May 15 2001 11 Tuesday

2001 Race - May 15, 2001, Tuesday
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	5:45 AM	Mil 779	Lake City, MN	3rd
Amazons	Withdraws 5/12/01		Out at St. Cloud, MN	5th
Double Helix	7 PM	Mile 583	Dubuque Iowa, L&D 11	Tied 1st/2nd
Kruger	7 PM	Mile 583	Dubuque Iowa, L&D 11	Tied 1st/2nd
Rebels	Withdraws 5/13/01		Out at Monticello, MN	4th

Team Kruger and Team Double Helix will be paddling together on closed sections of the Mississippi River per a decision from the Coast Guard.

Updates/Comments Received 5-7AM calls:
From Safety Officer Elizabeth Tynan

Team Alaska:
At 5:45, Kerm reported that his team had camped at Old Frontnac, a small place just north of Lake City, MN, at river mile 779. Their paddlers were looking forward to paddling the rest of Lake Pepin today. He said yesteday the heat was stupendous for mid-May in Minnesota--97 degrees!

Team Double Helix:
Andrew called from their camp just below lock and dam 11 at Dubuque, river mile 583, at 5:00. They were up and about, planning to begin their paddle at 7:00 a.m.

END OF SAFETY REPORT

Webmaster/Mary Potter notes: Team Kruger is traveling with Team Double Helix on closed parts of the Mississippi River per the Coast Guard.

Teams called in to Safety Officer between 5 and 7 PM

Team Name	Time Called	River Mile	Nearest City/State	Estimated Position
Alaska MSC	7:22 PM	Mile 737	L&D 14, Clinton, Iowa	position
Amazons	Withdraws 5/12/01		Out at St. Cloud, MN	5th
Double Helix	6:15 PM	Mile 521	L&D 14, Clinton, Iowa	Tied 1st/2nd
Kruger	5:45 PM	Mile 521	L&D 14, Clinton, Iowa	Tied 1st/2nd
Rebels	Withdraws 5/13/01		Out at Monticello, MN	4th

Team Kruger and Team Double Helix are paddling together on closed sections of the Mississippi River per a decision from the Coast Guard.

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

Team Alaska MSC/Rebels
7:22 PM, Mile 737 Lock and Dam #5
The paddlers were just getting in when we were talking. They will feed them now.

Team Double Helix
5:45 PM, Mile 517 Near Clinton Iowa
Andrew said "the paddlers near Clinton Ioway". The Kayakers are meeting the support team at Lock and Dam # 14

Team Kruger
6:15 PM, Mile 521
The Kayakers are also meeting the support team at Lock and Dam # 14, as Verlen says, for a group hug. Verlen's wife and other relatives are now with the team. Bob's wife has been with them a few days, and everyone is pitching in and making it easier for the road crew . It sounds like they are having a good time. Stan sounded in great spirits.
Since Clark was standing next to him, I told them both that it is now setup to have the Plaquemine Parish Motor Vessel "Authority One" to pick them up at the finish, Mile 0 !

END OF SAFETY REPORT

Team Kruger - Bob Bradford Daily Log, Enhanced by Stan Hanson
May 15, 2001, Tuesday, Day 11

It turned out that we were not allowed to go until 8:00 a.m. on May 15th. The Coast Guard said we could continue IF Team Kruger and Team Double Helix stayed together for safety. We would now be the ONLY craft allowed on the swollen and flooded river. Verlen said that it is really safer when a river is flooded as it gives you more options for safety and there are fewer watercraft to contend with. Even our own safety officials in Florida couldn't understand this and wanted us not to paddle at night. That is what we had been doing up to this point and at the pre-race meeting it was decided that it was up to each team to make their own decision as to when to paddle at night. We were glad to have Verlen's experience!! This condition would last until Lock and Dam 19.

As we took off, my son Mike and Chris Andrews went along with us and Double Helix. For the week they were there, Mike, Chris, and my grandson Michael would travel often with us, although not at night.

Chris started marking my maps with mile markers of the next lock and dam. This proved to be valuable information.

As we got into the area below Lock 11 , it was evident why the Coast Guard had closed the river and the Corps of Engineers closed the locks.

The next several locks were under water, and many homes along the river were under water, or had sand bags around them. The race committee had talked the Coast Guard into letting us go, because a canoe would not make big waves. The tug boats and barges, on the other hand, would make waves big enough to knock down the sand bags.

The safest place to pass a flooded lock was usually over the levee at the end of the dam. Whenever we approached a lock, we would use the marine band radio. We would call for the lock master of whichever lock we were approaching, and ask for directions. The lock master would then give us his best advice.

When we were three miles above Lock and Dam 12, the wind was blowing hard from out of the southwest. Mike and Chris were with us in a Kruger Cruiser. Their canoe did not have a full cover like ours. It only had the three feet of hard cover in the bow. Mike put a garbage bag over his lap with duct tape. For protection from the wind, we went on the back side of some islands. When we contacted the lock master, he instructed us to go over the levee beside the dam. Lock 12 was under water. There
were a lot of islands below the levee, and they can snag you if the current is fast. We had to paddle closer to the dam to clear the islands below. By now, we had to paddle almost parallel to the levee. Half-way across there was a break in the levee, and the water was rushing through. We paddled very fast to get across the current. By the time we got to the other side, both Verlen and I were out of breath. Once we reached the unbroken portion of the levee, we had protection. We went over the land portion, then paddled on the back side until we got away from the islands downriver.

The next lock was 13, and on this one, the lock master recommended to go right of the lock. He told us to take the Lyons Chute. It was a very noticeable drop of about three feet, but it's not a sudden one.

Below Lock and Dam 13, we pulled into the rocky shore at Clinton River Front. It was 5:30 p.m. There was a big surprise for Verlen. Verlen's wife Jenny was with our support team. She had come with Verlen's daughter and son-in-law, Nancy and Terry Norris. Team Double Helix ate with Verlen and me. We found that with the restrictions to stay together, it would be easier to eat together. Over the next several days, our support teams took turns supplying the meals.

As we paddled into the night on May 15, we met with our third mandatory stop. It was around 10:50 p.m. on a dark night. Because we were still traveling together, now was a good time for sleeping, both for me and Clark of the Double Helix. All of a sudden, a loudspeaker woke me up. There was a voice instructing us to pull into the shore. There were all kinds of search lights shining on us, plus a chopper was over our heads. There were firemen in a couple of motorboats that directed us into the right bank at LeClaire, Iowa. The Sheriff's Department started interviewing us. They had a report that someone had capsized in the river. The Fire Department and a medical helicopter had been dispatched to save us.

Now the question was, who would pay for this episode? After all, the river was closed to all traffic. The Sheriff could not confirm our release with the Coast Guard because no one was in the office. We had to wait until morning so the Sheriff could confirm the story that Clark and I had told them even though the lock master had confirmed what we had told the sheriff. Very frustrating!!

When we were stopped, I called our support team who had been waiting at Lock and Dam 14. Before the Sheriff had finished interviewing us, our team showed up. The lock was only three miles down the river. We slept in the trailer, except for Verlen. His family took him to a motel for the night.
End of Team Kruger Log May 15, 2001, Tuesday

May 14, 2001, Mon

May 16, 2001 Wed