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

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

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.