May 28 2001 24 Monday

2001 Race - May 28, 2001, Monday
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	6 AM	Mile 847	Caruthersville, MO	3rd
Amazons	Withdraws 5/12/01		Stops near St. Cloud, MN	5th
Double Helix	6:45 AM	Mile 266	New Roads, LA	2nd
Kruger	6:30 AM	Mile 175	Donaldson, LA	1st
Rebels	Withdraws 5/13/01		Stops near Monticello, MN	4th

Updates/Comments 5-7 AM calls
Elizabeth Tynan, Safety Officer:
Team Alaska:
Kerm called from Caruthersville, MO, river mile 847, at 6:00, afraid they wouldn't be able to paddle for awhile because of the ominous pileup of storm clouds in the South. He said they are all happy and well-fed, having dined on his own special version of stir fry last night for supper and having gotten a good night's sleep at the city picnic grounds where they camped. They are eager to reach Memphis and spend a day like "tourists."
One big culinary problem in the Midwest, Kerm observed, is that grocery stores are full of "bland food," lacking anything spicy and exotic like ingredients for Oriental dishes. Welcome to the Midwest, Kerm and crew. A native Iowan myself, I never even tasted a taco until I was twelve. But I guess that's in the ancient past and kids get them in their school lunches now--sans the spicy salsa. I asked Kerm what he did in a "pinch" to add the desired punch to his cooking, and his answer was: "soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and my own special sauce of two teaspoons of black pepper stirred into one tablespoon of catsup." Hmm. . . guess that will get the guys going all right, if not stir up outright mutiny. Just KIDDING, Kerm. Add some more pepper to the pot.
Team Double Helix:
It was great to hear the familiar early-morning greeting once more--at 6:45--though not quite so early as in days of yore: "Hi. Andrew M. Gribble here." (Hi Andrew M. Gribble, it's wonderful to be back.) He said their team was at river mile 266, near New Roads, LA. They camped at a Ferry Landing there last night and everyone got a good night's sleep after making camp at 12:30 a.m. Or is that a good morning's sleep?
'Scattered rain showers had passed by, but no sign of the severe storms the weather channel predicted were to come later today. Let's hope Clark and Kurt can paddle out of their path.
Team Kruger:
After Stan told me that their team now consists of nine land crew members and four or five vehicles, Ibegan to think of them as the "Kruger Canoeing Caravan," what with so many family members along to share the Agony and the Ecstasy of this great Mississippi Odyssey.
When Stan called in at 6:30, they were at a small Louisiana town called Donaldson, river mile 175, having found a suitable landing there at 2:00 a.m with the aid of all the kings horses and all the king's men--I mean, three of the sheriff's men and their three squad cars. Mercy me. There isn't much to do at 2:00 a.m., the officers sheepishly explained to Stan.
Stan said finding a landing there was difficult because so many are on private property, behind locked gates and fences. It might sound crazy but I'm quite sure I heard Mark Twain groaning from his grave right then, grieved at what his Mighty Mississipp had metamorphasized into in this "improved" modern age. Go to sleep, Mr. Twain. With all due respect, there is nothing you can do. The river you so loved isn't wild and free anymore. Some other colloquial features Stan found interesting are the many radiostations playing Cajun music and the multitudes of roadside signs advertising "Crawdads and Shrimp for Sale." So far, none of the crew has had a chance to sample any yet.
(Webmaster's note, from Mary Potter - Stan called later today to say hello and to report that Verlen and Bob are feeling so good they decided to "race" a tug boat for an upcoming curve that would be too tight for both the tug and their canoe to pass together...and they won :-))

Teams called in to Safety Officer between 5 and 7 PM

Team Name	Time Called	River Mile	Nearest City/State	Estimated Position
Alaska MSC	7:10 PM	Mile 783	Osceola, Arkansas	3rd
Amazons	Withdraws 5/12/01		Stops near St. Cloud, MN	5th
Double Helix	5:30 PM	Mile 198	Donalsonville, LA	2nd
Kruger	3:45 PM	Mile 137	Edgard, LA	1st
Rebels	Withdraws 5/13/01		Stops near Monticello, MN	4th

Updates/Comments, 5 to 7 PM Calls from Elizabeth Tynan, safety officer:
Team Alaska:
Between lots of crackling and cutting out during three phone calls from Kerm, I managed to learn that they were at Osceola, AK, (sp?), river mile 783, when he called in at 7:10.
Team Double Helix:
At 5:30, Andrew M. Gribble called from the city park overlooking the river in Donaldville, LA, river mile 198, to report a feast in progress: Bill Schmitz's Aunt Joyce had driven up from her home in Carriere, Mississippi (260 mile round trip) and treated the team to sumptuous feast of fruit, drinks, taco chips and Pace Picante Sauce (NOT the kind made in "New York City," by the way and a sumptuous feast of chips, dips, fruit and drinks
But much to everyone's dismay, Don arrived and spirited his personable and very knowledgeable Friend Bill Evans back to New Orleans (Bill had just joined the team for a few days but needed to get back "to work" :- writing for an inland marine industry business magazine - the Waterways Journal) )). After more talk of the superlative delights of hot showers, which everyone had just taken, Andrew estimated that the team would show up there shortly.
Team Kruger:
Stan called in early this afternoon, at 3:45, to say that the team's last stop had been at the ferry landing at Edgard, LA, river mile 137. He said they planned to paddle all night, hopefully under better conditions than last night, when they had paddled past spots that had seen recent tornadic activity--lots of downed trees, power lines, etc.
END OF SAFETY REPORT May 28 2001
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Webmaster/Event Organizer's note, Mary Potter:
Clark Eid from Team Double Helix called today and said he and Kurt Zimmermann got "hammered" by wind and waves. Clark said the waves today were the worst they have had to paddle through during this entire trip. He was clearly exhausted. On a positive note, sounds like they will camp tonight and take to the river yet again tomorrow as they rally towards the final Mile Marker 0, with the current ETA sometime Wednesday :-)

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 28. 2001 Monday
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
As I went down along the right bank, I heard a motorboat behind me. It was just before sunrise, and there was a light haze over the water. I sure hoped that the motorboat operator could see me. As he passed, very close, I could see that he was an old fisherman. He had a big John boat with a 20-horsepower motor. He did not have any running lights.
By the time I reached Smoke Bend, I could see our crew on the right bank waving us in. The sun had just come up. I saw the old man who had passed us earlier. He was fishing on the inside bend.
It was 6:30 a.m. May 28 when we ate breakfast at Smoke Bend. The two guys that signed our witness forms gave us their milk from McDonalds. They were barge workers and were waiting to be picked up.
When we left Smoke Bend, I was sleeping in the bow. Mike and David joined us for part of the day, paddling one of Verlen's canoes. It was hard to sleep very long because it got very hot!
During some of these sections, Verlen had to use my maps because he had lost his overboard. I should mention that Verlen had violent nightmares, almost every night. During these dreams, he would kick, fling his arms, and grunt. He may have been dreaming about how I navigate at night. During one of these episodes, he had somehow lost about 20 charts overboard. One time he said he was dreaming of alligators!
By 3:00 p.m., Monday, May 28, we were at Edgard Ferry Landing, river mile 138. It took us 'til midnight to get the next 41 miles to Jackson Avenue Ferry in New Orleans. The ship traffic had been horrific! When you add in all of the city lights, you have a real problem. We passed ship yards where welders were welding right near the water. We had harbor tugs going in and out of ports, and big river boats going by.
At Jackson Ferry, our support crew had chairs set up under the ferry ramp on a low strip of land. We sat in the chairs and ate a late night snack. After half an hour, we pushed off with Verlen sleeping in the stern.
The U.S. 90 bridge was lit up like a Christmas tree. My eyes burned just trying to pick out which lights were moving and which were not. When we reached Algiers Canal, mile 88, I found several ocean freighters. They were all anchored near the center of the river. I passed them on the right, even though the main channel was on the left. I didn't want some ship coming up behind me.
I found several smaller watercraft cruising around in this area. They were quite fast. Verlen said they were used to taxi sailors from the ships to shore and back. Once I turned the bend at mile 85, I was out of the bright lights. I stopped paddling long enough to read my maps again. My head hit the bow of the canoe! I had fallen asleep. The lack of sleep was starting to show on me.
End of Team Kruger Log, May 28, 2001, Monday