Daily Updates and Pictures - Monday, May 26 2003, Day 17 Starts at 6 AM
Mississippi River Challenge for Rett Syndrome and Leukodystrophy, 2003
Guinness Record Setting Event for 2 different rare diseases!
Paddler Log by Bob Bradford and Clark Eid, Monday, May 26th 2003;
(BB) In the early morning light, we arrived at Black Hawk Point, Knox Landing on the Louisiana side. You can hear the warning foghorns that alert you to stay clear of the three outflow channels on river right. It was just after 5 pm, so needless to say I was far left by river marker 315. After an up-bound tug got out of my way, I paddled across to the right shore. We grabbed some food and Tommy Eldridge, who signed our witness form, volunteered to drive back to his place and get a cooler full of ice for our crew. Two policemen, Blake and Cass Buttler, also signed witness forms at Knox Landing.
(BB) When we left Knox Landing, Andrew and Mike got in the extra canoe and paddled with us. Andrew had the movie camera and planned on getting some shots. The plan was that they would go with us 14 miles to the Angola Ferry, then we would meet our crew again so Mike and Andrew could get out and we could get some ice-water. After a few miles, Clark went down for a nap and I paddled alongside the other canoe. My head nodded more than once in that section. It was warm and very humid, and I was tired.
(CE) I was going to demonstrate to Andrew and Mike, on film, how I would lay back to nap while Bob took over steering. Just my luck, I fell asleep and started snoring, all captured on tape!
(BB) When we got to Angola Ferry, we did not find our crew waiting for us as we had expected. I tried the satellite phone with no answer. Finally, I called Angie's cell phone and got her. She said that when they arrived at the road to the Ferry it was flooded and that Stan had loaded his Sea Wind with ice and water and paddled down to meet us. I asked the river ferry captain, who was standing on his dock beside me, if his road was flooded. He answered no. One look at the map told us what had happened. At river mile 306 there is an old ferry crossing that is no longer used. It is just above Shreves Bar. Stan had tried to take the road back to this old landing and feed us. We were at river mile 300 waiting at the Angola Ferry Landing. I told Angie to drive down and pick up Mike and Andrew at Angola and we would paddle on down to the St. Francisville Ferry for our next feed. Mike and Andrew gave us all of the ice water and food that they had and we took off. I later found out that during their wait for Angie, Mike and Andrew saw an alligator.
(BB) By river mile 266, St. Francisville, we were more than 18 hours ahead of my schedule. Clark and I discussed that either one of us could paddle the next 266 miles alone while the other one was sleeping and still beat the world record. It was a good feeling. When we left the ferry landing at St. Francisville, I was sleeping. We decided to take turns sleeping whenever the going was easy. Pretty soon we would be corning into a very high traffic area and didn't know when we would be able to sleep again.
(BB) At Fancy Point Towhead, Clark cut to the left side. It had enough water behind it to create an island and it would save time.
(BB) Just after Fancy Point Towhead, it got very dark and windy. There was a head wind and it cooled us down. The temperature dropped 15 degrees. We saw lightning in the distance and it poured on us for about 15 minutes. We paddled close to the left shore just in case we had to beach it.
(BB) We decided not to cut on the left side of Profit Island because it shows a wing dam or dike going all the way across that side of the river.
(BB) At the 190 bridge, or actually a little above it, the Coast Guard decided that they wanted to escort us into town to the Highway 10 bridge, where our road crew was waiting for us on river left.
(BB) At 6:30 pm, we arrived at the nearby casino to meet our team. There was a big banner on shore and lots of friends were there to greet us. Among our friends were Don Keller and Desiree Loeb.
(CE) As I was walking up the shore at the casino, I noticed the toes on my left foot sticking straight up. I must have collided with something, but my numb feet felt nothing. I sat down and pulled them back into their sockets, and also removed some thorns from between a couple of toes. There was some water left in my jug that I poured on my foot to clean it up, good as new, kind of.
(BB) Around 10 pm, Clark and I saw an eerie sight on the right shore. We saw about 40 sets of eyes staring at us. It turned out to be cows. It must have been somewhere near W. Baton Rouge and perhaps on Australia Point, near river mile 215.
END OF PADDLER LOG
(BB) At 6:30 pm, we arrived at the nearby casino to meet our team. There was a big banner on shore and lots of friends were there to greet us. Among our friends were Don Keller and Desiree Loeb.
(CE) As I was walking up the shore at the casino, I noticed the toes on my left foot sticking straight up. I must have collided with something, but my numb feet felt nothing. I sat down and pulled them back into their sockets, and also removed some thorns from between a couple of toes. There was some water left in my jug that I poured on my foot to clean it up, good as new, kind of.
(BB) Around 10 pm, Clark and I saw an eerie sight on the right shore. We saw about 40 sets of eyes staring at us. It turned out to be cows. It must have been somewhere near W. Baton Rouge and perhaps on Australia Point, near river mile 215.
END OF PADDLER LOG
Approximate Location Green Circles
Approximate Location May 26
Weather
Weather for Baton Rouge, Louisiana for today... the paddlers "look" to be about 6 hours north of this position at this writing: Today. Partly cloudy early then becoming mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 80s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. |
Text Updates from our Race Blog May 26 2003
Looks like the maps just updated, and the paddlers are over 570 miles ahead of the 1984 record, with 313 miles to go, at about 6:23 AM this morning....... Anyone want to start a betting pool on the final time? I will guess Wednesday, May 28, at 3:17 PM. elapsed time (since 6 AM 5.10.2003) 16 days 0 hours 23 minutes 2003 Team Hope (Bradford/Eid) elapsed distance 2005 miles remaining distance 313.6 miles average overall speed 5.22 mph posted by Mary at 6:30 AM Clark just called about 8:40 AM CST time, lat/long N30.92532, W91.64431. Said they were going 6.4 mph right now. I alerted him that the Coast Guard had called this AM at 8:25 and was requesting daily updates by phone. They also are requesting an additional update to the New Orleans tracking center on their current positions, about how many miles they expect to go that day, and any other information that the Coast Guard needs. The Coast Guard is on heightened security status. They indicated to me that Clark and Bob would be intercepted in New Orleans as part of National security. I reminded Clark and Bob to make sure they had their licenses with them, and a letter written for the team by the Coast Guard prior to the event discussing this event. Clark said he had that paper at his left knee, and they both had their licenses with them. The Coast Guard will be sending out an alert with Bob and Clark's position and information on VHF FM Channel 16 and/or 67. Good luck! posted by Mary at 9:01 AM |
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Stan called at 9:50am. Bob & Clark are somewhere between Angola, LA (River Mile 300) and St. Francisville, LA (RV 266). Their next meeting spot is at the St. Francisville Ferry. Stan has already been in contact with the Coast Guard at both Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and all security measures have been discussed. They've already made arrangements to be escorted thru Baton Rouge by a 55-foot Coast Guard vessel. They're in hopes that the same can be arranged for New Orleans.
The paddlers are going so fast that meeting them in short distances is almost impossible. This morning, Clark and Bob wanted ice because the weather is heating up. So they devised a plan for the crew to drive 14 miles downriver from their last takeout and for Stan to paddle out to meet Clark & Bob to give them the ice. The crew found a place to buy ice and quickly drove to the 14-mile spot. Stan got his Kruger Seawind off the Expedition and put 40 pounds of ice in it. He paddled out to the river-meeting-spot as quickly as possible and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally he learned that they'd gone by before he was able to get in the river. Guess the crew will have more ice than they need for a while!
For the last four days, they have been averaging 164 river miles a day! And once they get to St. Francisville, they'll have only 266 river miles to go! They are doing their best to finish during the daylight hours on Tuesday! I'm sure once they get permanently onto land, Clark and Bob will finally get some well-deserved sleep!
posted by Dana at 10:14 AM
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I am going to place my bet on the new world record set by Team Hope. When the race started I was thinking around 20 days would be how long it would take these 2 crazy guys, but oh man........nothing like 18 days!!! That crazy 'mad-man' schedule of Bob's is holding true and may even get beat, so what does that make Bob.......I don't think 'mad-man' is the correct term anymore ;-). Ok, my best guess is going to be 18 days 8 hours and 8 minutes......may as well stick to a theme huh?
Does anyone else have a bet they want to place?
Way to go Team Hope, we are all proud of you guys!
~Tammy Hanson
posted by Tammy at 12:25 PM
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It's 11:45am and all is well according to Stan. He added a few tidbits to the ice-story of the earlier narrative. A representative of the Corps of Engineers was at the river reading a river gauge at Angola. It was he who gave them the ice; the crew didn't have to buy it. Another reason Stan missed them was because he had to cross the Mississippi River to get to the other side. When he first left land in his Seawind, he had to dodge a 3- to 4-foot alligator who was busy trying to catch fish. He didn't have the least interest in Stan, but Stan wanted to be sure & give him plenty of room regardless. {Stan believes Denise -- who discovered the armigator -- is aware of this development.} When Stan missed the 14-mile stop, the crew raced to a second location - the Morganza Ferry - hoping to catch them there. It, however, was closed and underwater, and the thick underbrush would have taken too long to cut thru. As a result, the paddlers will have to do without ice for, gulp, 48 miles! When they reach St. Francisville Ferry (River Mile 266), where the crew currently is waiting for them, I imagine they'll load up on ice. Things aren't quite as bad as it could be, however, because they have plenty of liquids on board the Kruger Cruiser, just no ice.
The 55-foot Coast Guard vessel which will be escorting them thru Baton Rouge is meeting them at River Mile 234, the Wilkerson boat ramp. That gives folks 32 river miles after they leave St. Francisville to cheer on Team Hope. Unfortunately, I don't know what city the boat ramp is near -- but I'm sure the local citizens do!! Everybody pray for an escort thru New Orleans, too. That's extra-heavy barge traffic.
As for the final time betting pool, hmmmmm..... Must remember that they started at 6am on Saturday, May 10, 2003, at Lake Itaska, Minnesota..... They'll be encountering a security stop when they near New Orleans..... I'll go with .... 17 days, 10 hours, 20 minutes. That would put them reaching Mile Zero (about 95 miles south of New Orleans) on Tuesday, May 27, at 4:20pm.
Any other takers?
posted by Dana at 12:29 P
Stan called at 9:50am. Bob & Clark are somewhere between Angola, LA (River Mile 300) and St. Francisville, LA (RV 266). Their next meeting spot is at the St. Francisville Ferry. Stan has already been in contact with the Coast Guard at both Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and all security measures have been discussed. They've already made arrangements to be escorted thru Baton Rouge by a 55-foot Coast Guard vessel. They're in hopes that the same can be arranged for New Orleans.
The paddlers are going so fast that meeting them in short distances is almost impossible. This morning, Clark and Bob wanted ice because the weather is heating up. So they devised a plan for the crew to drive 14 miles downriver from their last takeout and for Stan to paddle out to meet Clark & Bob to give them the ice. The crew found a place to buy ice and quickly drove to the 14-mile spot. Stan got his Kruger Seawind off the Expedition and put 40 pounds of ice in it. He paddled out to the river-meeting-spot as quickly as possible and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally he learned that they'd gone by before he was able to get in the river. Guess the crew will have more ice than they need for a while!
For the last four days, they have been averaging 164 river miles a day! And once they get to St. Francisville, they'll have only 266 river miles to go! They are doing their best to finish during the daylight hours on Tuesday! I'm sure once they get permanently onto land, Clark and Bob will finally get some well-deserved sleep!
posted by Dana at 10:14 AM
_____________________________________________
I am going to place my bet on the new world record set by Team Hope. When the race started I was thinking around 20 days would be how long it would take these 2 crazy guys, but oh man........nothing like 18 days!!! That crazy 'mad-man' schedule of Bob's is holding true and may even get beat, so what does that make Bob.......I don't think 'mad-man' is the correct term anymore ;-). Ok, my best guess is going to be 18 days 8 hours and 8 minutes......may as well stick to a theme huh?
Does anyone else have a bet they want to place?
Way to go Team Hope, we are all proud of you guys!
~Tammy Hanson
posted by Tammy at 12:25 PM
_____________________________________________
It's 11:45am and all is well according to Stan. He added a few tidbits to the ice-story of the earlier narrative. A representative of the Corps of Engineers was at the river reading a river gauge at Angola. It was he who gave them the ice; the crew didn't have to buy it. Another reason Stan missed them was because he had to cross the Mississippi River to get to the other side. When he first left land in his Seawind, he had to dodge a 3- to 4-foot alligator who was busy trying to catch fish. He didn't have the least interest in Stan, but Stan wanted to be sure & give him plenty of room regardless. {Stan believes Denise -- who discovered the armigator -- is aware of this development.} When Stan missed the 14-mile stop, the crew raced to a second location - the Morganza Ferry - hoping to catch them there. It, however, was closed and underwater, and the thick underbrush would have taken too long to cut thru. As a result, the paddlers will have to do without ice for, gulp, 48 miles! When they reach St. Francisville Ferry (River Mile 266), where the crew currently is waiting for them, I imagine they'll load up on ice. Things aren't quite as bad as it could be, however, because they have plenty of liquids on board the Kruger Cruiser, just no ice.
The 55-foot Coast Guard vessel which will be escorting them thru Baton Rouge is meeting them at River Mile 234, the Wilkerson boat ramp. That gives folks 32 river miles after they leave St. Francisville to cheer on Team Hope. Unfortunately, I don't know what city the boat ramp is near -- but I'm sure the local citizens do!! Everybody pray for an escort thru New Orleans, too. That's extra-heavy barge traffic.
As for the final time betting pool, hmmmmm..... Must remember that they started at 6am on Saturday, May 10, 2003, at Lake Itaska, Minnesota..... They'll be encountering a security stop when they near New Orleans..... I'll go with .... 17 days, 10 hours, 20 minutes. That would put them reaching Mile Zero (about 95 miles south of New Orleans) on Tuesday, May 27, at 4:20pm.
Any other takers?
posted by Dana at 12:29 P
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Clark just called at 4:35 PM CST, North of Baton Rouge. Mentioned they were getting a Coast Guard escort through Baton Rouge - this was preplanned, I don't know the details. The paddlers are doing well, but wet..... Clark could not talk long but sounded great, considering what he's been through. I think they are hurrying to the finish so they get some extra party time in New Orleans! with Desiree and company! Good luck!
posted by Mary at 5:01 PM
At 5:30pm, Stan called to let me know he was sitting near the Argosy Casino at the I-10 bridge where it crosses into Baton Rouge (River Mile 230). They are waiting for Clark & Bob. The Coast Guard vessel went up to the Highway 190 bridge to meet them and bring them to where the rest of the crew is waiting. They are apparently going to escort them only six miles. (All the way thru the city would be grand, but anything will be better than no escort!) Not too long ago, the crew who were traveling in Angie's vehicle witnessed an accident. They had to stick around to complete police reports and should be joining the rest of the crew at the Argosy shortly. Desiree Loeb-Guth and Don Keller, both from New Orleans, have also temporarily joined the group. Desiree is organizing the June 1st post-race dinner, and Don is the local technical contact who was of great help during the Great Mississippi River Race of 2001.
Bob & Clark are becoming well known. When people learn that they apparently will be breaking the current world record by a substantial margin, they want Clark and Bob to autograph the t-shirt they just bought! I believe also that Desiree has a list of people (and their locations) who want to meet and help the paddlers and crew from Baton Rouge through the rest of the race. Stan laughingly said he's having a hard time keeping the crew in line, because as soon as they learn that there are meals and showers and beds available, they want to relax a while. Stan says he has to remind everyone that the race is still on-going, there are still jobs to do, and it isn't over yet! There will be plenty of time for visiting and having fun in just a matter of hours. But for now their number one priority is still the Kruger Cruiser and its paddlers.
Only 230 miles left to go!!!
posted by Dana at 6:47 PM
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Another quick call from Stan to let me know that Bob & Clark pulled away from River Mile 230 (Baton Rouge) at 7:05pm. They are now 600 miles ahead of world record pace, and 19 hours ahead of Bob's mad-man schedule! "Pretty impressive, huh?" according to Bob. Their next meeting spot will be White Castle (as in Louisiana, not the fast-food restaurant). If for some reason the support crew is unable to get to the take-out area in White Castle, Clark & Bob will paddle another 14 miles to Donaldsonville.
Desiree and Don are still with the support crew, and those crew members who were witnesses to the accident mentioned earlier re-joined the rest of the crew shortly after Stan's last call to me. The paddlers are doing well, and Clark, especially, is getting funnier as time goes on! Even mumbling something about pulling his finger (which Mary always warned Stan not to do), thunder, and changing weather! (I attribute it to lack of sleep....)
People who were crossing over the bridge to get to the Argosy Casino at this stop are wanting to take bets as to whether Clark and Bob will actually finish. Boy, we'd love to take them on! And that brings us to our next topic --
PLACE YOUR BETS ON THE RACE FOR A CURE CONTEST!
We're going to have a contest for everyone to guess the exact time that Clark and Bob will reach Mile Zero -- down to the minute. The winner will become the proud owner of a Team Hope Member T-Shirt! (A post-race drawing will determine the winner if there is a tie.) We'll be keeping track of entries here on the website (your first name, last initial, city, and time entry), so look for your entry on the list. All you need to do is email Mary Potter -- her email address is on the Contact Us webpage. When you calculate your guess, don't forget that it all started at 6am on Saturday May 10th in Lake Itaska, Minnesota. If you read thru recent narratives, you'll be able to pick up other clues, such as their average paddling speed, how much farther they have to go, and where they anticipate stops. Your email must be received by Mary by noon CST on Tuesday, May 27, 2003, in order to be in the contest. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
GO, TEAM HOPE, GO!!
posted by Dana at 8:14 PM
Clark just called at 4:35 PM CST, North of Baton Rouge. Mentioned they were getting a Coast Guard escort through Baton Rouge - this was preplanned, I don't know the details. The paddlers are doing well, but wet..... Clark could not talk long but sounded great, considering what he's been through. I think they are hurrying to the finish so they get some extra party time in New Orleans! with Desiree and company! Good luck!
posted by Mary at 5:01 PM
At 5:30pm, Stan called to let me know he was sitting near the Argosy Casino at the I-10 bridge where it crosses into Baton Rouge (River Mile 230). They are waiting for Clark & Bob. The Coast Guard vessel went up to the Highway 190 bridge to meet them and bring them to where the rest of the crew is waiting. They are apparently going to escort them only six miles. (All the way thru the city would be grand, but anything will be better than no escort!) Not too long ago, the crew who were traveling in Angie's vehicle witnessed an accident. They had to stick around to complete police reports and should be joining the rest of the crew at the Argosy shortly. Desiree Loeb-Guth and Don Keller, both from New Orleans, have also temporarily joined the group. Desiree is organizing the June 1st post-race dinner, and Don is the local technical contact who was of great help during the Great Mississippi River Race of 2001.
Bob & Clark are becoming well known. When people learn that they apparently will be breaking the current world record by a substantial margin, they want Clark and Bob to autograph the t-shirt they just bought! I believe also that Desiree has a list of people (and their locations) who want to meet and help the paddlers and crew from Baton Rouge through the rest of the race. Stan laughingly said he's having a hard time keeping the crew in line, because as soon as they learn that there are meals and showers and beds available, they want to relax a while. Stan says he has to remind everyone that the race is still on-going, there are still jobs to do, and it isn't over yet! There will be plenty of time for visiting and having fun in just a matter of hours. But for now their number one priority is still the Kruger Cruiser and its paddlers.
Only 230 miles left to go!!!
posted by Dana at 6:47 PM
_____________________________________________
Another quick call from Stan to let me know that Bob & Clark pulled away from River Mile 230 (Baton Rouge) at 7:05pm. They are now 600 miles ahead of world record pace, and 19 hours ahead of Bob's mad-man schedule! "Pretty impressive, huh?" according to Bob. Their next meeting spot will be White Castle (as in Louisiana, not the fast-food restaurant). If for some reason the support crew is unable to get to the take-out area in White Castle, Clark & Bob will paddle another 14 miles to Donaldsonville.
Desiree and Don are still with the support crew, and those crew members who were witnesses to the accident mentioned earlier re-joined the rest of the crew shortly after Stan's last call to me. The paddlers are doing well, and Clark, especially, is getting funnier as time goes on! Even mumbling something about pulling his finger (which Mary always warned Stan not to do), thunder, and changing weather! (I attribute it to lack of sleep....)
People who were crossing over the bridge to get to the Argosy Casino at this stop are wanting to take bets as to whether Clark and Bob will actually finish. Boy, we'd love to take them on! And that brings us to our next topic --
PLACE YOUR BETS ON THE RACE FOR A CURE CONTEST!
We're going to have a contest for everyone to guess the exact time that Clark and Bob will reach Mile Zero -- down to the minute. The winner will become the proud owner of a Team Hope Member T-Shirt! (A post-race drawing will determine the winner if there is a tie.) We'll be keeping track of entries here on the website (your first name, last initial, city, and time entry), so look for your entry on the list. All you need to do is email Mary Potter -- her email address is on the Contact Us webpage. When you calculate your guess, don't forget that it all started at 6am on Saturday May 10th in Lake Itaska, Minnesota. If you read thru recent narratives, you'll be able to pick up other clues, such as their average paddling speed, how much farther they have to go, and where they anticipate stops. Your email must be received by Mary by noon CST on Tuesday, May 27, 2003, in order to be in the contest. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
GO, TEAM HOPE, GO!!
posted by Dana at 8:14 PM