Kayak Challenge

Saturday I did not show up to work. I said to the boss on Friday "HEY! I am not going to come to work tomorrow! So there! What are you going to do about?"

Actually none of the above is true, except for the not getting to work on Saturday part. I cashed out one of my hurricane days for a days paid vacation. I went to work on Hurrine Katrina day off, Hurricane Rita day off, and Hurricane Wilma day off. That is three days off. Well two days off now. I used one up.

So what did I do? I volunteered my time, and my boat, for the Cystic Fibrosis Miami Kayak Challenge 2005. Participants had to come up with at least $150 each, which went to the Miami Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. My boat was used as a support vessel.

I do volunteer communications for a number of events, but the Kayak Challenge is something I really like to help with. I got to use my boat, and in this case I was paid for it.

This USED TO be a really nice sailboat. As you can see, it is in need of some repair. This boat is located in the Crandon Harbor, I have passed by it many times. It was a sweet boat. It is a catamaran design, and is very wide. Cats are known for their smooth and stable ride. Now it is 1/2 sunk. The engine room is probably under water, the cabin has to be totally soaked and nasty, who knows what kind of hull damage there is. This boat sunk during Hurricane Katrina, not Wilma. It has been like this since August. It is unlikely it will ever float again.

Boaters in South Floirda have to be careful. Boats like this are still all over the place. Some you can see, some are sunk. The sunken boats present a special concern for boaters, colliding with one can cause major damage. I almost hit a sunken sailboat myself!

Not all the boats sank in the hurricanes. Here is one that is still floating. Government Cut was closed because three boats like this one were docked. When more than one cruise boat is docked, Government Cut is closed to recreational boat traffic.

THis is what I was supposed to be keeping an eye on. This is one of the race participants. I think this guy won or something. He went 12 miles.

This is a bridge. Miami residents will recognize this as the Rickenbacker Causeway. It goes from the mainland to Virginia Key and Key Biscyne.

There was some rain during the event. Not a whole lot, I just got some drizzle - but I did get rained on after the event for a few minutes. These rain clouds are over Fisher Island. A cheap home on Fisher Island will still set you back several million dollars. There is no bridge to the manmade island, you have to take a ferry. People drive Rolls-Royce GOLF CARTS. Really. They have that kind of money, enough to have custom built golf carts with real Rolls Royce hood ornaments and everything.

THis photo of Downtown Miami was snapped after the rain did its thing and left. Note the nice blue sky and stuff.

This is me, sitting on my bow rail. My shirt says "Work Sucks", which is also the name of my boat. Go figure. The blue thing by me feet is the spray hood. The anchor line is all over the place, I usually keep it all nice and tidy. Neat and tidy is not really my style, but on a boat it is important to keep everything tidy. Otherwise, your lines knot up and it pisses you off. There are NEVER any "ropes" on a boat, only lines. Rope is what you call a line when it is on land.

Well that is all! I enjoyed the event, and look forward to helping out next year - HOPEFULLY with a larger boat. a 22 footer would be sweet.