May 13 2001 9 Sunday

2001 Race - May 13, 2001, Sunday
The Great Mississippi River Race for Rett Syndrome, May 2001
We are Going the Extra Mile..... The Extra 2,348 Miles to Find a Cure!

Teams called in to Safety Officer between 5 and 7 AM

Team Name	Time Called	River Mile	Nearest City/State	Estimated Position
Alaska MSC	7 AM		Monticello, MN	3rd
Amazons		Withdraws 5/12/01	St. Cloud, MN	5th
Double Helix	6 AM	663	Lansing, Iowa	1st
Kruger	6 AM	678	Lock and Dam 8	2nd
Rebels		Withdraws 5/13/2001	Monticello, MN	4th

Updates/Comments Received 5-7 AM calls:
From Safety Officer Elizabeth Tynan
The river will have to serve as sanctuary for those spiritually inclined on this beautiful Sunday morning, surpassing, as it does, any of those made by man. Even while paddling hard, communion with nature and the "great spirit" seems so easy there, as if one could almost reach out and touch, if not the creator, at least some of his most marvelous work. What memories I have. . .
Team Alaska
Kerm called at 7:00 with the report that Megan had joined their group yesterday, about the same time they bought the new "lean, mean, paddling machine" named Kermit. They were at Monticello, just preparing to leave for Coon Rapids. I told them about Team Rebel's situation and requested he contact them to discuss various paddling possibilities.
Team Double Helix
Clark, Kurt, and the crew got to the beginning of "God's Country" last night, so named because it is undeniably one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places on the river. The team ate supper at La Crosse, WI, then took turns paddling and sleeping all night.
When Andrew called at 6:00, they had reached the little town of Lansing, IA, river mile 663, and were pushing on, Clark at the helm and Kurt under the bubble--dubbed "Happy Hut" by the crew. By the way, brightness under the bubble made sleeping difficult in the daytime, so Clark, ever the innovator, coated it with silver spray paint.
Andrew reported that support team members Edith and John are simply superlative--extremely committed and hardworking, and always quick to see to their comfort and well-being in a thousand ways. John ties down equipment, gets supplies to the boat, does dishes, in short, does anything he sees that needs to be done. Edith too, according to Andrew, is an absolute marvel, able to whip up gourmet meals at a moment's notice under the most primitive conditions with rudimentary equipment,almost as if she has rubbed some mysterious "Aladdin's Lamp." Edith might use a little magic, but take it from me, it comes from within her marvelous self. I myself witnessed her in action the first day of the race in Minnesota, when, after traveling all day in frigid, wet weather, she cooked dinner over a rebellious campstove on a card table--with gusty winds constantly whipping about spice bottles, napkins, and paper plates and snuffing out the stove--more trials and tribulations than most cooks see in a lifetime. Three cheers and hats off to Edith, an invaluable blessing to this expedition.
Also, Eric, the official team cinematographer, is due to return to Connecticut today and will be replaced by Jeff Romine, another friend of Clark's.
But this morning, I think most of the teams were meditating more about navigational matters, and who could blame them? After all, this IS the Great Race.
Team Kruger
Verlen and Bob stopped for the night just below lock and dam 8, then left from there--river mile 678--at 6:00 this morning.
Yesterday, Stan said, they had an especially good day because some of Bob's family arrived to paddle with them for awhile. They had a little trouble at lock and dam 9, because the lockmaster said he had been given instructions not to let any pleasure craft pass. After a little while, though, they were given the go-ahead and allowed to lock through.
END OF SAFETY REPORT

Webmaster/Mary Potter writes.... Al Levine from Team Rebels called me this morning. Only Al and Eric are left. Team is withdrawn. Please note, Team Rebels started the race short handed. Days before the race started another paddler/road crew member withdrew due to illness.

LATE MORNING UPDATE From Elizabeth Tynan, Safety Officer:
At mid morning, Megan called to say she had decided not to join Team Alaska after all, preferring to stay with Cynthia until she is sure her hand is definitely out of danger. She said they would return to the spot where they had taken out on some future date and paddle the rest of the river, but that at this time, she wants to
stay near Cynthia.
Al Levine and Eric Kocher, previously from Team Rebels with a Cause, are still hoping to paddle to New Orleans, they asked if Team Alaska-Amazon might be able to use two more paddlers. I relayed their request to Team Alaska this morning, and am currently awaiting word on how this situation will be resolved.
Just after that, Eric reported that he and Al were going to rent a car and drive to the St. Anthony dam at midday for an "audition" with the Alaska team. Since two of their team were already on the water this morning, Kerm requested they get together later so the two paddlers could have some input in the decision too. Eric, after a moment's thoughtful reflection, mused, "Hey, wait a minute. Shouldn't Al and I be auditioning them? After all, they're the ones who lost their boat." :) I am currently awaiting word on whether or not the mutual auditions came to a positive paddling conclusion.

Teams called in to Safety Officer between 5 and 7 PM

Team Name	Time Called	River Mile	Nearest City/State	Estimated Position
Alaska MSC	6:23 PM	Mile 853	heading towards Lake Pepin, MN	3rd
Amazons		Withdraws 5/12/01	St. Cloud, MN	5th
Double Helix	5:12 PM		Guttenburg, Iowa, Lock and Dam 10	1st or 2nd
Kruger	7:20 PM	Mile 620	Guttenburg, Iowa	1st or 2nd
Rebels		Withdraws 5/13/2001	Monticello, MN	4th

Updates/Comments Received, 5 to 7 PM Calls:
From Don Keller, official time keeper

Team Alaska
6:23 Miles 853
Kerm called in as Team Alaskan-Rebels. Eric Kocher and Al Levine from Rebels with a Cause have joined Team Alaska now to form Team Alaskan Rebles. Kerm said that whenever they get to Lake Pepin, they plan to start the crossing early in the morning. NOTE: Yesterday they were the Alaskan-Amazon. Kerm said that Megan was no longer with them, as her choice.
Team Double Helix
5:12 Lock & Dam # 10
Per Andrew, the Paddlers are heading towards the support team waiting downstream about 32 miles at Guttenburg, Iowa. Each paddler got 5 hours of good sleep on the water in the "Happy Hut", and said they felt very rested after their sleep.
Team Kruger
7:20 Miles 620
Stan said he is waiting for the paddlers at Guttenburg, Iowa. Stan also said they Team Kruger is about 5 miles behind Team Helix. They are going to surprise the paddlers this evening with Hot Pizza. The paddlers slept for four hours last night in the motor home.
END OF SAFETY REPORT

Webmaster says: I don't have logs from everyone - I'll share what I have below.

Team Double Helix from Kent Spading, co-captain, Sunday May 13, 2001
At 7:45 pm, the Double Helix arrived at L/D #10. At 8:00 pm I cooked a dinner of stew, chili and green beans. The Double Helix left at 8:30 pm. At 9:20 pm we were packing to leave when Edith, Hans and Jeff arrived. We left at 9:30 pm for Platteville. We’ll stay at Dave Meinhardt’s huge, 3-story house (Andrew’s friend). We’re very tired and stopped at the Dickeyville Grotto, WI on the way. Arrived at 1:40 pm, in bed at 12:21 am, very tired. Andrew will go to Dubuque at 2 am to meet Clark and Kurt. My District (Corps) ends at L/D #10. I am very, very tired.
End of Kent Spading Log

Team Kruger - Bob Bradford Daily Log, Enhanced by Stan Hanson May 13, 2001 Sunday with early morning text from May 14, 2001
After this mile marker, the buoys cross over to the Wisconsin side of the river. The river is approximately three miles wide at this point. We crossed over and arrived at Lock and Dam #8 after midnight, early May 13. Our support team had hot food for us. They said they had not seen Double Helix go by yet. Shortly thereafter, Double Helix arrived. Apparently, they had not crossed to the Wisconsin side when we did, and it cost them some time. They paddled on through the lock. We made the decision to stay until daybreak. The support crew had parked next to the boat ramp. Thirty feet on the other side of us was a railroad track. I slept in the back seat of Mike's truck, and every time a train went by, it rocked back and forth.
In the morning on May 13, we put back in with Mike, Michael, and Chris paddling with us again. By the time we got to river mile 655, Lake Winneshiek, the wind had picked up a lot. We had a struggle getting across. We hid behind islands for protection as much as possible.
We went through Lock and Dam #9 by 12:30 p.m., then Lock and Dam #10 by 8:30 p.m. The flooding in the last 50 miles had been especially bad. We also noticed a lot of green and red buoys out of position. There were also some missing day markers. From Minneapolis down, the river has red and green buoys, so that watercraft know where the channel is. Each buoy also has reflective tape on it. The tape makes it easy to see when you shine a light on it at night. The day markers are large signs which have the river mile marked on them. Some of the river mile markers have blinking lights or navigation lights on them. These lights are battery operated. The further down the Mississippi you get, the better the markers and the more navigation lights they have.
The river charts show you exactly where the navigation lights and mile markers are though they do not show you where the red and green buoys are. During the daylight, you could see where large trees or other debris had knocked over the markers or lights. Sometimes you could find several buoys washed up on shore. One of the most dangerous situations was when we found what we called a "bobbing buoy''. This happens when the anchor cable is short and the current is very fast. The buoy will actually go underwater, then pop up for a few seconds, then submerge again, only to pop up 15 feet from its original place. There were plenty of times that either us or Double Helix would shout out "submerged buoy" during the night.
One other phenomenon that occurred with buoys in fast, deep water was its lateral movement. You could be paddling to pass the buoy on the right side, but then it seemed like you would hit it. That's because the buoy would swing up to several feet back and forth in the current. Verlen and I would kid that there was a huge magnet on the buoy that would attract canoes and kayaks.
At mile marker 608, the power plant lights were so bright that it was confusing. Why the charts don't tell you it's a power plant, I'll never know! It was very dark and cloudy that night, and there were signs it would rain. At river mile 606, I took the Jack Oak Slough rather than the main channel. I didn't do this on purpose. I didn't realize it until it was too late. Verlen was sleeping or we wouldn't have missed it. I don't remember if I even told him about it. I wouldn't want him to lose faith in my navigation.
Once we got down to the pool above Dubuque, Iowa, and Lock and Dam #11, it began to rain. Soon the thunder and lightning started, and we were out in the middle of it. The map showed that the area was full of stump fields, although with the high water, I doubt there would be any. Once again, I found that the red and green buoys were out of location. In order to find your way through a stump field at night, your only hope was to count on these buoys to keep you in the channel. To locate the reflector tape on the buoys, I would first swing the canoe right or left until I picked up a buoy. After finding one, I would pass it, then swing right or left again to find the next one.
When I got about half way across the pond, my spotlight on the bow began to grow dim. We had already burned Verlen's down to nothing. The headlamp that I used to read my map stopped working. Now I would have to pick out the lights from the dam, if possible, and follow them. My only problem was that there were some bright lights a little to my right and some straight ahead. At the point when I could still read my map, I did not remember seeing anything that would have lights on it. I made it to what's called Island #212 below river mile 591.
I grabbed a tree limb to hold us and woke Verlen up. It was about 4:00 a.m. I needed Verlen's flashlight to read my map. He hooked his flashlight on a tree limb, then I moved the canoe back and picked it up. The lights on the right were from a bridge. The ones ahead were from Lock and Dam #11 . I paddled on toward the lights. The storm had let up by now. When we arrived just above the lock, I found that our support crew had not yet arrived. I needed to know if they were going to meet us above or below the lock. The support crew was only a mile away, so I locked through. As I entered the lock, Mike came running up. He told us that Double Helix had left their kayaks at the lock and were taking a nap someplace.
It was 5:00 a.m. on May 14. The plan was to eat and take a two-hour nap, then leave, maybe, ahead of Double Helix.
End of Team Kruger Log May 13, 2001 Sunday