• Home
  • She Taught Me Everything
  • Blog
  • Publications
  • Me. Me. Me.
  • More!
  • Contact
  • Signed Copies for sale
  • Get a Book
  • Reviews & Awards
AMY SMITH LINTON

Bloggetty Blog, life Blog...

Everglades Challenge: Gearing Up

3/1/2016

14 Comments

 
Picture
When Spawn takes to the water this coming weekend, we can hope the creature does so in style.

Oh, I'm not talking about crispy new sails or all those lovely electronics that had to be re-purchased after they failed their swim test in February.  

Nuh uh. I'm talking fashion.

For instance, the bedazzling of Spawn.

The nice UPS folks delivered a big fat roll of super reflective tape last week –– the kind favored by firefighters and highway road-signs –– which I have been slathering all over Spawn and her crew's gear...Ooooh, sparkly!

A strip on the transom, check. A matched pair at the bow, check. Stripes at the mast-tip, boom end, and at neatly spaced intervals on the racks. Check, check check. Dots on the dry-suits, dots on the life-jackets, ovals on the trapeze harnesses. And of course, wide bands at the end of the oars.  The phrase "lit up like a Christmas tree" drifts to mind.

The name graphics are in place on the side of the boat.

We'll see how long vinyl from FedEx lasts in direct sunlight. (P.S., the boat also proudly sports its new FL registration numbers!

​Thank you Tim K. for the connection that helped us get legal.)
Picture
Picture
And because it's not really a sports team without uniforms, there are Spawn shirts aplenty. While racing, the sailors will be wearing safety-orange long-sleeve sports shirts.

​Photos don't do justice to the racing shirt's DayGlo spectacularity. Think prison jumpsuits. Think highway construction workers. Think Bananarama! in 1985.

Thanks to Carol at CDM Gifts who did the sublimation printing. (Sublimation printing is the process that allows for quick and permanent printing on polyester. Kind of amazing.) And why would I want polyester? In a word, sun protection.  

And thank you Leslie Fisher at Masthead Enterprises for connecting me with Carol! 

The Spawnsters each have a nifty embroidered ballcap from kindly supporter Ned J., who reads the blog from Maine when he can't be sailing in warmer climes.  They are even personalized with our WaterTribe names! Thank you, Ned and Anne!

There's also an array of functional accessories, such as waterproof bags and, notably, bailing devices.  

We scrounged empty laundry detergent containers, modified them with a handy survival knife (required by the Everglades Challenge rules –– for good reason!), and then did a bathtub test. Gain turned out to do the best job at conveying a gallon of water from one place to another.

The bathtub remains pleasantly scented and untroubled by static cling.  
Picture
Picture
Unlike so many modern fashionistas, Team Spawn has free range of the snack aisle.

They will have granola bars, breakfast shakes, hearty meat rolls, and homemade goodies like beef jerky and these cashew-dried-cherry dark chocolate bars.

...Assuming they remember to fuel the machines. All three are what dog-training professionals would call "Not food motivated."  

PictureGear explosion!




Picture
And in the four remaining days (Ah! Ah! Ahhhh!), Captain TwoBeers will be figuring out how to stow all this stuff.

Spawn might be ripe for a closet makeover.

​Is there an HGTV show with this as the topic? How first-worldy a problem is that?
14 Comments
Greg
3/1/2016 12:20:28 pm

very good, Having spent 20 yrs looking for people in the water, lost boats, and such. anything that can be used to reflect light is a great idea. in the dark of the ocean a dim light looks like the sun. Oh last weekend your spot with Frankinscots picture on it showed up on the tracking map.

Reply
Amy
3/1/2016 07:45:22 pm

That SPOT is very very cool.
I hope no one will need to find him, but I also hope they will be visible should anyone be flying around on their powerboat in the middle of the night...

Reply
Ron Roth
3/1/2016 03:15:50 pm

Good luck !

Reply
Amy
3/1/2016 07:45:41 pm

Thank you!

Reply
Joe Frohock AKA PUMA
3/1/2016 06:10:57 pm

Best of Luck you pass the test you will look like a Rock Star on the beach .
Seriously have fun and be safe , FULLSPEEDAHEAD

Reply
Amy
3/1/2016 07:46:13 pm

Thanks Puma!

Reply
Ali Deese
3/2/2016 07:44:55 am

"Not food motivated". Love it! Good luck guys.

Reply
Amy
3/3/2016 11:12:25 am

Thanks Ali!

Reply
Jo Mauk
3/2/2016 08:47:58 am

Good luck to all. Are you going? Where is this race?

Reply
Amy
3/3/2016 11:13:53 am

Thanks Jo!
If you click on my blog (top border) and then select "Everglades Challenge" from the topics, I promise you thousands of words of explanation!
Best!

Reply
Kate
3/2/2016 10:08:49 pm

Good luck out there!! I'll be sending good vibes from the opposite corner of the country!

Reply
Amy
3/3/2016 11:12:40 am

Thanks Kate!

Reply
Lindy
3/3/2016 08:07:43 pm

I can hear the drumbeats all the way up here on the 45th parallel!.

Looking forward to following Spawn and the other challengers. Hope this EC will be less eventful than 2015.

Zoom zoom, Spawn!

Reply
Amy
3/3/2016 08:59:46 pm

Zoom indeed!
Thanks Lindy!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    About the Blog

    A lot of ground gets covered on this blog -- from sailboat racing to book suggestions to plain old piffle. 

    To narrow the focus, select one of the  Categories below.

    Follow

    Trying to keep track? Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or if you use an aggregator, click the RSS option below.

    RSS Feed

    Old school? Sign up for the newsletter and I'll shoot you a short e-mail when there's something new.

      Newsletter

    Subscribe to Newsletter

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    December 2023
    September 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    Categories

    All
    Beauty Products
    Big Parks Trip
    Birds
    Boatbuilding
    Books
    Brains
    Contest & Prize
    Dogs
    Everglades Challenge
    Family Stories
    Farming
    Fashion
    Feminism
    Fiction
    Fish
    Flowers
    Flying Scot Sailboat
    Food
    Genealogy
    Handwork
    Health
    History
    Horses
    I
    International Lightning Class
    Mechanical Toys
    Migraine
    Movie References
    Music
    Piffle
    Pigs And Pork
    Poems
    Sailboat Racing
    Sculpture
    Social Media
    Song
    Subconscious Messages And Dream
    Travel
    Wildlife
    Writing

Picture
© COPYRIGHT 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • She Taught Me Everything
  • Blog
  • Publications
  • Me. Me. Me.
  • More!
  • Contact
  • Signed Copies for sale
  • Get a Book
  • Reviews & Awards