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Date Posted: 18:49:47 10/19/08 Sun
Author: Dan Bickford
Subject: Membership Story

Dear Oar Club Members - My name is Dan Bickford and I sail an engineless Sea Pearl 21 sailboat called StrayCat. I kicked the internal combustion habit 3 years ago when I bought the Pearl, and chose a set of Shaw & Tenneys over a Honda outboard. I do a lot of sailing in lakes and along Florida, Georgia and South Carolina coasts.

I heard about you guys on the Furled Sails podcast when they interviewed Jay. It was good to hear about folks that share my philosophy on sailing.

My membership story is about a race I completed in March 2007 called the Everglades Challenge (EC). It's a 300 mile race that begins near Tampa and ends in Key Largo, Florida. It is sponsored by a group called Watertribe which promotes sailing, rowing and paddling of small craft.

There are no engines allowed, and each boat must stop at checkpoints located at Placida, Chockoloskee, and Flamingo, before crossing Florida Bay for the finish at Key Largo. The checkpoints are located well inland, and up tidal creeks that require racers to paddle or row against wind and current to get those checkpoints. Each boat has to be self-contained with enough food, water and safety gear to survive for a couple of weeks.

This was the first time I had ever done any long distance sailing without an engine, but it really helped me understand that with patience, determination, and respect for the tides and weather, a set of sails and a pair of oars will get me anywhere I need to go.

I finished in a little over 5 days after 286 nautical miles of sailing, rowing, and pushing my boat through the shallows of south Florida. When I reached Key Largo, there was already a big party underway, as the faster finishers cheered on those that arrived a little later. The last guy to cross the finish line got the biggest cheer. If any of you guys live near the Southeast, I encourage you to look up Watertribe as they are a great bunch of people.

I posted a video of my trip on Google video. It chronicles the entire race from start to finish. Don't expect quality, because I shot it using a little Casio digital camera, but you'll get a good idea of what it's like to sail South Florida in March.

I'd like to be a part of your group and swap future stories and advice about sailing and rowing. I look forward to getting to know you all. Here is the video if you are interested.


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1700620081058441518&ei=Xdn7SOHAGIaYrQK2tImYBQ&q=everglades+challenge&hl=en

Sincerely,

Dan Bickford
201 Brook Ave
Starkville, MS 39759
dkbickford@ms.metrocast.net

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