Mild Mannered Year

Not going to tempt fate, but it's true that some years are feistier and more fierce than others for the Everglades Challenge.  But whether it's grueling by effort, by patience, by boat mishaps or by by extraordinary weather--this is a challenge.

From on-shore, I have had nearly no complaints about lag-time on the tracking map. Are we just grown accustomed to the skippy service or is it—ahem—better?  My team has stayed in touch, the Garmin inReach continues to impress me with its solid performance at locating and tracking, and the fellas have even (gasp!) texted and sent photos.

Saturday, despite the late start at 8:30 rather than 7 am, sent the fleet merrily streaming South with bit of breeze out of the west/north west-ish quadrant between 5-10 knots. It's a wide range as the fleet includes kayaks, catamarans, small monohulls, and more.

I suppose most of us shore crew flicked at our screens, toggling between RaceOwl^ and Garmin->

Possibly having a treat with friends.

Or trying to gauge the weather.

While meanwhile, the Spawnsters kept the foot pegged to the floor by whatever means they had available. 

That's what rowing Blind Pass looks like on the tracker.

When they had bars of service, they called in, gave me their situation and sent photos.

And now, from the finish beach, I have resumed my click-click clicking.

Until at 10:50, they loomed into the near distance, wove through the moored boats in the dark, and pressed the OK button one final time for the event...

Thanks to Ann for this excellent shot of the challenge of landing...

Stories to follow...