wiggins Pass. This picture was shot with the Pentax Optio WP mounted on a sticky pod with a cushion cup.
	I shot most of my UFC pictures with a waterproof Pentax Optio WP. I was also carrying Canon SLR in a pelican box and a tripod, but I used it only a couple of times during paddling including the sunrise shot above. I used the tripod a few more times with a camcorder. Was it worth it to drag all this? I think that for future challenges I will limit myself to a point and shoot camera, especially, that the new Pentax Optio W10 has much better video capability than my original Optio WP. Pentax is getting some competition in Olympus Stylus SW 720, so there is a good chance that these tiny digital waterproof cameras will be getting even better.
	March 9, 2006. Sunset over Gulf of Mexico near Harney River. A day of hard paddling against strong headwind. It was first time when I paddled the outside route along Everglades.
	And another sunset two days later over the Club Key in Florida Bay. This was the last picture I shot in Florida Bay before dropping out of the race. According to my GPS track I was 2 miles off the course at that time ...
	Palmetto leave, Fort Clinch State Park. I shot the entire abstract series of palmetto leaves during my camping at the park and after my cross Florida paddling when we came there to retrieve my car. They have nice walking and biking trails.
	I had two inline skating sessions when camping at Fort Clinch State Park before paddling across Florida. Skating is not allowed on the roads in the park (I got a lecture from a ranger) except one 0.5 mile long road near the river campground. No motor vehicles are allowed there except some exceptions ... I was sitting in the middle of that road shooting pictures when I was surprised by a pickup track behind me. I observed about 3 cars per hour on that road "without " motor traffic. Anyway, the skating in Fort Clinch was great, although, I prefer my more windy and hilly bike trails in Colorado. It was a good training before the 40 mile portage.
	Paddling upstream of Big Shoals on the Suwannee River. After portaging the Big Shoals I spent some time shooting video of the rapid from the right shore. Then, I tried to paddle upstream to take more pictures from water. Strong current, heavy boat, ...
	... I hit a rock with my Zaveral paddle and broke it! I will try to repair it but it will no longer be an ultralight one.
	Cypresses near Fanning Springs at the Sawannee River. I really enjoy a view of cypresses each time I paddle Texas Water Safari on San Marcos and Guadelupe Rivers. And, they were wonderful on the Sawannee, even during my first rainy day on the river.
	Fun in Cedar Key. Jack Bayha, Wizard's father in law, took me, Connie and Denise (SandDollar) for some afternoon sailing on 20' Pelican. Karen and Matt Layden used to live and sail on that boat for 9 months.
	The last frame is devoted to our return trip to Colorado. After two bridges over the Mississippi River, it is another snapshot from Vicksburg: a stained glass window. We took a tour through one of historic houses. Vicksburg is a finish of a 22 mile kayak and canoe race on the Mississippi: BluzCruz Marathon. Part 1... Part 2... Part 3... Part 4... Fog over the Suwannee River