May 27 2001 23 Sunday

2001 Race - May 27, 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	time called	river mile	neartown	position
Amazons	Withdraws 5/12/01		Stops near St. Cloud, MN	5th
Double Helix	time called	river mile	neartown	position
Kruger	time called	river mile	neartown	position
Rebels	Withdraws 5/13/01		Stops near Monticello, MN	4th

Updates/Comments 5-7 AM calls
Mary Potter, Webmaster and Event Organizer:

Team Alaska -
Kerm called and said, well, we are at the same place I called from last night, mile 925 in Hickman Kentucky. All had a good night's sleep and were not anxious in the morning to head off into the wind again. Apparently yesterday there were strong winds, up to 30 and 40 mph but the team was able to stay on the leeward side of the wind. The high winds complicated take out places.....the crew is not looking forward to more windy paddling and is hoping for the best (or at least a few more minutes of sleep as Kerm goes around making as much noise as he can to get folks going :-)).

Team Double Helix -
Andrew called from Mile 383 in Waterproof, LA! Last evening as Andrew and the road crew were walking towards the water, a family approached them - Johnny, Cookie and Amy I believe he said - and said "thank goodness!" To make a long story short, their boat was no longer working and they needed a lift to their trailer/cabin. The road crew was happy to take them down river in the zodiac. In return, the family gave them advice about a much better camp site :-) and all were happy. Once at the trailer, the road crew was offered some water, soda and a hot shower. Later that evening this kind family came to the campsite with Kentucky Fried Chicken (a favorite of the paddlers) for 6, and a $50 check for Rett syndrome research as well as $20 for the paddlers to put towards trip expenses. Although the team insisted it was too much, the family insisted they were happy to help. Andrew says the family has offered all hot showers in the morning and the team will take them up on their generous offer :-)
Andrew said last night as the team was getting ready to get some shut eye, there was some discussion as to whether or not tent flies had to be put up in case of rain, and whether or not gear could be left outside to dry off and Andrew, great sage that he is, predicted there would be no rain tonight in Waterproof LA! And he was right :-)

Team Kruger -
Stan called in from mile 266, 7:30 AM CST from Louisiana! Stan reports the weather is "fine" and that the paddlers paddled through the night. Current has slowed considerably.

Teams called in to Safety Officer between 5 and 7 PM

Team Name	Time Called	River Mile	Nearest City/State	Estimated Position
Alaska MSC	time called	river mile	neartown	position
Amazons	Withdraws 5/12/01		Stops near St. Cloud, MN	5th
Double Helix	time called	river mile	neartown	position
Kruger	time called	river mile	neartown	position
Rebels	Withdraws 5/13/01		Stops near Monticello, MN	4th

Updates/Comments, 5 to 7 PM Calls
Mary Potter, Webmaster and Event Organizer:

Team Alaska - Kerm called from mile 847 and reported he made stir fried supper for everyone! Kerm said that was something he could cook, so he did! Wind was not bad today, and the team at one point did 40 miles in 4 hours. Currents are high, and Kerm says he believes they are riding the crest of the flood now and have been doing so for about the last 3 or 4 days. He expects the team will get ahead of the crest tomorrow and he expects the team to do their first 100 mile day tomorrow. May they surf well :-)

Team Double Helix - Andrew called at 6:30 PM CST at mile 298 i New Roads, LA and was expecting kayakers to arrive there later tonight at 11 or so. He expects the kayakers will sleep on shore since they have gone over 100 miles today. Andrew reported Don Keller had brought Bill Evans to the team this morning at about 4 AM and Bill was a welcomed addition to the road crew!

Team Kruger- Stan called and said the paddlers were at Baton Rouge, LA at 3:30 PM. He is waiting for the paddlers at Plaquemine, LA and said 6 cars in total had now joined Team Kruger in a show of support for Bob and Verlen (paddlers). Folks joining the procession were family members. Good luck Team Kruger!

END OF SAFETY REPORT MAY 27, 2001

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Webmaster/Mary Potter says - I don't have logs from every team, but I will share what I have:

Team Kruger Log - By Bob Bradford, Enhanced by Stan Hanson
May 27, 2001 Sunday

In the early morning, I had more fog, but it was not that much of a problem. Along Morgan's Bend, mile 279, I was along the right bank. I had been rather close because of a couple tugs which had just passed. All of a sudden, there was a train whistle behind me. It made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

We arrived at St. Francisville Ferry at 6:45 a.m. May 27. Our crew was on the bank with breakfast ready. We had paddled 49 miles during the night. Not bad! After breakfast, I remember calling my mom and dad in Michigan. It was a Sunday and my sister Verneta and brother Don were there at Mom's having coffee. I talked to all of them.

It had proven to be harder than ever tor our support crew to get to us in Louisiana. They had to find places where they could cross the river. Sometimes they had to drive back up river to do this after feeding us. The boat landings were almost always on dirt roads. Sometimes when they got near the landing, they would find a locked gate. Locked gates didn't mean too much to the support crew. They either found a way to get through or around them. It became apparent that ferry landings were their best bet.
By 1 :50 p.m. May 27, we were on the edge of Baton Rouge. We knew we could no longer break the record. Terry on our support crew had been making calculations daily. The Double Helix was at least 40 miles behind us. The crew had talked to the guy that runs Lucky Louie's near Wilkerson Landing. He would give us free showers, food and let us use his Laundromat tor free too. The food was great and the restaurant was air conditioned. We had fries, hamburgers, and lots of ice tea. The shower was good, too!

Before we left the landing near Lucky Louie's, Verlen's nephew and family drove up. He had come from Texas to see us. Total time lost was about three hours, but it was worth it.

We were now entering Baton Rouge. Now I would get a chance to deal with ocean-going ships. There was a lot going on with all of the docks in this area. At mile 217, we took the inside corner around Manchac Point. It was a tight, right, 180-degree turn. At the same time, there was a tug with barges trying to pass us. He had to stay way over to the left bank in the channel. Verlen and I stayed ahead of him for four miles. What a stroke rate!! We were getting cocky trying to race a tug!

Our next stop that evening was mile 208. It was at West Plaquemine Ferry. We had a chicken dinner that Verlen's nephew had bought for us. We also decided to take a couple-hour nap in the trailer. When I tried to wake up, I didn't know where I was.. It took a few minutes for me to get oriented.

By late night, we were near White Castle Anchorage, mile 191. I saw what I thought would be an ocean freighter. It had high running lights and a very high bow white light. He appeared to me to be docked at the anchorage on the right. If he was, then we couldn't go to the right. So I headed across to the left bank. The channel crosses here anyway. It's called Alhambra Crossing. To my surprise, he was not anchored. He was up-river bound, and I was now paddling across his bow. I thought it was good that Verlen was sleeping. Another elevated stroke rate!!

On the next right bend, there was a tug tight to the right bank. He did not seem to be moving, but after my last experience, I thought I should be sure. After a few minutes, I got closer and could see that he had nosed his barges into the bank. He still had his diesel engines running. They do that sometimes, so that the current doesn't push them down river.

Our support team had planned on meeting us at Philadelphia Point Landing, mile 182.When we got there, we found that they were unable to get back into the landing. They would meet us at Port Barrow, mile 176
END OF TEAM KRUGER LOG May 27, 2001 Sunday.