Rum Runner 2001
A Kayak Race
Key Largo to Key West
November 16-18, 2001
This is a journal of my involvement with Rum Runner 2001, a kayak race from Key Largo to Key West with three legs on each of three consecutive days. This report is derived from the online journal with photos found at http://www.CapeMayBeach.com/rumrunners.html.07/20/2001
Al Ambler, who has paddled across the Delaware Bay with me three times, sent me an email today telling me about this event. I got a green light from my long-suffering wife Cathy and applied on Active.com within a few hours.
09/06/2001
I decided to work on my "sitting" endurance today. I paddled my fishing kayak, a 14’ Necky Dolphin, around Cape Island and spent 5.5 hours sitting in the kayak without a break while I fished and paddled 22 miles.
10/04/2001
Howie Bell, a former teaching colleague from our days at Shippensburg University (PA), of Danbury, Connecticut has signed on as "support crew" for the entire trip, including the long (1310 miles) drive to Key Largo and the longer drive back from Key West. Welcome aboard, Howie!
10/10/2001
I decided to warm up for Rum Runner 2001 and fish during the same trip on Wednesday, October 10. The area called “Bug Light” (N39 05.200 W74 59.900) on the Delaware Bay is a hot fishing spot during the spring, summer, and fall seasons. There is a green buoy, marked “DS”, with a green light atop which is the actual object called “Bug Light”. This buoy warns mariners about “Deadman’s Shoal” which lies at the end of “20 foot slough”. I had some mullet left over from a fishing trip the previous day, so I decided to try to catch a striped bass. I used my fishing kayak, which doesn’t have a compass, so I taped (duct tape, of course) a hand-held compass on the console in front of me. I also carried my GPS and a marine radio. I launched at 11:15 AM. In spite of my Ph.D. in mathematics and experience teaching college-level Geometry, I read the compass backward and ended up taking an L-shaped route to the objective. There were three boats fishing out there, two anchored and one drifting. I drifted and fished until 3:00 PM. I mostly felt some nibbles from croakers, but I saw the impression of striper lips on my mullet at one point. Anyway, I didn’t catch any fish. Conditions on the bay had remained calm for the whole trip so far. I began my trip back home about a mile north of the buoy, so I was about 7 miles from home. Unaccountably, a strong SE wind started to blow and continued for my whole journey. I had to fight my way down the bay, crashing into 3-4 foot waves. At one point, I thought about how I would frame my message to the Coast Guard on my radio, but, I persevered and made it home after an intense two and a quarter hours. I was happy to be back. The GPS indicated that my total mileage was about 15, almost half of the total required on each of the three days of the Rum Runner 2001.
10/12/2001
Today was my first attempt at a serious training paddle. I used my good kayak, an 18’ Kevlar Heritage Shearwater, to paddle just past the concrete ship at Sunset Beach and back. Conditions were excellent (too good to be challenging). I did the ten miles in 2:05.
10/19/2001
It was a frustrating week of high winds and no paddling until today. I paddled a ten mile round trip to the first jetty past the concrete ship this morning. I had a nasty following sea on the way back and had to meditate on "sea rhythms" and relaxed paddling to make it safely and comfortably. I finished in 2:17 which wasn't too bad given the conditions.
After lunch Charley Gallagher and I paddled an additional 10 miles on the "ten mile race course" between Cape May and Wildwood. Our somewhat leisurely pace completed the distance in 2:50. So I got in twenty miles of paddling and over 5 hours of "seat time" today.
10/22/2001
The marine forecast called for more wind than I wanted to face on the Delaware Bay today, so I packed my touring kayak on top of the Jeep and headed for Ocean Drive to do the ten mile race course. The wind was blowing from 10-15 mph from the west as I launched at 9:15 AM. I paddled along a choppy Middle Thoroughfare toward Jarvis Sound and the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). My kayak did its usual weathercocking and I did my usual control strokes to counter the tendency. I came to the realization that the time I spend fishing from my Necky Dolphin is counterproductive for my training in my touring kayak. The Dolphin is much more stable and it tracks extremely well. Whenever I go out in my touring kayak following a long paddle in the Dolphin, I feel uncomfortable and awkward in my seat. So I won’t be using my fishing kayak until after the Rum Runner race is over. I completed the course in just under two hours for 9.1 miles and then took a standing break for lunch. After about a twenty-minute break, I started around for a second time. The wind was much calmer for the second lap, but my right arm ached from all of the control stroking I did the first time around. I relaxed my stroke and tried to overcome the sourness in my arm. I took a short seven-minute water break after spending a bit over two hours doing another 9.1 miles. My right arm felt much better, the air was warm and calmer, and the beauty of the fall day started to sink in as I began the third lap. There was a lot more boat traffic this time because the tide had just changed, but the conditions were much improved over the first lap. I finished the 9.2 mile third lap in just under two hours as I landed at 3:34 PM. The total distance that I paddled was 27.4 miles and the total elapsed time was 6:19. I felt pretty good about the training run until I realized that on the first day of Rum Runner 2001 I will have to paddle 7.5 miles further. I guess I had better keep on training.
10/24/2001
The temperature was slated to rise to the 80s today with a SW breeze, so I decided to train on the Delaware Bay. I set up a route to the north end of Reed’s Beach with an intermediate waypoint at Green Creek on my MapPoint software and downloaded it to my etrex vista GPS. I had just received and installed a GPS holder for my touring kayak so I was anxious to try it out. I launched at 8:33 AM from my beach and headed north up the bay. The SW wind had kicked up a nasty following sea that I had to contend with all the way to Reed’s Beach. I was paddling against the current both ways on this trip. I reached the north end of Reed’s Beach at 10:00 AM after paddling for 8.8 miles. I landed near the jetty on Bidwell’s Creek and drank a bottle of water while I conversed with a fisherman on the jetty. He lives not far from me and is a Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteer working out of the station across from the Lobster House in Cape May. I launched again at 10:20 and headed for home into the wind, waves, and current. The nice thing about heading into the waves is that you can power stroke the trip without worrying about using any finesse. I landed at 12:33 and so paddled 17.7 miles with an elapsed time of 4:00.
My resolution not to use my fishing kayak until after the race lasted less than two days as I fished off of my Necky Dolphin for two hours in the afternoon. I didn’t catch any fish, but I sure enjoyed the afternoon on the water.
11/04/2001
Aruba is mostly a drink, eat, and lay in the sun type of place, but I found a spot on the beach where I could rent a small Hobie kayak for an hour. I was in Aruba to celebrate my wife’s birthday. The air temperature was 92 and the water temperature was 82, so I applied the Coast Guard guidelines and found that the sum was over 100 and I didn't need a wetsuit. I used a big, clunky paddle to go with the small, clunky kayak and headed up the beach. It turns out that the only mariner's rule of the road is the closer to the beach, the faster you drive your boat, so I was dodging boats pulling skiers, tubers, and banana floats. Also, I tried to avoid the millions of jet skis. The guy who rented me the kayak said I could have an extra half hour, so I took an extra 45 minutes and had a very rigorous paddle in some beautiful, but busy water. As I was landing on the beach, a guy taking off with some tubers hit me with his boat and knocked me right off of the kayak. I'm pretty hardheaded and some of my paddling friends know how close I usually come to getting hit by boats. Anyway, I was OK and enjoyed the paddle. I have also enjoyed Aruba's heat and humidity to prepare for more of the same in the Keys in mid-November.
11/08/2001
I was back home again. After a few days of howling west winds, today began with a welcome calm. Tomorrow promises to be breezy again with small craft advisories, so I felt that I had to get in a good training day today. I decided to simulate race conditions today with a 36-mile paddle and two in-kayak breaks. As I headed up the Delaware Bay at 8:37 AM, the water surface was smooth. I had no problem maintaining a pace of 5 mph in these excellent conditions. The air temperature was 51 degrees when I began and it was sunny all day. I stayed near the shore and paddled 12 miles to a spot just above Dennis Creek. I stayed in the kayak and drank some water and ate a power bar. The break lasted around 5 minutes. Next, I paddled 6 more miles and turned around to return to the spot of my break. I spotted a bald eagle perched on a piling very close by. I took another 5-minute break with a power bar and some water. When I had about 9 miles left in the paddle, a stiff south wind kicked up and kept me company the rest of the way. I landed at 3:45 PM. I was out for 7 hours and 8 minutes and covered 36 miles. My average speed was 5.05 mph. My back ached for most of the trip and I picked up some new blisters in spite of using gloves.
11/11/2001
The howling winds prevented me from paddling today, so I did some planning. I have decided that my race day strategy will be as follows:
Before the start:
drink two 24 oz. bottles of waterAfter each two hour segment of paddling:
eat one power bar
drink one 24 oz. bottle of waterAt finish:
eat one power bar
drink two 24 oz. bottles of waterI will carry three bottles of water and four power bars on board and rely on the support boats for any additional water that I need on the course. My support crew will supply the power bar and two bottles of water at the finish.
11/12/2001
Getting ready to go! Here's the itinerary:
11/12 - Howie stays overnight with us
11/13 - We leave in the RAV and stay overnight on the road
11/14 - Arrive in Key Largo in the afternoon, stay at Cove Motel
Bay Cove Motel
99446 Overseas Hwy. (MM 99.5) Bayside
Key Largo, FL 33037
(305) 451-1686
11/15 - Down day of relaxation, maybe some fishing
Race check-in 9 AM to 7 PM
FLORIDA BAY OUTFITTERS
104050 Overseas Hwy (MM 104)
Key Largo, FL. 33037
305-451-3018 fax
Race meeting 7 PM
stay at Cove Motel
11/16 - Day 1 of race
stay at Fiesta Key KOA
Fiesta Key KOA
Mile Marker 70 Bayside
1-800-562-7730 or (305) 664-4922
11/17 - Day 2 of race
stay at Sunshine Key Resort
Sunshine Key RV Resort
38801 Overseas Hwy (MM 39)
Big Pine Key, Florida 33043
305-842-0442
11/18 - Day 3 of race
stay at Sheraton Key West
Sheraton Suites Key West
2001 South Roosevelt Boulevard
Across from Smather's Beach
Key West, FL 33040
305.292.9800 or 1.800.45.BEACH
11/19 - Leave Key West for points north
stay overnight on the road
11/20 - Arrive at Cape May Beach in the afternoon
Howie stays overnight if he wants11/13/2001
We’re off! Howie and I left Baie-Chalet at 5:00 AM and headed south. We had good traffic conditions and a lovely day to drive. We put in around 900 miles before calling it a day just north of Jacksonville, FLA at around 7:30 PM. We ate dinner at Ruby Tuesdays where I was good and stuck with salad bar. We stayed at a Red Roof Inn for the night.
11/14/2001
We left at 5:00 AM and still headed south. Once again, driving was easy except for torrential downpours for about 50 miles near Jacksonville. We arrived in Key Largo at 12:30 PM and stopped by Florida Bay Outfitters to say hello. We enjoyed grilled Mahi-Mahi at Hobos, a local bar/restaurant. It was warm and sunny. We checked in at the Bay Cove Motel for two nights. We ate dinner at Snook's Bayside Grille and had yellowtail snapper for dinner.
11/15/2001
We awoke around 5:30 AM before our alarms sounded. The temperature was 75 degrees and it was clear but still dark. We parked at a marina where we intended to go out on a charter boat and breakfasted across the street. We went out on the Fantastic II with Captain Justin and Mate Bill and caught a 40 lb. wahoo, a dolphin (mahi-mahi), a mutton snapper, and a barracuda in a half-day's fishing. It was a good trip that provided a lot of meat. We called the Florida Bay Outfitters and told them that we were going to supply some fresh fish for the group meal this afternoon.
We dropped off the fish at the outfitters and then I headed to the public library while Howie headed for the beach. We went over to the outfitters at 4:00 PM for a safety inspection. The wind was howling off of the bay. There was a pasta dinner outside on the beach, but with the nasty wind, Howie and I decided to eat at Hobos which was close by. After we ate, we went back to the room to escape the wind. I made my final preparations before tomorrow’s start.
11/16/2001
OK, here's what happened. Howie and I awoke before 5:00 AM and got our stuff together. We brought the kayak over to the launching area and placed it on some grass and then went to breakfast at "Cuban Dennies". After breakfast and lots of preparation, forty or so vessels launched for the first leg of the race. The NW wind was blowing very hard and promised to blow all day. The first part of the journey was relatively wind-free and calm as we wound through a cut and some mangrove swamps out into the ocean. On the ocean, the beam wind immediately had my kayak weathercocking and caused me to essentially paddle with my right arm pulling most of the paddle. The tremendous force on the end of the paddle caused the glue holding the paddle blade on to break and the blade to rotate and move off the shaft. I had to modify my stroke to using two forward strokes and then one steer using the paddle as a rudder. The kayaks I had passed on the calm water started to pass me. I was extremely frustrated and moved toward the nearest key to seek shelter from the howling wind. At the first checkpoint, I asked for some duct tape for repairs, but they had none. However, they did send a boat to me and one of the men aboard did a good job securing my paddle blades. So I resigned myself to a long day of paddling with one arm. I started to feel better after about four hours when I realized that I was averaging about 4 mph in spite of my problems. Whenever I had to go too far offshore, there was a nasty chop and I had to work harder to keep the kayak going straight. After eight hours I felt pretty good because I had two hours to go before curfew and only 2.6 miles to go to the finish. I had traveled 32.4 miles on the course and probably a couple more trying to stay close to land. Unfortunately, we had to cross under a bridge to bayside where the wind was really howling (and right under the bridge). It was one of the old bridges with concrete arches constructed so that quite a bit of the space was blocked by concrete. Also, the land beyond the bridge v-ed to the bridge. The current was raging out from under the bridge. I was following a tandem kayak and watched them cross under the bridge and then struggle to even move on the other side. Since they were paddling a bit faster than me, I knew I would be in trouble following them. I decided to go down to the left side of the bridge and cross under the first arch. This is always my strategy for crossing under the Cape May Bridge in the canal and it has worked for me in some nasty wind and current conditions. It was a horrible mistake; I should have crossed in the middle of the bridge or paddled down to a bridge I couldn’t see to the south with wider openings and less current. I was apprehensive (scared, in fact) as I paddled toward the arch. The water was boiling and just before I could get the bow of the kayak into the arch, I was thrust violently sideways and was facing a concrete wall with boiling water all around me. I turned the kayak into the current to go back out into the ocean for another chance when I was dumped into the water. I banged into a concrete column. I was swept out on one side of the column and the kayak out the other. I managed to grab the bow handle on the upside down kayak and I tried to swim it to shore. But I kept being pushed further out into the ocean by both the wind and current. So I flipped the kayak over and tried to get back in. The kayak slipped from my grasp and was blown twenty yards away in a heartbeat and kept moving away at a high rate of speed. Luckily, my submersible marine radio was in a pocket of my PFD. Earlier, I had asked the guy who fixed my paddle on the support boat what channel he was monitoring and he told me it was 69. So I turned on my dripping radio and flipped the channel to 69. I could hardly hear the static with the roar of the wind and water, but I hailed “Rum Runner support” and explained that I was in the water and separated from my kayak. The water was warm (78 degrees), so I wasn’t worried about hypothermia; I was concerned about my kayak rapidly heading for Cancun. After about ten minutes a support boat came into view. They spotted my kayak, but couldn’t see me in the water. I used the radio to direct them to me. Meanwhile, a recreational boat picked up the kayak and brought it over. The kayak and I were delivered the last 2.6 miles of the race leg by boat. I walked around to the beach and saw Howie looking to the horizon with his binoculars, waiting to see me come under the bridge. I walked up behind him and mentioned that he was looking the wrong way. After a hot shower, I decided that, since there were heavy winds forecast for the next two days, I would withdraw from the event. It wasn’t because I was tired; I was fine except for a few blisters in weird places on my hands. I just didn’t think that I had brought the right kayak or the right skills for strong winds and heavy chop. In fact, I thought it would be dangerous to continue.
Some things worked very well. My GPS and the way I had it mounted did a great job of navigation. The GPS stayed in place when the boat flipped over. I had trained myself physically in a proper way and was plenty strong to paddle the distance at a fast enough pace. My schedule for breaks worked fine.
For next year I will either have to have a new kayak or my present one equipped with a rudder or skeg. I will also have to train in heavy wind and seas and practice self-rescue under those conditions. Howie predicts that I’ll be able to complete two legs next year and finally finish the race the year after that. I’d like to try.
Howie and I headed out for dinner at Gallagher’s Restaurant, a pleasant surprise with great food and service. We decided to bird our way down to Key West tomorrow and then stay in Key West for two nights.
11/17/2001
We awoke at 6:00 AM and packed up. We checked out and breakfasted at Little Italy Restaurant nearby the Fiesta Key KOA where we had spent the night. As we drove south on the Overseas Highway, we saw lots of kestrels and belted kingfishers on the phone wires. The day was beautiful but windy; there were no clouds and a hot sun. We stopped at Big Pine Key to rent bikes for a couple of hours’ bike ride down the key. We saw key deer, a caracara, a bald eagle, and a yellow-crowned night heron on our ride. We continued our drive to Key West and ate lunch at Schooner Wharf Bar at the historic seaport. Then we checked in at the Sheraton Suites. Howie headed for the pool as I updated my report on the race. We took the hotel shuttle to the top of Duval Street and ate dinner at Blue Heaven. A typical tropical downpour erupted just as we finished our outdoor meal. We waited for the rain to stop and then walked on Duval Street a bit before headed back to the hotel.
11/18/2001
We awoke at 6:00 AM again. I immediately headed out to Smathers Beach to try to catch the sunrise. The sun provided a beautiful sight as it rose around 6:30 AM. We decided to birdwatch on foot and walk to the harbor. We ate breakfast in an outdoor café on Duval Street. Then we went to the harbor and bought tickets for an afternoon snorkeling trip on the Pacific Fury catamaran. We took the shuttle back to the hotel, changed and took the shuttle back to town. We ate lunch on Sunset Pier and watched the “high risk offshore racing” boats roar by during their racing afternoon. It looked as though the highest risk was that some boats had helicopters positioned about 5 feet above their bows as they raced around the course. It was very noisy and somewhat exciting for a while, but then it was just noisy. It was a great afternoon for snorkeling with the air temperature at about 80 and the water temperature at about 79. We headed out during a lull in the race. The boat was at about half capacity. Most of the others were in a group from London enjoying a destination wedding. They were friendly, funny, and ghostly pale. We snorkeled at Sand Key, near the lighthouse. I spent about an hour in the water and enjoyed viewing the various colorful fish. When we got back to the harbor area, the Coast Guard informed the captain that we would have to stay out in the water and watch the races for an hour before we could cross the harbor to the dock. Since there was free beer on board, the wedding party was overjoyed. It was nice to be so near to the race and on the water, but Howie and I were happy to get back to land. Later in the evening, we ate a great dinner at Mangoes on Duval Street.
I found out later that about half the kayaks successfully completed the Rum Runner 2001, including Al Ambler.
11/19/2001
We awoke at 4:30 AM, quickly packed up, and headed up the highway. We had some rain on Marathon Key, but otherwise the weather was good. We ate breakfast at Cuban Dennies on Key Largo; we’re acquiring a taste for Cuban Café con Leche and brusque waitresses. The day was beautiful and warm and the traffic on I95 was light as we drove north. We put in 950 miles and stayed overnight at a Hampton Inn in North Carolina; we ate dinner at Pizza Hut.
11/20/2001
We awoke at 4:30 AM and headed home. We ate breakfast in Virginia Beach at a Waffle House. A squall hit the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel just as we were passing over and we were hit with a gust of about 80 mph which had the kayak pointing east as we were heading north. This kayak behaves poorly above and below bridges it seems. We ate lunch in Lewes, DE and then took the Cape May/Lewes Ferry over to Cape May. We arrived at Baie-Chalet at about 3:00 PM. Poor Howie had another four hours to go, but the adventure was over for me.
I hope to have a new kayak and Cathy as my support crew for next year. Howie says that he and his girlfriend will meet us in Key West at the end of the race.
William G.McArthur
January 8, 2002
