By Johna Till Johnson
Photos by Vladimir Brezina
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Start: Checkpoint 1, Cape Haze Marina, Englewood, Sunday, March 2, about noon.
Finish: Magic Key, Estero Bay, Monday, March 3, about 9 AM.
Distance: 45 nautical miles (52 land miles).
Paddling time: 19.5 hours.
Rest time: 1.5 hours.
Average paddling speed: 2.3 knots.
Posted in Kayaking
Tagged Everglades, Everglades Challenge, Florida Kayaking, Kayak Expeditions, Kayak Race, Photography, Sea Kayaking, WaterTribe
By Johna Till Johnson
Photos by Vladimir Brezina
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Start: Fort De Soto Park, Mullet Key, Saturday, March 1, 7:00 AM.
Finish: Checkpoint 1, Cape Haze Marina, Englewood, Sunday, March 2, 2:10 AM.
Distance: 55 nautical miles (63 land miles).
Paddling time: 18 hours, 10 minutes.
Rest time: 1 hour.
Average paddling speed: 3.0 knots.
Posted in Kayaking
Tagged Everglades, Everglades Challenge, Florida Kayaking, Kayak Expeditions, Kayak Race, Photography, Sea Kayaking, WaterTribe
By Vladimir Brezina
This week’s Photo Challenge is Threshold:
“A threshold is a point of entering; that point just before a new beginning — that split-second moment in time, full of anticipation. All the hard work is over; relief is palpable.”
But then, as often as not, an unanticipated trap springs shut and your life spins in quite a different direction…
This post was inspired by 2812 Photography’s “Threshold” post and the questions it asks.
The first, more benign, “Threshold” post was here.
Posted in Life, Nature, Photography
Tagged Animals, Mouse, Mousetrap, Photography, postaweek, postaweek2014, Threshold, Weekly Photo Challenge
By Vladimir Brezina
This week’s Photo Challenge is Threshold.
Just over the threshold, a welcome from the resident bunny—
At Slickrock, Glover’s Reef Atoll, Belize, March 2010.
A second “Threshold” post is here.
Posted in Nature, Photography
Tagged Animals, Photography, postaweek, postaweek2014, Rabbit, Threshold, Weekly Photo Challenge
By Vladimir Brezina
Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge this week is Misty.
I recall a misty paddle through New York Harbor back in April 2010…
This was actually a paddle from Manhattan around Staten Island, past the Graveyard of Ships
and many still-living ships
back to Manhattan, still misty in the evening…
More photos are here.
Posted in Kayaking, New York City, Photography
Tagged Kayaking, Misty, New York Harbor, Photography, postaweek, postaweek2014, Travel, Weekly Photo Challenge
By Vladimir Brezina
Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge this week is Statues.
I note the plural: Statues. So, here in one photo are hundreds of statues (click on the photo to see them more clearly), each helping to safeguard the city, on this day against surf of an unprecedented size—
San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 2008.
Posted in Photography, Travel
Tagged Cemetery, Photography, postaweek, postaweek2014, Puerto Rico, Statue, Travel, Weekly Photo Challenge
By Vladimir Brezina
This week’s Photo Challenge is Street Life.
My first response was busy. This one is all leisure—
Cromer, Norfolk, England.
Posted in Photography, Travel
Tagged England, Norfolk, Photography, postaweek, postaweek2014, Seaside, Street Life, Weekly Photo Challenge
By Vladimir Brezina
This week’s Photo Challenge is Street Life.
New York City: Descending into the subway—
Another, more leisurely response is here.
Posted in New York City, Photography
Tagged Dusk, Manhattan, New York City, Photography, postaweek, postaweek2014, Street Life, Subway, Weekly Photo Challenge
By Johna Till Johnson
Photos by Vladimir Brezina
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Our preparation for the WaterTribe Everglades Challenge actually started more than a year before the event itself—in January 2013, when we decided that this time for sure, we were going to participate in EC 2014.
But it kicked up considerably following our Everglades Shakedown trip in December 2013. After that trip, we put together a detailed timeline covering everything from gym training to logistics to food and gear purchases—and more or less stuck to it. As we’ll detail later in “Reflections: What Worked, What Didn’t,” I started a serious lifting and high intensity workout routine in January, and tapered down in the weeks approaching the EC. And we found that dropping alcohol and coffee in the weeks before the EC—along with getting plenty of sleep—made a difference in our stamina and responses to hypothermia.
Meanwhile, we made lists and checked them off… purchased equipment… made hotel and plane reservations… got our SPOTs and PLBs, registered, and tested them… And of course, did training paddles when we could, though the Polar Vortex kept us from doing more than two moderately long trips in NYC.
But Murphy’s Law has a way of stepping in, and due to some work challenges I was concerned that at the last minute, I might need to cancel, despite all the planning. It wasn’t until the Friday, a week before the event, that we were sure we could make it.
By Vladimir Brezina
Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge this week is Pink.
There’s one week in the year, coming up soon, when NYC’s parks are awash in pink. And looking further ahead, here’s another classic NYC event in which pink is surely the ruling color—
It’s the Coney Island Mermaid Parade! The story and photos from last year are here.
You can bet we’ll do our best to be there again this year! This year on Saturday, June 21st, at 1 PM.
Posted in New York City, Photography
Tagged Brooklyn, Coney Island, Mermaid Parade, New York City, Parade, Photography, Pink, postaweek, postaweek2014, Travel, Weekly Photo Challenge
... kayaked the waters around New York for more than 15 years in his red Feathercraft folding kayak. He was originally from (the former) Czechoslovakia and lived in the U.K. and California before settling down in New York. He was a neuroscientist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He died in 2016.
... is a kayaker and technology researcher at Nemertes Research. She's an erstwhile engineer, particle physicist, and science fiction writer. She was born in California and has lived in Italy, Norway, Hawaii, and a few other places. She currently resides in New York City.
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