American Fire August Update

Hello American Fire Fans,

So, what have we been up to this month?  What haven't we been up to.  With just 90 days left until the race, we're busy preparing the boat for the race, getting the last of our equipment, constantly looking for additional sources of funding, and training ourselves mentally and physically for the challenges that lie ahead of us. You can also check out our newest articles in the Miami Herald ( http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/2005/08/22/sports/12444537.htm) and the Florida Keys Key Noter ( http://www.keynoter.com/articles/2005/08/26/living/liv01.txt).

One of the most rewarding things of our preparation has been sharing the adventure with others.  Whether it's talking to other boaters out on the water about the adventure or taking members of the Hollywood Rowing Club out for a row, we absolutely love it.   Along the way, we have gotten to meet some incredible people, including one of the founders of Purdue Crew.  Bill Butler is an avid sailor from Cuba who, with his brother Kenneth, started the rowing program at Purdue.   Bill came up from his current home in Puerto Rico to meet us along with his sailing friends Reiner and Barbara.  It was so inspiring to hear about all of their adventures and learn about the history of a program that we are so proud of.   It made our Kenneth Butler Awards (most valuable oarswoman, Kohl 2003, Kessans 2004) much more valuable to us.  We're not sure who was more inspired: Bill by our boat, or us by his stories.   

We want to thank all of you who have donated over the past months.  At this critical time, your donation means the world to us.  It is with our most sincere pleasure that we also introduce several new members of the American Fire family.

On the equipment front, we have been blessed with many helpful people and companies.  Please check out our "With Thanks" page on the website to learn all about these new sponsors (we'll be updating the individual donations soon, thanks for your patience).  Sailorman ( www.sailorman.com), a local dealer of new and used marine equipment, has graciously donated two inflatable lifejackets (complete with harnesses, leashes, and extra CO2 bottles), a new Garmin 72 GPS system, and a small first aid kit to cover our training runs and the grab bag during the race.   Slaughtery Steel Fabrication of New Albany, IN donated the stainless steel braces that we needed to finish our new rudder.  Mustang Survival has offered to give us discounted prices on our new survival suits.   JL Racing has donated two custom racing uniforms.  Para-tech Engineering Company has donated a 12' sea anchor as well as a speed limiting drogue.  We want to personally thank each of our sponsors for their generosity and belief in American Fire.   We look forward to representing the United States while using your quality equipment as we row into history.  

So that takes care of the sponsorship side of things, now onto the fun stuff: the boat and training.  If it were up to us, we would just spend our entire time out on the water.   There is still quite a bit of work do be done with the boat, but fortunately we have some great people to help us out with that.  Greg, of Navtronics, has helped us to install our new marine batteries, battery monitor, and navigation light (all donated by Boat Owners Warehouse), as well as fix a few other little electrical problems.   We're now confident in the system, and ready for sea trials and beyond. 

Ah yes, sea trials, one of the most critical reasons for us being down here in Florida.  We've gotten some great day training on the Intercoastal Waterway, Biscayne Bay, and Atlantic waters outside of the inlets, but with our longest previous row only being 12 hours, we decided to hit the big water.   After stocking up on water, plenty of freeze dried food, snacks, and charts loaned to us by Reiner, we slid the boat into the water, parked the van, and were off to Key Largo.

The first morning brought heavy rain as we headed south down our familiar route to Biscayne Bay, but other than that it was a routine row down past our shoal and into North Miami.   No time for swimming, as we had a time schedule to keep.  The wind picked up as we rowed towards downtown, and we had quite a few short choppy waves as we rowed through the Port of Miami.   We passed the Rickenbacker Causeway around 5 p.m., with Kohl munching on our favorite Mountain House Sweet and Sour Pork. Once we were into Biscayne Bay proper, the wind was coming at us from due East at about 10 knots.   Having made plans to stop in and see Bill Butler at the Key Biscayne Yacht Club, we asked a sailor that passed close by to head us in the right direction.  We turned due east into the wind and into the harbor.   We arrived after a full day on the water at the Yacht Club to the smiling faces of Bill, Edwardo Gallardi, and some other of his sailing friends.  We were a little embarrassed as we tied up at the pilings, having never done so before, and Bill made sure that we knew how to tie a bowline properly before we were taken to dinner.   After a fine Cuban meal, we talked for a bit about charts and winds, and then were allowed to spend the night in a 60' sailboat named Freedom.  We were pretty stoked, as we love adventure of all sorts and decided that we definitely want to get into sailing in the future.  

The next morning we got up with the sun and started our longest ocean row yet, a 45 nautical mile trip down on the open ocean to Key Largo.   The wind was not a welcome friend, and continued to blow hard from the East, preventing us from leaving via the Hawk's Channel.   We instead continued down the Bay with the wind testing our patience and slowing our speed.   Mentally resolved to beat it, we continued our 2 hour shifts through the day, and found it easy to sleep in the cabin after a hard row.   The sun set around 8, and we just kept going.   The almost full moon was shining bright and, along with our trusty GPS, allowed us to pass safely through Broad Creek into the Atlantic.   Rowing through our first night was a special feeling, and when the sun came up on the ocean, we were stoked.   It was a beautiful sight.  We rowed all the way down to the Key Largo Sound, a full 65 nautical miles away from our departure, and after a 2 hour fight against the channel, rowed into the dock of Hugo Vihlen.   Hugo holds the record for sailing across the Atlantic in the world's smallest sailboat (5'4") and also lives in a gorgeous three story house nestled among the mangroves.   When we arrived we were beat, and his wife Johnnie graciously allowed us to take showers, get something to eat, and take a small nap before we went out to dinner.   It was heaven to say the least.   We then spent the rest of the evening talking about Hugo's adventures and getting advice from him.  We took the next day off, learning more from Hugo and going down to Islamorada to see his boat April Fool.   It was truly an inspiring day, and as we watched the sun go down over the west side of the island, we were pretty happy kids.  Well rested, well fed, and ready for the return trip, we set off early the next morning.   Once again, the tide was against us, but what could we do but row?  We had a pretty uneventful morning, but the wind picked up again in the afternoon.   This time from the northeast.   We didn't realize that we would be getting such good training, but we took it.   We were supposed to be a few miles out to sea, but the wind kept pushing us closer.  At around 11 p.m . after consulting with the weather data from the VHF, we decided that rather than crash into the mangroves at 15 kts in the dark, we would find a harbor and spend a few hours there.   After watching the harbor lights inch closer for an excrutiating hour against the wind and waves, we pulled into Ocean Reef.   On the chart it just said it was a harbor, but it was paradise.  Literally, a private paradise that we were not supposed to be in unless we were invited.   Fortunately, with the wind's invitation, the security of this amazing resort allowed us to stay the night, and we passed out in the cabin without even taking a dip in the enormous swimming pool. We were out by sunrise before the dockmaster could decide that we were no longer welcome, making our way back through Biscayne Bay.   After a few incredible hours with no wind, we were again hit with the maddening northeasterly.  It was very frustrating, but we stayed up with each other on our off shifts to keep morale high.  We laughed about the submarine birds (commorants), and sang to each other to keep spirits high while waves crashed broadside into the boat.  Mentally resolved, we pushed on, passing back through the Rickenbacker into Miami at around 1 a.m.  Daylight found us back at our shoal, and after one more rainstorm, we were back at Holland Park by 11.   After 150 miles and more wind and waves against us than we thought  possible, we high-fived, washed the boat off, and went back to the apartment for a shower and a nap.  It was a great learning experience for us, and we're now confident in our abilities to row across the Atlantic... and have the salt sores to prove it!!

Now we're aching to be back out there.  With just three months to go, we're going to be putting the finishing touches on the boat before she leaves the States on September 22.   Before she leaves, we would like to finally have our boat naming/leaving ceremony, and have FINALLY confirmed a date of September 18 at 1 p.m. at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis.   We promise that we will actually be there and you can celebrate all of the hard work that has gone into the project with us.   Formal invitations will be e-mailed out shortly.

Ok, well, we're going to head out to work on the boat, as we cannot get out on the water due to hurricane damage at our launch site.  Katrina went right over us, knocking down trees, signs, and lightposts around Holland Park.  Thankfully, the boat was safe on the NSU campus, but we can't wait until the park is cleaned up so we can finish up our last week down here in Florida.  Hope all is well, and happy rowing!