Might be Changing Plans

I'm still so shocked, upset, and saddened over the news of Andrew McAuley's tragic fate. I found it difficult to blog about my weekend yesterday. So is that it? It's over? The unanswered questions are going to haunt me for a long time.

Saturday morning I met my friend Dee at the lake. Winds were actually higher than expected, and it was quite cold. I just couldn't bring myself to sail 10 or more miles then turn around and paddle back upwind. We'd both been following the news about Andrew McAuley, and were feeling the need for a workout. Wanting to put in some distance, we put the sails away, and chose to spend the day paddling and visiting, it had been awhile. It turned out to be a great 22 mile paddle.

Having spent the past month playing with the Bologh sail, I was pleased to finish the paddle feeling good, good enough to be able to turn around and do it again, if necessary. There are no weather guarantees in the Everglades Challenge, it could be very painful if you have to paddle upwind the full 300 miles after planning to sail it.

Sunday morning was again quite cold. I decided it was about time I started running errands and getting prepared for the Challenge. I've been needing to update my 1st aid and hypothermia kits, and had volunteered to make kits for Team RAF. Then it was tide tables and food planning, and .....

Not only did my weekend plans change, I've also been thinking of making a change in my EC plans. I may just use my Kruger Dreamcatcher with the Balogh Sail after all. Stan has been so generous in lending me his Kruger SeaWind and sail, and I have enjoyed having them to learn and experiment with. But I find my myself looking down at his white decked canoe thinking it's the wrong color.

Over the past few weeks, I've not only had to learn to sail, but I've had to make adjustments to using a SeaWind, this one with the deep hull option. The photo below provides a comparison of the profiles of a deep hull Seawind (on top) vs the regular hull. Except for the deeper depth there are no difference. In fact the SeaWind and Dreamcatcher are the same except for the longer decking and rear bulkhead in the seakayak-like Dreamcatcher.

I find myself more comfortable with the lower decking, and after the 1200 mile paddle in last years UFC, the Dreamcatcher and I are just a good fit. Mark Balogh is sending me the parts needed to mount Stan's Sail rig on my Dreamcatcher. Much to do in 2 1/2 weeks, including sailing with the Dreamcatcher.

Mark Przedwojewski (owner of Kruger Canoes) says "We have 226 SeaWinds, 32 Kruger Cruisers (doubles), and 22 Dreamcatchers out in the world. By far most folks love the SeaWind over the others." Guess it's the kayaker in me that prefers the Dreamcather, mine is #2.

So I plan to be on the water sailing my Dreamcatcher next weekend. And hoping I can hook up with Team RAF. I can't wait to see their sailing canoes in action. It's finally starting to look like they're going to be ready.