Archive for August, 2007

fotos by http://www.kayakscuba.com/ : Playa Azul, night time camp Luquillo, Puerto Rico
Luquillo, Puerto Rico

12:25 pm
25 August 2007

Final Team Update
This will be your final team update for Chasing The Ana Puerto Rico ‘07 before the men are off the water and Derrick will take the rest of the story from there. I look forward to reading the details of this adventure written by Derrick.
For those of you getting this blog via email, you may continue to follow Derrick’s blog by clicking here http://www.kayakquixotica.com/puertorico.html
The tracking maps are being posted in order at http://www.kayakscuba.com/blog
Derrick’s photographs of this expedition are continuing to be posted at http://www.flickr.com/photos/derrickam/
Last night the men arrived late in Luquillo on a storm swept beach, Playa Azul. I must have been bit by over a hundred little beach gnats. Of course when I mentioned this I got little sympathy from Derrick or Taino who have been bit THOUSANDS of times in the past three weeks. I had to laugh at myself. At least they offered me insect repellent.
The men are in excellent spirits as they come close to the final day. The marine forcast looks good, but isolated thunderstorms have been sending a few too many lightning stikes for comfort, causing the men to stay off the water for a few hours on Friday.

Special thanks to all our readers and guardian angels, our sponsors: Rockpool Kayaks, Reed, Impex, Kokatat, http://www.nykayak.com/ , and race recon, also Werner Paddles, Support team Nydia Kein, Weather Tracking Karel Vissel, Ground Support: Yvonne Le Guillou and team, José Quiñones and http://www.kayakscuba.com/ , the US Coast Guard in Puerto Rico for answering questions and tracking our adventure, and the generosity of the many Puerto Rican people who offered kindness, assistance, and camping spots!.

We will be video taping the completion of this expedition, and have a post expedition celebration. Call (787) 925-9232 for more information, or email kayak@kayakscuba.com You can meet us at Punta Salinas, in Levittown, on Sunday morning if you wish to greet our paddling duo!! For permission to post photographs contact Derrick Mayoleth for his photos or http://www.kayakscuba.com/ for photos taken by them.
kayakscuba.com foto by José Quiñones, Derrick and Taino at Playa Arroyo:

FOTO: Derrick and Taino practicing rolls together in Levittown

Un-named beach between rocky cliffs

Puerto Rico

August 23, 2007
6 pm
Team Post – Day Twenty-Three

Carrie Medina checking in on day 23 of the expedition.

Derrick emailed me and said they were forced off the water due to lightning. Well, there is never a dull day, now is there!

The men are in an area between rocky cliffs. Derrick will have to forgive me on this one, but by his description I have placed them on the map and I might not have made a perfect pin point. Either way we are looking forward to meeting them Friday to resupply them and encourage them for the last sprint toward home!

Here is the link to the map http://www.kayakscuba.com/blog and the marine forcast for the last few days:

Tonight
East winds 11 to 15 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms.
Friday
East winds 11 to 16 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet. Isolated thunderstorms in the morning. Scattered showers.
Friday Night
East southeast winds 11 to 16 knots. Seas 4 feet. Scattered showers.
Saturday
East winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 4 feet. Scattered showers. Isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Saturday Night
East winds 12 to 17 knots. Seas 4 feet. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms.
Sunday
East southeast winds 11 to 16 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms.

foto: Tracking Map by http://www.kayakscuba.com/

Playa Palmas Del Mar,

Puerto Rico August 21, 2007

4 pm

Team Post – Day Twenty-Two

Carrie Medina checking in with team blog for day 22 of Chasing the Ana, Puerto Rico ‘07.

Taino has just called in. Derrick and Taino are at the beautiful Playa Palmas del Mar in Yabucoa. They met up with a local paddling club and were invited to a gathering of paddlers in Levittown on Sunday. OK guys, paddle hard!

The men are now 3/4 the way to the original starting point of Levittown. Any local paddlers, or people following along, who would like to join us, please be at Punta Salinas early Sunday morning to welcome and congratulate Derrick and Taino. We will be video taping the arrival and have a post expedition celebration! Call (787) 925-9232 for more information, or email kayak@kayakscuba.com

When we landed at Puerto Real it took my a bit by surprise. It was a small village steeped in poverty. There was a nice marina on the waters edge but no other real access to land. In this small village I could find no one with even limited English which is quite rare in Puerto Rico. Homes and shops were worn with years. Streets were small and claustrophobic. For a while I just sat by my kayak trying to organize my thoughts and figure out if this was a place I felt comfortable to stay. While I sat there two small goats came walking across the street to investigate this strange guy and his kayaks. Soon they were followed by a young girl. She looked at me with a big smile and started to talk to me while pointing at the goats. “Sorry, no comprenda” I said. “English?”. “No.” she said, and smiled. Then she went on telling me about her goats as if I I could understand every word. I watched her and smiled when she smiled. Made a surprised face when she did. We were, in some ways, communicating just fine. They were her goats and she was proud of them. That’s all I needed to know. After a long chat she called the goats and the trio went walking off into the group of yellow, white, and pink houses across the street. It was a nice moment.

I am waiting this morning for Taino to join me here and then we are off again to explore this tropical island.

foto: Tracking Map by www.kayakscuba.com

Punta Patillas, Puerto Rico

August 21, 2007

9 pm

Team Post – Day Nine
Carrie Medina checking in with team blog for day 21 of Chasing the Ana, Puerto Rico ‘07.

What a WONDERFUL day to paddle! Our boys Derrick and Taino are back on the water August 21, 2007 after a few days of delay caused by Hurricane Dean (stop date August 15, 2007). Fortunately for our paddling duo, Hurricane Dean caused little upset to the island of Puerto Rico, and the seas, once at 12 foot swells, have returned to calm 2-4 foot smooth paddling!

Tonight our boys have reached Punta Patillas, on the southeast coast. For those of you recieving a forward, click this link to take you to the Chasing the Ana blog to view our map, tracking our expedition around the island. http://www.kayakquixotica.com/puertorico.html

You guys are 3/4 the way home!

Wednesday
East southeast winds 11 to 16 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms.
Wednesday Night
East winds 13 to 18 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms.
Thursday
East winds 13 to 18 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet. Isolated showers.
Thursday Night
East northeast winds 14 to 19 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet. Isolated showers.

The picture (Not available in Archive) above shows the rocky shore near Isabella on the north coast. This is the place where we both had to jump out of our kayaks at the last minute and get them up and over the rocks. From the water, you could not distinquish the rock from the sand. For those of you who have lots of experience you know that from the water, the spot where the land meets the sea is often hidden behind the surf and in sort of a "dip". I’m not sure you to explain that but the illusion is that you paddle down to the beach and then it rises back up again. The point where the two meet are in a "valley". So you can see that paddling in all we would see is a sandy beach until we are so close we are committed to the landing. This is where I bent two pins that hold my 3 piece kayak together. Yikes! Now hurricane Dean has passed and the sun is shining again. tomorrow according to Karel we are looking at a 10 knot wind and 4-5 foot seas. We may need to cut the outter islands to complete the circumnavigation, something I’d always been prepared to do depending on time and weather. Of course getting around PR is the main goal over the next 10 days. We will be paddling east just a bit more before we make the north east turn that will take us back up to the woolly Atlantic.

Today I’m off to buy a few supplies and some silicone seal to stop water that has been going into my day hatch through the bulkhead in the cockpit. Yesterday I put a silly sticker on my kayak for the women here who have been helping us out along the way. Carrie & Yvonne of course. Yvonne’s neighbor, Emy who picked us up and drove us into town with boats and gear in her nice truck. Migdalia, who helped bring supplies near Puerto Real and of course Vicky who came to the Airport at San Juan and braved the wind and flooded streets so I could take photos and film the waves coming in from Dean. Not to mention the nice woman at our last stop who opened her little bar and made us food when she was obviously closed, tired and done for the day. We would have had a much tougher time without them. Thanks!!

Ran to the local Wal-Mart. . . (Vendemos por menos) and picked up some last minutes supplies. Including beef jerky!! Meat is good! One thing I learned quickly about my Rockpool Alaw Bach is that you don’t need the backband. It’s there as a decoration. Remember sit up-right. There is a perfect bit molded into the back of the seat to support your tail bone. The only problem was that over time I was getting a little sore spot. So I popped the seat out which only means loosening two screws and lifting it out, and glued a bit of mini-cell around the back support, then added a couple bits of foam under the seat when I saw a tiny bit of wear. Might as well stop that right now. I also just took the backband right out.

I also noticed over the last couple days before we reached Guayama, that I was getting water in my day hatch. With a little investigation I found that was coming under the bulkhead. Nothing a little silicone couldn’t fix. So I took care of that as well.

When you put day after day in the water in various conditions, lots of salt and hard landings you add years to your boat quickly. So it does need the occasional loving care before going out again.