Day8: Resting and Happy at Key Largo

... as reported by "DancesWithSandyBottom"

The group of 7 kayakers, including SandyBottom, completed the crossing of Florida Bay quickly overnight and reached CP4 at Key Largo by 7:30 AM this morning (Saturday).

The trip covered about 32 miles in 15.5 hours --during 4:00 PM yesterday to 7:30 AM today. Considering the constant head-on wind they faced the whole way, their 2.1 mph average speed was very good. The group paddled non-stop.

SandyBottom said the crossing was not as hard as the crossing of Whitewater Bay had been. The 17 mile trip on Whitewater Bay was into a 20 knot wind with oncoming wind waves constantly breaking over the boat. On Whitewater Bay when she and ThereAndBackAgain had dodged in behind a tiny key for a minute of rest they found a fisherman in a small motor boat there who took one look at them and said "Do ya'll want some ibuprophen?" They said, "No thanks we have hundreds."

Today SandyBottom will be resting and relaxing at the campground and celebrating with the group of WaterTribe challengers and their family members there.

Stage2 up the east coast of Florida, passing through the concrete canyons of Miami, will begin Sunday morning. The current wind pattern which was so unfavorable during the end of Stage1 is in a favorable direction for Stage2. We hope this south/southeast wind pattern continues for at least a few more days to help push SandyBottom and the other UFC challengers up the east coast to the Georgia-Florida state line.

Looking up the East Coast from Key Largo