Expedition Windsurfing

News

2011-12-18T19:41:00.000-05:00

I have had a number of people ask me what is going on with The KULEANA since I have not been posting lately.

Well we have been very busy. I found a custom kayak builder who is helping me to build a composite fiberglass version of the KULEANA. If the results are good, which it looks like it will be, we will offer the production version for sale. After making a few changes to the design, we are working to provide full size plans of the KULEANA for the DIY types. So we are working through all the various steps and processes related to that.

I am planning a trip to the Everglades as soon as the new board is finished. In the mean time check out a short video of a quick day trip to Bishop Harbor on Saturday.

Thanks to all of you who follow the KULEANA. Keep checking back we have a lot going on.

Ft. Desoto Florida with the family and a name change

2011-08-13T15:41:00.002-04:00

Here is a video my wife took of me sailing on a beautiful Florida day in August. We had a fresh breeze out of the west with a moderate chop. It made for a great day of sailing and playing in the waves.

I am contemplating a name change for the Expedition Windsurfer®. I have recently learned of a term used in the Hawaiian language that implies that each of us has the privilege of living on this beautiful planet, but with that privilege comes responsibility. We all have certain inborn, inalienable rights and privileges that we live our lives by. But in the pursuit of these privileges we need to conduct ourselves in a responsible way. We must show respect for each other as fellow citizens no matter what our race, or nationality and also show that same respect for the planet and all its wonders.

I would like to use the Expedition Windsurfer® to help promote a more responsible way of living, a more sustainable way of living. I am still working out the details so stay tuned.

Kuleana: Privilege and responsibility.

KULEANA- THE ORIGINAL EXPEDITION WINDSURFER®

I think it has a nice ring

It's HOT!

2011-07-24T19:26:00.000-04:00

Jace Flemer in Jensen Beach in June

Well it has been a long dry spell here at the blog. I have been pretty busy trying to stay ahead of the repo man. I just have not had time to get the bottom of the Expedition Windsurfer® wet and that stinks!!! Nevertheless, we have a lot of cool things happening here.

I hope to start on a new Expedition Windsurfer® in August and have it ready for another trip down the Peace River to Key Largo in November. I will use this trip to train for the 2012 Everglades Challenge in March. Perhaps I will get past the first check point this time. Well that is the plan right now, who knows what will happen between now and then.

More to come soon… stay tuned

The Peace River 120 trip

2011-02-05T20:19:00.002-05:00

Peace River 120

The Peace River begins its trek south in an area known as the Green Swamp in West Central Florida, near the city of Lakeland. It snakes its way south from Lake Hancock 150 river miles or so through cities, small towns, agricultural communities, and wilderness areas before emptying into Charlotte Harbor and then into the Gulf of Mexico near Ft Myers. It is what naturalists call a black water river, a type of river that drains pine flatwoods and cypress swamps and has dark, stained waters from decomposing plant material. The Peace River gets most of its water from storm water runoff with very few natural springs contributing to the flow, so in the dry season the river flows slow and shallow. Wildlife is abundant along parts of the river, with the American Alligator commanding the most respect. This is not the river for adrenalin junkies though, except for times when in it is in the flood stages, the river moves slow and easy. This is the type of river that enables a person to relax, unwind, and get away from all the hustle and bustle of our modern 21st century. In some sections of the river not a sound of modern society can be heard unless you bring it with you. Only the sounds of the local wildlife fill air.

My goal was to start as far up the Peace River as the shallow water would allow, then paddle and windsurf to the Gulf of Mexico. After doing a number of scouting trips I determined that Ft. Meade would be as far upriver as I could go and still have enough water to float the boat. This would put me 120 miles from the Gulf, a doable distance with the five days I had available.

One of my objectives for this trip was to see firsthand the condition of the river. Like so many of our rivers and streams the Peace River faces a lot of challenges as progress encroaches in on it. From its beginning to its end people depend on the water of the Peace River for their way of life. Those in the head waters near Lakeland divert water into the river to keep their streets and homes flood free during our rainy season. Industry such as phosphate mining use the water in their processes, agricultural interests use the water to grow their crops, and in the area of Port Charlotte the growing population use the water to quench their thirst. And then there are all of those folks like me who use the river for recreation. I wanted to see for myself how the river was fairing.

Another objective of this trip was to test the versatility of the Expedition Windsurfer® and become more efficient in long distance multi-day trips where I break camp each day and move on. I wanted to refine my camping methods to meet the unique design of the vessel. I always tend to carry or pack more gear and food than I end up needing, this trip would give me a chance to par-down some of that gear to what is truly essential. By lightening the load I can increase boat speed and performance and have less stuff to worry with.

Finally I wanted to develop better video methods for future adventures. Questions of how to keep the cameras charged and how to send video home to my support team for daily downloads to the blog need to be addressed. I still have to work on this system, especially my camera work; I am no Les Stroud.

Following is a day by day account of my trip with a few photos included.

Day one: Monday

Weather reports have a front passing through the area of Ft Meade around 10:00am bringing with it potential thunderstorms, rain and high winds.

My wife dropped me and my Expedition Windsurfer® off in Ft Meade. I was loaded and on the water paddling south by 8:30am. This part of the river is narrow and very shallow with rocks, snags, and low limbs slowing my progress. I spent a good part of the morning dragging the board through and over limps, rocks, and shallow places not deep enough to float me and the board. This slowed me down quite a bit. The scenery in this area consisted of large oaks and hardwood trees with numerous cypress trees growing along the banks. Numerous small creeks and streams emptied into the river along the way.

I managed to cover 17 river miles to my first camp, which was just a couple of miles north of Crews Park in Wauchula. I had hoped that the storms would miss me as I paddled down the river, and at one point I thought they had, but at about noon the sky opened up and it poured. That evening as I landed I pulled the Expedition Windsurfer® up so that most of the board was out of the water. The next morning when I awoke the board was totally afloat. The river rose enough from the previous days rains that had I not been careful about tying off the board before hitting the sack that night I may have lost my ride to the rising water level.

Day two: Tuesday

Weather reports call for clearing skies and light winds out of the south with high temps in the 70s.

I was on the water by 8am and met my son at Crews Park in Wauchula to download some photos and make a post to the blog. The rains from the day before improved the flow of the river making forward progress much better. I covered 25 river miles from Wauchula to Gardner by 6pm on Tuesday.

This portion of the river was my favorite section. After leaving Pioneer Park in Zolfo Springs the river runs through some of the most unspoiled sections of Florida. It would not be unusual to see deer, hogs, river otters, bobcat, alligator, and numerous species of water fowl along this section. I have heard that an occasional black bear and Florida panther are spotted through here. This section has numerous places for camping and exploring. Although I was on a schedule I stopped along the way to hike into the woods and just listen to the sounds and enjoy the aroma of the unspoiled landscape. It was beautiful.

Day three: Wednesday

Weather reports were calling for clear skies and light winds 5-10kts out of the southeast with temps into the upper 70s.

Wednesday morning dawned with rain, so much for clear skies. The radar showed that the only place in Florida to get rain was where I was, what’s up with that? Yet another late start caused in part from a bad stomach, seems I must have had some bad chicken the day before, and the rains. When the rains passed I was on the river at 9:30am traveling south to Arcadia. I met my wife and kids (the best darn support team in the world, I must say), for dinner at the boat ramp before paddling another mile or two before dark.

I covered 14 miles on day three. Although the weather reports called for light winds out of the south they were in fact pushing 20kts at times. You know it is windy when there are white caps on a river only 25 yards wide. Although I prefer to paddle standing up, with head winds funneling straight down the river I was forced to use the Expedition Windsurfer® as a sit-on-top kayak and paddle in the sitting position. I could paddle 2kts faster with less effort in the sitting position.

This section was my least favorite portion of the trip. Numerous homes have been built along the banks of the river in this section. Although still a beautiful section of the river, it was not my favorite.

Day four: Thursday

Weather reports were calling for morning fog, clearing with low temps in the 50s and highs near 80*F, winds east to south east 5-10kts, rain after midnight with an approaching cold front.

I left camp at 8:30am headed to the Hwy 760 Bridge out of Nocatee to rendezvous with my son and pick up my sail rig. I had started the trip with a cooler on the board to keep some drinks cold and some of my food fresh. I would not need the sail rig until I reached the open water of Charlotte Harbor so there was no need to carry it. I could also use the cooler as a seat when I got tired of standing. The cooler was really not necessary; I actually used it more as a trunk to put my rain gear and extra clothing in as I de-layered with the warming of the day. So I was going to exchange the cooler for the sail rig.

After meeting my son and making the exchange I headed for Hwy 761 just south of Ft. Ogden about 16 river miles south of Arcadia. I arrived a 2:45pm.

This section of the river was my second favorite part. There were parts of the river through this section that were very remote with no noise of modern life, no people just the native wildlife. I pulled onto a sandy beach for lunch and found fresh deer tracks, raccoon tracks and large cat tracks, perhaps a bobcat or small panther. Most the upper part of this section was pasture land, but enough of the hardwood forest and wilderness was left to make this a very beautiful portion of the trip. The river was wider in some places but surprisingly very shallow. I had to carefully pick my way through the sandbars, at times even having to push myself over the sandy bottom. The lower part of this section began to change into one of cypress swamps and marshes. The river would split and then come together further downstream making staying on course a challenge. Numerous creeks and streams added to the maze of water ways to follow. It was all I could do to keep from wandering up into one those creeks to explore the beauty of the wilderness. By now I was beginning to feel the effects of an incoming tide.

I had been paddling downstream for the past three and a half days, but I now as I paddled south of the 761 bridge I found I was moving against the current. With a full moon the tides were running strong and I had to up my effort to keep the board moving in the right direction.

I paddled until about 5:00pm and found a nice camp site on Cow Island, just south of the Nav-A-Gator Grill. I paddled 20 river miles from Arcadia on day four.

Cow Island is low marshy area with some high ground on the water’s edge. Cabbage palms, oaks, and cypress provide cover for the wildlife. My camp site was apparently used by the locals, they left me a chair and had built a table out of trees for me to use. Nice folks. This area is full of wildlife. When I awoke the next morning I had a family of wild hogs rutting around the camp. My Tarzan call scared them away.

Day Five: Friday

Weather reports were calling for fog and rain early, winds in the 5-10kts range from the southwest, and temps in the 50s in the morning and reaching 80*F in the afternoon. A cold front would be passing through on Saturday bringing NW winds around 20kts.

I awoke to a very foggy morning. Rain came and passed as I broke camp and made breakfast. I was about 30 miles from the Gulf. I knew that I would need a break in the weather to reach my goal. I had not covered enough distance in the previous four days to be able to paddle all 30 miles in one day. I could have done it, but I was having too much fun and did not want to rush past all the neat things I was experiencing. On the other hand if the winds kicked up as the front moved south over the state I would be able to cover the 30 miles in just a few hours. That is what I was hoping for as I paddled away from Cow Island.

With the fog and occasional rain shower passing by, navigation was a bit difficult. I did not have a chart of this portion of the river, and with the river fanning out in so many different directions I was a bit concerned I may end up in a dead end cove or tributary. Fortunately, the tide was flowing out and I just rode with it. At one point I came to a fork in the river and the tide seemed to be moving to the left fork so I rode with it. This was a mistake, but not a big one. I ended off track a bit but I soon found my way back to the main river and heading in the right direction.

At about 11am I reached an area called Harbour Heights, a housing development near the mouth of the Peace River a few miles east and north of Interstate 75. By now the river had begun to open up and the weather was improving. I had a 5-10kt breeze blowing in from the SW. It looked to me like it was time to start windsurfing.

I found a vacant lot and transitioned from paddling to windsurfing hoping the winds would continue to improve.

It felt great to be windsurfing, finally. After four and a half days of paddling I was ready to use my windsurfing muscles. Although the winds were light and a bit variable I was excited to feel the wind in my hands, the pull of the sail. I am not a wind snob like some, I enjoy windsurfing in any conditions, from 5kts to 25kts, and it does not matter to me. Well, it does kind of matter when you want to get someplace within in a limited amount of time. That is the situation I found myself in on this day.

As I sailed out into the mouth of the Peace River away from the spot where I rigged my sail, I soon realized that I was not actually in the mouth of the river. I still had to navigate around numerous small islands and shallow water that I could not see from the bank I rigged on. No worries though, it would just take a bit longer to tack around the islands and under the I-75 bridge. If the winds would fill in, it would be an easy task. But the winds never filled in. In fact, they began to back off and become almost nonexistent. It took me nearly an hour and a half to get past the bridge, a short two miles. The winds teased me all the way to the next bridge. They would increase to around 8-10kts and then back off to nothing. I at times found myself pumping my sail just to keep from being pulled back up the river with the changing tide. I made it to the US 41 bridge at 2:30. I could have been there at 12:30 if I had kept paddling. But I had to finish windsurfing, and that is what I did.

I was 20 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. I had traveled 85 river miles to get this close. I could taste the salt in the water and see the open waters of the bay as they beckoned to me to continue. If only the cold front was a day earlier I would have reached my goal with time to spare. I considered spending another day pursuing the goal, but I had other obligations and so did my support team. If I stayed another day I would have inconvenienced my family and friends so I knew it was time to pack it in.

As I sat on the shore of Charlotte Harbor waiting for my son to arrive, I was satisfied with the trip. I learned more about the Peace River and the Expedition Windsurfer®. I also learned a bit about myself along the way too. This is a trip I will do again, perhaps in the early fall when the river has more water in it. Sure you’re invited, let’s go!

Home- but not able to post

2011-01-22T12:27:00.000-05:00

I am home but we have had a death in the family so I will not be posting any info or videos for a few days.

Day 4- Early moning on the Peace River south of Arcadia

The trip was fantastic though.

Day two of the PR 120

2011-01-19T08:51:00.000-05:00

Day 2: 25 miles traveled from Wauchula to Gardner. The river is a bit wider and deeper allowing travel to be a bit faster than day one
.

Lots of these fellows along this strech

This section of the river has lots of these limestone banks.

Turly a peacful setting on the Peace River

Follow the trip here in real time; http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=062985hHD48k2FXEKEZNRyXUKAmfQLWpn

Day one of the PR-120

2011-01-19T08:38:00.000-05:00

Day 1: 17 miles traveled from Ft. Meade to Wauchula

Buzzards Roost- is someone trying to tell me something?

Rain on the river

Lots of snags and shallow water

Peace River Expedition-120 miles to the Gulf

2011-01-14T15:47:00.002-05:00

Training day on the Peace River. Note the rain drops on the water.

It’s been awhile since I last posted about the Expedition Windsurfer®, I have been busy trying to stay ahead of the repo man.

Beginning Monday January 17th through 22nd I will be paddling and sailing to the Gulf of Mexico. My adventure will begin in the small town of Ft. Meade Florida and continue the length of the river to Charlotte Harbor and into the Gulf via Boca Grande Pass. Without any incidents I should cover the 120 miles or so in the 6 days I have off from work.

Follow my progress here in real time: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=062985hHD48k2FXEKEZNRyXUKAmfQLWpn

Stay posted for videos and photos of the trip.

How to Shark Fish on a SUP

2010-10-20T21:12:00.001-04:00

OK, I know that this site is about the Expedition Windsurfer® and its exploits. But I have to show you what my friend Alex Aguera did today on his SUP.

Take a look at the video he made. Crazy dude!!!

Professionally tested

2010-10-18T20:54:00.000-04:00

Alex Aguera- a professional windsurf, kiteboard, SUP board builder and former world champion windsurfer tested the Expedition Windsurfer® while he was here in Florida promoting his latest SUP board design. Alex was very excited about the performance of the Expedition Windsurfer® stating he felt like he was on an America’s cup boat ripping through the water. He was surprised at the performance given the weight of the board (he is used to the high performance small sailboards he uses on Maui) but never the less he felt like he was cruising. “The board handles well and goes up wind great” were his words. He was also impressed with the retractable tail fin. He gave me some suggestions about the nose rocker and sail position that I will employ on the next proto-type.

Hey Alex- Thanks for the props bro.

Nature Fest - this weekend

2010-09-28T20:08:00.000-04:00

We will be doing demos of the Expedition Windsurfer and Alex Aguera's new SUP designed for fishing at this years Nature Fest at Hardee Lakes Park in Hardee County Florida. The Nature Fest is this Saturday October 2nd. I know it is a bit of a late notice but if you are in the area it will be a bunch of fun.
Here is a link about the event: http://www.hardeecc.com/downloads/2010%20Nature%20Fest%20Flyer.pdf

Here is a photo of Alex's new stand-up-paddle boards The Hooked Sup.

This is a great board for everyone in the family to use. It is wide and stable and easy to carry.
Come out and try it on Saturday.

Great Adventures

Ancient Indian Mounds and Mysterious Mangrove Creeks

2010-08-07T18:23:00.000-04:00

It’s been hot here in central Florida, well real hot. The temps have been in the high nineties and on some days even hitting triple digits. Add in the near 100% humidity and it makes things just a bit too uncomfortable for any type of adventure requiring a person to sleep in a tent without air-conditioning. Since I have not figured out how to put AC in my backpacker’s tent I have been very reluctant to do any overnight camping trips. So things have been pretty boring around here for a while.

But I did manage to get in a day of adventure at one of my favorite places to sail and explore, Bishop Harbor on the east side of Tampa Bay. The past week we had a high pressure ridge stationed over the Gulf of Mexico changing our typical weather pattern. The high was producing a westerly wind flow throughout the entire week. The day would begin with a light breeze out of the west and as the landmass of Florida’s peninsula heated up the sea breeze would improve and we would get winds in the 10-12kt range. Not anything to get too excited about, but enough to have some fun sailing the Expedition Windsurfer. With this type of weather pattern the potential for afternoon thunderstorms is reduced so I would not have to worry about getting off the water too early in the day.

So after wrapping up a few loose ends at home and packing a cooler of food and drinks, I headed for Bishop Harbor. The first stop on my adventure would be to try to find an ancient Indian mound hidden deep in the bowls of the tropical jungle. I would need to hike through the mangroves into the snake and spider infested jungle of Florida’s back country. As I made my way through the dense overgrowth, I was sure that at any moment I would rouse a large snake or even catch a glimpse of the ancient peoples who lived here centuries ago. As I stood atop the ancient mound I tried to imagine what life would have been like for those who built the mound. What was the fishing like? Was the water clearer than it is now? How in the world did they deal with the mosquitoes? I pondered these questions as I made my way back to the Expedition Windsurfer to head to my next stop.

I found a nice clearing on one of the mangrove islands to lay my 7.5 Zenith windsurfing sail on while I took a SUP paddle into a hidden mangrove tunnel. As I paddled around the island to reach the entrance to the tunnel I spotted a dolphin jumping completely out of the water over and over again just like you see at Sea World. I managed to get it on the Go Pro video I made, but he was too far away to be seen clearly. As I entered the tunnel the mangrove canopy was so low that I had to paddle from a seated position. Because of the denseness of the surrounding canopy and the overhanging limbs the air was stifling, no breeze to keep the temperature pleasant even with the shade. Fish darted here and there; water fowl looking for the next meal would take off making a loud ruckus. I spooked a raccoon as he was having lunch in the shallow water of the tunnel.

I exited the mangrove tunnel into a lagoon named Moses’ Hole; an almost perfectly round body of water surrounded by mangroves. The fish were teaming. With no mangrove canopy, I was able to paddle standing on the Expedition Windsurfer which enabled me to see right into the water, spotting fish of just about every kind. I was wishing I had brought my fishing gear.

At the far side of Moses’ Hole I discovered another mangrove tunnel; this one deadened into a perfect place for lunch. At the end of this tunnel the mangrove trees were larger than in first tunnel providing nice shade and the sea breeze was filtering through, making the temps perfect.

After lunch I paddled back to my sail, re-rigged and did a 6 mile sail into Tampa Bay. On this leg of my journey I spotted numerous stingrays, it must be mating season. On my way back in I spotted something I have never seen before; a spinner shark. It jumped at least three feet out of the water spinning 3 or 4 times before disappearing below the water.

All this adventure in one day! Mysterious mangrove tunnels leading to strange places, Indian mounds with ancient history, wildlife of all kinds, and of course windsurfing. Who needs TV?

Take a look at the short video and let me know what your think. Sorry for the smudges on the lens.

Great adventures!

Days Like These

2010-06-01T20:46:00.001-04:00

One of the best times of my life so far, was spending a long weekend with my son Jared sailing around on our windsurfers. Time well spent.

Plans available- correction

2010-05-25T07:30:00.001-04:00

On my previous post I inadvertently said to click on the link below, when I meant to the link above.

Sorry for the confusion.

Plans are now available!!!

2010-05-24T22:40:00.001-04:00

Build your very own Expedition Windsurfer!

Yes you can do this.

Check out the link above for more details.

Adventure, fun, relaxation, increased knowledge of the world around you, all awaite you when you step onto the Expedition Windsurfer.

Shellkey Preserve- A great trip

2010-05-24T22:27:00.003-04:00

My 19 year old son, Jared and I had planned to do the Florida 120 in north Florida, but work and family obligations took precedence. So we decided to do a three day trip to Shell Key Preserve (http://www.pinellascounty.org/Environment/pageshtml/SK_site/sk3000.html ) just north of the mouth of Tampa Bay.

Here we are all loaded and ready to shove off for three days of sailing and exploring and fishing and just plain fun.

In the picture above Jared is discussing the attributes of the Expedition Windsurfer.

(click on images for larger viewing)

Here Jared is headed for the island- he was hard to keep up with!

After a long day of windsurfing a good meal hit the spot. I liked the idea of Jared cooking dinner, but I had to do the dishes.

What a great way to end the day- good meal and great company.

In the photo above we made a sun block with the sails. This provided a nice place to eat lunch and relax a bit out of the sun.

Sailing through some very skinny water...4 to 5 inches maybe.

So what do you do when the wind dies? Go stand-up-paddling (SUP) of course!

In the mornings the wind would come out of the east, light and variable until mid-afternoon when a sea breeze would kick in. The wind would shut down for a few minutes and we would do some stand-up.

Here the "old man" is doing his best to look cool.

Check out the water color and the beautiful white sandy beach! Wish you could have been with us.

Jared and I can hardly wait for our next adventure on the Expedition Windsurfers.

"Leave nothing but a wake"

Demo Day at Tierra Verde

2010-05-10T16:27:00.003-04:00

Saturday we met a few fellow windsurfers at Tierra Verde in South St. Pete for some demo rides on the Expedition Windsurfer. The video is a compilation of some of those who took it for a ride. We had winds out of the south in the 18-20kt range. As the day went along, the winds dropped to 10kts giving us a good feel for the board in various winds. The reviews were all positive and everyone had fun.

The Everglades Challenge- what did I learn?

2010-03-28T20:43:00.001-04:00

The Everglades Challenge, so what did I learn?

After spending some time reflecting on my experience in the Everglades Challenge, a 300 mile expedition style small boat race down the west coast of Florida, and watching the racers in the Ultimate Florida Challenge and observing how they overcome various trials along the way has had me thinking of what I can do to make the it to the finish line in 2011.

(Learn more about these races here: www.watertribe.com)

The Expedition Windsurfer®

The board performed reasonably well in the all the conditions we faced on Saturday. When the seas and winds picked up I never felt that the board was unstable or would capsize. Even as I was approaching Venice Inlet after breaking my mast base or u-joint the waves were nice and big and I had to luff my sail, I still felt comfortable sliding down the waves.

What I am not so happy about is the speed of the loaded board, both when sailing and when paddling. I am certain that the major reason for the lack of speed has to do with the fact that I put over 115 pounds of gear, water and food on the board. I will discuss this issue further on in this post.

The broken u-joint could have been prevented if I had replaced it before the race. I knew it was old, but it was not showing any signs of wear. I think that the size of the waves we had on Saturday and the added freeboard of the Expedition Windsurfer® combined with the age of the u-joint caused it to fail when I dropped the sail in the water. Replacing the u-joint before the race and being cognizant of the strain on the joint when the sail is in the water can eliminate this from occurring again.

How competitive can the Expedition Windsurfer® be in an adventure race such as the EC? That depends in large part on the weather, as always. The Expedition Windsurfer® was in class 4, competing against small sailboats and catamarans. The sailors of these boats are able to keep going for longer periods of time without stopping for breaks to drink and eat, or even use the head. On the windsurfer I needed to take a break every couple of hours to eat or drink. But even when doing that I was able to stay close to or ahead of other sailors in my class as we sailed down the coast. Another advantage to a typical sail boat is that the sailor can rest while still sailing. Not being of the same mettle as the legends of the WaterTribe like Wizard, ManitouCruiser, Pelican, Sandybottom, SharkChow and of course the Chief, all of whom can go days without food, water or sleep, when I take a break to be human those in small sail boats will continue towards the finish line. But I still think that all things considered the Expedition Windsurfer® can put in a good time and finish the race.

Equipment, Gear and Supplies

This is one area that I need more time and experience to work through. 115+ pounds of gear, food and water is way too much to load on the board, and I could tell when I got in the large seas that I should have packed lighter.

The obvious and easy things to change would be my tent, my clothing and my food. I also kept adding miscellaneous items as I was getting my gear together, most of which I would never have needed. There is a big difference in what you take with you when you go camping for fun and when you are camping in an adventure race. Typically when I camp for fun or leisure I can carry more than I need because I will unload the board at my campsite and then with an empty board I can go explore. In a race, weight is critical. With more time on the water and more time spent camping with the Expedition Windsurfer I can work out these details.

Food is still a big question mark for me. How much will I need and how will my body react to it. In this year’s Challenge I only ate protein bars which caused me to have a constipated stomach for the better part of three days, totally unlike my regular self. Again this where time and experience will play a roll. I noticed that one of the racers in the Ultimate Florida Challenge is using a product from Natural High Foods. I will have to try those.

Eat, Sleep, Decide and the proper Mindset

This is the most important area that I need to improve on. Everyone knows that important decisions in life should never be made hastily. We should sleep on them, think them over and explore all our options and consequences. In the crazy world we live in, deciding whether to drop out of the Everglades Challenge may not be the most important decision I ever make. But at the same time developing and maintaining the character of heart to see things through to the end is always going to lead to good things. Like a metaphor of life, the Everglades Challenge provides us with opportunities to put into practice skills that can help us face the real challenges that come our way in our busy lives.

The first lesson that I learned or need to learn is that, I need to have the mindset that “I can fix it when it breaks”. When my u-joint broke off of Venice Inlet the first thing I thought was; how can I get a new one? I never thought about fixing it in some temporary fashion to keep me moving. If I had had that mindset as I landed on Snake Island, rather than thinking I was done, I would have considered what can be done. I could have easily made the repair with what I had, and been on my way down the ICW in a matter of minutes. (See my previous post)

The other lesson I have learned is the importance of knowing my limits. I should have gotten off the water around 9pm and made a hot meal, some coffee and slept before I made my decision to quit. As it was I kept pushing myself to get to the first checkpoint. By 11:00pm I was totally spent and still had at least 10 miles to go. Ten miles does not seem like very far to go considering that I had just sailed and paddled close to fifty miles and as I look back I wonder why did I drop out. I was tired, cold, hungry and lonely and in a lot of pain. Sitting on the board and paddling with a kayak paddle for hours on end kills my neck. The pain feels like someone driving a knife into my neck. So rather than make camp I decided to paddle to Englewood Bridge and call my wife to come pick me up. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!

The decision to drop out and call my wife was made in a split second, and after I made it all I could think about was getting off the water and getting a hot shower and a warm comfy bed. Just before I made that decision I had started to paddle towards a place that I could have camped at. My intention was to eat, sleep and then decide whether to pull out or continue on, but my willpower vanished in a matter of seconds as images of my warm bed at home filled my mind. I failed to accomplish an important goal due to the short term pleasures of a hot shower and a warm bed. I am fascinated by how my brain works and how I make such decisions. How will I prevent this type of decision making in the future? Will I make other decisions in life based on short term pleasures or on long term satisfaction? Will I have the “grit” to keep going, working through the various problems life tosses at me or will I cave in and take a less difficult rout?

In the end the Everglades Challenge has taught me that I will never stop learning about myself. And although I did not even make it to the first checkpoint, I have memories that I will cherish for a lifetime.

So what’s next for the Expedition Windsurfer®?
April is a great month for camping and exploring ….humm.

How to fix a broken U-joint on the fly

2010-03-22T16:58:00.000-04:00

Had I been thinking clearly, I would have used a small line like this one and made a temporary repair. It may not have lasted for the whole race, but it would have gotten me to the next checkpoint. This is why it is recommended to set up camp and get some rest before deciding to drop out.

A great experience- just wish it could have lasted

2010-03-07T20:21:00.000-05:00

Home safe and sound, the equipment is put away and the board is all washed down and clean. Here is a brief discription of my first (hope my wife dose not read this post) attempt at the Everglades Challenge on a the Expedition Windsurfer.

Pre race activities on the beach at Ft Desoto, Florida March 6, 2010

A number of strange and interesting vessels are always to be found on the beach before the race. Here is Matt Layden's latest creation, Elusion. Matt has developed a unique design for his mico-curisers. To provide more interior room he has eliminated the dagger board and now uses the chine strips you see on the bottom of the boat. I am not sure how they work, but they do. Matt will be using this boat to sail around the state of Florida in the Ultimate Florida Challenge, 1300 mile race around Florida.

The "Yellow Thing" another very interesting boat that was doing quite well even in the high winds we got on Saturday.

The start of the 2010 Evergaldes Challenge

Here I go. As usual I am late, one of the last to leave the beach.

The day started out with winds out of the North East around 6-8kts. Here is Matt and his boat off Bradenton Beach Florida. As the day progressed the sea breeze picked up and winds started to blow. The NOAA weather bouys reported winds at 20kts gusting to 23kts. What amazed me was the way the waves increased so fast.

By the time we had gotten down to Sarasota the winds were in the 15-18kt range. This picture does not do a good job of depicting the wind conditions at the time. I was having fun surfing down the face of the ever increasing waves when I saw the Yellow Thing go over. I sailed over to see if he needed any help, but he had things in control and was soon back on board and headed down the coast. I helped pick up a few of the things that fell overboard and tossed them to him before sailing on.

Just about a mile from Venice inlet I sat down on my board to get drink and rest a minute. The winds were coming out of the NNW and sailing on an almost dead down wind run, I was having a hard time staying hooked into the harness. I snapped this photo of the waves in hopes of showing the size of the swell. Its hard to determine the size of the waves from the photos but at this point the winds were up in the 20knt range and the seas were big. I had seen a number of boats go in at Venice Inlet to get out of the big winds and I was trying to decide if I wanted to go in also or keep going on the outside. The conditions were what every windsurfer yearns for, 20kts and a 3-4 foot swell, but I had been sailing since 7:30am and had covered 35 nautical miles. It was now 3:30, with 8 hours of sailing and only a few 5 minute breaks, I was ready for a break from the big winds and seas.

Rather than try to pull the sail up in the large wave, I attempted a water start. Having a drysuit and a PFD I felt comfortable getting in the water. I had the board postitioned for a starboard start and was out of the water and sliding down the face of a swell. Before I could hook in and move back on the board an unexpected gust grabbed the sail out of my hands and slammed it down on the water. I, of course, ended up in the water wondering what I did to deserve that kind of treatment. As I grabbed the board I noticed something was wrong with the mast base. The u-joint had come apart. The webbing holding the two pieces together was all that kept the mast in reasonably close proximity to the track it was supposed to be in. Any doubt as to whether or not to head in through Venice Inlet was gone. I had to head in. Lifting the sail and holding it by the mast I was able to get in through the inlet and land on a small island named Snake Island. I rolled up the sail, set up my paddling seat and started paddling the 25 miles to checkpoint one. I paddled into the night until reaching the bridge to Englewood at 11pm. Cold and tired I called my wife to come get me.

Here you can see the wear on the bard from the broken mast base. I know, I know I should have bought a new base before the race and carried it as a spare. I cant even tell you why I let that detail slip by, but it is eating at me like a cancer. I cant stop thinking about it. Man am I bummed!

On my next post I will discuss what I learned about adventure racing on a windsurfer, the good and the bad.

Check-in day

2010-03-05T21:36:00.000-05:00

Today was check-in day for the Everglades Challenge 300 mile expedition style small boat race down the coast of Florida. Here are a couple of pictures from today's activities. One of them shows my boat at check-in and one shows other boats on the beach. Race starts tomorrow at 7AM. Follow us at watertribe.com.

One day left- check in day

2010-03-05T05:43:00.000-05:00

Today is pre-race check in day. We have to have our boats and all our gear inspected to ensure we meet all the safety requirements and that our vessels are seaworthy and registered in the correct class. At 3:00 we have a skippers meeting to discuss rules and safety issues. Today provides us the opportunity to meet other racers and ask questions from those who have done the race in the past.

Check out the new lettering for the Expedition Windsurfer®!

Two days to the start of the Everglades Challenge

2010-03-04T08:33:00.001-05:00

I want to thank Steve Baker for taking some photos of my last sail before the race. I always have a difficult time getting shots of me sailing the board, none of my family want to spend the day on a cold beach while I go out and have fun sailing. But on Tuesday Steve was going out for some kayak fishing and took these shots of me sailing off the beach.

Only two days remain before the start of the Everglades Challenge, a 300 mile expedition style small boat race down the west coast of Florida, from the mouth of Tampa Bay to Key Largo. I am the first racer to use a windsurfer. Am I ready? I have all the equipment, food, water and the Expedition Windsurfer® is ready to go, the question is, do I have the physical and mental toughness to finish the race? That is what this race is all about for me. The adventure, the challenge truly begins and ends with what is in my head.

Follow the action here; http://www.watertribe.com/Default.aspx

Click the link "map" next to the Everglades Challenge listing and drag your curser over the pirate heads untill you locate WindWalker, which is my race name.

Great sail into the Gulf of Mexico today!

2010-03-02T20:23:00.000-05:00

With only four days left before the Everglades Challenge, I am feeling a bit stressed out trying to get all the last minute details worked out. Trying to get all my chores done around the house and trying to tie up all loose ends at work and finalize all my plans for the race is having me wonder if it is all worth the effort. Sure it is!
I got my sail back from Aerotech with two new zipper panels for reefing or reducing sail area while on the water. I thought today would be a good day to test it out, so I headed for the coast and did some sailing in the Gulf. With winds around 15kts and occasionally hitting 20kts I was able to test the adjustable down haul and out haul and the new zipper panels. I also loaded the board with all my gear for the race and put on the dry suit just to see how everything would work together.
I went out into the Gulf through Bunces Pass near Ft Desoto. The pass was a mess with waves coming in from all directions making the sail out interesting. The Expedition Windsurfer did very well in the building swell and went down wind with control giving me a nice ride back in from the Gulf. You can check out my route/track from the SPOT tracker here at the WaterTribe website. Look for WindWalker by moving your mouse over each of the little pirate heads. http://www.watertribe.com/Events/ChallengeMapper.aspx?RaceID=EC2010
This link will be operational durring the Everglades Challenge enabling those at home to keep tabs on me as I travel down the coast.

The GPS reading for today was;

Trip Odom-13.5nm

Max Speed 11.4kts

Moving Time- 2hrs50mins

Moving Avg-4.5kts

Not too bad for a fully loaded board and a two hundred pound (all muscle) guy.

6 days to the Everglades Challenge

2010-02-27T20:14:00.002-05:00

Only 6 days to the start of the Everglades Challenge.

I spent today reviewing my gear and trying to get comfortable with the dry suit. I will have to spend the next few days actually sailing with the dry suit on to see how well it will keep me warm. Based on the past few months we can count on some rather cool temps as we traverse the west coast of Florida. The subtropical jet stream is delivering a cold front just about every 3 days which is good for providing good windsurfing conditions, but it keeps the water and air temps too low for this southern boy's thin blood. I remember back in March of 1993 when we were in a El Nino weather pattern we had a huge front move through that produced winds over 100mph and was called the storm of the century. I would not be surprised to see some great winds for the Everglades Challenge this year, though not that good.

I spoke with Steve at Aerotech sails about the alterations we are having made and the sail is done and I should have it by Monday. We put in two zipper panels in the upper panels to allow me to reduce sail size while still on the water. I also have rigged up a adjustable down haul and out haul that will also allow me to reduce sail size as well. I will put some photos up as soon as I can.

Chris, Ian and John thanks for your suggestions and support. Wish you guys were coming along on this trip; it would be cool to have some other windsurfers to team up with.

Trey

Only 7 days left to train- dry suit came today

2010-02-26T20:49:00.003-05:00

Only 7 days until the start of the Everglades Challenge, an expedition style small boat race down the west coast of Florida. The race starts at Ft. Desoto near the mouth of Tampa Bay and ends about 300 miles south at Key Largo. I will be the only one to enter the race on a windsurfer, the Expedition Windsurfer®. You can follow the action in real time by logging onto the www.watertribe.com web site, and clicking the link "map" that corresponds to the Everglades Challenge. My tribal name is WindWalker. Post a message to help keep me motivated, my shore team will relay the message to me as I check in.

The dry suit came in the mail today. One of requirements of the EC is that if you have a boat that is open you must wear a dry suit. I have never worn a dry suit in my life, like most windsurfers I have always used a wetsuit. So this will be a whole new experience for me.

I shopped around trying to find a reasonably priced suit but the costs were way out of my price range so I found a company that rents Kokatat brand dry suits, Kayak Academy out in Issaquah Washington, USA. I let them know what I was doing and they worked with me to get the right suit for my needs. One of the sales reps, Barb, went out of her way to answer all my novice type questions and was very patient even when I asked the same questions numerous times. I got the suit today in plenty of time to get used to it and make any adjustments if needed. If you are thinking of purchasing a dry suit I strongly recommend you talk to the guys at Kayak Academy before you make your purchase. They sell and rent new and used dry suits and if you rent before you buy, they allow you to apply up to $150.00 towards your purchase. Check the out here; http://www.kayakacademy.com/pages/store/dsoptions.html

Only 7 days to the start of the EC. I am getting nervous.

Training sail at Bishop Harbor-Just 10 days to the Everglades Challenge

2010-02-24T12:15:00.001-05:00

Only 10 days until the start of the Everglades Challenge, an expedition style small boat race down the west coast of Florida. The race starts at Ft. Desoto near the mouth of Tampa Bay and ends about 300 miles south at Key Largo. I will be the only one to enter the race on a windsurfer, the Expedition Windsurfer®. You can follow the action in real time by logging onto the www.watertribe.com web site, and clicking the link "map" that corresponds to the Everglades Challenge. My tribal name is WindWalker. Post a message to help keep me motivated, my shore team will relay the message to me as I check in.

I was short on time so I decided to sail at Bishop Harbor on the east side of Tampa Bay rather than going all the way to Ft. Desoto. The winds were light out of the west northwest and as the day went on the sea fog began to move in from the Gulf. In one of the photos you can just barely see the Sunshine Skyway Bridge with a large freighter passing under it. Notice how clear the water is.

I sailed for about 3 hours and traveled just over 7.5 miles. It was a nice day on the water.

Fully packed paddle- just 11 days to the EC

2010-02-23T00:18:00.000-05:00

Only 11 days until the start of the Everglades Challenge, an expedition style small boat race down the west coast of Florida. The race starts at Ft. Desoto near the mouth of Tampa Bay and ends about 300 miles south at Key Largo. I will the only one to enter the race on a windsurfer, the Expedition Windsurfer®. You can follow the action in real time by logging onto the www.watertribe.com web site, and clicking the link "map" that corresponds to the Everglades Challenge. My tribal name is WindWalker. Post a message to help keep me motivated, my shore team will relay the message to me as I check in.

Here are a couple of photos of the Expedition Windsurfer® packed with all the gear I will need for 6-8 days of camping…and then some. I have some adjustments to make before I am comfortable with the set up. I need to reduce weight (as usual I am over packed) and organize the windsurfing gear on the deck to improve paddling performance and comfort, all minor things at this point.

Tomorrow, no make that today, (I cant believe it is this late already) I will be at Ft Desoto to do some sailing and see how the board sails when it is fully packed. I will also par down some of the un-needed gear to lighten the load.

I heard from Gary in Dunedin who also built a board similar to the Expedition Windsurfer® back a few years ago. This is totally cool because when I started this project I thought I would be the only one who found the expedition style exciting and fun, but now I see I am not the only one. I hope to see a few more of us at the start of the Everglades Challenge next year. Or better yet we could just have some fun doing multi-day camping trips around Florida. Who knows!

Gear- to much or not enough? Only 12 days to the start

2010-02-21T22:14:00.000-05:00

Only 12 days until the start of the Everglades Challenge, an expedition style small boat race down the west coast of Florida. The race starts at Ft. Desoto near the mouth of Tampa Bay and ends about 300 miles south at Key Largo. I will the only one to enter the race on a windsurfer, the Expedition Windsurfer®. You can follow the action in real time by logging onto the www.watertribe.com web site, and clicking the link "map" that corresponds to the Everglades Challenge. My tribal name is WindWalker. Post a message to help keep me motivated, my shore team will relay the message to me as I check in.

It's time to pull all the gear together and toss out what I don’t really need. Trying to keep the weight down and still get all the required safety gear, food and water is going to be tough. I can refill my water along the way and at the check points along the race rout. The only unknown in regards to the amount of water I will need to store on the board will be from Everglades City, checkpoint two, down to Flamingo. There are no stores along that part of the trip to restock if needed so I will need to be sure I have enough before leaving Everglades City.

The photo is of my gear that I would carry on a normal trip of a few days. I will need to go through it and eliminate some of the extra items to reduce weight and to improve the organization. When I am tired and have been on the water for a few days I don’t want to have to try to remember where I packed my tooth brush or which dry bag the tent is in. Sleep deprivation can make the simplest tasks seem like rocket science.

Hi Peggy thanks for the question about water- yes I have to carry water, but I will not be using a purification process on this trip.

Everglades Challenge- 13 days to start

2010-02-20T20:24:00.000-05:00

With just 13 days to the start of the Everglades Challenge, a 300 mile expedition style small boat race down the west coast of Florida the days seem too short to get everything done. I will be the first contestant to attempt the race on a windsurfer, the Expedition Windsurfer®. Trying to get all the details put together and get in some training before time runs out is a challenge in itself. Everything seems to be coming together; I have all my gear and most of the food figured out and the board is good to go. All I need now is to get the sail back from the sail maker and get more on the water training done. I am getting very excited. This race has been one of those personal goals I set for myself six years ago and it looks like I will at least be at the starting line on March 6th.

One of the really cool things about this race is that you can follow all the action in real time by logging onto the web site at www.watertribe.com and clicking on the "map" link on the home page next to Everglades Challenge. My tribal name, the name I use for all the WaterTribe events is WindWalker. Follow the action and post a message, it will keep me motivated.

Trey,

aka: WindWalker

Night Paddle on the Peace

2010-02-14T22:00:00.001-05:00

In trying to get in some training for the Everglades Challenge, I did a night paddle today. I loaded the boat with my gear and headed up river for two hours. The temps are still too low for me, but I did manage to work up a sweat. When I stopped for dinner I started getting pretty cold, so I started a nice little campfire. I brewed up some coffee, ate some chili my wife made and started paddling again. The river was beautiful. Even without the moonlight I was able to paddle without the use of a light by following the reflection of the night sky on the water. The shadows of the trees along the bank provide a dark contrast on the water enabling me to stay in the middle of the river just by observing the subtle changes in color between the two. At times the Barred Owls would launch into a chorus of squawks and barks and yowls as if they were having a party. The stars were out bright and the air was fresh and crisp. It was truly much better than anything on the TV.

Training in the waves-sorry no photos:(

2010-02-08T21:46:00.002-05:00

Saturday was a training day and test day. I sailed the Expedition Windsurfer® out Bunses Pass near Ft Desoto into the Gulf. At 12:30pm winds were out of the NW at 24kts gusting to 29kts. I sailed until a little after 4:00pm with my maximum boat speed of 17.4kts with an average boat speed of 6.6kts. I may have been able to get more speed out of the board if I had focused on that, but my main goal for the day was to see how the board would handle the waves.

As I sailed out into the Gulf, the seas were a mess. There was a SW swell from the day before and the strong NW winds were kicking up a new swell causing the mouth of the pass to be in a state of confusion. On the south side of the pass is a shallow sand bar that seemed to be the least chaotic. The sandbar blocked most of the new swell coming in from the northwest. I headed out on a WSW heading pushing through the small waves on the inside. The waves at this shallow point were tame and easily managed, as I sailed further out into the Gulf the swell became rather large and a bit foreboding. I sailed out to where the large southerly swell was breaking on the outside and decided that I did not want to push things too much since I was sailing alone. I jibed and came back into the pass on a beam reach, racing with the 2' waves and having a blast. The Expedition Windsurfer® handled the waves with ease. It would not be the board of choice for wave riding but I was able to demonstrate that it is possible to get in and out of a shore break of moderate size. More wave testing to come though.

I am pleased with the new dagger board gasket I installed. I used 5200 and it is holding better than the "super glue" I used the first time. The new material seems to be working as well; I did not get as much water blowing up into fin well as before. And it was considerably cheaper.

I had hoped to get some video but my camera stopped working on me. I hope to get some video this weekend.

I am sending the sail off for some alterations. I am having two zipper panels installed to meet the sail reduction rules for the Everglades Challenge.

Great Adventures,

Trey

Bottom of the EXPW2010

2010-02-05T16:33:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple of images of the bottom of the Expedition Windsurfer®. It looks rough from use and I am replacing the fin well gasket. I'm trying to use a different gasket material and different glue. We will see if it works. I hope the photos aren’t too clear so you see all my flaws.

Although it is impossible to build a boat that will do everything and does it well, I think we have come pretty close.

Our goal was to design a board that we could use for long multi-day camping trips, similar to what you would find on a real expedition. To do this we wanted the board to paddle well in all conditions. We accomplished this by designing the bow with a V, similar to a kayak. We also gave it enough rocker to make it easier to turn. We also recognized that length would be important to paddling efficiency so we kept it in the 15'-16'range. An added feature that improves this boats performance over other sit-on-top kayaks is the dagger board. In a cross wind or when paddling the dagger board helps in tracking. To make it a good windsurfer we designed the tail section to be flat and giving the outline a proper shape was also important for shedding water. From the first prototype we discovered we needed more freeboard to keep the rider dryer and also enable the board to be packed with gear easier. We also found from using the first prototype that we needed a retractable fin to get the loaded board through the shallows and up onto the beach without getting into the water to remove the fin. So far I have been very pleased with the results.

I will be out on Tierra-Verde Saturday to hopefully get some video and some action in the waves.

Here is the National Weather Service forecast:

SATURDAY

NORTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 20 KNOTS. BAY AND INLAND WATERS

CHOPPY.

SATURDAY NIGHT

NORTH WINDS AROUND 15 KNOTS. BAY AND INLAND

WATERS CHOPPY.

SUNDAY

NORTH WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS. BAY AND INLAND WATERS A

MODERATE CHOP.

Great Adventures-Trey

2010-02-05T15:53:00.001-05:00

I've been trying to get in as much training in as possible before the Everglades Challenge in March. The Everglades Challenge is a 300 mile expedition style race down the west coast of Florida. It will require both sailing and paddling. I will be the first person to enter on a windsurfer. Of course no one has ever entered any race on the Expedition Windsurfer®, this will be a first- I like firsts. Time and work responsibilities are keeping me from getting in as much training as I would like, so I do what I can. On Thursday I was able to get in a 6 mile paddle on the Peace River.

The water level is higher than normal for this time of year. With the El Nino weather pattern we are in, we are getting rain and wind with each front that passes by almost twice a week keeping the river up. If this pattern keeps up the Everglades Challenge will be a real test of endurance and fortitude.

Here are some nice photos of the Peace River in the middle of February, yea I know it's nice!

15.5 kts- Great day at Tierra Verde

2010-01-30T22:37:00.001-05:00

I have been watching the cold front all week hoping that work and family responsibilities would harmonize with its arrival. It did and what a great time it was. I unloaded the Expedition Windsurfer at 1:30 on the east side of Tierra Verde with winds in the 2okt range. There was four or five young guns on short boards giving the old man some weird looks as I sailed off the beach, but that’s ok, I did not take it personal. I had Britt of North Beach Windsurfing in my corner and he kept the kids at bay.

The Expedition Windsurfer performed beyond my expectations. It was stable, of course, but even when the winds picked up to 25+ tacking and jibing was simple and I never felt like I was out of control with my 7.5 Zenith. What I was most pleased with was its speed. In winds in the 25kt range I maxed out at 15.5kts and it felt like I could get more out of it with some adjustments. The biggest issue affecting top end speed is the tail fin box. At high speeds, water was forced into the well creating a rooster tail causing drag on the board. I have a dagger board gasket I will apply and we will see if we can get 20 knots out of her. I think we can. The board also goes to weather well, even with the old 1980s blades I am using. Matt Layden has done a great job on the design.

Totally STOKED!

Everglades Challenge-a personal commitment

2010-01-22T22:13:00.001-05:00

I have been trying to enter the Everglades Challenge since 2004, when I made it to the first checkpoint in my sea kayak. Since then I have allowed one disaster after another get in the way. In 2005 I was still putting things back together after the eye of hurricane Charley passed over my house here in Wauchula. In 2006 I had just started my own business and did not have the time or the money to enter the race. In 2007 I was still caught up in building my business and working on the first version of the Expedition Windsurfer. Then in December of 2007 my son and I were in a car crash that broke three of my ribs, puncturing a lung and shattered my left wrist, requiring a metal plate to keep it together. I also suffered a compound fracture of the right ulna and damaged the ulna head, requiring a metal plate to hold it all together. Oh, and I also broke the #5 cervical requiring me to wear a cervical collar for 3 months. Fortunatly, I did not have any damage to the spinal cord. As a result of those somewhat annoying injuries, I was in no condition to enter the EC in 2008 or 2009.
I have been spending time this past year doing some extra paddling on the Peace River and building the second prototype of the Expedition Windsurfer and trying to get my mind right for the challenge.

I am ready to go. 2010 is my time, I will sail and enjoy each and every challenge that the race can throw my way. I can hardly contain myself.

Sail test

2010-01-18T17:26:00.008-05:00

Here is a shot with the sail and both the retractable fin and dagger board in the hull. (click on the image to enlarge)I am having some problems with the dagger board. The gasket material I used seems to be too stiff and does not allow the board to rotate up into the hull easily. I should be able to make some minor modifications to the dagger board to improve it's function. The winds were out of the NNW at 8-10kts with an occasional gust to 12kts. I was concerned about stability of the board with the changes we made to the free board and width. We narrowed the board down from 33" to 30.5" and at the tail we reduced the width from 25.5" to 23.5 and increased the free board by two inches. I had concerns that these changes would make the board less stable. Although we did not have much in the way of waves the board felt very stable. I went out into the mouth of the pass and the left over swell from yesterdays cold front allowed me to get a feel for its stability in waves. I sailed from about 12:30pm to 2:45. From the GPS my trip was 9 miles and max speed was 10.6kts and average speed was 4.6kts. I can tell that this new design is much faster than the first prototype. I cant wait to see what it will do in 15-20kts. I sailed up to the beach and asked a nice Canadian couple to video me as I sailed the board. The video is not too good, I think lighting had something to do with it and the fact I was too far away.
Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

The new board is done "EXPW2"

2010-01-15T16:20:00.009-05:00

After way too much time working on this thing I finally put it in the water. Here are some images of Jared taking it for a spin on the Peace River. Click on the image to enlarge it.
I will try to do some sailing on it this weekend and then a camping trip the following weekend. I will post video as soon as I can.

I like the looks of the design and shape. I just wish I were a better boat builder, I made lots of mistakes. I hope none of them will affect the performance of the board.

Please leave comments and let me know what you think

Getting close & Duckworks

2009-12-14T20:24:00.005-05:00

Well I wish I could say that I had finished the second prototype. I missed every target date I have set. It has become so frustrating that I have been making mistakes trying to get caught back up. But I am getting close. Here are two shots of the board as of Sunday. I will put two coats of resin on the deck and then sand, sand, and sand some more. Paint will be next followed by the deck plates and outfitting. I may be done by 2011...ugh.

If anyone would like to have a set of plans for the Expedition Windsurfer, please contact me via email at mflandscapes@earthlink.net
I would be willing to send them a set for $25.00. I must say that these plans are for those who have had some boat building experience and they are printed on 8.5" x 14" (legal size) paper. I will include some notes that will help with the process.

For those who like to build their own toys, I have found a company that has excellent prices and great service. Duckworks has all the tools, supplies and toys you might need on your next project. Check them out at www.duckworksbbs.com

Early Morning on the Peace River

2009-11-22T22:00:00.006-05:00

Is it really November? I think someone forgot to tell the weatherman that it should be getting cooler. Here in central Florida the temps have been in the mid 80s in the day and the 60s at night. I can still swim in our pool! Guess I would be complaining if it was cold and I had to wear a wetsuit. Weather like this is why so many birds winter here. Right?
So what are you going to do on a lazy Sunday morning? Put your coffee in a large mug and take a nice peaceful paddle on the Peace River.

As I paddled the Expedition Windsurfer up the river a momma pig and seven (I think) babies were feeding along the rivers edge. If you click on the image you can count the piggies. When they saw me the took off like wild hogs (imagine that) crashing through the under brush.

I'm getting close to completing the next version of the Expedition Windsurfer. I should have been done months ago. Seems that every time I have the time to work on the project, something comes along and gets in the way. Oh well, I will getter done in time to do some training before the Everglades Challenge... I hope.

Registered Trade Mark

2009-10-26T22:01:00.004-04:00

It is official. The Expedition Windsurfer is now a registered trade mark of TFVentues.

After some negotiating with the US Patent Office we now have a the name trade marked. Now I just need to figure out how to put the mark behind the name whenever I use it.

To answer some comments to the blog;
Ian- thanks for the encouragement! I hope to have the new board done soon and get out on the water. I feel like a kid just before vacation.

Dan- I hope to be able to offer a set of plans and instructions on building process for the Expedition Windsurfer in a few weeks. I want to finish the current board and review my building notes with Matt before releasing.

I am excited with the looks of the new board. It should be faster and much easier to load gear into. It will be a real head turner.

Planning the next great adventure

2009-10-13T20:54:00.002-04:00

Yes, it has been too long since my last post, but I have not been doing much other than working. That is all about to change though. I am on my first vacation since last…? Well I am off this week and I have a lot of things to do. I want to finish the second prototype of the Expedition Windsurfer. Get some things done around the house and do some camping this weekend. The weather report for Sunday morning has the temps in the low 60s possible upper 50s. Perfect weather for a camping trip!!! This has been a really hot summer for me and I need a break. I hope the weather will cool down as it should be for this time of year. Here in Florida they have changed the name of this month from October to Hotober.
I have been doing some preliminary planning for the new Expedition Windsurfer. My ultimate goal for this season is to enter and finish the Everglades Challenge (EC) in March. The EC is a small boat adventure race from Tampa Florida to Key Largo, some 350 miles. With that goal in mind I will spend a week in the 10,000 Islands and the Everglades. I might do a short trip to Anclote Key and visit the sponge docks in Tarpon Springs Florida. I also want to do the entire length of the Peace River, from Bartow to Boca Grande Pass. I can think of a number of other adventures to attempt but time and money might limit what I can actually do. Not to mention my family obligations. But it is fun to plan for the next adventure.
Trey

Dagger boards are in

2009-09-10T19:01:00.004-04:00

I have the dagger boards now and will be glassing the cassette for them this weekend. I will also be going to the Tampa Boat Show this Friday to make a few contacts and see how the industry is holding up in these tough times.

On another note, we have another follower of the Expedition Windsurfer. Howard from Devon England. From the below info, Devon sounds like the perfect place to do some exploring on a Expedition Windsurfer. I will have to investigate that possibility.
Welcome Howard and thanks for your interest!

Devon
On England's south coast, west of Dorset and east of Cornwall is Devon, a mostly quiet, rural county embracing about 60 beaches; on both north [generally less protected, windier and with more surf] and south [quieter, calmer but still some surfing done] coasts. Here are a few favourites:
North Devon
Woolacombe Bay in North Devon is a spectacular and lengthy [2.5 miles/4kms] stretch of sand with many awards for cleanliness - including the coveted Blue Flag - and a reputation for great surfing, particularly when the tide is in, but also plenty of family assets such as loads of sand, rock pools trapping interesting marine life and some quiet areas of water for toddler splashing. Woolacombe village hosts all the essentials - surf shops, kit rental, cafés and a good selection of accommodation ranging from camping and B & Bs to holiday apartments and hotels.When tourists are tired of beaches the North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is the place to go walking; the South-West Coast Path runs along the shore. In addition, north of Woolacombe are a cluster of pretty coves if somehow Woolacombe doesn't suit. Get there on the A361, 6 miles southwest of Ilfracombe.
Tunnels Beach tidal pool, Ilfracombe, north Devon
Ilfracombe offers the peculiar The Tunnels Beaches, a Victorian development where four hand-carved tunnels lead to private sheltered beaches with an adjacent large tidal, rock pool that is very popular with kids and supervised by a lifeguard. There are plenty of other smaller rock pools too, as well as facilities such as shop, bar, play hut, café and sea kayak hire. Open 10am - 6pm April-June,Sept-Oct and 9am - 9pm July and August. In 2009 entry costs £1.95 per adult, £1.50 per child, free for kids under 3; family deals available.
Westward Ho! hosts a great all-round beach environment with two miles of soft beige sand, beach huts, café, toilets and lifeguards. Part of the beach is good for surfing or windsurfing, watersports kit is readily available and, as usual, the gorgeous South-West Coast Path is a great draw for hikers. Get there from Bideford via the A29 - A386 - B3236.Read more: http://www.bugbog.com/beaches/british-beaches-uk/devon-beaches-uk.html#ixzz0QkRsiLN5

No hurricane Bill for us...just beautiful sailing!

2009-08-22T22:16:00.008-04:00

The weather report called for 60% chance of storms with an approaching front in the Gulf. I waited until late in the day to set sail from the launch at Bishop Harbor. It looked as though most of the bad weather would stay off shore, and it did. I sailed out into the bay with a light 8-10kts of wind from the WNW.

I found a few nice holes in the grass flats to try out my new fishing rod. I had a beautiful Red Fish follow the bait and just when he was about to strike, he spotted me and took off. I fished for a little while longer and then just spent the rest of the day sailing. I spotted a couple of bottle nose dolphin, a school of rays and followed a three foot shovel nose shark for a few minutes through the grass flats.

It was a nice relaxing day on the water.

Just a " Day Tripper"

2009-08-09T09:35:00.017-04:00

After getting some things done around the house Saturday morning, I decided to take the Expedition Windsurfer out for a short trip. I headed to one of my favorite places to paddle and sail...Bishop Harbor on the east side of Tampa Bay. I was only on the water for a short time when a thunder storm started brewing in the east. You can see it in the background of this photo.

This portion of Bishop Harbor was at one time going to be a housing development. The developer had dredged up large amounts of bay bottom making dry ground to build on. The dredged ground looked like fingers sticking out into the water. This disrupted the natural tidal flow and also allowed for invasive exotic plants like the Brazilian Pepper and Australian pines to take over.

Recently the state of Florida bought the land and they have returned it to its natural form. They eradicated the exotic plants and replanted with natives making the area look as though it might have looked before the developer came along.

It appeared that the storm was going to hit hard but just at the last moment seemed to split apart right over my head. Here is a shot of a lightning bolt I was able to capture. It only took about 10 tries. This is why the Tampa Bay area is the lightning capital of North America.

This photo makes the storm look worse than it actually was.

I never did get to sail but the paddling was great.

Great Adventures,

Trey

The Building Process

2009-08-06T20:42:00.003-04:00

Yes, I should be much further along at this point, but I'm not.

Here is a photo of the board stitched together. I was actually at this point about a month ago, but decided to make some changes to the shape just before gluing. I discussed with Matt the changes and he felt that they would enhance the performance, both as a kayak and as a windsurfer, so we made the changes.

In the next step I will add a support form and the forward bulkhead and then glue the joints to keep the shape. Then next step will be to build the centerboard and fin trunk and install.

I just wish I had more energy at the end of the day to spend in the shop. It cant be old age setting in. NO WAY!

Great Adventures

40mph on open water!

2009-08-02T10:25:00.000-04:00

How would it feel to travel at speeds of over 40mph on a windsurfer? What would it feel like to crash at that speed? A friend of mine would know. I received an email with the results of the Maui V Max speed race. Here is the report and links to the official results.
Over 40mph on open water…WOW!

After a few days of light winds the speed gods blessed us with some nice moderate 25 knot tradewinds. As usual the wind was inconsistent coming and going as it pleased promply dropping as soon as the course opened. The Iwindsurf site kept showing gusts of over 30 mph, but these were not to be found on the speed course. Most sailors rigged something close to 6.5. Unfortunately at the most advantageous tide the wind was not co-opperating and when it did finnally fill in the tide had come up and the course started to get bumpy. The trick at that point was to find a stretch of flat water in amongst the lumps.
35 knots seemed to be the number of the day but then Erik Beale came in with a good run (wanting to get it logged in just in case of mishaps later). Eric's 37 knotter motivated the boys to get back out there and try a little harder. By 3:30pm the chop was getting quite bad and it seemed clear the best runs of the day were behind us. When Alex discovered Peter John had just beaten him by 1/10th of a knot he headed back to the water in a last ditch attempt to find a puff and velvet before the course closed at 4pm. Alex was unable to overcome the rough water and had to settle for his earlier 38.2 knot 100m run behind Peter John's 38.3 knot run despite having the highest peak speed of the day of 39.1. Erik held on to 3rd followed by John Smalley with another 0.1 knot margin over Tom Hammerton.
This was a very impressive day with the highest speeds of the year in all divisions. Carl Grundy put in an impressive 30.7 knots in the wave division and Tracey Harrap - the only womens competitor so far - just snuck over 30 with a 30.1 on some gear borrowed from Terry Alkemade. Chris Freeman competing in his first GPS contest in the wave division rewarded himself with a forward loop at the end of every run when he went faster. A good time was definately had by all.
It was a very international fleet with visiting sailors from the Southern Hemisphere Chris Adamson (AUS) and Terry Alkemade (NZ) as well as fellow Kiwi transplants Tracey Harrap and Peter John. The UK was well represented with 5 sailors, Erik Beale, Carl Grundy, Chris Freeman, Tom Hammerton and John Smalley. Olaf Sutor was the lone European competitor waving the flag for Germany. The fleet was completed with the two American sailors Matt Daniels and Alex "wear-a-hole-in-the-ocean" Aguera.
For full results go to: http://www.mauivmax.com/sunday,july26clickforresults
Peter and Alex move to the top of the speed ladder bumping Pieter Bijl down to third in Open with Carl Grundy moving to the top of Wave: http://www.mauivmax.com/mauivmax2009speedladderresults
Thanks to Dain, Marc, Ayesha, Chris, Liz and Anne for keeping an eye on things.

In The Shop

2009-06-20T08:00:00.001-04:00

Yes , it's been too long since the Expedition Windsurfer has seen water under the keel. The issue is that for some strange reason I need to work for a living. That does not leave me much time to play. Know what I mean?
Here is the latest;
1. I have the drawings for the new and much enhanced version of the Expedition Windsurfer. My friend Matt Layden has done a fantastic job with the design. Check him out at http://www.microcruising.com/pictures.htm
He is also been the focus of an article in the latest issue of the magazine," Small Craft Advisor".
2. I have been hard at work in the shop getting the next version built. If the design works well we will find a manufacturer and offer the Expedition Windsurfer to those who want some adventure in their lives. But that is still down the road a ways.
3. I was asked by a few folks if I would send them instructions on how to build the board. Like Ettore here. " Hi Trey,I read your article on the windsurfing mag. I really like what you have done with your windsurfing expedition. I live in Maui and I always wanted to built a board for camping trips. Would it be possible for you to share how to built one.AlohaEttore" The short answer is yes I will offer the plans to those who like to build their own toys, but not until I have the design right.
4. Longboard Windsurfing Journal published my story " A windsurfer's guide to Cayo Costa and Cabbage Key" Check it out here http://www.lbwindsurfing.com/
Thanks to all of you for your interest in the Expedition Windsurfer.
Great Adventures,
Trey

Jared and The EXP on TV

2009-06-06T21:47:00.002-04:00

Last week when my son Jared and I went windsurfing at Ft. Desoto he made the news. Check out the video here. http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/sports/chris_crafts/Chris_crafts_tampa_bay_water_060509

It is just a brief shot, but Jared looks good on the Expedition Windsurfer.

Great Adventures,
Trey

All work and no play

2009-05-29T21:07:00.004-04:00

For the past three weeks or so I have been busy remodeling my in-laws workshop and doing a bunch of home repairs. I have not been able to windsurf or paddle and I have been feeling like a drug addict needing a fix, so today my son and I snuck away for a few hours of windsurfing. The winds were out of the west at 10-15kts. Jared sailed the Expedition Windsurfer while I sailed my old formula board with a 9.1 race sail. Here are some photos of our day.

It's out!

2009-05-19T21:31:00.003-04:00

The issue of WIND SURFING magazine with the article about the EXPEDITION WINDSURFER is out. I just received my issue in the mail a few days ago. The article was written by Ian Berger and the photos were taken by Britt Viehmann of North Beach Windsurfing. I want to thank those guys for their interest and support in my project. I also want to thank Josh Sampiero, the editor of the mag for running the article.
Currently, we are moving forward with the refinement process of the board. Matt Layden, the navel architect has sent me preliminary drawings with changes to the shape of the board that should enhance speed and function and at the same time keep it's unique characteristics. I am also working on developing a retractable fin system that should make the board much more user friendly.
Again thanks to all who are interested in the EXPEDITION WINDSURFER!
Great Adventures!

2009-05-07T17:03:00.002-04:00

One of the activities we enjoy in my family is canoeing or kayaking on the Peace River here in Florida. Aside from the beauty and solitude that the river affords, it also offers a look into the past. Peace River is popular to fossil hunters the world over. I rarely pass over the river and not see someone knee deep in the river digging for fossils.
Here are just a few of the sharks teeth we found on a short trip on the river. Occasionally we will find a really nice one and have my mother- in- law wrap it so it can be worn as a necklace or hung on something. The bottom picture is just such a tooth that I am sending to Richard in the U.K. for winning the "spot Trey's dollar" contest.

LIVE AND LET LIVE- not this time!

2009-05-03T08:19:00.003-04:00

By my own definition I am a naturalist. I firmly believe we have a responsibility as the higher of all earthly creatures to care for those that are, let's say, in a more vulnerable position than ourselves. If we properly care for the small things, those that make up the natural environment around us, we can maintain the delicate balance of life on earth. We benefit ourselves by caring for those small things.
So it was with much trepidation that I took my shovel and decapitated the colorful little snake shown here. Why would I do such a thing? I have three beautiful kids who love to play in the same back yard this fellow was making a home in. I normally will not kill a snake of any kind unless it has fangs and is in the same yard I call home. While in the woods I enjoy observing them from a distance. Live and let live.
So my question for you is; What kind of snake is this and do you think I did the right thing in killing it?
Great Adventures!

Comments from Cayo Costa!

2009-05-03T08:02:00.003-04:00

While on Cayo Costa I met a number of very nice people. Here is a comment from JJ, a volunteer at the park. She provided me with much needed information about the history of Cayo Costa.
The information has been very helpful in writing my article for Longboard Windsurfing. I have a few more changes to make to the article before submitting it. My first version was a bit too long and wordy so I am streamlining it and should have it done today.

JJ thanks for the kind words:-)

JJ Cayo Costa volunteer said...
"Trey, thrilled with your photos of Cayo Costa and comments about the park and rangers. I'm sharing all with the park staff and everyone we know who loves Cayo Costa. It was terrific to meet you and see your expedition windsurfer/kayak. Do visit us again. You are a great advertisement for Cayo Costa."

We Have A Winner!

2009-04-26T21:18:00.001-04:00

It appears that Richard has won the "SPOT TREY'S DOLLAR BILL CONTEST"
I wrote "The Expedition Windsurfer 09" on my dollar bill at Cabbage Key.
Sorry I did not see the comment sooner. I do not always go back to read the older posts.
If Richard will email me his address I will have a nice prize in the mail shortly.
My email is; mflandscapes@earthlink.net
Thanks for playing!
Great Adventures,
Trey

Slide show of Cayo Casta

2009-04-18T20:19:00.003-04:00

I am still trying to learn how to make slide shows and incorportate music. Here is my latest attempt.

Let me know what you think. Please post a comment.

No one has correctly identified my dollar bill at Cabbage Key. Remember that you can click on the photo to enlarge it and get a better picture. I promise to send you something nice if you get it right.

Great Adventures!

Photos for WIND SURFING MAG.

2009-04-15T11:25:00.006-04:00

Believe it or not Wind Surfing Magazine is doing a article on the Expedition Windsurfer. Here are some photos that might be in the mag. I should have lost some weight!
I am not sure when the article will be published so stay connected!

A Windsurfers Guide to Cayo Costa and Cabbage Key Cont.

2009-04-13T20:08:00.015-04:00

The sail from Placida to Cayo Costa was a long one. Only 9 nautical miles as the crow flies, but having to sail up-wind the whole way made the trip 20 miles long. The winds varied from 10kts in the early part of the day to about 15kts in the afternoon. Having the ability to carry supplies and safety gear provides a whole new prespective to adventure on a windsurfer. The photo above shows one to the many islands that I sailed past. This one had a seabird rookery.

The park rangers office and dock are located on the east side of Cayo Costa. I pulled my Expedition Windsurfer up on the small sandy spot in the background. Behind me is Pelican Bay. A small lagoon protected by Punta Blanca Island to the east and Cayo Costa to west. It provides a great anchorage for boats cruising up and down the west coast of Florida.

This is the gift shop on Cayo Costa. It is small but has all that any traveler might need including cold drinks. I especially appreciated that since all I carried with me was warm bottled water...no cooler. The park rangers and the staff are all very helpful and attentive. I arrived 30 minutes after closing and did not have any reservations. When I told the park ranger I had just windsurfed 20 miles to get here the look on his face was perfect. I could just hear him thinking "you poor soul, why on earth..." He and his staff went out of their way to help me get my gear to the camp ground 3/4 of a mile on the other side of the island. Thanks guys!

The trail from the ranger's office and gift shop on the east side of the island takes you through the various natural habitats. From the mangrove swamp on the east side through the hardwood hammocks pictured above, to the coastal grasslands and pine forests on the west side of the island. The park consists of over 2,400 acres that make up one of Florida's largest unspoiled barrier islands. For those interested in learning about the natural environment this is a real paradise.

Along the trail to the rangers station. Evidence of the past.

People come from all over the world to fish the waters surrounding Cayo Costa and Boca Grande Pass.

What is different about this white sandy beach in Florida? No hotels, condos or tourist traps.

If you look closely you will spot a bald eagle on the beach.

Now what did I do with my hammock?

Just a short two miles from Cayo Costa is Cabbage Key. Cabbage Key is a real special place. It was originally built in the 30s as a winter home. Oops, let me start over. Originally built by Calusa Indians as a year round residence, then into the winter home and now as a restaurant with cottages. Famous around the world, you never know who you might meet at Cabbage Key.

Jimmy Buffet, author Randy Wayne White, Florida's current govenor, Charlie Crist and many others have visited this rare gem. I recommend the cheese burgers, they are world famous. Hey, an expedition does not have to be all work, right?

Thats right, those are dollar bills taped to the walls, ceiling, just about everything. Legend has it that an old fisherman came in to wet his whistle at the bar and taped a dollar bill with his name on it. He said that he may not ever make any money at fishing but he would always be able to get a drink at Cabbage Key. Today people from all over the would tape up their dollars. As much as $70,000 is on the walls at any time. The owners of Cabbage Key donate the money to a charity.

I will send a special gift from Florida's ancient history to the first person who correctly identifies what I wrote on my dollar bill.

The trip was a blast. My sail home was a dead down wind run with winds in the 15kt range. It only took me two hours to get back to Grande Tours. I will mark this expedition as one to do again soon.

The Windsurfers Guide to Cayo Costa and Cabbage Key

2009-04-08T20:35:00.006-04:00

The trip started here at Grande Tours in Placida, Florida, some 9 or so miles north of Cayo Costa. Grande Tours is a kayaker's dream. Situated on Coral Creek it provides access to both backwater paddling and the more open waters of both Charotte Harbor and the Gulf of Mexico. The manager, Mary, and her staff are knowledgable of all things kayaking. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced kayaker, they have just what you need. They also provide various tours of the area including guided eco-tours, night paddles, Calusa Indian History tours or kayak fishing guide service.

Take a look at their carpeted kayak launch! Bet you wont see that at every kayak shop.

More to come soon.

Home safe and sound- GREAT TRIP!

2009-04-03T07:54:00.004-04:00

What a great trip!
I sailed my expedition windsurfer a total of 37.5 miles, stand-up-paddled 5 miles, camped on Cayo Costa, eat a cheese burger on Cabbage Key, met some really great people, saw lots of wildlife, got sun burnt and watched the sun set into the Gulf of Mexico.
As soon as I get caught up on my work I will post a complete story of the trip.
This video shows me just after arrival and after setting up camp. Boy was I tired!

Cayo Costa

2009-03-29T20:49:00.002-04:00

Another great adventure for the Expediton Windsurfer & SUP!
I plan to sail from Placida on the West coast of Florida to Cayo Costa, a state park on the a beautiful island just to the south of Boca Grande pass. I will be leaving on Monday and returning on Thursday. I have been asked to write another article for Longboard Windsurfing, the on line journal. I know that this area will provide some excellent adventure to write about.

You can follow my progress by logging onto the following site. It is my progress tracked by SPOT satellite messenger. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/gogl.jsp?glId=0x1fKSKl1DcB5Uki1h9aUx8f8LlmVK8FK

Alex Agurea on the waves

2009-03-29T20:15:00.005-04:00

Hey folks,
I know that it has been a while since I posted, but I have been busy getting my business ready for the season. I have a landscape maintenance company and we are about to get busy with the warm weather.

I received an email from an old buddy who lives on Maui. Alex has been windsurfing since the 70s like me. In fact it was his dad who started selling the Windsurfer class boards that got us into the sport. Alex went on the become a world class racer and wave sailor. Check out the photos of him on the waves! Looks like fun!

Bishop Harbor to Shell Key Preserve

2009-02-16T17:52:00.019-05:00

Here is the boat all packed and ready for paddling. My plan was to paddle out of Bishop Harbor and set sail and sail to the Gulf and then to Shell Key Preserve.

Here, outside of BH the wind was almost nonexistent so I decided it would be best to paddle to East beach on Mullet Key and if the wind picked up, I would sail on. Note the Sunshine Skyway in the background. Only 4.5 miles away. Paddling at 3.5kts I should be there in a little over an hour. Well...

Almost to the Sunshine Skyway. Check out the bow wave on the freighter. Traffic was busy today. At least 6 of these big ships passed me as I paddled along.

Well only two and a half hours later I made it to the bridge. The incoming tide was brutal. It pays to play by the tides.

The sun was setting as I approach Shell Key Preserve. The wind never did come up enough to make it worth rigging up the sail. I had to take a break at East Beach to let my lower back rest up. I am not in shape for paddling.

Here is my messy camp. The weather was beautiful wish you could have been here.

Here is my gear just before loading. From left to right:

first aid kit and personals in small blue bag
two food bags, orange with snacks stored in deck bag for easy reach, the green bag has meal supplies, the red bag in back is the mess kit
green bag has miscellaneous items like head lamps, bug repellent, extra matches, etc.
black bag is camp cloths
red bag is paddling cloths-warm weather and cold
skinny blue is mat for bed
sleeping bag
tent
in the deck bag I had my charts, note book, binoculars, sun screen, deck light and a survival kit.

I also packed 4 gallons of water, a tarp and a newspaper. Everything fit fine and I actually had more room in the boat for storage.

Look! it all fit.

Noisy visitors

Conchs playing tag.

Here are some of my learnings from this trip.

The boat performed to my expectations. I was able to reach my destination and have all the gear I needed for at least 3 days out. It paddled well in all conditions that I met and did so efficiently.

Below are some observations:

A retractable fin is a must. The boat paddles so much better with a fin, however the fin has to come off to paddle through the shallows.
Having a bit more free board would make the stowage process easier and keep the rider drier.
It is important to be able to stow the sail and rig while on the water. If I had decided to sail out of Tampa Bay I would have had to change my plans and de-rig while on the water. I need to practice this maneuver more before I attempt the EC.
As I paddled across the bay it became very apparent that I am in no shape to do the EC this year. My lower back was in extreme pain even with a backrest.
Although I had a great time, it would really be better to have a few friends along to share the fun. I need to get busy and build some more boats.

So now that I have decided to pull out of the EC, what will my next adventure be?

Training Sail

2009-02-11T17:47:00.002-05:00

I will be out on the EW the next few days to get in some training. My goal is to sail from Bishop Harbor on Tampa Bay out through the mouth of Tampa Bay into the Gulf. I then will sail up to Shell Key Preserve for the night. A short 14-15 mile sail. Friday morning I plan to sail from SKP south around Egmont Key and enter back into the bay through Passage Key Inlet and head east to Rattlesnake Key to camp. Another 14-15 mial sail. On Saturday I plant to sail back to the launch in Bishop Harbor. About a 9-10 mile sail. I know that the distances are short but I want to be sure I get comfortable packing and unpacking the boat. I also want to be sure that my gear is complete for my needs.

Here is the NOAA forcast: 1/24) Latest NWS Marine FX by KTBWValid through 2/11/2009 10:30 PM local time. tampa bay waters-
448 pm est wed feb 11 2009
.tonight...south winds 5 to 10 knots. bay and inland waters a
light chop. patchy fog after midnight.
.thursday...south winds around 5 knots becoming northwest in the
afternoon. bay and inland waters a light chop. patchy fog in the
morning.
.thursday night...north winds around 5 knots in the evening
becoming northeast after midnight. bay and inland waters smooth.
patchy fog.
.friday...east winds around 5 knots becoming south in the
afternoon. bay and inland waters a light chop. slight chance of
showers in the afternoon.
.friday night...south winds 5 to 10 knots. bay and inland waters
a light chop. slight chance of showers.
.saturday...southwest winds around 10 knots. bay and inland waters
a light chop. slight chance of showers.
.saturday night...southwest winds around 5 knots. bay and inland
waters a light chop.
.sunday...southwest winds around 5 knots becoming northwest in
the afternoon. bay and inland waters a light chop.
.sunday night...northwest winds around 5 knots. bay and inland
waters a light chop.
.monday...north winds around 5 knots. bay and inland waters a
light chop. slight chance of showers.
Have a nice weekend

Everglades Challenge

2009-02-09T22:14:00.002-05:00

After giving it a lot of thought and working hard to cover all (or most) of my responsibilities I have decided to enter the Everglades Challenge. Now I have to be sure that I have all my gear in order and try to spend as much time on the water as possible.
Stay posted.

Ft Desoto video

2009-02-03T22:09:00.003-05:00

Ft. Desoto on 2/3/09

2009-02-03T20:47:00.003-05:00

Winds 18-20kts, air temps in mid 50s. We packed out the board with 40 pounds of bottled water and supplies. Performance was a bit sluggish but we topped out at 12kts.

Jensen Beach

2009-01-31T20:23:00.005-05:00

I went over to visit Matt Layden, naval architect extraordinaire, to have him draw up the boat. We took the Expedition Windsurfer out for a test ride while we were there. Here are some photos. Wind was blowing in the twenties:)

Also some video. Cameraman still learning how to use the camera.

Beautiful day on the Peace River

2009-01-28T21:39:00.004-05:00

How would you spend a beautiful day?

Last Saturday my friend Justin and I paddled up the Peace River and shot these photos. I tried my hand at fishing again but the water was much too clear. That's my excuse anyway.

Peace River Trip

2009-01-19T19:47:00.000-05:00

I live near the Peace River so I can paddle it more frequently than I can sail on the Gulf. Here are a few photos of my last day trip.

Fishing Trip

2009-01-19T19:33:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite places to be is Bishop Harbor. It is a small bay off the South East side of Tampa Bay. The area is a great fishing spot. Notice how I was able to strap my cooler to the footstraps. Winds were light so the cooler was not in the way and it served as a seat when I got tiered of standing. Water was pretty clear. I was sitting on the board with my feet in the water and snapped this photo. I caught 5 large trout, 2 Redfish and... OK anybody who knows me knows I cant catch fish even if they were in a bathtub. But the day was beautiful and I had a great time just being on the water.

2009-01-19T19:16:00.000-05:00

These photos were taken on January 7th. A cold front came through as I was rigging up. After the rain passed I sailed out Bunces pass into the Gulf and then up the coast 7 miles or so. With building NW winds approching 20kts I was able to get into the footstraps for the first time.

I sailed 17 nautical miles averaging 6kts and my maximum speed was 13kts. I stopped at Shell Key Preserve on the way back in and did some exploring. Looks like a great place to camp.

Bloggers Block

2009-01-19T18:35:00.000-05:00

Yes it is true. I have a serious case of bloggers block. I'm working through it though. I will post a few photos of some of the sailing I have been able to do in the past month.

Longboard Windsurfing article

2008-12-06T19:51:00.000-05:00

http://www.lbwindsurfing.com/ just published an article I wrote about the Expedition Windsurfer. Pretty cool stuff. Check it out.

Sail and fin testing

2008-11-25T19:22:00.000-05:00

Video is a bit jumpy and short. I put my 11 year old on an old johnboat and had him work the camera. To get Jace out to the boat he stood on the deck just in front of the mast. The board did very well. Even with his 70lbs.

Sail testing

2008-11-24T21:25:00.000-05:00

These are some photos of the local color. I missed a great shot of some bottle nose dolphin jumping out of the water. Looked just like Sea World.

I took the board out today in a light westerly sea breeze using a 7.4 Aerotech Zenith and the board performed very well. I like the sail size and boom size, they felt light and comfortable. The sail rolls small enough to store in the board when not in use. I did not use my GPS so I don't have any numbers for speed.

Dagger board

2008-11-24T21:03:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos of the modified dagger board. I will need to have one made correctly so it will hold up under use.

Details

2008-11-23T23:08:00.000-05:00

I wanted to provide a better view of the board, so here are a few photos from different angles.

2008-11-22T20:21:00.000-05:00

Last Friday I took the boat out to test the sailing capabilities and to try to determine where to put the foot straps. I rigged a 9.5m sail with cambers. The wind was South to South West at about 10-15kts. Using my GPS to track my speed and distence,
I maxed out 11.8kts and sailed 9 nautical miles in about an hour twenty minutes.
In increasing winds, approximatly 15-18 reached a maximum speed of 12.6kts and traveled 5.16 nm in 42 minutes.
All of this sailing was done in the typical back and forth short distance sailing of windsurfing.

What I learned:

Even with a large sail and increasing winds it seems that the max speed is around 12-13 kts. This could improve with properly positioned foot straps
In low winds the boat is very fast on all points of sail.
The boat jibs very easily and is very stable.
As the wind increased the need for a dagger board decreased. I was able to head up into the wind about as high without the dagger board as with it.
The hull seems to be all displacement. I was not able to pop it up on a plane even when the wind seemed to be strong enough. This might be due to the weight, length ratio. It may also be that with foot straps I could push it enough to get to plane. But if we consider the normal speed of a kayak even at 12kts its pretty fast.

More testing this week. I want to try to use a smaller sail and rig and try some different size fins. I have been using weed fin that might not be enough area for the boat.

2008-11-22T20:07:00.000-05:00

Here I'm trying the boats standup paddling abilities. It's a lot more stable than I thought it would be. I did not have the skeg in the boat so it fishtails a bit. I think that I need to add some no skid to the deck. It seems a bit too slippery in some conditions.

2008-11-22T19:54:00.000-05:00

Here I am paddeling up the Peace River testing the seat and the boats abilities to move up river.

Video of first launch

2008-11-12T21:41:00.000-05:00

Here is a short video of me sailing the boat with a

Just launched

2008-11-12T21:06:00.000-05:00

After a brief test run, I have determined that I have some bugs to work out before she is truly ready for an expedition.

The two deck plates on the stern leak. They are partially under the waterline most of the time a need to be better sealed. I tried to find the largest deck plates possible and these apparently are not designed to be under the waterline. Any suggestions would be great.
The stern deck plates do not allow enough room to slide dry bags in under the top lip. Since the stern is at such a sharp angle it reduces the entry space between the bottom of the boat and the top of the deck plate. This may not be a real problem when the midships deck plates are installed. I can still slide a sail into the hull by rolling it tight.
The overall weight is about 20lbs heavier than I think it needs to be. As a result of my lack of boat building experience I may have used too much resin in the early building stages. The added weight does not seem to affect the boats sailing abilities.

Here are some photos of the boat in the water. It was very stable and fun to sail. I had to learn to tack the v-nosed bow as it performs differently than a typical long board with a flat bottom.

One of the first things I noticed was how quietly it cut through the water. The v-bow slices the water noiselessly.

Almost done

2008-11-12T18:09:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos of the almost finished first ever expedition windsurfer crossover. I have to do a few more things before it is completely done. I need to install two more deck plates about midships for better equipment access and install the foot straps.

The EXP008

2008-10-01T20:53:00.000-04:00

Work on the expedition windsurfer continues...very slowly.
I will have photos posted soon but to update I have reached the painting stages. I have sanded until I can hear the sander in my sleep. I hope to have the boat in the water no later than October 15th, even if the paint is not dry:)

I still have not decided on a name for this type of board/boat. What do you call a sit on top kayak that you can sail like a windsurfer, paddle standing up and has enough capacity for multi-day camping? Any ideas?

2008-10-01T20:48:00.000-04:00

2008-10-01T20:47:00.000-04:00

Slalom race in St. Pete in March.

2008-10-01T20:43:00.000-04:00

I was not able to race in this one, my arms were still mending from my car crash. Everyone had a great time thanks to Britt at North Beach Windsurfing and all his hard work.

2008-10-01T20:42:00.000-04:00

Crazy tree hugers!

2008-10-01T20:41:00.000-04:00

2008-10-01T20:39:00.000-04:00

Little Blue on the Peace.

2008-10-01T20:38:00.000-04:00

A trip down the Peace

2008-10-01T20:26:00.000-04:00

Here are some photos of a trip my kids and I took down the Peace River. It is always a fun time with kids.

How to plumb a fin box

2008-03-19T20:38:00.000-04:00

After my first attempt at installing the fin box i realized that it was in crooked causing the fin to lean to one side. I had to find a way to plumb the box before glassing it in. The photo shows my best solution. I used a long fin to lessen the degree of error.

work continues

2008-03-12T17:40:00.000-04:00

I have made little progress in the past few months since my accident. Here are some photos of the boat so far. I have to re-build the daggerboard box and try to find a way to make it lighter.

I would like to ultimately install a retractable skeg but for now will use the power box system normally used on windsurfing boards. It would be nice to be able to pull the fin up into the board rather than having to stop and unscrew the fin and take a chance of loosing it. I hope to have the boat in the water no later than April 15th.

2007-12-24T20:21:00.000-05:00

Clearly I am not the most prolific blogger. I have not posted since October and here it is the end of December.

Here is an update on the progress made so far on the building of our prototype.

bottom and side panels have been glued

transom has been installed

front bulkhead installed

fin box designed and cut out

dagger board box designed and cut out

sliding mast track designed and ready for cut out

next steps will be to install the fin box, dagger board box and the sliding mast track. give the inside two coats of resin and install the deck. We will need to glass the hull with two applications of 3oz cloth and paint. Then we will need to outfit the deck with foot straps, deck plates, rigging and the foreword hatch.

I was moving along at a good pace with a targeted completion date of December 15th until a car crash put me in the hospital for 6 days. I broke 3 ribs, punctured my right lung, fractured the number 5 vertebra in my neck, broke my wrist requiring metal screws to hold it together, tore tendons in my left hand requiring that I wear a splint for the next 3 weeks and I shattered my right elbow also requiring metal screws to keep it together. The orthopedic doctor says that I may never regain full range of motion in my elbow. To date, 3 weeks from the crash I have very little range of motion and experience a lot of pain when doing therapy.

So, I am now behind schedule in both finishing the boat and in training for the EC. I get very depressed at times thinking about my situation. I hate being laid up having to depend on my family to do things for me. But I have to keep in mind that it could be a whole lot worse. When I think of what other people go through, the difficulties that so many people face in the world, who am I to complain. I keep thinking of a quote from Charles H. Surgeon I read on Pelican's web page. "He grows rich by his losses, he rises by his falls, he lives by dying and becomes full by being emptied", so our hardships can make us better people if we have the right attitude.

My commitment is to work hard at recovery in both physical rehab so I can regain 100% use of my elbow and be able to windsurf again, and also to maintain a positive mental outlook.

I my not make the EC this year, but I will in 09 for sure

2007-10-24T21:12:00.000-04:00

I have not been able to spend any time on the water lately with work and trying to get my boat done. My son and a friend were able to talk me into getting in some mountian bike ridding at Alifia State Park. We had a great time and got some great exercise and the best was no one (as in me) got hurt, which is unusual.

Here are some photos of the trip.

updating the building process

2007-10-24T20:55:00.000-04:00

Here are some more photos of the building process. The photos are not in any type of order but give a basic idea of the fact that I know nothing about building boats. In these photos Im stitching the side panels to the bottom panels.

Side panels

2007-10-02T21:49:00.000-04:00

This photo shows me gluing the sheer clamps to the side panels and the scarfed bottom panels.

Here are the side panels after scarfing and gluing.

2007-09-15T22:31:00.000-04:00

For a number of years I have been toying with the idea of building an adventure windsurfer. I wanted to design a vessel that could be used in the way a kayak is used in multi-day camping trips. It would need to provide enough storage for gear, food and water, and it would need to be efficient to paddle.
I begain to look for plans for such a vessel on the internet, libraries, book stores and boat stores and a host of other places with little to no success. So I decided I needed to design and build it myself.

What follows is a sort of journal of my endevors as a boat builder. I have no experience in this kind of work so who knows how things will turn out. I will post pictures and insites throughout the process.

My goal is to have the boat in the water by the end of September 07.

Trey