 2003 World Record Set: 18 days, 4 hours, 51 minutes! |
The
Mississippi River Challenge for
- May 10, 2003 6 AM to May 28, 10:51 AM 2003- A 2,348 Mile Marathon to Support a Marathon of Research! |
 Bob Bradford, forward position, Clark Eid, in the back, approaching L & D 24 |
May 24, Saturday
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Approximate Location May 24
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Saturday, May 24, 2003
RIVER FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR: ...THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER AT ARKANSAS CITY...GREENVILLE... FOR THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER NEAR GREENVILLE, MINOR FLOODING
IS FOR THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AT NATCHEZ, THE LATEST STAGE
WAS 47.0 FEET _____________________________________________
If the National Weather Forecast is correct, looks like the team
may get caught in some thunderstorms tonight, tomorrow, and maybe
Monday.... we'll have to keep a look out on the weather .... _____________________________________________
Clark is calling and said Bob is an animal and paddling 10 mph while
he talking on the phone... Go Bob! Clark says he might have some more
coffee and let Bob paddle some more, heh heh ... Clark said they are
in the channel "paddling where they should be" but because of the
floods they are seeing tugs go over where the land is.... he said
it's a little scary as the tugs are not where they should be.....
Clark said the tugs are pushing large barges as they are going over
the land areas.... the good thing is if Bob and Clark are away from
the barges they don't have to worry about wake and getting out of
the way.... the downside is being surprised, especially in bad weather,
fog or during the night...... Clark said Bob really is going 10 mph paddling solo,
he was not making that up... the current is moving fast. The crest
of the flood is slightly ahead of them, maybe 12 hours or so... I
relayed that to him and he told Bob. This makes them happy for some
reason.....they seem to think they are going to catch that crest.
In the mean time, they are riding the wave. Very lucky for them right
now. I asked Clark when he paddles with Bob how fast they can go.
He said just a couple more miles per hour at most.... like up to 12.
He said there is a maximum cruising rate for this boat.... I warned him of impending thunderstorms tonight and
tomorrow in the Greenville area, which they are heading towards (I
would guess 10 to 12 hours out.... but don't hold me to that). Clark did call into News 8 in CT (their request) to
have a morning live interview, only to be told - oh, they want to
do that tomorrow. So Clark will call them tomorrow. We expect the
live interview tomorrow between 8 and 9 AM. I'll watch again....and
alert all the local CT folks.... Clark said they both got a good sleep cycle in last
night, weather is calm, current is fast, and the wind has been worse
in the day so they both need to be up for that generally. Clark said
he had to go, no point in letting Bob have all the fun...
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Go Team Hope- Yesterday after the frantic flying metal escapade
during which I was talking to Stan while the metal came flying into
janet's gas tank, I proceded to notify all of the Memphis news stations
that the team was coming through! Ya'll are going way to fast for
media to catch up with. Now my dilemma is whether to go join the
road crew, or stick back and get some live press coverage here in
New Orleans. I've been working on it but so far no bites. Ya'll
better slow down cuz we are painting some big signs for your arrival.
I'm so proud of the team and glad you are finally here in the sunny
south. _____________________________________________
At some unstated time last night, the paddlers and crew met at
Friar's Point, river mile 652, for all of 15 to 20 minutes. Their
next meeting spot was at Dennis Landing, rivermile 610, where Bob
& Clark arrived at 9am. When Clark & Bob left Dennis Landing at
9:20am, Mike and Janet were paddling with them. Really helps keep
their spirits and pace up. They are 17 river miles from Rosedale,
where the crew will probably take care of some errands, if they
have time ... Bob & Clark are averaging 8mph and will probably be
at the next meeting spot in around two hours. After the paddlers
left, the rest of the crew discovered that Janet's car has a dead
battery again -- thanks to Andrew's electronics. They're great,
but a real pain at the same time! The paddlers' time over the next few days may be affected,
as thunderstorms are predicted for the next four days, and winds
will be shifting to come from the south. But the river current is
still huge, allowing them to average 8 to 9 mph. In looking ahead on their maps, they were reminded
that the stretch between Uncle Joe's Landing (river mile 562) and
Vicksburg (RM 437) is 125 river miles -- way too long for the paddlers
to go without meeting the crew. They located on the map the town
of Mayersville, where there is an abandoned tennis court on the
river bank. A nice place to meet, depending on the time of day.
Two years ago in the early morning hours, the support crew for Team
Kruger was chased by dogs in Mayersville -- they wouldn't let members
out of their vehicles. Several hours later, the crew for Double
Helix came upon a grocery store in Mayersville whose owner was kind
enough to donate food to the group. What a difference a few hours
can make! Last night, Denise (Mike's wife) was taking a hike
in the woods. When she came back, she was somewhat shaken. She asked
if there were alligators in the area. She held her arms about waist
high and quite wide to show the size of the monster she'd seen.
Mike hiked back where she'd been and came back with grins. He told
her he'd seen the same alligator she had -- but around here, they're
known as armadillos! We have discovered a new species! Armigators
-- distant cousins of crockologs!! I found it necessary, however,
to point out to Stan that there is a town near there called Alligator
-- hopefully not named for a particular species of animal! _____________________________________________
Just heard briefly from Clark, once at about 3 PM CST and once
at 5:50 PM CST.... the first time they were at Uncle Joe's landing
in Mississippi.... Angie and I think Janet were there.... and
Clark and Bob, the rest of the crew was on the way... he sounded
good, said the weather was overcast but fine...... when he called
at 5:50 PM he said they were settling in for their long night
paddle and we only spoke for a minute, if that, when he said "I
have to go help Bob paddle, I have a job to do here" and laughed.....
He said he would call in tomorrow morning again, and they would
be looking out for any looming storms tonight ..... _____________________________________________
Forecast for Greenville, Mississippi, where the paddlers are
this evening: Tonight. Mostly cloudy. A chance of showers and
thunderstorms in the evening then showers and thunderstorms likely
with locally heavy rainfall after midnight. Lows in the mid 60s.
Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent. _____________________________________________
The paddlers are over 500 miles ahead of the 1984
record right now. According to the stats, looks like they have
over 8 days to go about 540 miles.... let's hope they don't need
that much time....(don't want to miss the New Orleans party! on
June 1 - Everyone invited!) An update from the Where Are They Now? page statistics.....
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Stan called this afternoon. The crew was able to take
care of errands at Rosedale State Park. Part of the park was under
water, but thankfully the facilities they needed were still available
-- fill the trailer with water, shower, laundry, leave gifts at the
dump station. When the crew arrived at Uncle Joe's Landing (River
Mile 562), the road was blocked with an iron gate which was chained.
A sign indicated it was private property belonging to the "27 Break
Club." Bill Pullen somehow located a club member and, after some explanation,
within a few minutes they had complete access to the landing. The
club is named for the levee which broke and flooded the area in 1927.
Clark & Bob showed up 45 minutes later. Inhibitions are gone -- Bob
showered next to his van and Clark showered next to the trailer. Naked
but clean!!! Probably a good thing for them as their close proximity
to each other 24 hours a day would likely test their sense of smell,
depending on which way the wind is blowing. (Janet even joined Bob
in the shower, so all had to turn their heads!) Bob & Clark left Uncle
Joe's Landing at 3:30pm. Their next meeting was at the Greenville bridge (RM
530). The paddlers arrived at 7:10pm. Again there was flooding, and
the crew could not get the vehicles close to the landing. In fact,
a local individual traversed the road in a small truck, and ended
up with water above his bumper and in the cab. As a result, everyone
had to help portage all the food and other supplies to our paddlers
about 1/4 mile away. Their next stop will be Mayersville (RM 496) -- at night.
We'll have to see which event occurs this evening -- the dogs or the
grocery store bonanza! Clark & Bob are currently 556 miles ahead of world record pace. Stan had to call Mark and Verlen this evening to make sure they were aware of it. Mark said that the Kruger Cruiser hull is not designed to go that fast -- Bob & Clark need to slow down! NOT!!!!!!!!!!
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