 |
The
Great Mississippi River Race for
Rett Syndrome, May 2001
|
|
Day
24, Monday, May 28, 2001
Safety Summary, All Teams
Safety
Report, 5-7 AM :
 |
| Team
Name |
Date |
Days
in Route |
Location
Number |
Nearest
City/State |
Navigation
Mileage
|
Time
called in |
Total
River Miles |
Position
estimated |
| Alaska
|
5/28/01
Mon |
24 |
Loc
1 |
Caruthersville,
MO |
Mil
847 |
6:00
AM |
1456 |
3rd |
| Double
Helix** |
5/28/01
Mon |
24 |
Loc
1 |
New
Roads, LA |
Mile
266 |
6:45
AM |
2036 |
2nd |
| Kruger* |
5/28/01
Mon |
24 |
Loc
1 |
Donaldson,
LA |
Mile
175 |
6:30
AM |
2127 |
1st |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1984
Record |
5/20/84 |
24 |
Loc
1 |
|
Mile
43 |
8:00
AM |
|
|
| 1984
Record |
5/20/84 |
24 |
Loc
2 |
Venice,
Louisiana |
Mile
10.5 |
1:30
to 2:30 PM |
|
|
| 1984
Record |
5/20/84 |
24 |
Loc
3 |
|
Mile
0 |
5:20
PM |
2303 |
|
|
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 :-))
Safety
Report 5-7 PM:
|
| Team
Name |
Date |
Days
in Route |
Location
Number |
Nearest
City/State |
Navigation
Mileage
|
Time
called in |
Total
River Miles |
Position
estimated |
| Alaska
MSC Rebels |
5/28/01
Mon |
24 |
Loc
2 |
Osceola,
AR |
Mile
783 |
7:10
PM |
1520 |
3rd |
| Double
Helix** |
5/28/01
Mon |
24 |
Loc
2 |
Donaldsonville,
LA |
Mile
198 |
5:30
PM |
2105 |
2nd |
| Kruger* |
5/28/01
Mon |
24 |
Loc
2 |
Edgard,
LA |
Mile
137 |
3:45
PM |
2166 |
1st |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1984
Record |
5/20/84 |
24 |
Loc
1 |
|
Mile
43 |
8:00
AM |
|
|
| 1984
Record |
5/20/84 |
24 |
Loc
2 |
Venice,
Louisiana |
Mile
10.5 |
1:30
to 2:30 PM |
|
|
| 1984
Record |
5/20/84 |
24 |
Loc
3 |
|
Mile
0 |
5:20
PM |
2303 |
|
|
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 knowledgable 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 :-)
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Daily
Updates
For
More Updates, Photos and Videos please the main Race page.
*
and ** - Note on Team Kruger and Team Double Helix - both teams
were stopped 3 times during the race - 2 times by the Coast Guard,
and 1 time by the Sherriff's office. See Race
Delays for more information.
***
Note on Total Miles: For purposes of our site, we compile total
miles as the total river miles the teams have passed. If teams take
legal shortcuts, we note it on that date, but do not reduce total
miles. Please see the May 9 report for
more information.
