Everglades Challenge-a personal commitment

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

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"

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

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

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

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

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