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| The lower Mississippi river has lots of sand! |
Updated April 20, 2006
Getting back out on the water! I am very much looking forward to getting back on the water. The time off has given me a
great chance to spend time with my family. The next nine days will be familiar to me. This will mark the third time paddling
this section of the Tom Bigbee river from McIntosh to Demopolis. This section is largely secluded with no real chance to
stock up on groceries until Demopolis. If the occasion should arise (and it did when Hurricane Katrina hit) I could walk a
mile and a half to a small overpriced grocery store and a gas station in Coffeeville. Unless some other unforeseen
circumstance presents itself I will have plenty of supplies to reach Demopolis.
The random sandbars between McIntosh and Demopolis will give me a chance to try out my new tent and get the most out
of my down time. The river winds around never really giving the wind much time to pick up waves which is good for me.
Paddling against a constant current can become demoralizing if you let it. When I left Ohio it was spring, down here in
Alabama it feels like full blown summer high 80s and very hot. Even all the trees have leaves. The hot temps may force
me to paddle during the night and find a shady spot to sleep during the day.
My scheduled time of arrival in Demopolis is April 29th. Demopolis is also where my next update will come from.
Updated Monday March 13, 2006 Apple creek, Ohio
39 days and counting until I start back up on my canoe trip! I have enjoyed spending time with my family. It has been
difficult to adjust from life on the water to life off the water. I forgot how noisy houses can be. Radio, television, microwave,
washer, dryer, even turning on the water makes noise. Much of my time on the water was spent in the dead quiet where
the sound of a fish jumping can be heard over a 100 yards away. The sound of crickets is almost deafening in the night.
A raccoon scurrying along the ground sounds like bear crashing through the woods.
Seeing the same people everyday is an adjustment as well. Goodbyes are a common part of the trip. I have not had to
say goodbye to anyone since returning home. Having access to so many choices of food is a very welcome adjustment.
My canoe does not have a refrigerator or tons of cupboard space to store lots of food. Nor does my canoe have a
microwave. Just having access to a 24 hour wal-mart is a good piece of mind that I don’t have on the water.
Getting back on the water.
Yesterday (Sunday March, 12, 2006) was the first time I paddled since returning home. Recent rain raised the Apple
Creek enough to make for a nice paddle.
The next two stages of the trip are going to be a bit more difficult than the past four-thousand plus miles. The next two
legs add up to 1,191 miles from Macintosh, Al to Chicago, IL. It should take me 71 days which comes out to an average of
only 16.77 miles per day. Almost 17 miles a day average might not seem like a lot, but 928 miles will be upstream including
over 200 miles upstream on the Mississippi river. Taking the time to update, get food, do laundry, MS awareness stops
ect.. Also takes time away from paddling. My average miles per day will be much higher on the great lakes and when I
paddle down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers where the average miles per day will be in the thirties.
Currently I am in the process of updating the MS resource page with additional programs. If you are aware of any
programs that might help people with MS please let me know John@fightingms.org so I can add a link to the MS resource
page.
Thanks for helping me raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis
John Latecki Jr
Demopolis MONDAY NOVEMBER, 14
***Because I am not always around internet access for long periods of time I will be doing phone updates from the river at
least once a week. The updates will posted on a link on the updates page or people can subscribe and have the updates
sent directly to their e-mail. ***
This update again comes from Demopolis, AL on the Tom Bigbee river. My last update was also from Demopolis, but
since then I have paddled up the black warrior river to where it forms by the confluence of the locust and mulberry rivers
for a total of about 368 miles.
The trip up the black warrior river was nothing short of amazing. The wildlife the black warrior had to offer was the best so
far of my entire trip. Beaver, Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, mountain lions, bobcats, armadillos, raccoon, turtles, ducks,
turkeys, deer, and lots and lots of snakes. The first two days on the black warrior river I seen more snakes than I had for
my entire trip. The highlight of the black warrior river was the large alligator snapping turtle I caught! To see some pictures
I took from the black warrior river click here.
The black warrior river was not only a fun trip with all the wildlife and scenic landscape, but it was a good river to help
raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis. Tuscaloosa was the only actual town on the black warrior river. I was able to raise
lots of awareness by doing a radio interview for Alabama public radio, newspaper article for the Tuscaloosa times, and an
appearance on the Kip Tiener show which is filmed at the mall. Nancy Mitchell who is in charge of the MS Self-Help
Group of Tuscaloosa went on the Kip Tiener show with me to talk about the local group.
I also had the chance to meet with Sheree McCall and several other members of the Alabama chapter of the national
multiple sclerosis society at Howton's Camp which is where the Mulberry and Locust river form to start the black warrior
river. I had a great time. The new owners of the restaurant opened up specially for me to meet with the NMSS. The
owners cousin has MS and was also there to meet me. Nelson Brooke the river keeper of the black warrior river set up the
meeting at Howton’s camp. Nelson’s job as black warrior river keeper is to help keep the large industries in check
on how much pollution they dump into the water. The girls from the NMSS gave me a bucket filled with all kinds of goodies
like a couple bike shirts, hat, sox, peanut butter, jelly, fruit snacks, stamina gel, along with other assorted snacks. The
NMSS also gave me some MS pamphlets I requested to hand out at the Moundville Native American festival in Moundville.
I had a great time at the Native American festival. Mike Gilbert taught me so much about the old Native American ways.
Mike demonstrated knapping which is how you make arrowheads, and also the altalt which is a type of spear the early
Americans would throw. The festival provided a good platform to raise awareness for MS.
Demopolis yacht basin and the Demopolis public library have provided a great platform to get caught up on things. Fred
Hansard does in incredible job making the Demopolis yacht basin a great place for boaters. My experience is most
marinas out in the middle of nowhere are like single gas stations on an interstate exit the service is not the same as an exit
with many gas stations. This Marina is way out in the middle of nowhere. The closest marina to the south is about 200
miles and to the north about 80 miles however this marina has been my favorite. The staff is great, Jimbo was my favorite
to hang out with.
Demopolis has a wonderful library that Bill Gates himself visited and gave a grant as part of the Bill and Linda Gates
foundation for the computers they have. The library also has a free wireless hotspot, which means I can get online
anywhere in the library on my laptop. Demopolis truly is a great town and every boater who travels the Tom Bigbee water
way as part of the great loop has most likely stopped at Demopolis. I was going to leave Saturday but three days of rain
made me choose to stay and leave early morning on Wednesday November 16. The forecast for tomorrow (Tuesday)
evening low 47 chance of rain 80%. Everything about the rain is different when the air temp is in the forties. I could push
on, but I have a nice cozy spot under the bridge which has made a nice roof so far.
Leaving Demopolis on Wednesday I will make my way down to the Tom Bigbee river to the Alabama river and proceed
paddling up the Alabama to Selma and Montgomery. I have contacted Guinness to find out the World record for the fastest
time paddling a canoe/ Kayak the entire length of the Alabama river. I am waiting their response and will most likely take a
shot at the record. The next update will be a telephone update written by my father and posted on the telephone updates
link on the updates page. My next planned stop will be in Selma, Al which is about 35 miles from Demopolis by way of the
road and well over 200 miles by water!
Tuesday September 13, 2005
This update comes from Demopolis Alabama. July 31 marked exactly one year to the day since this trip began in
Cleveland, Ohio. The new year started out with a great stop in Mobile Al. Bob Wylly helped set up an MS awareness stop
at the dog river marina on the Mobile bay. Bob’s nephew Austin lives on the east side of the bay and Bob arranged for
Austin to come and pick me up and Bob sent Austin a check so he could take me out to a nice restaurant. The dog river
marina told Bob I could keep my canoe at the marina during my stay. Because of scheduling conflicts I was unable to
meet with local MS society but did meet with the local T.V station.
After leaving Mobile things started to go down hill fast. During the first year of paddling I never got sick or had any health
problems other than a few minor nagging injuries and frostbite. A question people often ask is “have you ever gotten
sick on the trip?� The answer has always been no, but That was all about to change. I was so happy to be paddling
on the Tom Bigbee waterway gone were the days of big bays, oceans, and tides. The temp is about five to ten degrees
higher inland than on the coast. The humidity is very high which drives up the heat index to sometimes over 110 degrees.
On a hot day nothing hits the spot like cold lemonade, ice tea, or water. Paddling in the extreme heat with no way to keep
water cold warm water is all I have to drink. Warm water does not quench thirst like ice cold water. I always had the same
feeling no matter how much water I drank. To fight the extreme heat I tried paddling at night and sleeping during the day.
Night paddling helped with the heat, but trying to sleep in the day was difficult in the heat. I always felt tired and hot. The
final straw was when the heat index reached over 110 degrees it was to hot to sleep so I paddled all day sweating non
stop. Towards evening I started feeling a bit light headed and then my head started to hurt. This was different pain then
any headache I have ever had. Things just continued to worsen. My feet felt like they were coming through my head. I
knew something was seriously wrong when I felt like I was going to pass out. Heart attack, stroke, or a blood clot that
reached my heart was all I could think of. I thought I was dieing. Instinctively I went for water and realized I had only drank
a half gallon of water all day. I simply forgot to drink enough water and suffered heat exhaustion. This could of turned out
much worse than it did. I drank almost all the water I had and was able to restock my water supply at a boat ramp and
camped near the boat ramp for the next few days drinking about four gallons per day. I think my immune system was
weakened a bit because I also over the next few days experienced some mild flu symptoms. A few times I felt like throwing
up, but never did. Recovering from heat exhaustion. in the south Alabama August heat is not the ideal place to recover.
The further north I paddled the friendlier the river bank became. The lower Mobile river is mainly a delta with no sand bars
and the banks are lined with mud. As you get out of the delta the occasional sand bar comes juts out and provides a nice
place to camp or stop for an afternoon lunch and swim. The woods lining the banks provide plenty of wood for campfires.
The delta and costal water have very few woods and campfires are far and few between. Now wooded banks line both
sides of the river and sand bars are a lot more plentiful. Campfires are a nightly routine.
Hurricane Katrina passed over Florida as a category one hurricane and I never gave it much thought. However when she
hit the gulf and began to gain strength it became a concern. It became apparent Katrina was going to become a serious
force wherever it hit. I decided to lock through the first lock on the river near Coffeeville and find a place to hold up. My
choices consisted of woods on the right bank and woods on the left bank. I wanted to find a high bank in case of high
water. I found a nice high bank with enough clearing for me to haul my canoe up into the woods and prepare for Katrina. I
pulled off the water about 1:00p.m Sunday afternoon amid beautiful blue skies and eighty degree temps. All I could think of
was how many people must have died in the past before Doppler radar and the weather channel. Just like with Hurricane
Dennis I noticed there is absolutely no signs of anything out of the order. It took me a good 2 hours to finish preparations
which consisted of finding a spot to hold up along with hauling my gear and canoe to the spot. The spot I chose to wait out
Katrina was not the most ideal spot, but it was the best spot considering what I had to work with. My biggest concern were
falling trees and my canoe blowing away. I found a large tree leaning about sixty degrees this would serve as my â
€œroofâ€� I tied my canoe about three feet on the opposite side of my roof so if the tree did fall it would not be on me.
Now my roof would hopefully serve to catch any of the other large trees in the area from landing on my canoe. The reason
I stayed three feet from the base of my roof tree was in case one of the other trees near by fell and rode down the sixty
degree slope it would land beside my canoe and not on it. I tied the bow and the stern off tightly to other trees nearby My
canoe was flipped upside down waiting for me to craw underneath. The thought of rising water prompted me to dig up and
soften up the ground under my canoe. A mental picture of a tree landing on my canoe and not quite smashing me but
trapping me inside and if the water rose I would drown trapped in my canoe. The odds of that were slim in none, but still I
softened up the dirt under my canoe just in case I had to dig out. The trees were not real thick and it had the appearance
that selective cutting had taken place, however the trees were large and I counted 20 trees that could possibly land on my
canoe. That is not to mention the many large branches above. After setting up for Katrina there was nothing to do but wait.
I gathered wood and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and evening. My phone barley picked up a signal off an analog
tower. I called my father and explained my situation. He thought I should of maybe sought shelter in Coffeeville, but no
shelter would let me bring my canoe and that would have been a problem. Besides at that point it was to late for me to try
and seek shelter even if I wanted to. I talked with Julie for awhile, she seemed worried. As darkness fell I built a fire and
relaxed by the fire. I took out a pen and wrote my social security number on my arm and leg with a pen and went over it
with a highlighter. My reason was just in case something tragic happened where I became separated from my canoe and
ID it would speed up the process of identifying my body. Around 10:00pm it started to rain and continued to rain most of
the night and quit before sunrise. I was listening to the big 870A.M out of New Orleans when the Hurricane hit New
Orleans around 7:00a.m. It blew the windows out of the studio and they went off the air for short time until they fired up a
generator. I expected the hurricane to push more into Louisiana instead of swinging east into Mississippi. I continued to
listen to the radio as the hurricane drew near along with reports of 75MPH plus winds in Mobile. The anticipation was
exciting considering mobile was around 70 miles south of my location. Finally the wind started to kick up a bit and then a
bit more. I huddled under my canoe waiting. My ear was literally to the ground and I could hear and feel things almost
moving underground. I suddenly realized what that moving feeling was. In all my careful planning I failed to take into
consideration if my roof tree was to become uprooted my canoe (with me underneath it) would also be lifted up with the
roots Now my canoe was tied very tight and something would have to give if suddenly the tree uprooted. The wind picked
up and the sound of trees cracking and snapping could be heard. I propped the canoe up bit to look out, but there was not
much to see. A branch from above fell and hit my canoe giving off a very resounding audible thud. I did not like the feeling
of being under the canoe anymore and decided to get out. Before getting out from under my canoe I rigged up a make
shift harness out of my belt and some rope in case the wind became to strong to stand I would be able to attach myself to
a tree to keep from blowing away. I found the wind was much stronger six feet above the ground than six inches. The
branch that landed on my canoe was not near as large as it sounded, but large enough seriously hurt me if I had not been
under the canoe. The view was amazing trees bending and sweeping around in the wind. I found a tree about 15 yards
from my canoe on the bank of the river and secured my harness to the tree. This tree was leaning way over the opposite
direction of the wind. I kept looking up for falling trees and branches. The best view was looking across the river to the
opposite bank and seeing the trees bent over. A loud crack brought my attention back to my immediate surrounding. An
aspen tree snapped in half and fell right before my eyes. There was so much going on all around me it was hard to take it
all in. I started to feel excited and began yelling. I belted out some whoo hoo’s! along with yea,s! All I could of think of
is everything going on around me is live happening right now and I may never get to be in another hurricane again. I
crawled back to my canoe and grabbed my cell phone. There was no signal on the phone, but I was able to make some
audio recordings. What surprised me about this storm was how long it lasted and the amount of wind gusts. The single
biggest surprise was no rain with all this wind. Darkness began to fall and the winds were still going. I decided to retreat to
my canoe because I would not be able to see any branches falling from above in the darkness. Around midnight the winds
started to die down some and Katrina was on the down swing.
When it became daylight I went out to check the damage and was surprised just how many trees were uprooted and
snapped in half. Not exactly sure what the wind got up to, but it was the strongest winds I have ever experienced, although
I never needed to use my makeshift harness to stand up.
I realized I did not have enough food to make it the to Demopolis which was about 100 miles away so back down to
Coffeeville through the lock again and about a mile walk to get food. The lock master had informed me the river was going
to be rising over the next couple of days due to all the rain from Katrina and informed me it would be better to wait it out a
few days before moving on. He was right the water did rise much more than I expected prompting me to move to higher
ground.
After the water stopped rising I made the 100 mile paddle to Demopolis which took seven days. There was not one day
when I did not hear the crack of a tree snapping in the mild winds. Some of the trees were literally stressed to the point a
10 mph wind is enough to bring them down. Things are so quiet on the river miles from any roads or houses.
Demopolis has turned out to be a great town. This is the first town of any size since leaving Mobile, AL. The people are
friendly and the town has many historic sights. The Library has a great staff of people and they offer free wireless internet
access. I will spend another few days catching up on e-mails and updating my web site which includes getting some
pictures online. This last stretch of travels has been the longest stretch without internet and phone services.
July 18, Lanark Vilage, FL
After a twelve-day vacation running from Hurricane Dennis I am getting back on the water today. I am thankful that Meade
and Carol Garrard invited me back to their house 300 miles inland near Atlanta. It was very relaxing hanging out in the
Georgia pines.
I was surprised at the damage Lanark Village took from the Hurricane. The damage was nothing compared to some areas,
but it was worse than forecasted. Piles of belongings were piled up waiting to be picked up along side the road for a few
people who lost everything. A few trailers were ripped open and some houses were caved in. Every dock stretching out in
the water was destroyed. It seems the houses built on stilts were fine. If I had stayed and tried ride out the storm where I
planned to I would have probably been killed.
The twelve-day rest helped my body heal up from a few minor injuries that had been nagging me. I am actually looking
forward to getting back out on the water. Panama City, Pensacola, and Mobile Alabama are my next big stops before
turning north and heading up the Tom Big bee waterway. Here is a recent newspaper article from Coweta County, GA
during my stay with the Garrard’s.
July 7, 2005 Hurricane Dennis is coming
This update is coming from the small town of Lanark Village, FL located on the Florida panhandle about 45 miles south of
Tallahassee. Please excuse the poor grammar and misspelled words because I am writing this fast. The most pressing
situation currently is the looming Hurricane Dennis heading into the Gulf of Mexico. The track of Dennis as of Thursday
July 7th ranges from Louisiana to the Florida panhandle. A few minutes ago I heard on CNN that tourists are being
ordered to leave the Florida Keys.
The paddle from Sarasota to Lanark Village was like nothing I ever experienced before. It was business as usual paddling
from Sarasota to North of Tampa, and then it all changed. The water was very shallow even several miles from shore.
Near Inglis, FL I was paddling about three miles from shore and the water was very shallow. The tide was going out and
soon the water got so shallow I could hardly paddle and then all the water was gone and I was stuck in the mud. The tide
would not be coming back in for a few more hours. It was impossible to walk in the mud without sinking up to my knees. It
would not have been that big of a deal to wait for the tide to bring back the water except for the raging storm that was
heading right for me. Normally during a storm I try to seek shelter along the shore off the water. My only option was to sit
in my canoe and take the storm head on. Lightning streaked across the sky the thunder boomed and rattled the inside of
my chest. Even when I closed my eyes I could see the bright flash of the lightning the rain came down with a driving
pounding force that took my breath away until my body adjusted to the cold rain. I never would have believed it would be
possible to be stuck in the mud several miles from shore off the Gulf of Mexico. With all the lightning and thundering
crashing across the sky I wondered if this could be the real end. I was not scared of even little nervous, having been
through so many storms and other weather conditions the odds are 50/50. If this would have happened during the first few
months of this trip I would have been terrified. After spending many stormy days and nights shaking with fear you sort of
get used to it. I always do my best to seek the safest situation and at that point it becomes out my hands. I spent the storm
with my arms across my chest waiting for the storm to pass knowing there was nothing more I could do. It was a 50/50
chance, I was either going to get struck by lighting or I was not. Thankfully the lightning never did hit me.
Finding dry land was very difficult through many stretches of western Florida. During one stretch I spent three and a half
days in my canoe. At night I would pull my canoe into the grassy swamp in most cases there was enough mud to keep my
canoe in pace and I could stand up and stretch my legs. Sleeping in my canoe on the water can sometimes be a
challenge. Wind and the rising and lowering tides freed up my canoe a few times and I would wake up drifting aimlessly in
the Gulf. Finding water and food was very difficult. Tows are set way up rivers and most of the time I am several miles
offshore near small islands. I have seen many sharks patrolling the shallow waters in search of food. Some sharks are
very large. So far the sharks have always swam away from my canoe There have been a couple of shark attacks recently
here on the Gulf side of Florida. A 14-year-old girl was killed and a boy fishing in waist deep water lost his leg when they
were attacked.
The town of Cedar Key turned out to be an oasis from living in my canoe and the constant storms. My water was getting
very low and my food supply was not to far behind when I reached Cedar Key. I expected Cedar Key to be only a state
park hopefully with bathrooms so I could fill my water up. Cedar Key had a lot more than a state park bathroom. There
was hotels, restaurants, seven eleven stores, banks, and a grocery store. Not to mention a marina, boat tours, three
kayak rental places. I filled up on water and stocked up on food. Having a good supply of food and water has a way of
boosting moral. I decided to celebrate with a beer before leaving Cedar Key. I stopped at the Island Hotel and Restaurant
for my beer. Cedar Key is a friendly town; Charlene Lynn Watson was working the bar. Charlene is a true Florida girl her
mother’s side moved to Florida in the 1890s and it goes even further back on her father’s side and of course
being a true Florida, girl she is a cutie. Charlene told the owner Andy Bair about my canoe trip. Long story short Andy let
me order anything off the menu (I ordered the thick island burger) paid for my beer, and let me stay in a room for free. The
island hotel is the nicest hotel on the island. You can imagine how good it felt to sleep in a bed after all those days
sleeping in my canoe. In fact the last time I slept in a bed before Andy hooked me up was when I met my father in
everglade city over a month ago. I also got treated to breakfast in the fine dining restaurant of the hotel.
The days in Florida are very hot and muggy. The sun beating down zaps energy. Sometimes I paddle late into the night to
avoid the hot sun. The wind seems to be against me almost all the time. To complicate matter even worse my phone quit
working. I had to find a payphone and make arrangements to get another phone and have it sent to my father and get him
to find an address in an upcoming town to send the phone. When I paddled into Lanark Village I was down to my last few
swallows of water. A strong wind kept my speed to less than 1 MPH. There was no chance to eat in the canoe. It was all I
could do to set the paddle down long enough to scoop out some peanut butter. A small opening led back to a boat club. It
was the first time in ten hours that I was able to set the paddle down and rest. A man and his two children were hanging
out by the boat ramp and he asked me where I was headed and I told him my story. I went into the small store their ATM
machine was not working. My main reason for stopping was to get water, but a sandwich and Gatorade would really hit
the spot. The guy came up to me and gave me seven dollars and told me to get some food. I went back out to fill up my
water jugs. Some guys in a bass boat came up took out while I was messing with my water jugs. The guy who gave me
the money for the sandwich was talking with the boater and next thing I know the boater walks down to me and hands me
$20.00 and says don’t worry about it your doing a good thing. I finished filling up my jugs and talked with the guy with
the kids. His name was Meade Garrard and his children were James and Price. Meade asked me if I wanted to stay at his
place. A shower and hot meal sounded really good. It turned into even more than that. Meade ran me into Carrabelle,
which was about four miles away. My rudder cable broke on my canoe the day before. It was the same cable that I
replaced in Willmington, NC. The cable I bought in Willimton was not a stainless and finally rusted and snapped. We went
looking for a cable and finally found one that was top of the line. Meade told the guy all about my trip and what was should
have been .89 cents a foot at thirteen foot turned out to be free. The man named Todd at West Marine shook my hand
and wished me luck on my trip. Then we stopped at the grocery store and I stocked up on food and Meade would not let
me pay. Went back to his place and met his wife Carol (I am writing this update on Carols computer) had a big meal and a
comfortable place to sleep.
Today July 7, 2005 the wind was still whipping outside and I decide not to fight it. Tomorrow the wind will be better. The
next update will be after Hurricane Dennis. This is my first real Hurricane experience. People are talking about leaving and
boarding up windows. For me this is just another day at the office. It all comes down to a 50% chance either the Hurricane
is going to hit me or it will not. The Hurricane is expected to hit late this weekend or early next week. My expected location
is going to be Apalachicola, FL. I hope the hurricane misses me…if the Hurricane does hit me you probably won’t be
getting me any more updates from me again.
Update Sarasota Florida June 14
It felt good to be back on the water after a weeks break in Sanibel. The weather looked like rain. The one bright spot of
the day came towards dusk when I found a cooler floating near shore. It was nice cooler with a handle and wheels. Inside
was few cans of pop and some rotten fish that was apparently bait. The cooler was to nice to just leave so I towed it
behind me to the Captivia Marina. It was dark by the time I arrived. There was no way for me to find the owner of this
cooler, it probably fell from the boat of a tourist enjoying the holiday weekend. I just wanted someone to be able to get
some use out of it. I traded the cooler to a man in a large boat for a flashlight.
Later in the night I found a nice beach to sleep on and then it rained very hard. My defenses against the rain are very low
since I lost my tent. In other words when it rains I get wet along with my blanket.
Thursday mid morning the rain let up. I was wet, along with my blanket. However I did have dry clothes to change into and
that makes a big difference. Towards evening I began looking for a place to camp and paddled through a small cut which
opened up into an area about half the size of a football field, and it was filled with manatees. I paddled right out in the
middle watching them surface and play around. It was really neat until one of the manatees bumped my canoe. I barley felt
the bump but it spooked the manatee and big huge splash occurred. After that all the manatee play time stopped, only a
small nose coming up to grab some air and ducking back down could be seen.
A mile up a nice beach with trees made for a perfect place to camp and start a fire. It was difficult to get a fire going
because of all the recent rain. I had to break and cut wood to find the dry wood in the center. I hung my blankets and wet
clothes over the trees. About ten o’clock I felt the all to familiar sprinkle hit my hand. Sure enough it started to rain
which yet met another night or sleeping with a wet blanket and clothes.
Friday it rained almost all day. However towards evening I found just off the intercostal a small bridge to stay under. I
slept in my canoe, the canoe was on an oyster bed. It was not comfortable sleep. I was still wet and had to sit up because
there was nowhere to set my gear. My canoe was tied best I could to the oyster bed, but when the tide came in the oyster
bed was going to be covered with water. The past three nights sleeping wet and uncomfortable was a stark contrast
compared to my stay in Sanibel where I could keep dry, sleep dry, and had a nice screened in swimming pool to swim in.
Saturday started out dry, but as the day went on it started to rain. This rain was very hard and pounding and I found
shelter under a bridge. The rain let up some but it looked like another strong burst could be coming. I was surprised when
I seen a couple with a fishing pole come around the corner. Gary and Janet Bruster decided to get out of the house and
do some fishing. I talked with them a bit they asked me some questions about my trip. It started to rain very hard. They
invited me back to their place for a shower and hot meal. They only lived a few hundred yards away. This came at a
perfect time. I was able to shower and change into clean dry clothes and get a charge on my phone. Janet made a great
steak dinner with broccoli, potatoes, salad, vegetables, and pie for desert. The rain had stopped and it was back on the
water for a few hours and the rain started in, but this time a bridge was in site. Drops of rain were hitting my hands about
every ten seconds. I dug in and paddled as hard as possible to beat the rain just as downpour occurred. Just did make it
in time. Found a wall to tie off and enjoy my first dry night of sleep in three days. I was tired and dozed of quickly.
Somewhere along the night a blue heron landed on the side of my canoe. I startled him as much as he did me.
Sunday morning I paddled about a mile and was just dead tired. I found a very small island and unpacked my wet clothes
and blanket and hung them over the trees to dry out. The sky was overcast and it was probably going to rain, but I was so
mentally and physically tired it did not matter. I awoke in the afternoon to sun a white puffy clouds. I left the island in the
evening and despite sleeping all day only went maybe a mile or two to another island. I had to tie my canoe up to the
mangroves because the island would be underwater at high tide.
Monday was a nice day with no rain, I paddled about four miles and found a real island and not the oyster shell islands I
had been using. Slept again most of the day and dried things out.
Tuesday I reached Sarasota which was good because I had a planned stop. Rebecca Stults who I had met in Everglade
city had a friend who lived in Sarasota. I called Rebecca and she gave me very good directions, It was nice because the
house was right on the Sarasota bay. I arrived Tuesday at the what is widely know to many in Sarasota as the “bay
shore house� A guy named Matthew rents it off a friend and Matthew rents the rooms out. It used to be a house only
for collage kids going to New Collage, Matthew is New collage alumni. The best way to describe the bay shore house is
an open house. Most of the people come to visit are all into things like organic foods, meditation, yoga, and they are very
liberal. Most of the people are artists of some sort. Dancers, singers, artists ect.. The dancers do belly dancing, and fire
dancing, not the normal dance. The house has a massage room and it seems like everyone is a massage therapist. It has
been quite a learning experience and despite how liberal these people are they are quite nice and fun to hang out with.
The location of the bay shore house is perfect, right on the water sandwiched between a couple of multi million dollar
houses. The bay shore house is for sale, not the house itself because it was built at the turn of the century pale in
comparison to the houses around. However it is hidden well through a lot of foliage. The lot is for sale for just under four
million dollars. My stay has been extended longer than expected for a few reasons. The pending hurricane Arlene was
heading for Florida and it was not known where it was going to hit. The next is the red tide which has seen literally
thousand of dead fish being washed up on shore right before my eyes. For some reason the red tide kills fish, but no one
here has ever seen it to this extreme. Being around the water makes you feel like you have to cough and that is part of
the red tide algae bloom… anyway I want to wait until it passes before I get back in the water which should be in a day
or two.
After my stay in Sanibel and here in Sarasota I am actually looking forward to getting back tom paddling. From here I am
now headed to Cincinnati to way to say hi to family and friends before heading down to Texas for the winter. To get to
Cincinnati from Sarasota by way of the paddle I will follow the coast of Florida to Mobile Alabama and follow the Tom
bigbee water way to the Ohio river which takes me to Cincinnati. The Tom Bigbee water way is sort of like the Erie Canal
with locks to make the canals navigable for boats.
John Latecki
Leaving Sanibel Island May 31, 2005
My stay on Sanibel island provided the perfect platform to catch up on e-mails and update my website. The island of
Sanibel has so much to offer. The beaches are some of the best in the country. The 2002 movie sweet home Alabama
staring Reese Withwerspoon was filmed on Bowman’s beach on Sanibel island.
If your into hunting shells Sanibel island is where you want to be. The sea floor has a gentle slope and the waves come in
small which allows many shells to wash up intact. According to experts there are only two other better spots in the entire
world for finding shells, Sulu island of the Philippines and Jeffrey’s Bay on the Southeast tip of South Africa.
Sanibel maintains a charming “get away from it all� atmosphere. In 1993 McDonalds paid $571,000 for an acre of
land to put up a restaurant. A grass routes campagien was started called “MCspoil The tourists were the most vocal
opponents and Just before Christmas of 1995 McDonalds withdrew their plans.
The people on Sanibel island are very nice. For example Barbra told me I could use a bike in the garage and left me
directions on where I could get air for the low tire. While pushing the bike towards the gas station a man checking his mail
gave me a weird and look and said in a joking way “you now they invented those to ride� I told him about the tire
and he went and got a pump and pumped up the tire for me. Residents sitting on park benches would often say hi to me
as I passed by.
The bike paths on Sanibel island are very nice and lead to all parts of the island. If your waiting to cross the roads the
motorists are very friendly often slowing down and waving you across. The max speed limit on the island is 35MPH. It is
far from fast paced on Sanibel island.
Overall I really enjoyed my stay on Sanibel island, it was productive for raising awareness for MS doing interviews with
NBC channel 2 in Ft. Myers, the Ft. Myers newspaper, and the Sanibel island newspaper. The bean coffee shop named â
€œSanibel beanâ€� provided a great platform to hook up my wireless laptop and get work done. The biggest surprise of
my stay on Sanibel island happened at the bean. The owner of Sanibel bean Daniel Dix approached me after hearing that
channel 2 was down for an interview and was curious as to what I was doing. It turns out he is from Wooster, Ohio which
is where I work! Even more surprising his father Victor Dix used to be the publisher of The Dailey record in Wooster,
which has done some stories about my trip. It was so cool to be able to talk with Daniel and Victor about Wooster and we
even knew some of the same people.
Sanibel has been great. It will be good to get back on the water. I can not thank Barbra Finkelstein enough for letting me
use her huge screened in back porch and swimming pool while her and her husband were away.
Your friend in the fight against MS John latecki,
This update comes from Sanibel island near Ft. Myers Friday may 27
Last update was on April, 1 from Brunswick, GA near the Florida line. Along time has passed so this update will be a long
one. I now have a laptop computer so updates will be more frequent than before.
My Florida experience started out good. Fernandina beach was the first town I stopped at. The palm trees and the feeling
of being in Florida was nice after spending the past nine months anticipating my arrival to the sunshine state. My father
has some friends who live in St. Augustine and they had agreed to take me in for a hot shower and bed to sleep in. Many
people have taken me in durining the course of the trip, but rarely have they been planned stops as this was going to be.
Knowing warm water and a bed are a few days away just seemed to boost spirits and raise moral. On the paddle down to
St. Augustine I met with the local Jackonsville news under the Atlantic blvd bridge. The interview took place as a raging
thunderstorm and heavy rains passed by.
Paddling into St Augustine was very scenic. An old fort with cannons perched up on the bank made me think about past
battles several hundred years ago. Just up from the fort a beautiful lift bridge spanned across the intercostals water way. I
secured my canoe at the local Marina and called Curtis (the friend of my father) and explored a bit of the downtown
waiting to get picked up. The buildings in town had a Spanish look. A beautiful catholic cathedral really caught my eye
nestled in the downtown. Horse draw carriages and trolleys passed through the historic downtown giving tourists a tour of
the oldest town in America. When Curtis picked me up he gave me more of a tour. I ended up staying the next two and a
half days with Curtis and Terri Lee. It was a welcome break with all the amenities of a hot shower, warm bed, T.V and
food. I experienced the best home cooked food of my entire trip. Terri Lee and Curtis have a little completion over who the
better cook is and they were each trying to show off to me. I ate chili, Lasagna, sandwiches, beef Jerky and my last day
visiting consisted of a thanksgiving style dinner with turkey and all the fixings. You can imagine the shock of getting back
to the reality of Ramon noodles and Macaroni and cheese. Aside from the relaxing and great food Terri Lee and Curtis
provided great company.
The trip from St. Augustine down to Miami was for the most part unpleasant. There was an oasis in all the unpleasantness
to be found in West Palm beach. It was an Impromptu encounter on the waterway. It was a Friday night and there was
definelty something going on in West Palm beach. What gave it away was the hundreds of people along with many tents
and three stages lining the waterfront, not to mention the couple hundred boats anchored just outside the main channel
near the action packed waterfront. It was like a maze navigating through the boats. I asked a guy on a boat what was
going on and he said it was Sun fest. For the past week the local radio station aired many advertisements for sunfest. I
never paid attention to where it was going on or even what day. Turns out it ran from a Wednesday to Sunday. The guy
on the boat whose named turned out to be Kelly told me this was the place to be and I should anchor out. Of course I told
Kelly I did not have an anchor and he said just tie up to my boat. That turned out to be a great night, my timing was perfect
enough to indulge in a steak and watch Billy Idol bounce around the stage and belt out some good music. This was like a
front row seat to the stage and the large video screen. Some more of Kelly’s friends arrived later and tied their boat up
to his and we all had a blast. The next day I did an interview for the Newspaper and a local T.V station and decided to
stay another night. Sunday morning I awoke to find my canoe completely filled with water. During the night the wind really
kicked up and the way my canoe was tied up to the boat the waves filled it up. That was a nightmare. First off I lost some
of my gear including my cooking gear, food, Marine radio, tent, shoes along with some other items. Luckliy I had stashed
my solar powered radio, cell phone, and GPS on Kelly’s boat. It took several minutes to bail out my canoe. Kelly and
the other boat headed out toward an island a few miles away and I headed to land to drain out the rest of my canoe and
dry out my gear. Everything not in a water tight case was soaked including my clothes and sleeping bag.
My stay in St Augustine with Terri Lee and Curtis and the West Palm Beach stay on Kelly’s boat were the only two
good moments on the entire East side of Florida. Finding places to stock up on food was very difficult. The stores were
either far from the water or there was nowhere safe to leave my boat. It seemed like food was always in short supply.
Before leaving St. Augustine Curtis ran me to Wall-mart to get supplies and that was my only real chance to stock up on
supplies. Most of the time I lived from gas station to gas station.
Finding a place to camp out can be very difficult. Many nights went on hours longer than planned because there was
nowhere to camp. Cement walls line both sides of the intercostals waterway with condos and houses covering both sides
of the bank. The worst was the Ft. Lauderdale area. Florida is becoming so built up so fast and it is only getting worse.
Miami was a difficult city to navigate around and by far the unfriendly town for paddlers. I met with Idy Fernandez of the
Miami Herald at the hard rock café at bayside in Miami. It cool because the newspaper paid for my lunch. Miami is a nice
place to visit and very pretty from the water but it is not a friendly city.
Leaving Miami I knew the next place to get any food or water was going to be Flamingo unless I paddled into the Florida
keys. Flamingo is a state run campground tucked between the Florida bay and the Florida everglades. It took me four
days to reach Flamingo from Miami. That included getting lost and ending up in Key Largo. The scenery was magnificent
small islands everywhere filled the horizon. Dolphins playing were very common. The water color was the most beautiful
green I ever seen near Key Largo. Starfish could easily be found in the crystal clear water along with sharks. The largest
shark I seen was about seven feet. The majority of the sharks were about four feet or less. One evening around sunset I
was fishing in about knee deep water and several sharks passed very close in the shallow water looking for food. It was
enough to scare me back to ankle deep water, but I could still see the sharks moving about the water.
The closer I got to Flamingo the water changed and it literally turned much darker about a half mile east of the
campground. Finding Flamingo was a relief. For awhile I was not sure if I passed it or not. I had no map of the area my
charts covered East Florida and the Florida keys but not the southern tip or west side. My plan to find Flamingo was
simple, leave Miami and follow the coast line until I reach Flamingo. It sounded good on paper, but in reality it was much
different. There was no real place to pass through US route 1 without going through the intercostal pass at the north end
of key largo. Of course it was dark and I hugged the US route 1 causeway and ended up backtracking down through the
Key Largo pass. From there I paddled at a forty-five degree angle back up through the Florida bay toward the florida shore
line. Here is where a map would have saved me a ton of grief. A five second look would have reveled Flamingo sits about
ten miles from the west side of Florida and the Gulf Of Mexico. I remembered it being more in the center of the state. So
not wanting to miss my chance to restock on food and water I paddled up into every bay thinking it was the coast line and
after paddling west in the bay and realizing it was a dead end I had to paddle back out. That was the worst part paddling
back out. Figure you spend an hour paddling one way you have an hour to think about your mistake paddling back out, it
was very demoralizing. In my mind I knew the next hour of work was for nothing. This happened several times having to
paddle back all because of me not having a map, a simple state map would have made all the difference. I had a mental
picture of the florida coast line between Miami and Flamingo being nice and smooth and easy to follow. Not with large
winding bays and tons of islands everywhere. The islands (also referred to as keys) were very confusing at times and
made it difficult to know where the coastline was. I felt for sure I had passed flamingo by when a small tower appeared
over the tree line about three miles away. It had to be Flamingo because there is nothing else but Flamingo in the area.
Only one road in and one road out. If you have a road atlas handy you can go to florida and find Flamingo on the southern
tip and see exactly how far secluded the campground really is. I was able to call my father collect from a payphone (no cell
phone service) and find out exactly when he was coming down and where we were going to meet. I made the call
Thursday afternoon and we planned to meet the upcoming Tuesday and I expected to be around the Naples area.
Leaving Flamingo there are two choices to reach the small island of Chokoloskee or three miles up the Island of everglade
city witch would have water and provisions. The first choice is known as the Everglade wilderness water way. A route
which snakes through the heart of the everglades surrounded by nothing but mangroves and of course mosquitoes not to
mention a large population of alligators. The second route is to simply paddle out around into the Gulf of Mexico and
follow the coast up. Back in September I met Jim Balmer while paddling on the Erie Canal. He invited me to stay the night
and take advantage of some good food, shower, and comfortable bed. Jim is an adventurer having biked around Lake
Ontario and paddled the Everglade wildness water way twice. Jim had a nice slide show of his trips through the waterway.
I was inspired by what I seen from his presentation that I planned to paddle through the wilderness water way. It sounds
good on paper, 100 miles of mangroves and complete isolation. There is no place to get any water and the only place to
camp is on raised wooden platforms called chickes. The chickes have chemical toilets and enough space to set up a tent.
The down side is the Mosquitoes which can literally kill you in the summer months if you don’t know how to keep them
off of you. The wilderness water way is very hard to navigate according to Jim (who got lost for a short time) and other
people who told me their stories of getting lost. The ranger at the information desk in Flamingo also stated how difficult
navigating through can be even with the best maps. After hearing the ranger talk I decided to paddle out around into the
Gulf of Mexico to reach Everglade city. Besides my biggest weakness paddling around the country has been my
navigation skills, it is not that I don’t know how to properly navigate I just have to work a bit harder and concentrate
more than the average outdoor traveler. The ranger gave me a map which would take me up to everglade city.
The mosquitoes I encountered after leaving Flamingo were unbelievable. At sunset I could see what appeared to be
smoke but was really a swarm of mosquitoes. Luckily I had a mosquito net and plenty of bug spray and a canoe to hide in.
The secret to managing the mosquitoes is to set up camp at least an hour before sunset and be inside the tent or canoe
before sunset. My second day of paddling turned into an all day and night deal. I waited a bit long to reach shore to set up
camp and rather than deal with my mistake in the form of getting eaten alive I stayed out and paddled throughout the
night. To be safe from bugs I stayed about two miles off shore all night. It was weird feeling to be so far off shore and see
no lights anywhere. About an hour after sunrise I laid down for some sleep. I finally reached Everglade city at sunset. My
next problem was finding a place to get a charge on my phone so I could call and set up a place to meet my father. From
the water I could see a screened in bar next to a small deli. I stashed my canoe in the mangroves and headed for the bar
with phone and charger. The bar was called “the rock bottom bar� and a sign on the door said cash only. I had no
cash and the deli did not have an ATM machine On my way out near the road a truck pulls up and the man driving
mistaken me for someone he knew. I asked him if he knew where an ATM was. He gave me directions and then asked if I
wanted a ride. There was no way I was going to climb in the cab of the truck considering I had not showered in three
weeks. Washing up in salt water is not the same as a shower and no matter how much I scrub up saltwater leaves me
feeling dirty. I hopped in the back of the truck and it was every bit of a mile to the gas station with the ATM. On the way
back they insisted I ride in the cab I tried to tell them I had not showered in three weeks but they insisted. I told them a bit
about my trip on the way back to the bar and they dropped me off and wished me luck. The bartenders were really cool
and had no problem letting me charge up my phone while nursing a cold Budweiser. I called my father who had arrived in
St. Augustine a few hours earlier. We worked it out so he would meet me Tuesday afternoon at the Rock bottom bar. That
would give me a day and half of time to kill in Everglade city. In the meantime I noticed the couple who gave me a ride to
the ATM were in the bar talking with friends. The man approached me and said the mosquitoes were going to be real bad
and if wanted a place to stay they would put me up at their place. Talk about music to my ears. Three weeks is by far my
longest time without a shower and that shower was the best feeling shower I have ever experienced. Don and Karen
Cochran were the nice people who rescued me from the mosquitoes. When they found out my father was not meeting me
until Tuesday they invited me to stay. It felt good to sleep in bed again. The last time I slept in a bed had been over a
month ago in St. Augustine. Thanks to Don and Karen I waited to meet my father in an air conditioned house watching T.V
instead of somewhere outside in the mangroves.
It was great to finally see my father after almost ten months of not seeing any family. We got a hotel in everglade city and
loaded up my canoe and stored it at Don and Karen’s. The next couple of days was spent shopping, exploring, and
relaxing. My father had some packages from sponsors which included summer clothes from kokatat and Brian Brawley a
fellow adventurer sponsored me many nice items including an outdoor first aid kit, a few dry bags, bivi sack, water
container, head light, special bug repellent clothes, map case, back pack along with some other useful items. My father
brought me a brand new lap top computer set up for wireless internet access (what I am using to write this update on)
along with a nice hard carrying case. It sort of felt like Christmas. We drove to Naples to a wal-mart so I could restock on
food and replace some of the items I lost when my boat filled with water. It was nice to have a pair of shoes and a stove to
cook food on. We stopped at a restaurant with wireless internet access so I could test the computer out and make sure it
worked. Other than that we explored the area. We went down this one road next to a canal loaded with alligators. The
road had many places to pull off and observe the alligators up close. We also took a boat tour into the everglades and that
was a blessing in disguise. The tour was really neat and went deep into a narrow channel nestled in the mangroves. The
boat was small only carrying a max of six people at a time. There were five on this trip My father and I along with three
ladies. The blessing came near the end of the trip when one of the woman asked the caption about kayaking opportunities
further south and if any of the keys had had white beaches or not. He was not real sure. I explained to her the names of
the keys that had the sandy beaches where they were located and offered some advice on where to paddle because I
had just paddled up through the area she was referring to and said I paddled here from Ohio. That was all it took to get a
conversation started and I explained to them all about my trip and why I was doing it. Turns out all three woman live along
my trip route. Barbara Finkelstein lives on Sanibel island near Ft. Myers and offered to put me up while I was passing by. It
was about 70 miles from everglade city to Sanibel by way of the paddle. The problem was she and her husband were
going to be gone about the time I was going to arrive, but with some effort I could make it. The strong winds and rough
water of the Atlantic ocean slowed me down enough to where I was not going to make it before they left. However Barbara
said I would be more than welcome to camp on their back porch and swim in the pool. She gave me detailed directions to
her place which I was able to paddle up to through a canal. That is where this update is being written from. This is truly
paradise on Sanibel island. I hate to write how good this is because it sounds like I am having it easy but this is a vacation
for me. The porch is very large and completely screened in along with the swimming pool. There are outlets to charge up
my phone and plug my computer into. A nice lounge chair that leans all the way back to sleep on. Barbara left me a care
package with snacks, and plenty of info about Sanibel including a book on all the area attractions and points of interest. I
am able to update my website at a local coffee shop, explore the island, and come back and sit next to a swimming pool
and relax. Barbara also left me a note explaining I have permission to be here along with a nautical chart of the area and
fifty dollars. Now it is easy to understand why that boat tour was a blessing in disguise. This is truly a great platform to
work off of and even more important than swimming in the pool while looking at beautiful plants and palm trees this gives
me a chance to catch up on tons of e-mails, make improvements to my web site, and set up contacts coming up on the trip.
Sanibel is such a wonderful place with so much to see and explore. My next update will be when I leave the island and be
about my experience in Sanibel.
May,20, 2004
This quick update comes from the everglade city library in southwest Florida, about thirty miles south of Naples.
I met my father Tuesday may 13 and he brought me a laptop computer. Now that I have a wireless computer updates to
the web site will be more frequent. This will also enable me to catch up on e-mails, keep in better contact with people, and
update and manage my web site. Look forward in the near future to more updates and some changes to my web site.
April, 1 2005Brunswick, GA
Hello everyone,
I am in Brunswick, GA which is less than a day’s paddle from Florida. Yesterday (march 30) I seen my first real live
alligator! It was exciting and a bit scary at the same time. The gator was much larger than expected. This was one of
probably a hundred I will see over the next month in Florida.
I hope to have all the past updates on my web site soon. I have met many cool people, stayed at some really nice places,
and seen all kinds of neat things. In Mount pleasant, SC which is a suburb of Charleston I met Austin Petty. Austin is the
son of Kyle Petty who races NASCAR. That was very interesting. Ever since Myrtle Beach I have been doing T.V and or
newspaper in every town and city along the way. It has been difficult to get updates on my website as much as I would
like. I am working on getting a laptop with a wireless card, which would allow me to update my web site from the many
coffee shops, marinas, public parks, malls, ect.. That has wireless internet connections. As of now the library is my only
option. Sometimes the libraries are a very long walk or there is no safe place to stash my boat. Brunswick is a very user
friendly town. The people are great and more important the library is close and the staff is excellent. Brunswick is also a
scenic town with many trash cans which lead to clean streets. Speaking of scenic cities Savanna, GA is by far the most
scenic city I have ever been to. I would not have had the chance to see Savanna, but Bob and Kit Wylly made that
possible for me. Bob has been following my trip for several months now and is very educated and up to date on MS. His
wife Kit suffers from the disease. They live in Cincinnati, but were down in Hilton Head for the part of March. Bob sent me
an e-mail along time ago and said if I was going to be in the area at that time to look him up. My plans were to be well past
Hilton Head by then, but weather slowed my progress down and put us in the same area and we hooked up. Bob and Kit
met me at the Hilton Head Marina and took me out to lunch and Bob helped set up media contacts for Savanna. Bob and
Kit met me the next day in Savanna and gave me the tour. The downtown area has a bunch of large square with parks in
the middle and plenty of hanging moss trees. It feels like something out of a movie. The waterfront has tons of neat shops
ranging from restraints to candy stores. Without Bob and Kit meeting me and giving me the tour I never would have got a
chance to experience the beauty of Savanna. Along with the tour Bob bought me a solar powered radio for my trip. It has
been months without music and now the days go by so much faster with music and I forgot how much I missed Rush
Limbaugh’s dose of the truth everyday.
The trip from Savanna to Brunswick was a low point of the trip. The landscape was some of the best, but the weather was
on the war path. The Georgia skies opened up and flat poured, up to eight inches in some areas. The wind and lighting
were fierce. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday I was held up on an island and my water supply was about gone. There are
no marinas to get water from savanna to Brunswick. I tried to conserve best I could, but in the end ran out with 44 miles
left to paddle. No water meant no food because the only food left in my canoe needed water to be cooked. Thursday was
spent paddling mostly fighting the tide with NO water and only a few nuts to munch on. 44 miles later I found water from a
marina hose. Bad weather is going to rip through the area today (Friday April, 1,2005) I hope to leave tomorrow……
Sorry for poor grammar and misspelled words, but with only an hour no time to proof read
John Latecki JR
P.S here is a link to a recent newspaper article from Beaufort, SC (the article is also posted below the link has a pic)
Link to the story
http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local_news/story/4710465p-4350431c.html
Man rows into Beaufort on four-year trip
BY JASON RYAN, The Beaufort Gazette
Published Tuesday, March 22nd, 2005
BEAUFORT -- After paddling 3,260 miles since leaving Cleveland in a customized canoe, John Latecki Jr.'s journey is just
beginning.
The heavily bearded Latecki paddled into Beaufort on Monday, one-tenth of the way through a planned four-year, 30,000-
mile canoe trip along American waterways to raise awareness for multiple sclerosis -- a disease afflicting his 39-year-old
sister, Julie McAfee.
Sitting beside his canoe at the Downtown Marina, the 27-year-old Latecki sported a yellow wet suit and gray rain hat,
recounting the enormous psychological pressure of having so much water to cover.
"If I quit, I'd feel I was letting my sister down," said Latecki, whose strategy is to take it one day at a time. His trip started
July 31.
McAfee, whose name adorns the side of Latecki's canoe, was diagnosed in 1996 with multiple sclerosis, an inflammatory
disease affecting the tissues of the central nervous system.
"When she lost her sense of smell, that's what kind of started it," Latecki said of his inspiration for an original 1,800-mile
trip down the Mississippi River in 2001 to spread the word about the disease.
Drawing on savings and the help of sponsors, Latecki pilots his craft that he describes as "right on the line between a
canoe and kayak," but whose hull design, deck and higher seat tip it toward canoe.
Inside, Latecki's stowage includes a sleeping bag, a stash of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and his cell phone,
which he uses to call his sister almost every night.
Latecki, who usually sleeps in his canoe, also occasionally encounters bigger obstacles, including the cold winter weather
up North that made him skip a few planned routes, an oil spill on the Delaware River, and rolling waves in the Atlantic
Ocean off Long Island, N.Y., that necessitated a Coast Guard rescue.
"I've never been so scared in my life," Latecki said of the rough waves that made him feel as if he were getting slugged in
the stomach. "If I (had) flipped over, I would have been dead."
From Beaufort, Latecki will head south to Hilton Head Island and Savannah. He hopes to travel in all 48 states in the
continental United States by the time he's finished.
If he completes the trip, Latecki said he would hold two world records: one for the longest overall canoe trip and one for
the longest solo canoe trip.
In South Carolina, Latecki has met his share of friendly strangers, receiving gifts of steak sandwiches and fishing lures
from one man and a tip from an old sailor named "Mad Dog" in Georgetown to visit a Mount Pleasant bar, a suggestion
that led to a night of partying with Austin Petty, the son of NASCAR legend Kyle Petty.
Usually though, Latecki's life is more tranquil, paddling the waters alone and practicing good river sense.
"I always wear my life jacket, I don't take chances ... I don't drink when I paddle," Latecki said.
For more information, visit www.fightingms.org.
For more information, visit www.fightingms.org.
Contact Jason Ryan at 986-5532 or jryan@beaufortgazette.com.
Wilmington NC Tuesday February 22
The trip from Beafourt to Wilmington has been the most scenic of the entire trip. I left Monday morning. Mandy from AB
kayak in beafourt left me a note by my boat telling me she was looking at my canoe earlier and my rudder cable was about
to break very
soon and to give her a call because she had cable and tools to fix it. I thought it would be fine for another month. By two in
the afternoon the cable snapped. The cable makes it possible for me to control the rudder with my feet and makes
paddling much more efficient. It rained on and off all day and by day's end I had paddled 32 miles.
I got an e-mail from Mike Radford works in a specialty division for Pfizer. Pfizer co-promotes the drug rebif which helps
many people with MS. He wanted to help me raise awareness while in Wilmington and was going to meet me Monday
February 21 He was going to try to arrange for me to meet an MS specialist, a local MS support group and even help raise
media awareness. I had some time to kill before Monday and this section of the intercostal is the perfect place to explore.
A thin piece of land keeps the ocean out, but there are plenty of inlets if one wanted to go out to the ocean. Islands of all
shapes and sizes can be seen and explored. Dolphins are common and sometimes a few frisky dolphins will put on a free
air show jumping out of the water. The water is very shallow in many places, which is not a problem when paddling.
The south side of camp leajune runs into the intercostal waterway. A large sign along the water stated if the red light is
flashing tune into 570AM for a report for closing times. At times the intercostal waterway is closed for training exercies.
Navy seals practice amphibious landings and bombs are launched from offshore onto the base. It was not closed for me
when I passed, but I always felt like someone was watching me. After a couple days of rain and much harder paddling
without my rudder I got a great surprise. Denise and Ken Rothrock had contacted me a few weeks back and told me when
I got down to Sneads Ferry they wanted to give me a place stay and give me a hot meal to eat. Denise's mother read
about my trip in the Elizabeth City Newspaper and that is how Ken and Denise knew about my trip. Ken got me a huge
room at the holiday inn and they took me out to eat. After super we went to the store so I could stock up on supplies and
Ken paid for my supplies. The feeling of spending a couple days in the rain and then having a king size bed, shower, and
T.V was incredible. That was a huge boost to my moral.
I get another surprise e-mail from Mickie who is on the MS advisory board for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. We
met on Saturday in wrightsville beach at the blue water restaurant. Mickie has MS so she has a great understanding of the
disease. After lunch she drove me around wrightsville beach and up to Wilmington. By land Wilmington is not 15 minutes
tops from wrightsville beach in a car, by way of the paddle Wilmington is at least 25 miles. I left wrightville beach Sunday
morning around 7:00am and arrived in Wilmington 9:30pm. The wind and tide were not in my favor for the most part of the
trip. My left shoulder and elbow would pop once in awhile while paddling. Normally it would not be that big of a deal, but I
have to maintain a certain level of physical fitness to continue with this trip for another four years. Without the rudder I was
forced to use many more corrective strokes and work much harder. It was just a case of using different muscles and I am
fine, but a small scare.
Monday turned out to one big disappointment. Mike was not able set up the meeting with the MS specialist or the MS
support group, and he was not even in the area. His attempt to raise media awareness did not pan out either. I waited all
day Monday in Wilmington and nothing happened to raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis, except for the people I talked
to.
Tuesday I took matters into my own hands and did an interview for WWAY channel 3 and set up newspaper interview.
Since I got my phone back in Elizabeth city I was able to raise awareness with Newspaper articles in Elizabeth city, Kitty
Hawk, and Beaufort, (all front page stories) A radio show in Kill devil hills, and T.V in New Bern, and Wilmington and the
upcoming newspaper interview tomorrow when I leave. Some people think all I do is paddle a
canoe, bit I have lots of e-mail, phone calls, and contacts to reach, all while battling to keep my cell phone dry and
charged. The canoeing part is easy, the raiseing awareness for MS is more diffuiclt.
While in Wilmington I went to Lowes and got another cable for my rudder. The city of Wilmington is really nice with a solid
downtown filled with every kind of shop you can think of and the police force is unbelievable. I have never seen more cops
on patrol doing their job than in here in Wilmington, in cars, on foot, and even horses. I would recommend anyone ever
traveling in the area to stop in Wilmington. The tempture here today Tuesday is almost 70 degrees. The worst part of
winter is over for me, yes!!!
I will be getting a camera soon and will be taking many pictures to put on my web site. Pictures are worth a thousand
word, a thousand less words I have to write.
John Latecki Jr
Wednesday December 1st Location: back creek, just off the C and D canal 3.32 miles west of Chesapeake city. GPS
reading:N39`31.656 W75`52.347
The unofficial start of winter kicked off at 12:01am Wednesday December 1st with rain. About an hour before dark I found
some high ground and spent some time getting ready for the rain by tying my tarp to tree branches and trees to make a
shelter over my canoe. It made a nice canopy over the top. My canoe actually has a canopy of its own and I set that up
and then covered the eight-foot cockpit with my rain skirt. The set up worked very well. In the morning the rain quit and I
readjusted the tarp and tied it off a bit different to allow for better draining of water. The wind was very strong gusting to
30 MPH and in the afternoon could reach 50MPH gusts. The day was very cloudy and dreary and the rain came back in
the early morning. The waves were crashing soundly at the beach and there was no question today would be a day off
with the heavy wind. Around 11:00am a line could be seen as is someone took a knife and cut the dark clouds and dark
blue skies could be seen. It took about ten minutes for the line of clouds to pass the sun and when it did the day went from
gloomy to beautiful.
I decided to move my canoe back twenty feet to a clearing and hang up wet blankets, cloths, and anything else wet. The
afternoon sun made for higher winds, which did reach at least 50MPH. All my gear drying in the trees was tied down so it
would not blow away. My NOAA weather radio warned with all the rain in recent days coupled with the high wind some
shallow rooted trees could become uprooted. Here I am in a swamp area on high ground surrounded by trees that don’t
have a lot of dirt to hold onto. Branches would make cracking noises and it became a concern some large branches could
fall on me, none did fall. The rest of the day was spent just hanging out waiting to leave tomorrow.
Thursday December 2, 2004
Awoke at 6:00am and waited under the cover until about 7:05am for the sunrise. It gets dark in the evening around 5:00pm
with the sun setting at about 4:40pm the temp last night dipped into the upper twenties to mid thirties. The river has a thin
layer of ice going a few feet from shore and my water jug had a layer of ice on top. The winds were expected to be 10 to
15 mph from the west and the high in the 50s, which is great. I left some of my cloths hanging out overnight thinking the
wind would knock down the dew, but they were a bit damp. My goal is to reach a store or at the very least come up with
some water to cook some noodles for super. The next town on my route was a two-day trip. Havre De Grace is on the
west side of the Susqhanna River and marks the official start of the Chesapeake Bay. My phone got wet and quit working
last Saturday in a nasty storm. For the first time ever water got into my green box. This box has over 200 days of travel
time with me going back to my first canoe trip and because I failed to secure the lid properly and the tarp string broke and
drained water into my canoe. I awoke to a couple of inches of water in my canoe. Without a phone it puts a new spin on
things. at about 2:30pm I spot a building off in the distance that looks like a marina closed down for the winter. Through
my binoculars I could make out docks a boat ramp and the building. Turns out the building was part of elk neck state park
and the bathroom was a perfect place to fill up my single water jug. That was another problem I am down to one water jug,
which is not good. On my way back to my canoe an older man came rowing up and tied up to the dock. I looked around
and there were no cars and I wondered where he came from. He asked me where I came from because it was apparent
from all my gear in the boat that I was on a big trip. After talking a bit with the man he asked is there way he could be
assistance to me and asked if I needed to restock on supplies and offered to take me to town. That was music to my ears
because my food supplies were down to about zip. We paddled back about a mile to the Chesapeake isle beach where
the man pulled his boat out and tied it up on a rack with about twenty other boats. I pulled my boat out as well. The man
stuck out his hand and offered a firm handshake and introduced himself as David Byler. We got into his vehicial and
stopped back at his house to tell his wife Claire he was taking me to the store, which was about 12 miles away in the town
of Northeast. David’s wife Claire made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before we left. David took me to a small strip
mall with a dollar tree and a grocery store right next to each other. The dollar tree was great for buying calories. The days
on long island where food was SO expensive were over. On a trip like this you have to eat and when your low on food you
have to buy it where you can even at the stores that charge an arm and a leg. I got some good deals at the dollar tree. As
David and I were walking back to his vehicial he asked me if I wanted to spend the night. It was after 4:00pm already with
only an hour of sunlight left. It was going to get a bit cold tonight and I gladly accepted. On the ride back home David took
me to show me the headwaters of the Northeast River and we drove close to turkey point, which gave a beautiful view of
the bay I would be paddling across tomorrow. The sun was a few minutes from setting off to the east and a woman was
there to get some pictures. The bridges crossing the Sushqhanna were visible about six miles across the bay. David drove
me back to my canoe to pick up my shower kit and pull my canoe up out of the way for the night. On the way down to my
boat David and I counted over 25 deer in people’s yards munching on the grass it was unreal. The houses in Chesapeake
Isle have large yards and the houses are very nice and large. David asked me how I go about raising awareness for MS
on my trip. I explained through meeting people and the press. He asked me if I would be interested in talking to a reporter
from a local publication. Back at David’s place I got a shower, a good super of eggs, hash browns, toast, apple sauce,
apple cider, and V8 juice, for dessert rocky road and French vanilla ice cream, also got laundry done, got online to contact
my family, and David set it up so Wendy Gilbert from the Nor’easter magazine would meet me in the morning to do a story
about my trip.
As lay in a warm bed that night getting ready to fall asleep the thought crossed my mind “where would I be had David
decided not to take a row today or I had left an hour earlier or later where would I be now”?
Friday December 3, 2004
Awoke about 6:15am, but lay in the warm bed about an hour before I got up. David cooked up some breakfast of oatmeal
with brown sugar and some orange juice. The windows on the cars outside were covered with a frost; it would have been
cold sleeping outside last night. Wendy Gilbert showed up right at 9:00am and did a great interview. Wendy asked a lot of
good questions and was easy to talk to. David said the ex harbor master for Chesapeake Isle was somehow affiliated with
the Maritime museum and he called them up and before I left he gave me a pamphlet with the mans name and the name of
the woman Kathleen O’Brien who he had talked with and would be expecting me later in the day and have a place for me
to stay. David gave me as many water jugs, as I wanted to take. The jugs were gallon orange juice jugs with screw on lids
that don’t pop off in the canoe and they were of a thicker plastic, I took three jugs and he threw in some oranges and York
peppermint patties. Wendy took some pics of my boat and me and I shoved off heading for the Havre De Grace maritime
museum. About a mile after leaving Chesapeake Isle I rounded turkey point and ran into very strong wind. By this time it is
12:30pm. The winds gusted into the twenties and a few times waves dumped water into my boat. It would be a strait shot
into the wind and the crossing was at least five miles and it would turn dark well before I could paddle five miles in this
wind. I found a beach and holed up for the rest of the day.
Saturday December 4 west side of Elk Neck N39`36.369 W76`07.792
Awoke early and left around 7:45am. The crossing was nice. The water was very flat and calm. Out towards the middle
several miles from land on either side everything was so quiet. Then my paddle hit bottom and I remembered David telling
me about the Susquehanna flats where the water gets very shallow and depending on the tide might become visible. The
water was shallow for quite some time and it was a feeling of security. The final distance of the crossing was 6.91 miles as
the crow flies according to my GPS. Of course I did not paddle in a perfect strait line so it was actually more than 6.91
miles. Once on the shore line I paddled alongside Havre De Grace looking for a place to get out and then I decided to just
push on and stop on the way back through. I pushed up the Susquehanna River past a very large island called Garrett
Island and as it was getting dark found another island to camp on. It was a private island, but the current was so strong I
could not get around the island and camped very close to shore and planned on leaving at sunrise.
Sunday December 5 2004
I left at sunrise as a fisherman came floating by fishing along the island, the current was still very strong and I paddled to
the west shore and it took everything I had to paddle upstream. At one point I had to rest and paddle as hard as possible
for 30 seconds to get around a set of small rocks coming out from shore. The dam could be seen looming off in the
distance. Even close to shore the current was very fast. Finally a spot came I could not paddle around. I could of got out
on shore and pulled my canoe through the water with a rope, and then I got to thinking. It is already December 5 there are
three large dams to portage around the water can freeze on the Chesapeake this far north. To reach Harrisburg, PA it was
going to take much longer than expected. I decided to cancel the upriver trip on the Susquehanna River. The miles could
be made up on any number of rivers. Drifting back downstream the currents ranged from 5.8MPH to 3.2MPH depending
on where in the river I was. It was Sunday and the library probably would not be open so I needed to find a place to camp
and forge into town tomorrow. The trick is also going to be how do I get out of here. All along the east shore is a place
called Aberdeen (sp?) and it stretches on the west coast for quite some time. Loud booms can be heard from time to time
some strong enough to shake things on the walls. It is an area where the military tests bombs and is a restricted area.
They even launch bombs out into the water in one area. There are no buoys to mark the area. When I leave Havre De
Grace I either have to paddle 7 miles across to the other side or paddle a long distance far from shore until I get around
Aberdeen. There are stories of barrels of toxic waste dumped in the area as well. Most likely I will cross back to the east
side and cross back to the west near Baltimore. Either way I must leave at the crack of dawn to assure I don’t get caught
miles from shore when it gets dark. I stayed on Garrets Island, which has signs everywhere saying no overnight camping. I
waited until dark and found a hidden place behind a tree that had blown over it was a safe place where no one could see
me. I prepared for rain
Monday December 6 2004 Garret island north side N39`34.340 W76`05.257
I awoke early, but lay in my boat until 8:30am. I was sort of hoping it would of rained to test my new setup. The rain held
off until I took everything down to pack up. I was set up for rain with my rain skirt, canpony, and my wet suit. It rained hard
at times on the short paddle to Havre De Grace and the fishermen were still out in force. Back in Ohio we don’t fish much
in December and if we do we don’t do it in the pouring rain like the guys down here. I really needed to get to the library
and found a place to get out at a boat ramp. The thing was it was private boat ramp owned by the lions club. I looked
around at the empty docks and weighed the odds and decided to tie up and walk into town and found the library after
asking a few people. One of the first e-mails is from Wendy Gilbert saying David is worried because I did not show up on
Friday and to let her know when I get the message. The rest of the day was spent catching up on e-mails. I left the library
around 6:00pm and was exploring town and stumbled onto a save o lot store and stocked up on food again. On my way
back to my canoe a woman walked out of a business and took a look at me and asked “are you John the kayaker from
Cleveland” sort of caught me off guard. The woman was Kathleen O’Brien from the Maritime Museum. Turns out David
drove over Friday night to return my raincoat and to take me out to dinner. When I did not show up it raised concerns. Of
course the next day I decided to push on and David was still concerned. It went as far as talk about sending a helicopter
out to look for me. In the end rational thought prevailed. If John paddled from Cleveland, Ohio he probably knows what he
is doing and held up for the weather on Friday and then decided to push on. Of course that is exactly what happened.
When I bumped into Kathleen she was going to businesses telling them to be on the look out for me. Kathleen invited me
back to the museum. I paddled my boat about a half-mile to the lighthouse and put the wheels under my canoe and pulled
it about 100yards to the museum. Kathleen gave me a quick tour of the museum and the Chesapeake wooden boat school
is located in the back of the museum. It was really cool to see wooden canoes cedar strip canoes and other wooden
boats. A restaurant in town called the La Cucina which is owned by a real Italian woman named Antonia Coppola offered
me a free meal. Kathleen drove me down to the restaurant and a man named Jack Davies showed up to meet me and talk
about the local area. He gave me advice on paddling around Aberdeen. Antonia asked me what I wanted for super and I
told her to pick. She started out with soup and bread and then a big plate of Spaghetti that I could not quite finish and
ended up leaving a bite. Spaghetti is my all time favorite food and tastes so good when cooked by real Italians. Kathleen
offered a place for me to stay in the museum, but it was going to warm out and I was fine with the set up outside.
Tuesday December 7 2004 Under the Maritime Museum in Havre De Grace Maryland.
I awoke early and moved my canoe to a different spot under the museum where the ceiling was solid unlike the slits in the
wood deck above where water could drip through.
Kathleen arrived around 10:00AM armed with coffee and doughnuts. Bill McIntyre arrived a short time after words and
gave us a tour of the light house keepers house and a tour of the inside of the lighthouse. Out of all the lighthouses I have
seen this is the first one I ever actually got to climb up and look out the top. It was a rainy dreary day so we could not see
to far, but it was still cool to look out of the lighthouse.
After the lighthouse tour I talked with Kathleen for a little bit and then headed for the library. Before going to the library I
stopped at the local newspaper and left a message about my trip with the receptionist and told her I would be at the library
all day the editor was on a conference call at the time so she was the only one I could talk to.
After about an hour at the library a really cute girl came up and asked if I was John the guy canoeing I told her yes and
she introduced herself, but I was thinking how cute she was I totally missed her name. We drove back to the museum so
she could get some pictures of my canoe and get an interview. After the interview it was back to the library to update my
website and that leads up to where I am now. My plans are to leave Havre De Grace early tomorrow and probably cross to
the other side. The two local experts Bill and Jack have total opposite ideas on the best way to go.
Hopefully next update will be coming from Baltimore.
October 25 Babylon N south shore of long island
This update is going to be long. In short I am fine and now on the south shore of Long Island, New York in the Babylon
library at the end of this update I will include a three month review. Every three months I will do an overall review and
October, 31 will be three months into the trip.
At the end of my last update I was just getting ready to leave the Erie Canal and enter the Hudson River just north of
Albany, New York. The trip down the Hudson was very scenic especially the further south I got. The most scenic part of
the Hudson River is from Newburg down to New York City. Of course the upper long Hudson is probably more scenic
because of the Adirondack Mountains. The lower Hudson has the Catskills which are very scenic. I was unable to raise
any media awareness except a couple of news stations in Albany. I called a few newspapers when I arrived in towns, but it
never worked out. They all expressed an interest in doing a story, but on such a short notice it was not possible. They
wished I had given them at least a days notice. I had a river traveler with me for a short time. I seen a squirrel swimming in
the middle of the river (the river was about a half mile wide) it was quite a shock and I offered him a paddle up and he sat
on the deck of my canoe before jumping inside under my seat and eventually to the front of the canoe. That night I slept
on a dock and the next morning packing up my sleeping gear a squirrel was hoping around the near a tree in the park.
Good he found his way out. Later that day a cruiser boat passed by gave off a large wake when I pointed the bow toward
the oncoming wave when the bow was high in the air the squirrel came out from the front and startled me enough to yell
out loud and right back to the front he went. Looking for a place to stay I peddled up a river into Kingston. I was looking for
a place to get out of the water when a voice from the back of a sail boat asked “how is the paddling going” The voice
belonged to a man named Paul Hoffman. He was an older man who had the look of a caption who had sailed for years.
He watched my boat while I forged into town for food. He invited on board and offered me a cup of coffee and we talked
about travel and life. I slept in my boat with the squirrel. The next morning Paul offered me a Danish orange juice and
coffee and me and the squirrel left. At this point the squirrel has got to starving and dieing of thirst. I knew that evening
come heck or high water the squirrel had to come out before he decided to chew his way out. Toward evening rummaging
around from the front of the boat told me the squierrl wanted out. I found a dock and got out of my boat and began to read.
Sure enough in a few minutes a head followed by a busy tail popped out from the boat. The problem was the dock was
about twenty feet long with one ramp leading up to land in the middle and I was sitting on the ramp. I tried to move to the
far side of the dock and back in the boat the squirrel went. At that point I moved to the far end of the dock and a few
moments later the squirrel popped back up and walked around on the deck of my canoe and jumped onto the dock. I
dared not move. The squierll walked right past the ramp toward me and got very close and turned back and scurried up
the ramp to freedom. It felt like he was coming over to thank me for saving him from the drowning. Something else about
the Hudson River south of Albany is the tide. For about six hours you have current going with you and six hours it runs
against you. There is about a half hour of slack tide where the water is neutral almost like a lake. The times of the tide
changes everyday based on location and even in the same spot the time of the tide changes everyday. The tide is about
four feet on the Hudson River from high to low. Coming into New York was quite a rush. The distant city came into site
around Hastings-on-the Hudson. I found a small beach tucked away just north of the break wall for a yacht club. I was
cooking super when a land rover pulled up with a kayak on top. I figured this was a spot where people launched there
kayaks from. A man approached me and asked me what I was doing? I told him cooking super and explained about my
trip. His girl friend was in from Colorado and they were coming down to the river to cook some food and hangout. One
minute I am cooking plain noodles and the next I am hanging out with a couple of architects eating big fat juicy burgers
and apples. Eric Seymour and Christy Collins really made my night with great company and good conversation. Where I
come from in Holmes county Ohio we have the largest Amish settlement in the world and the county seat of Millersburg
(which is the largest town in the county) as of the 2000 censes has a population of 3,336 people with 96.87% of the
population white. I grew up with 100 acres as a front yard about 80 acres of woods and 20 acres of fields with a few ponds
in the mix. We were nestled on a dirt road where we could not even see out nearest nebghior. The water we drank came
out of the ground from a spring at the top of the hill. My father rigged it up so the water ran by gravity down the hill right
into our house. The water was tested and does not get any better of more fresh. The catch was we had to leave the water
running in the winter so the pipes did not freeze. I was very lucky to have the chance to hunt fish and learn about nature
conservation from my father who was game warden before he retired. With that being said about where I grew up paddling
into New York City was going to be intimidating. Names like the “Bronx” “Harlem” “Queens” were names that put fear into
this country boy. It was a whole new world. However meeting Eric and Christy was really nice because they worked in the
city and Christy had lived there before. I don’t have any friends that live in the city so for me to hear true stories from real
people who work in the city about what it is like to ride a subway, and hail a taxi was pretty neat. To them it was just a part
of life but to me it seemed cool. They would rather be out in nature watching the river cooking out then stuck in a bar
playing the social game. They were both on top of envirmentional issues and conservation so we related very well. Then
there was September 11. During that time I was on my trial run trip just north of Memphis listening to it all unfold on the
radio. Now I was talking to people who were in the city when it happened. Just so happened Eric drove to work, which is
something he normally does not do, He usually takes the train, but Christy had a broken leg and he was being a
gentleman and taking her to and from work so she would not have deal with public transposition on crutches with a broken
leg. They said there were thousands of people walking. Not running or out of control, but just thousands and thousands of
people walking out of down town. They just did slip out of the city before everything got shut down. After talking with Eric
and Christy I felt a little better about traveling through the city. Of course it is different on the water then the roads. Eric
and Christy left then came back with some yogurt, ice and apples for breakfast. The next morning was my sister Julies
Birthday and I wanted to call her. My phone battery was dead. I went to town look for a place to charge it up. No one
would help me out by letting me charge my phone. The restaurant next store told me “we don’t do that here” I explained
about my trip and why I was doing it, but it did not matter to these people. I even offered to pay for what they thought the
electricity would cost. No one would help, they did not even care. The weather said rain was coming and I decided to hole
up and wait out the storm. I felt disappointed not being able to call my sister on her birthday. The next day the rain finally
ended. I built a fire to dry out my wet blankets. The guy at the yacht club next door called the cops and complained about
the fire. A couple of cops came down the younger Barney fife acting cop stumbled over the rock wall with a fire
extinguisher on his way down. They asked what I was doing I explained about my trip and told them I had permission and
gave them Eric’s card with his phone number so they could call. When they did he was not home. I put the fire out with
water from the river. The one Barney cop almost acted like he was doing me a favor letting me stay on the beach. In
reality I was about to tell him the fire is out and if he had no other business to please leave because he is on private
property and unlike me he does not have permission to be here. It did not come to that. The older cop with him was pretty
cool. Barney told me not to start the fire up again. I will admit the wood was wet and the wind was blowing the smoke
toward the yacht club, but it was not interfering the guy just seen the smoke and wanted to start something, but was not
man enough to come over ask me to put the fire out. That night it was very cold and my blankets were wet. I was using
Canned Heat to keep warm and caught my one light sleeping bag on fire. After that I was upset enough to stoke up the
fire, it was like two-thirty in the morning and I did not care if the police came back. The next morning I left with a low supply
of food and water. My plans were to call the coast guard and tell them about my trip and that I would be paddling through. I
would be more than happy to show them my information, registrations, and what ever else they wanted. I wanted to avoid
having them think I was a terreriost, but after September 11 New York is on a very high alert and has lots of security.
Shortly into the day near Yonkers a Yonkers police boat approached me. I was thinking they just wanted to check me out.
The officer asked me if I was running late for a stop. I told him no. After some calls back and forth it was determined the
coast guard was looking for me and put an alert out. My sister Monika called the coast guard when no one heard from me
around Julie’s birthday. According to Julie come heck or high water she thought I told her I was going to call her on her
birthday. It was sort of a blessing in disguise my sister called the coast guard because they gave me advice on how to get
to the long island sound and gave me an escort to the Harlem River. On the other hand I was very angry my sister called
the coast guard. I told my family before I left DO NOT CALL THE COAST GUARD NO MATTER WHAT. Things happen
out here if they had watched the weather they would have seen what was going on with wind and rain. Besides I am not
on a schedule. On my last trip I did not have a cell phone and was expected to make calls at certain spots. So many times
I risked my life battling bad weather just to make those calls. I refused to have that looming over my head on this trip. I
came with in an inch of getting rid of my cell phone and not calling my family anymore except maybe once a month and not
even tell them where I am. They could read about my trip from the updates. They were told NEVER to call the coast guard
again even if no one hears from me in two months. Here is my theory on this. If I drown, die, or get seriously injured my
family will be the first to hear about. The coast guard is not going to drag my body out of the river and play hide and seek
with it. I carry plenty of ID and if something happens they will be informed. Paddling through New York was such a rush.
The Harlem River runs between Manhattan and the Bronx. The tide was coming strong against me for the first hour.
There are a couple of buildings in the Bronx so big and so close to the water it makes you dizzy looking up at them.
Seeing the buildings where people are packed in like sardines makes me feel lucky and blessed to have had to
opportunity to grow up where I did. I feel like because my family I had such a head start in life and a better chance to make
the most of my life. Kids don’t have a choice where there brought up or the family they have. The kids living in these
building won’t have the chance to catch crawdads in the creek or watch a deer munching on grass. I was VERY lucky to
have good parents and three loving sisters. Darkness was coming on as I approached hells gate and when I finally
reached hells gate it was to dark to pass through. Hells gate is where the Harlem River and East River meet and there are
some pretty wild currents. There were too many rocks close to shore and water was moving to fast to chance riding the
shore and because it was dark I could easily get hit by a passing boat if I wondered out in the middle. I sat on the rock wall
cooking ramon noodles and listening to the first presidential debate while watching the Manhattan skyline. New York truly
is a large city. I was disappointed President Bush did not knock some of those hanging curve balls the flip flopping Kerry
left over the plate. At least Dick Chaney and mopped up with Edwards and Bush came back in the later debates, but at the
time I was just left with the results of Bush’s first debate. After the debate the tide had brought the water up enough to
cover many of the rocks close to shore and I paddled close to shore around hells gate and ended up sleeping on the rock
dike in the Bronx. When I awoke the water was way down the rocks. I had finally made the long island sound. The long
island sound is the water between the north shore Long Island and conneciet. It can get pretty rough in the bad weather.
My food supply was about gone and I had no clue where my next spot was to stock up. I had not eaten anything all day
and finally I was hungry enough to eat raw noodles. I did not have enough water to cook them even if I wanted to. Even if I
had water there was no where to get out to cook them. The next day I found a store and was back in food. However at a
very hefty price. The prices on long island are the highest I have ever seen.
I had a connection in Huntington Long Island. Brad Thayer a man I met while on Onondaga Lake in Syracuse, New York.
He told me when I get into the area to give him a call. I called on a Friday to let him know it would either be Saturday or
Sunday I would be in the area. I called Brad at around 9:00pm Saturday night and he picked me up the Boat ramp. Finally
a place to charge my phone, a hot shower and a big bed to sleep in. It was great! I took Sunday off and just sort of hung
out, went to the grocery store and relaxed. Called family and friends. It figures one of nicest beautiful fall day and I am not
on the water. If it had been raining I would have been on the water somewhere. Brad has an assortment of wind surfing
boards and sails from his racing days and now he more recently got into sailing his kayak. In fact that was what he was
doing the day I met him. There is SO much that goes into setting up a kayak for sailing. You just don’t go to the boat store
and say I want to buy a kayak ready to sail. Almost makes me want to rig up a sail on my boat. Brad gave a contact of an
outfitter who paddles around long island all the time. He would be able to give some tips on the hard spots. Monday it was
back out on the water fully recharged mentally. I was sort of bummed out about not being able to raise any awareness in
New York, but I would make it back around. The north side of long island has some large bays and many very large
houses overlooking the sound. It is not near as populated as the south side. My supplies were getting kind of low and I
was near Kings Park out of the way waiting for the wind to die down when a man and his son were out walking the beach.
The only people I had seen all day were a couple high school kids looking for a place to pee. It was tucked away really
well away from the sound. The man named Jim Shea started asking me the usual questions and offered to run me into
town. He had to have his son back his mothers at 8:30pm and they were just killing time hanging out at the beach and Jim
insisted it was no trouble. It must have looked funny to see me looking like a savage getting out of a Lexus. After leaving
the grocery store Jim invited me back for dinner. He said he had just got a Jacuzzi and thought I might enjoy it. Boy was
he ever right!! After a meal of grilled chicken legs and potato salad it was into the 102 degree water with the jets blasting
away at my back. On a trip like this you just never know one minute you are stranded waiting for the wind to break low of
supplies and the next your belly is full supplies stocked and you’re sitting in hot tub. Jim said he might know of some one
else who lived on the south shore who might want to take me in when I get there. A phone call later Jim had a name and
number and directions on how to get to his friends place which is just off the water on the south shore. The wind played a
very big role on how far and how hard I had to work. There were some bad times and good times. A few times I had to hike
quite a ways for food and water. Close to orient point the tip of the north side of long island stuck on a beach for the past
couple days and my solar powered radio broke on me I met a man who was out walking the beach. His friend lived above
where I was camped. He offered to fill my water jugs and charge up my phone. Troy potett was really cool and I fully
trusted him with my cell phone only after talking with him for a few minutes. That evening troy returned with my water jugs
and fully charged cell phone. He also had a plate full of stew witch was mostly meat, corn bread, and a slice of apple pie.
He said he was working just up the hill and would bring me breakfast in the morning. Sure enough the next morning
around7:00am Troy came walking up with an egg and sausage sandwich coffee and an orange juice. That was quite a
nice surprise running into Troy. He had some advice to give me about plum gut. I heard about the legendary plum gut all
the way back at Huntington from brad and his friend Paul. At the very north tip of long island there is an island called Plum
Island. It is an animal research center where they do experiments on animals and is totally off limits. Between the north tip
of long island and Plum Island the water is said to very rough. Troy was telling me of a place a few miles from the gut
where is would be a 100 yard portage and I could miss the rough waters. Soon after Troy left I did as well. A few hours
later I was nearing the tip of plum gut. The current really kicked up, but I stayed close to shore was fine. However further
out there from the tip were some very intimidating rough standing waves.
About a day from the Shinnecock canal I called James Loyde. Jim Shea (the Jacuzzi guy) had given me his name and
number to contact. I told James I expected to be tomorrow evening. He gave me directions to his place and said he would
be there. At noon the next day I call James up and tell him I have landed and if it was a bad time. He said no and told me
to come on up. His place is only about .2 miles from the river, but I had to set up my wheels which go on the bottom of my
canoe so I can drag it along with all my gear across land. James was great he took me to the store and gave me a tour of
the area including the shinnecock inlet and the Ponquogue Bridge which I would be paddling under the next day. He also
showed me the commercial fishing boats and explained what life was like working on the boats, a job he did in his younger
years. Now James is a master boat engine mechanic and had tons of plaques and awards he earned over the years. It
was the perfect night to be off the water as the wind and rain pounded most of the night. James slow cooked each of us a
couple of pork chops and man were they good! At the stroke of midnight it turned October 16 which is a special day to me
for many reasons. First that is my sister Becky’s birthday, it is also the day I finished my 1,800 mile 92 day canoe trip in
2001 and it represents the eight year anniversary that my sister Julie was diagnosed with MS. It felt good to be in a warm
place out of the weather. James gave me a pair of binoculars and a leatherman type tool made by SOG I like the feel
much better than leatherman and have used already quite a few time since he gave it to me. After leaving James place
things got bad with the weather. The day was windy, but it rained that night and the weather had not called for rain. The
next day was windy and it rained for the next few days and the tempature has been cold at night, flirting with the thirties.
One night I slept in my boat tied up to a wall I did not even take my seat out just layed back and when I was tired enough
fell asleep no matter how wet or uncomfortable you are you will eventually just fall asleep. I so much miss my radio. After
the wall I found an island and pulled my canoe on top and enjoyed a good night sleep not having to worry about dogs or
people finding me. I paddled into Bayport and got directed to a place to get out and leave my boat to find a grocery store. I
asked a guy walking his dog directions and we started talking and he invited me to come stay on his sail boat. It was about
a mile paddle back west, but for place to stay it was worth it. However I was unable to find where his boat was, but I ran
into Doug Rice which was even better yet. After talking with Doug a bit he offered me to stay on his sail boat which was
great! He got some coffee going and we talked a bit. What is real cool is Doug is in the Coast Guard so he was able to
give some very useful information. I asked his opinion on what would be the best way to communaite of a plan in place if I
capsized or found myself in an emeergey situation. Many people told me an EPIRB would be the best way, but Doug
explained how communication and the coast guard works. Here is an e-mail he sent me a short time after we talked. He
sent it from the coast guard station and it is very informative.
John,
…..Some information that may be helpful:
For Maritime Search and Rescue Emergencies please call the following
numbers:
For the Great Lakes, Gulf and East Coasts:
Atlantic Area Command Center - (757) 398-6390
For the Hawaiian, Alaskan and Pacific Coasts:
Pacific Area Command Center - (510) 437-3701
These two phone numbers will get you CG assistance anywhere in the USA.
They are direct numbers to the Atlantic and the Pacific command
centers, who can coordinate emergency resources with any of the local CG units. This is probably the second fastest way
to get help.
The FASTEST way to get assistance in any costal area is with a VHF
radio. It is faster than an EPIRB, because an EPIRBs signal goes to a
satellite in orbit, which then has to be interpreted by someone at one of the two Command Centers, who then has to make
telephone contact with a local Coast Guard Group, Activity or other Base, who then directs a local CG Search & Rescue
station to deploy resources. (Depending on the size of the area of responsibility, there
Getting back out on the water! I am very much looking forward to getting back on the water. The time off has given me a
great chance to spend time with my family. The next nine days will be familiar to me. This will mark the third time paddling
this section of the Tom Bigbee river from McIntosh to Demopolis. This section is largely secluded with no real chance to
stock up on groceries until Demopolis. If the occasion should arise (and it did when Hurricane Katrina hit) I could walk a
mile and a half to a small overpriced grocery store and a gas station in Coffeeville. Unless some other unforeseen
circumstance presents itself I will have plenty of supplies to reach Demopolis.
The random sandbars between McIntosh and Demopolis will give me a chance to try out my new tent and get the most out
of my down time. The river winds around never really giving the wind much time to pick up waves which is good for me.
Paddling against a constant current can become demoralizing if you let it. When I left Ohio it was spring, down here in
Alabama it feels like full blown summer high 80s and very hot. Even all the trees have leaves. The hot temps may force
me to paddle during the night and find a shady spot to sleep during the day.
My scheduled time of arrival in Demopolis is April 29th. Demopolis is also where my next update will come from.
Updated Monday March 13, 2006 Apple creek, Ohio
39 days and counting until I start back up on my canoe trip! I have enjoyed spending time with my family. It has been
difficult to adjust from life on the water to life off the water. I forgot how noisy houses can be. Radio, television, microwave,
washer, dryer, even turning on the water makes noise. Much of my time on the water was spent in the dead quiet where
the sound of a fish jumping can be heard over a 100 yards away. The sound of crickets is almost deafening in the night.
A raccoon scurrying along the ground sounds like bear crashing through the woods.
Seeing the same people everyday is an adjustment as well. Goodbyes are a common part of the trip. I have not had to
say goodbye to anyone since returning home. Having access to so many choices of food is a very welcome adjustment.
My canoe does not have a refrigerator or tons of cupboard space to store lots of food. Nor does my canoe have a
microwave. Just having access to a 24 hour wal-mart is a good piece of mind that I don’t have on the water.
Getting back on the water.
Yesterday (Sunday March, 12, 2006) was the first time I paddled since returning home. Recent rain raised the Apple
Creek enough to make for a nice paddle.
The next two stages of the trip are going to be a bit more difficult than the past four-thousand plus miles. The next two
legs add up to 1,191 miles from Macintosh, Al to Chicago, IL. It should take me 71 days which comes out to an average of
only 16.77 miles per day. Almost 17 miles a day average might not seem like a lot, but 928 miles will be upstream including
over 200 miles upstream on the Mississippi river. Taking the time to update, get food, do laundry, MS awareness stops
ect.. Also takes time away from paddling. My average miles per day will be much higher on the great lakes and when I
paddle down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers where the average miles per day will be in the thirties.
Currently I am in the process of updating the MS resource page with additional programs. If you are aware of any
programs that might help people with MS please let me know John@fightingms.org so I can add a link to the MS resource
page.
Thanks for helping me raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis
John Latecki Jr
Demopolis MONDAY NOVEMBER, 14
***Because I am not always around internet access for long periods of time I will be doing phone updates from the river at
least once a week. The updates will posted on a link on the updates page or people can subscribe and have the updates
sent directly to their e-mail. ***
This update again comes from Demopolis, AL on the Tom Bigbee river. My last update was also from Demopolis, but
since then I have paddled up the black warrior river to where it forms by the confluence of the locust and mulberry rivers
for a total of about 368 miles.
The trip up the black warrior river was nothing short of amazing. The wildlife the black warrior had to offer was the best so
far of my entire trip. Beaver, Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, mountain lions, bobcats, armadillos, raccoon, turtles, ducks,
turkeys, deer, and lots and lots of snakes. The first two days on the black warrior river I seen more snakes than I had for
my entire trip. The highlight of the black warrior river was the large alligator snapping turtle I caught! To see some pictures
I took from the black warrior river click here.
The black warrior river was not only a fun trip with all the wildlife and scenic landscape, but it was a good river to help
raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis. Tuscaloosa was the only actual town on the black warrior river. I was able to raise
lots of awareness by doing a radio interview for Alabama public radio, newspaper article for the Tuscaloosa times, and an
appearance on the Kip Tiener show which is filmed at the mall. Nancy Mitchell who is in charge of the MS Self-Help
Group of Tuscaloosa went on the Kip Tiener show with me to talk about the local group.
I also had the chance to meet with Sheree McCall and several other members of the Alabama chapter of the national
multiple sclerosis society at Howton's Camp which is where the Mulberry and Locust river form to start the black warrior
river. I had a great time. The new owners of the restaurant opened up specially for me to meet with the NMSS. The
owners cousin has MS and was also there to meet me. Nelson Brooke the river keeper of the black warrior river set up the
meeting at Howton’s camp. Nelson’s job as black warrior river keeper is to help keep the large industries in check
on how much pollution they dump into the water. The girls from the NMSS gave me a bucket filled with all kinds of goodies
like a couple bike shirts, hat, sox, peanut butter, jelly, fruit snacks, stamina gel, along with other assorted snacks. The
NMSS also gave me some MS pamphlets I requested to hand out at the Moundville Native American festival in Moundville.
I had a great time at the Native American festival. Mike Gilbert taught me so much about the old Native American ways.
Mike demonstrated knapping which is how you make arrowheads, and also the altalt which is a type of spear the early
Americans would throw. The festival provided a good platform to raise awareness for MS.
Demopolis yacht basin and the Demopolis public library have provided a great platform to get caught up on things. Fred
Hansard does in incredible job making the Demopolis yacht basin a great place for boaters. My experience is most
marinas out in the middle of nowhere are like single gas stations on an interstate exit the service is not the same as an exit
with many gas stations. This Marina is way out in the middle of nowhere. The closest marina to the south is about 200
miles and to the north about 80 miles however this marina has been my favorite. The staff is great, Jimbo was my favorite
to hang out with.
Demopolis has a wonderful library that Bill Gates himself visited and gave a grant as part of the Bill and Linda Gates
foundation for the computers they have. The library also has a free wireless hotspot, which means I can get online
anywhere in the library on my laptop. Demopolis truly is a great town and every boater who travels the Tom Bigbee water
way as part of the great loop has most likely stopped at Demopolis. I was going to leave Saturday but three days of rain
made me choose to stay and leave early morning on Wednesday November 16. The forecast for tomorrow (Tuesday)
evening low 47 chance of rain 80%. Everything about the rain is different when the air temp is in the forties. I could push
on, but I have a nice cozy spot under the bridge which has made a nice roof so far.
Leaving Demopolis on Wednesday I will make my way down to the Tom Bigbee river to the Alabama river and proceed
paddling up the Alabama to Selma and Montgomery. I have contacted Guinness to find out the World record for the fastest
time paddling a canoe/ Kayak the entire length of the Alabama river. I am waiting their response and will most likely take a
shot at the record. The next update will be a telephone update written by my father and posted on the telephone updates
link on the updates page. My next planned stop will be in Selma, Al which is about 35 miles from Demopolis by way of the
road and well over 200 miles by water!
Tuesday September 13, 2005
This update comes from Demopolis Alabama. July 31 marked exactly one year to the day since this trip began in
Cleveland, Ohio. The new year started out with a great stop in Mobile Al. Bob Wylly helped set up an MS awareness stop
at the dog river marina on the Mobile bay. Bob’s nephew Austin lives on the east side of the bay and Bob arranged for
Austin to come and pick me up and Bob sent Austin a check so he could take me out to a nice restaurant. The dog river
marina told Bob I could keep my canoe at the marina during my stay. Because of scheduling conflicts I was unable to
meet with local MS society but did meet with the local T.V station.
After leaving Mobile things started to go down hill fast. During the first year of paddling I never got sick or had any health
problems other than a few minor nagging injuries and frostbite. A question people often ask is “have you ever gotten
sick on the trip?� The answer has always been no, but That was all about to change. I was so happy to be paddling
on the Tom Bigbee waterway gone were the days of big bays, oceans, and tides. The temp is about five to ten degrees
higher inland than on the coast. The humidity is very high which drives up the heat index to sometimes over 110 degrees.
On a hot day nothing hits the spot like cold lemonade, ice tea, or water. Paddling in the extreme heat with no way to keep
water cold warm water is all I have to drink. Warm water does not quench thirst like ice cold water. I always had the same
feeling no matter how much water I drank. To fight the extreme heat I tried paddling at night and sleeping during the day.
Night paddling helped with the heat, but trying to sleep in the day was difficult in the heat. I always felt tired and hot. The
final straw was when the heat index reached over 110 degrees it was to hot to sleep so I paddled all day sweating non
stop. Towards evening I started feeling a bit light headed and then my head started to hurt. This was different pain then
any headache I have ever had. Things just continued to worsen. My feet felt like they were coming through my head. I
knew something was seriously wrong when I felt like I was going to pass out. Heart attack, stroke, or a blood clot that
reached my heart was all I could think of. I thought I was dieing. Instinctively I went for water and realized I had only drank
a half gallon of water all day. I simply forgot to drink enough water and suffered heat exhaustion. This could of turned out
much worse than it did. I drank almost all the water I had and was able to restock my water supply at a boat ramp and
camped near the boat ramp for the next few days drinking about four gallons per day. I think my immune system was
weakened a bit because I also over the next few days experienced some mild flu symptoms. A few times I felt like throwing
up, but never did. Recovering from heat exhaustion. in the south Alabama August heat is not the ideal place to recover.
The further north I paddled the friendlier the river bank became. The lower Mobile river is mainly a delta with no sand bars
and the banks are lined with mud. As you get out of the delta the occasional sand bar comes juts out and provides a nice
place to camp or stop for an afternoon lunch and swim. The woods lining the banks provide plenty of wood for campfires.
The delta and costal water have very few woods and campfires are far and few between. Now wooded banks line both
sides of the river and sand bars are a lot more plentiful. Campfires are a nightly routine.
Hurricane Katrina passed over Florida as a category one hurricane and I never gave it much thought. However when she
hit the gulf and began to gain strength it became a concern. It became apparent Katrina was going to become a serious
force wherever it hit. I decided to lock through the first lock on the river near Coffeeville and find a place to hold up. My
choices consisted of woods on the right bank and woods on the left bank. I wanted to find a high bank in case of high
water. I found a nice high bank with enough clearing for me to haul my canoe up into the woods and prepare for Katrina. I
pulled off the water about 1:00p.m Sunday afternoon amid beautiful blue skies and eighty degree temps. All I could think of
was how many people must have died in the past before Doppler radar and the weather channel. Just like with Hurricane
Dennis I noticed there is absolutely no signs of anything out of the order. It took me a good 2 hours to finish preparations
which consisted of finding a spot to hold up along with hauling my gear and canoe to the spot. The spot I chose to wait out
Katrina was not the most ideal spot, but it was the best spot considering what I had to work with. My biggest concern were
falling trees and my canoe blowing away. I found a large tree leaning about sixty degrees this would serve as my â
€œroofâ€� I tied my canoe about three feet on the opposite side of my roof so if the tree did fall it would not be on me.
Now my roof would hopefully serve to catch any of the other large trees in the area from landing on my canoe. The reason
I stayed three feet from the base of my roof tree was in case one of the other trees near by fell and rode down the sixty
degree slope it would land beside my canoe and not on it. I tied the bow and the stern off tightly to other trees nearby My
canoe was flipped upside down waiting for me to craw underneath. The thought of rising water prompted me to dig up and
soften up the ground under my canoe. A mental picture of a tree landing on my canoe and not quite smashing me but
trapping me inside and if the water rose I would drown trapped in my canoe. The odds of that were slim in none, but still I
softened up the dirt under my canoe just in case I had to dig out. The trees were not real thick and it had the appearance
that selective cutting had taken place, however the trees were large and I counted 20 trees that could possibly land on my
canoe. That is not to mention the many large branches above. After setting up for Katrina there was nothing to do but wait.
I gathered wood and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and evening. My phone barley picked up a signal off an analog
tower. I called my father and explained my situation. He thought I should of maybe sought shelter in Coffeeville, but no
shelter would let me bring my canoe and that would have been a problem. Besides at that point it was to late for me to try
and seek shelter even if I wanted to. I talked with Julie for awhile, she seemed worried. As darkness fell I built a fire and
relaxed by the fire. I took out a pen and wrote my social security number on my arm and leg with a pen and went over it
with a highlighter. My reason was just in case something tragic happened where I became separated from my canoe and
ID it would speed up the process of identifying my body. Around 10:00pm it started to rain and continued to rain most of
the night and quit before sunrise. I was listening to the big 870A.M out of New Orleans when the Hurricane hit New
Orleans around 7:00a.m. It blew the windows out of the studio and they went off the air for short time until they fired up a
generator. I expected the hurricane to push more into Louisiana instead of swinging east into Mississippi. I continued to
listen to the radio as the hurricane drew near along with reports of 75MPH plus winds in Mobile. The anticipation was
exciting considering mobile was around 70 miles south of my location. Finally the wind started to kick up a bit and then a
bit more. I huddled under my canoe waiting. My ear was literally to the ground and I could hear and feel things almost
moving underground. I suddenly realized what that moving feeling was. In all my careful planning I failed to take into
consideration if my roof tree was to become uprooted my canoe (with me underneath it) would also be lifted up with the
roots Now my canoe was tied very tight and something would have to give if suddenly the tree uprooted. The wind picked
up and the sound of trees cracking and snapping could be heard. I propped the canoe up bit to look out, but there was not
much to see. A branch from above fell and hit my canoe giving off a very resounding audible thud. I did not like the feeling
of being under the canoe anymore and decided to get out. Before getting out from under my canoe I rigged up a make
shift harness out of my belt and some rope in case the wind became to strong to stand I would be able to attach myself to
a tree to keep from blowing away. I found the wind was much stronger six feet above the ground than six inches. The
branch that landed on my canoe was not near as large as it sounded, but large enough seriously hurt me if I had not been
under the canoe. The view was amazing trees bending and sweeping around in the wind. I found a tree about 15 yards
from my canoe on the bank of the river and secured my harness to the tree. This tree was leaning way over the opposite
direction of the wind. I kept looking up for falling trees and branches. The best view was looking across the river to the
opposite bank and seeing the trees bent over. A loud crack brought my attention back to my immediate surrounding. An
aspen tree snapped in half and fell right before my eyes. There was so much going on all around me it was hard to take it
all in. I started to feel excited and began yelling. I belted out some whoo hoo’s! along with yea,s! All I could of think of
is everything going on around me is live happening right now and I may never get to be in another hurricane again. I
crawled back to my canoe and grabbed my cell phone. There was no signal on the phone, but I was able to make some
audio recordings. What surprised me about this storm was how long it lasted and the amount of wind gusts. The single
biggest surprise was no rain with all this wind. Darkness began to fall and the winds were still going. I decided to retreat to
my canoe because I would not be able to see any branches falling from above in the darkness. Around midnight the winds
started to die down some and Katrina was on the down swing.
When it became daylight I went out to check the damage and was surprised just how many trees were uprooted and
snapped in half. Not exactly sure what the wind got up to, but it was the strongest winds I have ever experienced, although
I never needed to use my makeshift harness to stand up.
I realized I did not have enough food to make it the to Demopolis which was about 100 miles away so back down to
Coffeeville through the lock again and about a mile walk to get food. The lock master had informed me the river was going
to be rising over the next couple of days due to all the rain from Katrina and informed me it would be better to wait it out a
few days before moving on. He was right the water did rise much more than I expected prompting me to move to higher
ground.
After the water stopped rising I made the 100 mile paddle to Demopolis which took seven days. There was not one day
when I did not hear the crack of a tree snapping in the mild winds. Some of the trees were literally stressed to the point a
10 mph wind is enough to bring them down. Things are so quiet on the river miles from any roads or houses.
Demopolis has turned out to be a great town. This is the first town of any size since leaving Mobile, AL. The people are
friendly and the town has many historic sights. The Library has a great staff of people and they offer free wireless internet
access. I will spend another few days catching up on e-mails and updating my web site which includes getting some
pictures online. This last stretch of travels has been the longest stretch without internet and phone services.
July 18, Lanark Vilage, FL
After a twelve-day vacation running from Hurricane Dennis I am getting back on the water today. I am thankful that Meade
and Carol Garrard invited me back to their house 300 miles inland near Atlanta. It was very relaxing hanging out in the
Georgia pines.
I was surprised at the damage Lanark Village took from the Hurricane. The damage was nothing compared to some areas,
but it was worse than forecasted. Piles of belongings were piled up waiting to be picked up along side the road for a few
people who lost everything. A few trailers were ripped open and some houses were caved in. Every dock stretching out in
the water was destroyed. It seems the houses built on stilts were fine. If I had stayed and tried ride out the storm where I
planned to I would have probably been killed.
The twelve-day rest helped my body heal up from a few minor injuries that had been nagging me. I am actually looking
forward to getting back out on the water. Panama City, Pensacola, and Mobile Alabama are my next big stops before
turning north and heading up the Tom Big bee waterway. Here is a recent newspaper article from Coweta County, GA
during my stay with the Garrard’s.
July 7, 2005 Hurricane Dennis is coming
This update is coming from the small town of Lanark Village, FL located on the Florida panhandle about 45 miles south of
Tallahassee. Please excuse the poor grammar and misspelled words because I am writing this fast. The most pressing
situation currently is the looming Hurricane Dennis heading into the Gulf of Mexico. The track of Dennis as of Thursday
July 7th ranges from Louisiana to the Florida panhandle. A few minutes ago I heard on CNN that tourists are being
ordered to leave the Florida Keys.
The paddle from Sarasota to Lanark Village was like nothing I ever experienced before. It was business as usual paddling
from Sarasota to North of Tampa, and then it all changed. The water was very shallow even several miles from shore.
Near Inglis, FL I was paddling about three miles from shore and the water was very shallow. The tide was going out and
soon the water got so shallow I could hardly paddle and then all the water was gone and I was stuck in the mud. The tide
would not be coming back in for a few more hours. It was impossible to walk in the mud without sinking up to my knees. It
would not have been that big of a deal to wait for the tide to bring back the water except for the raging storm that was
heading right for me. Normally during a storm I try to seek shelter along the shore off the water. My only option was to sit
in my canoe and take the storm head on. Lightning streaked across the sky the thunder boomed and rattled the inside of
my chest. Even when I closed my eyes I could see the bright flash of the lightning the rain came down with a driving
pounding force that took my breath away until my body adjusted to the cold rain. I never would have believed it would be
possible to be stuck in the mud several miles from shore off the Gulf of Mexico. With all the lightning and thundering
crashing across the sky I wondered if this could be the real end. I was not scared of even little nervous, having been
through so many storms and other weather conditions the odds are 50/50. If this would have happened during the first few
months of this trip I would have been terrified. After spending many stormy days and nights shaking with fear you sort of
get used to it. I always do my best to seek the safest situation and at that point it becomes out my hands. I spent the storm
with my arms across my chest waiting for the storm to pass knowing there was nothing more I could do. It was a 50/50
chance, I was either going to get struck by lighting or I was not. Thankfully the lightning never did hit me.
Finding dry land was very difficult through many stretches of western Florida. During one stretch I spent three and a half
days in my canoe. At night I would pull my canoe into the grassy swamp in most cases there was enough mud to keep my
canoe in pace and I could stand up and stretch my legs. Sleeping in my canoe on the water can sometimes be a
challenge. Wind and the rising and lowering tides freed up my canoe a few times and I would wake up drifting aimlessly in
the Gulf. Finding water and food was very difficult. Tows are set way up rivers and most of the time I am several miles
offshore near small islands. I have seen many sharks patrolling the shallow waters in search of food. Some sharks are
very large. So far the sharks have always swam away from my canoe There have been a couple of shark attacks recently
here on the Gulf side of Florida. A 14-year-old girl was killed and a boy fishing in waist deep water lost his leg when they
were attacked.
The town of Cedar Key turned out to be an oasis from living in my canoe and the constant storms. My water was getting
very low and my food supply was not to far behind when I reached Cedar Key. I expected Cedar Key to be only a state
park hopefully with bathrooms so I could fill my water up. Cedar Key had a lot more than a state park bathroom. There
was hotels, restaurants, seven eleven stores, banks, and a grocery store. Not to mention a marina, boat tours, three
kayak rental places. I filled up on water and stocked up on food. Having a good supply of food and water has a way of
boosting moral. I decided to celebrate with a beer before leaving Cedar Key. I stopped at the Island Hotel and Restaurant
for my beer. Cedar Key is a friendly town; Charlene Lynn Watson was working the bar. Charlene is a true Florida girl her
mother’s side moved to Florida in the 1890s and it goes even further back on her father’s side and of course
being a true Florida, girl she is a cutie. Charlene told the owner Andy Bair about my canoe trip. Long story short Andy let
me order anything off the menu (I ordered the thick island burger) paid for my beer, and let me stay in a room for free. The
island hotel is the nicest hotel on the island. You can imagine how good it felt to sleep in a bed after all those days
sleeping in my canoe. In fact the last time I slept in a bed before Andy hooked me up was when I met my father in
everglade city over a month ago. I also got treated to breakfast in the fine dining restaurant of the hotel.
The days in Florida are very hot and muggy. The sun beating down zaps energy. Sometimes I paddle late into the night to
avoid the hot sun. The wind seems to be against me almost all the time. To complicate matter even worse my phone quit
working. I had to find a payphone and make arrangements to get another phone and have it sent to my father and get him
to find an address in an upcoming town to send the phone. When I paddled into Lanark Village I was down to my last few
swallows of water. A strong wind kept my speed to less than 1 MPH. There was no chance to eat in the canoe. It was all I
could do to set the paddle down long enough to scoop out some peanut butter. A small opening led back to a boat club. It
was the first time in ten hours that I was able to set the paddle down and rest. A man and his two children were hanging
out by the boat ramp and he asked me where I was headed and I told him my story. I went into the small store their ATM
machine was not working. My main reason for stopping was to get water, but a sandwich and Gatorade would really hit
the spot. The guy came up to me and gave me seven dollars and told me to get some food. I went back out to fill up my
water jugs. Some guys in a bass boat came up took out while I was messing with my water jugs. The guy who gave me
the money for the sandwich was talking with the boater and next thing I know the boater walks down to me and hands me
$20.00 and says don’t worry about it your doing a good thing. I finished filling up my jugs and talked with the guy with
the kids. His name was Meade Garrard and his children were James and Price. Meade asked me if I wanted to stay at his
place. A shower and hot meal sounded really good. It turned into even more than that. Meade ran me into Carrabelle,
which was about four miles away. My rudder cable broke on my canoe the day before. It was the same cable that I
replaced in Willmington, NC. The cable I bought in Willimton was not a stainless and finally rusted and snapped. We went
looking for a cable and finally found one that was top of the line. Meade told the guy all about my trip and what was should
have been .89 cents a foot at thirteen foot turned out to be free. The man named Todd at West Marine shook my hand
and wished me luck on my trip. Then we stopped at the grocery store and I stocked up on food and Meade would not let
me pay. Went back to his place and met his wife Carol (I am writing this update on Carols computer) had a big meal and a
comfortable place to sleep.
Today July 7, 2005 the wind was still whipping outside and I decide not to fight it. Tomorrow the wind will be better. The
next update will be after Hurricane Dennis. This is my first real Hurricane experience. People are talking about leaving and
boarding up windows. For me this is just another day at the office. It all comes down to a 50% chance either the Hurricane
is going to hit me or it will not. The Hurricane is expected to hit late this weekend or early next week. My expected location
is going to be Apalachicola, FL. I hope the hurricane misses me…if the Hurricane does hit me you probably won’t be
getting me any more updates from me again.
Update Sarasota Florida June 14
It felt good to be back on the water after a weeks break in Sanibel. The weather looked like rain. The one bright spot of
the day came towards dusk when I found a cooler floating near shore. It was nice cooler with a handle and wheels. Inside
was few cans of pop and some rotten fish that was apparently bait. The cooler was to nice to just leave so I towed it
behind me to the Captivia Marina. It was dark by the time I arrived. There was no way for me to find the owner of this
cooler, it probably fell from the boat of a tourist enjoying the holiday weekend. I just wanted someone to be able to get
some use out of it. I traded the cooler to a man in a large boat for a flashlight.
Later in the night I found a nice beach to sleep on and then it rained very hard. My defenses against the rain are very low
since I lost my tent. In other words when it rains I get wet along with my blanket.
Thursday mid morning the rain let up. I was wet, along with my blanket. However I did have dry clothes to change into and
that makes a big difference. Towards evening I began looking for a place to camp and paddled through a small cut which
opened up into an area about half the size of a football field, and it was filled with manatees. I paddled right out in the
middle watching them surface and play around. It was really neat until one of the manatees bumped my canoe. I barley felt
the bump but it spooked the manatee and big huge splash occurred. After that all the manatee play time stopped, only a
small nose coming up to grab some air and ducking back down could be seen.
A mile up a nice beach with trees made for a perfect place to camp and start a fire. It was difficult to get a fire going
because of all the recent rain. I had to break and cut wood to find the dry wood in the center. I hung my blankets and wet
clothes over the trees. About ten o’clock I felt the all to familiar sprinkle hit my hand. Sure enough it started to rain
which yet met another night or sleeping with a wet blanket and clothes.
Friday it rained almost all day. However towards evening I found just off the intercostal a small bridge to stay under. I
slept in my canoe, the canoe was on an oyster bed. It was not comfortable sleep. I was still wet and had to sit up because
there was nowhere to set my gear. My canoe was tied best I could to the oyster bed, but when the tide came in the oyster
bed was going to be covered with water. The past three nights sleeping wet and uncomfortable was a stark contrast
compared to my stay in Sanibel where I could keep dry, sleep dry, and had a nice screened in swimming pool to swim in.
Saturday started out dry, but as the day went on it started to rain. This rain was very hard and pounding and I found
shelter under a bridge. The rain let up some but it looked like another strong burst could be coming. I was surprised when
I seen a couple with a fishing pole come around the corner. Gary and Janet Bruster decided to get out of the house and
do some fishing. I talked with them a bit they asked me some questions about my trip. It started to rain very hard. They
invited me back to their place for a shower and hot meal. They only lived a few hundred yards away. This came at a
perfect time. I was able to shower and change into clean dry clothes and get a charge on my phone. Janet made a great
steak dinner with broccoli, potatoes, salad, vegetables, and pie for desert. The rain had stopped and it was back on the
water for a few hours and the rain started in, but this time a bridge was in site. Drops of rain were hitting my hands about
every ten seconds. I dug in and paddled as hard as possible to beat the rain just as downpour occurred. Just did make it
in time. Found a wall to tie off and enjoy my first dry night of sleep in three days. I was tired and dozed of quickly.
Somewhere along the night a blue heron landed on the side of my canoe. I startled him as much as he did me.
Sunday morning I paddled about a mile and was just dead tired. I found a very small island and unpacked my wet clothes
and blanket and hung them over the trees to dry out. The sky was overcast and it was probably going to rain, but I was so
mentally and physically tired it did not matter. I awoke in the afternoon to sun a white puffy clouds. I left the island in the
evening and despite sleeping all day only went maybe a mile or two to another island. I had to tie my canoe up to the
mangroves because the island would be underwater at high tide.
Monday was a nice day with no rain, I paddled about four miles and found a real island and not the oyster shell islands I
had been using. Slept again most of the day and dried things out.
Tuesday I reached Sarasota which was good because I had a planned stop. Rebecca Stults who I had met in Everglade
city had a friend who lived in Sarasota. I called Rebecca and she gave me very good directions, It was nice because the
house was right on the Sarasota bay. I arrived Tuesday at the what is widely know to many in Sarasota as the “bay
shore house� A guy named Matthew rents it off a friend and Matthew rents the rooms out. It used to be a house only
for collage kids going to New Collage, Matthew is New collage alumni. The best way to describe the bay shore house is
an open house. Most of the people come to visit are all into things like organic foods, meditation, yoga, and they are very
liberal. Most of the people are artists of some sort. Dancers, singers, artists ect.. The dancers do belly dancing, and fire
dancing, not the normal dance. The house has a massage room and it seems like everyone is a massage therapist. It has
been quite a learning experience and despite how liberal these people are they are quite nice and fun to hang out with.
The location of the bay shore house is perfect, right on the water sandwiched between a couple of multi million dollar
houses. The bay shore house is for sale, not the house itself because it was built at the turn of the century pale in
comparison to the houses around. However it is hidden well through a lot of foliage. The lot is for sale for just under four
million dollars. My stay has been extended longer than expected for a few reasons. The pending hurricane Arlene was
heading for Florida and it was not known where it was going to hit. The next is the red tide which has seen literally
thousand of dead fish being washed up on shore right before my eyes. For some reason the red tide kills fish, but no one
here has ever seen it to this extreme. Being around the water makes you feel like you have to cough and that is part of
the red tide algae bloom… anyway I want to wait until it passes before I get back in the water which should be in a day
or two.
After my stay in Sanibel and here in Sarasota I am actually looking forward to getting back tom paddling. From here I am
now headed to Cincinnati to way to say hi to family and friends before heading down to Texas for the winter. To get to
Cincinnati from Sarasota by way of the paddle I will follow the coast of Florida to Mobile Alabama and follow the Tom
bigbee water way to the Ohio river which takes me to Cincinnati. The Tom Bigbee water way is sort of like the Erie Canal
with locks to make the canals navigable for boats.
John Latecki
Leaving Sanibel Island May 31, 2005
My stay on Sanibel island provided the perfect platform to catch up on e-mails and update my website. The island of
Sanibel has so much to offer. The beaches are some of the best in the country. The 2002 movie sweet home Alabama
staring Reese Withwerspoon was filmed on Bowman’s beach on Sanibel island.
If your into hunting shells Sanibel island is where you want to be. The sea floor has a gentle slope and the waves come in
small which allows many shells to wash up intact. According to experts there are only two other better spots in the entire
world for finding shells, Sulu island of the Philippines and Jeffrey’s Bay on the Southeast tip of South Africa.
Sanibel maintains a charming “get away from it all� atmosphere. In 1993 McDonalds paid $571,000 for an acre of
land to put up a restaurant. A grass routes campagien was started called “MCspoil The tourists were the most vocal
opponents and Just before Christmas of 1995 McDonalds withdrew their plans.
The people on Sanibel island are very nice. For example Barbra told me I could use a bike in the garage and left me
directions on where I could get air for the low tire. While pushing the bike towards the gas station a man checking his mail
gave me a weird and look and said in a joking way “you now they invented those to ride� I told him about the tire
and he went and got a pump and pumped up the tire for me. Residents sitting on park benches would often say hi to me
as I passed by.
The bike paths on Sanibel island are very nice and lead to all parts of the island. If your waiting to cross the roads the
motorists are very friendly often slowing down and waving you across. The max speed limit on the island is 35MPH. It is
far from fast paced on Sanibel island.
Overall I really enjoyed my stay on Sanibel island, it was productive for raising awareness for MS doing interviews with
NBC channel 2 in Ft. Myers, the Ft. Myers newspaper, and the Sanibel island newspaper. The bean coffee shop named â
€œSanibel beanâ€� provided a great platform to hook up my wireless laptop and get work done. The biggest surprise of
my stay on Sanibel island happened at the bean. The owner of Sanibel bean Daniel Dix approached me after hearing that
channel 2 was down for an interview and was curious as to what I was doing. It turns out he is from Wooster, Ohio which
is where I work! Even more surprising his father Victor Dix used to be the publisher of The Dailey record in Wooster,
which has done some stories about my trip. It was so cool to be able to talk with Daniel and Victor about Wooster and we
even knew some of the same people.
Sanibel has been great. It will be good to get back on the water. I can not thank Barbra Finkelstein enough for letting me
use her huge screened in back porch and swimming pool while her and her husband were away.
Your friend in the fight against MS John latecki,
This update comes from Sanibel island near Ft. Myers Friday may 27
Last update was on April, 1 from Brunswick, GA near the Florida line. Along time has passed so this update will be a long
one. I now have a laptop computer so updates will be more frequent than before.
My Florida experience started out good. Fernandina beach was the first town I stopped at. The palm trees and the feeling
of being in Florida was nice after spending the past nine months anticipating my arrival to the sunshine state. My father
has some friends who live in St. Augustine and they had agreed to take me in for a hot shower and bed to sleep in. Many
people have taken me in durining the course of the trip, but rarely have they been planned stops as this was going to be.
Knowing warm water and a bed are a few days away just seemed to boost spirits and raise moral. On the paddle down to
St. Augustine I met with the local Jackonsville news under the Atlantic blvd bridge. The interview took place as a raging
thunderstorm and heavy rains passed by.
Paddling into St Augustine was very scenic. An old fort with cannons perched up on the bank made me think about past
battles several hundred years ago. Just up from the fort a beautiful lift bridge spanned across the intercostals water way. I
secured my canoe at the local Marina and called Curtis (the friend of my father) and explored a bit of the downtown
waiting to get picked up. The buildings in town had a Spanish look. A beautiful catholic cathedral really caught my eye
nestled in the downtown. Horse draw carriages and trolleys passed through the historic downtown giving tourists a tour of
the oldest town in America. When Curtis picked me up he gave me more of a tour. I ended up staying the next two and a
half days with Curtis and Terri Lee. It was a welcome break with all the amenities of a hot shower, warm bed, T.V and
food. I experienced the best home cooked food of my entire trip. Terri Lee and Curtis have a little completion over who the
better cook is and they were each trying to show off to me. I ate chili, Lasagna, sandwiches, beef Jerky and my last day
visiting consisted of a thanksgiving style dinner with turkey and all the fixings. You can imagine the shock of getting back
to the reality of Ramon noodles and Macaroni and cheese. Aside from the relaxing and great food Terri Lee and Curtis
provided great company.
The trip from St. Augustine down to Miami was for the most part unpleasant. There was an oasis in all the unpleasantness
to be found in West Palm beach. It was an Impromptu encounter on the waterway. It was a Friday night and there was
definelty something going on in West Palm beach. What gave it away was the hundreds of people along with many tents
and three stages lining the waterfront, not to mention the couple hundred boats anchored just outside the main channel
near the action packed waterfront. It was like a maze navigating through the boats. I asked a guy on a boat what was
going on and he said it was Sun fest. For the past week the local radio station aired many advertisements for sunfest. I
never paid attention to where it was going on or even what day. Turns out it ran from a Wednesday to Sunday. The guy
on the boat whose named turned out to be Kelly told me this was the place to be and I should anchor out. Of course I told
Kelly I did not have an anchor and he said just tie up to my boat. That turned out to be a great night, my timing was perfect
enough to indulge in a steak and watch Billy Idol bounce around the stage and belt out some good music. This was like a
front row seat to the stage and the large video screen. Some more of Kelly’s friends arrived later and tied their boat up
to his and we all had a blast. The next day I did an interview for the Newspaper and a local T.V station and decided to
stay another night. Sunday morning I awoke to find my canoe completely filled with water. During the night the wind really
kicked up and the way my canoe was tied up to the boat the waves filled it up. That was a nightmare. First off I lost some
of my gear including my cooking gear, food, Marine radio, tent, shoes along with some other items. Luckliy I had stashed
my solar powered radio, cell phone, and GPS on Kelly’s boat. It took several minutes to bail out my canoe. Kelly and
the other boat headed out toward an island a few miles away and I headed to land to drain out the rest of my canoe and
dry out my gear. Everything not in a water tight case was soaked including my clothes and sleeping bag.
My stay in St Augustine with Terri Lee and Curtis and the West Palm Beach stay on Kelly’s boat were the only two
good moments on the entire East side of Florida. Finding places to stock up on food was very difficult. The stores were
either far from the water or there was nowhere safe to leave my boat. It seemed like food was always in short supply.
Before leaving St. Augustine Curtis ran me to Wall-mart to get supplies and that was my only real chance to stock up on
supplies. Most of the time I lived from gas station to gas station.
Finding a place to camp out can be very difficult. Many nights went on hours longer than planned because there was
nowhere to camp. Cement walls line both sides of the intercostals waterway with condos and houses covering both sides
of the bank. The worst was the Ft. Lauderdale area. Florida is becoming so built up so fast and it is only getting worse.
Miami was a difficult city to navigate around and by far the unfriendly town for paddlers. I met with Idy Fernandez of the
Miami Herald at the hard rock café at bayside in Miami. It cool because the newspaper paid for my lunch. Miami is a nice
place to visit and very pretty from the water but it is not a friendly city.
Leaving Miami I knew the next place to get any food or water was going to be Flamingo unless I paddled into the Florida
keys. Flamingo is a state run campground tucked between the Florida bay and the Florida everglades. It took me four
days to reach Flamingo from Miami. That included getting lost and ending up in Key Largo. The scenery was magnificent
small islands everywhere filled the horizon. Dolphins playing were very common. The water color was the most beautiful
green I ever seen near Key Largo. Starfish could easily be found in the crystal clear water along with sharks. The largest
shark I seen was about seven feet. The majority of the sharks were about four feet or less. One evening around sunset I
was fishing in about knee deep water and several sharks passed very close in the shallow water looking for food. It was
enough to scare me back to ankle deep water, but I could still see the sharks moving about the water.
The closer I got to Flamingo the water changed and it literally turned much darker about a half mile east of the
campground. Finding Flamingo was a relief. For awhile I was not sure if I passed it or not. I had no map of the area my
charts covered East Florida and the Florida keys but not the southern tip or west side. My plan to find Flamingo was
simple, leave Miami and follow the coast line until I reach Flamingo. It sounded good on paper, but in reality it was much
different. There was no real place to pass through US route 1 without going through the intercostal pass at the north end
of key largo. Of course it was dark and I hugged the US route 1 causeway and ended up backtracking down through the
Key Largo pass. From there I paddled at a forty-five degree angle back up through the Florida bay toward the florida shore
line. Here is where a map would have saved me a ton of grief. A five second look would have reveled Flamingo sits about
ten miles from the west side of Florida and the Gulf Of Mexico. I remembered it being more in the center of the state. So
not wanting to miss my chance to restock on food and water I paddled up into every bay thinking it was the coast line and
after paddling west in the bay and realizing it was a dead end I had to paddle back out. That was the worst part paddling
back out. Figure you spend an hour paddling one way you have an hour to think about your mistake paddling back out, it
was very demoralizing. In my mind I knew the next hour of work was for nothing. This happened several times having to
paddle back all because of me not having a map, a simple state map would have made all the difference. I had a mental
picture of the florida coast line between Miami and Flamingo being nice and smooth and easy to follow. Not with large
winding bays and tons of islands everywhere. The islands (also referred to as keys) were very confusing at times and
made it difficult to know where the coastline was. I felt for sure I had passed flamingo by when a small tower appeared
over the tree line about three miles away. It had to be Flamingo because there is nothing else but Flamingo in the area.
Only one road in and one road out. If you have a road atlas handy you can go to florida and find Flamingo on the southern
tip and see exactly how far secluded the campground really is. I was able to call my father collect from a payphone (no cell
phone service) and find out exactly when he was coming down and where we were going to meet. I made the call
Thursday afternoon and we planned to meet the upcoming Tuesday and I expected to be around the Naples area.
Leaving Flamingo there are two choices to reach the small island of Chokoloskee or three miles up the Island of everglade
city witch would have water and provisions. The first choice is known as the Everglade wilderness water way. A route
which snakes through the heart of the everglades surrounded by nothing but mangroves and of course mosquitoes not to
mention a large population of alligators. The second route is to simply paddle out around into the Gulf of Mexico and
follow the coast up. Back in September I met Jim Balmer while paddling on the Erie Canal. He invited me to stay the night
and take advantage of some good food, shower, and comfortable bed. Jim is an adventurer having biked around Lake
Ontario and paddled the Everglade wildness water way twice. Jim had a nice slide show of his trips through the waterway.
I was inspired by what I seen from his presentation that I planned to paddle through the wilderness water way. It sounds
good on paper, 100 miles of mangroves and complete isolation. There is no place to get any water and the only place to
camp is on raised wooden platforms called chickes. The chickes have chemical toilets and enough space to set up a tent.
The down side is the Mosquitoes which can literally kill you in the summer months if you don’t know how to keep them
off of you. The wilderness water way is very hard to navigate according to Jim (who got lost for a short time) and other
people who told me their stories of getting lost. The ranger at the information desk in Flamingo also stated how difficult
navigating through can be even with the best maps. After hearing the ranger talk I decided to paddle out around into the
Gulf of Mexico to reach Everglade city. Besides my biggest weakness paddling around the country has been my
navigation skills, it is not that I don’t know how to properly navigate I just have to work a bit harder and concentrate
more than the average outdoor traveler. The ranger gave me a map which would take me up to everglade city.
The mosquitoes I encountered after leaving Flamingo were unbelievable. At sunset I could see what appeared to be
smoke but was really a swarm of mosquitoes. Luckily I had a mosquito net and plenty of bug spray and a canoe to hide in.
The secret to managing the mosquitoes is to set up camp at least an hour before sunset and be inside the tent or canoe
before sunset. My second day of paddling turned into an all day and night deal. I waited a bit long to reach shore to set up
camp and rather than deal with my mistake in the form of getting eaten alive I stayed out and paddled throughout the
night. To be safe from bugs I stayed about two miles off shore all night. It was weird feeling to be so far off shore and see
no lights anywhere. About an hour after sunrise I laid down for some sleep. I finally reached Everglade city at sunset. My
next problem was finding a place to get a charge on my phone so I could call and set up a place to meet my father. From
the water I could see a screened in bar next to a small deli. I stashed my canoe in the mangroves and headed for the bar
with phone and charger. The bar was called “the rock bottom bar� and a sign on the door said cash only. I had no
cash and the deli did not have an ATM machine On my way out near the road a truck pulls up and the man driving
mistaken me for someone he knew. I asked him if he knew where an ATM was. He gave me directions and then asked if I
wanted a ride. There was no way I was going to climb in the cab of the truck considering I had not showered in three
weeks. Washing up in salt water is not the same as a shower and no matter how much I scrub up saltwater leaves me
feeling dirty. I hopped in the back of the truck and it was every bit of a mile to the gas station with the ATM. On the way
back they insisted I ride in the cab I tried to tell them I had not showered in three weeks but they insisted. I told them a bit
about my trip on the way back to the bar and they dropped me off and wished me luck. The bartenders were really cool
and had no problem letting me charge up my phone while nursing a cold Budweiser. I called my father who had arrived in
St. Augustine a few hours earlier. We worked it out so he would meet me Tuesday afternoon at the Rock bottom bar. That
would give me a day and half of time to kill in Everglade city. In the meantime I noticed the couple who gave me a ride to
the ATM were in the bar talking with friends. The man approached me and said the mosquitoes were going to be real bad
and if wanted a place to stay they would put me up at their place. Talk about music to my ears. Three weeks is by far my
longest time without a shower and that shower was the best feeling shower I have ever experienced. Don and Karen
Cochran were the nice people who rescued me from the mosquitoes. When they found out my father was not meeting me
until Tuesday they invited me to stay. It felt good to sleep in bed again. The last time I slept in a bed had been over a
month ago in St. Augustine. Thanks to Don and Karen I waited to meet my father in an air conditioned house watching T.V
instead of somewhere outside in the mangroves.
It was great to finally see my father after almost ten months of not seeing any family. We got a hotel in everglade city and
loaded up my canoe and stored it at Don and Karen’s. The next couple of days was spent shopping, exploring, and
relaxing. My father had some packages from sponsors which included summer clothes from kokatat and Brian Brawley a
fellow adventurer sponsored me many nice items including an outdoor first aid kit, a few dry bags, bivi sack, water
container, head light, special bug repellent clothes, map case, back pack along with some other useful items. My father
brought me a brand new lap top computer set up for wireless internet access (what I am using to write this update on)
along with a nice hard carrying case. It sort of felt like Christmas. We drove to Naples to a wal-mart so I could restock on
food and replace some of the items I lost when my boat filled with water. It was nice to have a pair of shoes and a stove to
cook food on. We stopped at a restaurant with wireless internet access so I could test the computer out and make sure it
worked. Other than that we explored the area. We went down this one road next to a canal loaded with alligators. The
road had many places to pull off and observe the alligators up close. We also took a boat tour into the everglades and that
was a blessing in disguise. The tour was really neat and went deep into a narrow channel nestled in the mangroves. The
boat was small only carrying a max of six people at a time. There were five on this trip My father and I along with three
ladies. The blessing came near the end of the trip when one of the woman asked the caption about kayaking opportunities
further south and if any of the keys had had white beaches or not. He was not real sure. I explained to her the names of
the keys that had the sandy beaches where they were located and offered some advice on where to paddle because I
had just paddled up through the area she was referring to and said I paddled here from Ohio. That was all it took to get a
conversation started and I explained to them all about my trip and why I was doing it. Turns out all three woman live along
my trip route. Barbara Finkelstein lives on Sanibel island near Ft. Myers and offered to put me up while I was passing by. It
was about 70 miles from everglade city to Sanibel by way of the paddle. The problem was she and her husband were
going to be gone about the time I was going to arrive, but with some effort I could make it. The strong winds and rough
water of the Atlantic ocean slowed me down enough to where I was not going to make it before they left. However Barbara
said I would be more than welcome to camp on their back porch and swim in the pool. She gave me detailed directions to
her place which I was able to paddle up to through a canal. That is where this update is being written from. This is truly
paradise on Sanibel island. I hate to write how good this is because it sounds like I am having it easy but this is a vacation
for me. The porch is very large and completely screened in along with the swimming pool. There are outlets to charge up
my phone and plug my computer into. A nice lounge chair that leans all the way back to sleep on. Barbara left me a care
package with snacks, and plenty of info about Sanibel including a book on all the area attractions and points of interest. I
am able to update my website at a local coffee shop, explore the island, and come back and sit next to a swimming pool
and relax. Barbara also left me a note explaining I have permission to be here along with a nautical chart of the area and
fifty dollars. Now it is easy to understand why that boat tour was a blessing in disguise. This is truly a great platform to
work off of and even more important than swimming in the pool while looking at beautiful plants and palm trees this gives
me a chance to catch up on tons of e-mails, make improvements to my web site, and set up contacts coming up on the trip.
Sanibel is such a wonderful place with so much to see and explore. My next update will be when I leave the island and be
about my experience in Sanibel.
May,20, 2004
This quick update comes from the everglade city library in southwest Florida, about thirty miles south of Naples.
I met my father Tuesday may 13 and he brought me a laptop computer. Now that I have a wireless computer updates to
the web site will be more frequent. This will also enable me to catch up on e-mails, keep in better contact with people, and
update and manage my web site. Look forward in the near future to more updates and some changes to my web site.
April, 1 2005Brunswick, GA
Hello everyone,
I am in Brunswick, GA which is less than a day’s paddle from Florida. Yesterday (march 30) I seen my first real live
alligator! It was exciting and a bit scary at the same time. The gator was much larger than expected. This was one of
probably a hundred I will see over the next month in Florida.
I hope to have all the past updates on my web site soon. I have met many cool people, stayed at some really nice places,
and seen all kinds of neat things. In Mount pleasant, SC which is a suburb of Charleston I met Austin Petty. Austin is the
son of Kyle Petty who races NASCAR. That was very interesting. Ever since Myrtle Beach I have been doing T.V and or
newspaper in every town and city along the way. It has been difficult to get updates on my website as much as I would
like. I am working on getting a laptop with a wireless card, which would allow me to update my web site from the many
coffee shops, marinas, public parks, malls, ect.. That has wireless internet connections. As of now the library is my only
option. Sometimes the libraries are a very long walk or there is no safe place to stash my boat. Brunswick is a very user
friendly town. The people are great and more important the library is close and the staff is excellent. Brunswick is also a
scenic town with many trash cans which lead to clean streets. Speaking of scenic cities Savanna, GA is by far the most
scenic city I have ever been to. I would not have had the chance to see Savanna, but Bob and Kit Wylly made that
possible for me. Bob has been following my trip for several months now and is very educated and up to date on MS. His
wife Kit suffers from the disease. They live in Cincinnati, but were down in Hilton Head for the part of March. Bob sent me
an e-mail along time ago and said if I was going to be in the area at that time to look him up. My plans were to be well past
Hilton Head by then, but weather slowed my progress down and put us in the same area and we hooked up. Bob and Kit
met me at the Hilton Head Marina and took me out to lunch and Bob helped set up media contacts for Savanna. Bob and
Kit met me the next day in Savanna and gave me the tour. The downtown area has a bunch of large square with parks in
the middle and plenty of hanging moss trees. It feels like something out of a movie. The waterfront has tons of neat shops
ranging from restraints to candy stores. Without Bob and Kit meeting me and giving me the tour I never would have got a
chance to experience the beauty of Savanna. Along with the tour Bob bought me a solar powered radio for my trip. It has
been months without music and now the days go by so much faster with music and I forgot how much I missed Rush
Limbaugh’s dose of the truth everyday.
The trip from Savanna to Brunswick was a low point of the trip. The landscape was some of the best, but the weather was
on the war path. The Georgia skies opened up and flat poured, up to eight inches in some areas. The wind and lighting
were fierce. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday I was held up on an island and my water supply was about gone. There are
no marinas to get water from savanna to Brunswick. I tried to conserve best I could, but in the end ran out with 44 miles
left to paddle. No water meant no food because the only food left in my canoe needed water to be cooked. Thursday was
spent paddling mostly fighting the tide with NO water and only a few nuts to munch on. 44 miles later I found water from a
marina hose. Bad weather is going to rip through the area today (Friday April, 1,2005) I hope to leave tomorrow……
Sorry for poor grammar and misspelled words, but with only an hour no time to proof read
John Latecki JR
P.S here is a link to a recent newspaper article from Beaufort, SC (the article is also posted below the link has a pic)
Link to the story
http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local_news/story/4710465p-4350431c.html
Man rows into Beaufort on four-year trip
BY JASON RYAN, The Beaufort Gazette
Published Tuesday, March 22nd, 2005
BEAUFORT -- After paddling 3,260 miles since leaving Cleveland in a customized canoe, John Latecki Jr.'s journey is just
beginning.
The heavily bearded Latecki paddled into Beaufort on Monday, one-tenth of the way through a planned four-year, 30,000-
mile canoe trip along American waterways to raise awareness for multiple sclerosis -- a disease afflicting his 39-year-old
sister, Julie McAfee.
Sitting beside his canoe at the Downtown Marina, the 27-year-old Latecki sported a yellow wet suit and gray rain hat,
recounting the enormous psychological pressure of having so much water to cover.
"If I quit, I'd feel I was letting my sister down," said Latecki, whose strategy is to take it one day at a time. His trip started
July 31.
McAfee, whose name adorns the side of Latecki's canoe, was diagnosed in 1996 with multiple sclerosis, an inflammatory
disease affecting the tissues of the central nervous system.
"When she lost her sense of smell, that's what kind of started it," Latecki said of his inspiration for an original 1,800-mile
trip down the Mississippi River in 2001 to spread the word about the disease.
Drawing on savings and the help of sponsors, Latecki pilots his craft that he describes as "right on the line between a
canoe and kayak," but whose hull design, deck and higher seat tip it toward canoe.
Inside, Latecki's stowage includes a sleeping bag, a stash of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and his cell phone,
which he uses to call his sister almost every night.
Latecki, who usually sleeps in his canoe, also occasionally encounters bigger obstacles, including the cold winter weather
up North that made him skip a few planned routes, an oil spill on the Delaware River, and rolling waves in the Atlantic
Ocean off Long Island, N.Y., that necessitated a Coast Guard rescue.
"I've never been so scared in my life," Latecki said of the rough waves that made him feel as if he were getting slugged in
the stomach. "If I (had) flipped over, I would have been dead."
From Beaufort, Latecki will head south to Hilton Head Island and Savannah. He hopes to travel in all 48 states in the
continental United States by the time he's finished.
If he completes the trip, Latecki said he would hold two world records: one for the longest overall canoe trip and one for
the longest solo canoe trip.
In South Carolina, Latecki has met his share of friendly strangers, receiving gifts of steak sandwiches and fishing lures
from one man and a tip from an old sailor named "Mad Dog" in Georgetown to visit a Mount Pleasant bar, a suggestion
that led to a night of partying with Austin Petty, the son of NASCAR legend Kyle Petty.
Usually though, Latecki's life is more tranquil, paddling the waters alone and practicing good river sense.
"I always wear my life jacket, I don't take chances ... I don't drink when I paddle," Latecki said.
For more information, visit www.fightingms.org.
For more information, visit www.fightingms.org.
Contact Jason Ryan at 986-5532 or jryan@beaufortgazette.com.
Wilmington NC Tuesday February 22
The trip from Beafourt to Wilmington has been the most scenic of the entire trip. I left Monday morning. Mandy from AB
kayak in beafourt left me a note by my boat telling me she was looking at my canoe earlier and my rudder cable was about
to break very
soon and to give her a call because she had cable and tools to fix it. I thought it would be fine for another month. By two in
the afternoon the cable snapped. The cable makes it possible for me to control the rudder with my feet and makes
paddling much more efficient. It rained on and off all day and by day's end I had paddled 32 miles.
I got an e-mail from Mike Radford works in a specialty division for Pfizer. Pfizer co-promotes the drug rebif which helps
many people with MS. He wanted to help me raise awareness while in Wilmington and was going to meet me Monday
February 21 He was going to try to arrange for me to meet an MS specialist, a local MS support group and even help raise
media awareness. I had some time to kill before Monday and this section of the intercostal is the perfect place to explore.
A thin piece of land keeps the ocean out, but there are plenty of inlets if one wanted to go out to the ocean. Islands of all
shapes and sizes can be seen and explored. Dolphins are common and sometimes a few frisky dolphins will put on a free
air show jumping out of the water. The water is very shallow in many places, which is not a problem when paddling.
The south side of camp leajune runs into the intercostal waterway. A large sign along the water stated if the red light is
flashing tune into 570AM for a report for closing times. At times the intercostal waterway is closed for training exercies.
Navy seals practice amphibious landings and bombs are launched from offshore onto the base. It was not closed for me
when I passed, but I always felt like someone was watching me. After a couple days of rain and much harder paddling
without my rudder I got a great surprise. Denise and Ken Rothrock had contacted me a few weeks back and told me when
I got down to Sneads Ferry they wanted to give me a place stay and give me a hot meal to eat. Denise's mother read
about my trip in the Elizabeth City Newspaper and that is how Ken and Denise knew about my trip. Ken got me a huge
room at the holiday inn and they took me out to eat. After super we went to the store so I could stock up on supplies and
Ken paid for my supplies. The feeling of spending a couple days in the rain and then having a king size bed, shower, and
T.V was incredible. That was a huge boost to my moral.
I get another surprise e-mail from Mickie who is on the MS advisory board for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. We
met on Saturday in wrightsville beach at the blue water restaurant. Mickie has MS so she has a great understanding of the
disease. After lunch she drove me around wrightsville beach and up to Wilmington. By land Wilmington is not 15 minutes
tops from wrightsville beach in a car, by way of the paddle Wilmington is at least 25 miles. I left wrightville beach Sunday
morning around 7:00am and arrived in Wilmington 9:30pm. The wind and tide were not in my favor for the most part of the
trip. My left shoulder and elbow would pop once in awhile while paddling. Normally it would not be that big of a deal, but I
have to maintain a certain level of physical fitness to continue with this trip for another four years. Without the rudder I was
forced to use many more corrective strokes and work much harder. It was just a case of using different muscles and I am
fine, but a small scare.
Monday turned out to one big disappointment. Mike was not able set up the meeting with the MS specialist or the MS
support group, and he was not even in the area. His attempt to raise media awareness did not pan out either. I waited all
day Monday in Wilmington and nothing happened to raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis, except for the people I talked
to.
Tuesday I took matters into my own hands and did an interview for WWAY channel 3 and set up newspaper interview.
Since I got my phone back in Elizabeth city I was able to raise awareness with Newspaper articles in Elizabeth city, Kitty
Hawk, and Beaufort, (all front page stories) A radio show in Kill devil hills, and T.V in New Bern, and Wilmington and the
upcoming newspaper interview tomorrow when I leave. Some people think all I do is paddle a
canoe, bit I have lots of e-mail, phone calls, and contacts to reach, all while battling to keep my cell phone dry and
charged. The canoeing part is easy, the raiseing awareness for MS is more diffuiclt.
While in Wilmington I went to Lowes and got another cable for my rudder. The city of Wilmington is really nice with a solid
downtown filled with every kind of shop you can think of and the police force is unbelievable. I have never seen more cops
on patrol doing their job than in here in Wilmington, in cars, on foot, and even horses. I would recommend anyone ever
traveling in the area to stop in Wilmington. The tempture here today Tuesday is almost 70 degrees. The worst part of
winter is over for me, yes!!!
I will be getting a camera soon and will be taking many pictures to put on my web site. Pictures are worth a thousand
word, a thousand less words I have to write.
John Latecki Jr
Wednesday December 1st Location: back creek, just off the C and D canal 3.32 miles west of Chesapeake city. GPS
reading:N39`31.656 W75`52.347
The unofficial start of winter kicked off at 12:01am Wednesday December 1st with rain. About an hour before dark I found
some high ground and spent some time getting ready for the rain by tying my tarp to tree branches and trees to make a
shelter over my canoe. It made a nice canopy over the top. My canoe actually has a canopy of its own and I set that up
and then covered the eight-foot cockpit with my rain skirt. The set up worked very well. In the morning the rain quit and I
readjusted the tarp and tied it off a bit different to allow for better draining of water. The wind was very strong gusting to
30 MPH and in the afternoon could reach 50MPH gusts. The day was very cloudy and dreary and the rain came back in
the early morning. The waves were crashing soundly at the beach and there was no question today would be a day off
with the heavy wind. Around 11:00am a line could be seen as is someone took a knife and cut the dark clouds and dark
blue skies could be seen. It took about ten minutes for the line of clouds to pass the sun and when it did the day went from
gloomy to beautiful.
I decided to move my canoe back twenty feet to a clearing and hang up wet blankets, cloths, and anything else wet. The
afternoon sun made for higher winds, which did reach at least 50MPH. All my gear drying in the trees was tied down so it
would not blow away. My NOAA weather radio warned with all the rain in recent days coupled with the high wind some
shallow rooted trees could become uprooted. Here I am in a swamp area on high ground surrounded by trees that don’t
have a lot of dirt to hold onto. Branches would make cracking noises and it became a concern some large branches could
fall on me, none did fall. The rest of the day was spent just hanging out waiting to leave tomorrow.
Thursday December 2, 2004
Awoke at 6:00am and waited under the cover until about 7:05am for the sunrise. It gets dark in the evening around 5:00pm
with the sun setting at about 4:40pm the temp last night dipped into the upper twenties to mid thirties. The river has a thin
layer of ice going a few feet from shore and my water jug had a layer of ice on top. The winds were expected to be 10 to
15 mph from the west and the high in the 50s, which is great. I left some of my cloths hanging out overnight thinking the
wind would knock down the dew, but they were a bit damp. My goal is to reach a store or at the very least come up with
some water to cook some noodles for super. The next town on my route was a two-day trip. Havre De Grace is on the
west side of the Susqhanna River and marks the official start of the Chesapeake Bay. My phone got wet and quit working
last Saturday in a nasty storm. For the first time ever water got into my green box. This box has over 200 days of travel
time with me going back to my first canoe trip and because I failed to secure the lid properly and the tarp string broke and
drained water into my canoe. I awoke to a couple of inches of water in my canoe. Without a phone it puts a new spin on
things. at about 2:30pm I spot a building off in the distance that looks like a marina closed down for the winter. Through
my binoculars I could make out docks a boat ramp and the building. Turns out the building was part of elk neck state park
and the bathroom was a perfect place to fill up my single water jug. That was another problem I am down to one water jug,
which is not good. On my way back to my canoe an older man came rowing up and tied up to the dock. I looked around
and there were no cars and I wondered where he came from. He asked me where I came from because it was apparent
from all my gear in the boat that I was on a big trip. After talking a bit with the man he asked is there way he could be
assistance to me and asked if I needed to restock on supplies and offered to take me to town. That was music to my ears
because my food supplies were down to about zip. We paddled back about a mile to the Chesapeake isle beach where
the man pulled his boat out and tied it up on a rack with about twenty other boats. I pulled my boat out as well. The man
stuck out his hand and offered a firm handshake and introduced himself as David Byler. We got into his vehicial and
stopped back at his house to tell his wife Claire he was taking me to the store, which was about 12 miles away in the town
of Northeast. David’s wife Claire made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before we left. David took me to a small strip
mall with a dollar tree and a grocery store right next to each other. The dollar tree was great for buying calories. The days
on long island where food was SO expensive were over. On a trip like this you have to eat and when your low on food you
have to buy it where you can even at the stores that charge an arm and a leg. I got some good deals at the dollar tree. As
David and I were walking back to his vehicial he asked me if I wanted to spend the night. It was after 4:00pm already with
only an hour of sunlight left. It was going to get a bit cold tonight and I gladly accepted. On the ride back home David took
me to show me the headwaters of the Northeast River and we drove close to turkey point, which gave a beautiful view of
the bay I would be paddling across tomorrow. The sun was a few minutes from setting off to the east and a woman was
there to get some pictures. The bridges crossing the Sushqhanna were visible about six miles across the bay. David drove
me back to my canoe to pick up my shower kit and pull my canoe up out of the way for the night. On the way down to my
boat David and I counted over 25 deer in people’s yards munching on the grass it was unreal. The houses in Chesapeake
Isle have large yards and the houses are very nice and large. David asked me how I go about raising awareness for MS
on my trip. I explained through meeting people and the press. He asked me if I would be interested in talking to a reporter
from a local publication. Back at David’s place I got a shower, a good super of eggs, hash browns, toast, apple sauce,
apple cider, and V8 juice, for dessert rocky road and French vanilla ice cream, also got laundry done, got online to contact
my family, and David set it up so Wendy Gilbert from the Nor’easter magazine would meet me in the morning to do a story
about my trip.
As lay in a warm bed that night getting ready to fall asleep the thought crossed my mind “where would I be had David
decided not to take a row today or I had left an hour earlier or later where would I be now”?
Friday December 3, 2004
Awoke about 6:15am, but lay in the warm bed about an hour before I got up. David cooked up some breakfast of oatmeal
with brown sugar and some orange juice. The windows on the cars outside were covered with a frost; it would have been
cold sleeping outside last night. Wendy Gilbert showed up right at 9:00am and did a great interview. Wendy asked a lot of
good questions and was easy to talk to. David said the ex harbor master for Chesapeake Isle was somehow affiliated with
the Maritime museum and he called them up and before I left he gave me a pamphlet with the mans name and the name of
the woman Kathleen O’Brien who he had talked with and would be expecting me later in the day and have a place for me
to stay. David gave me as many water jugs, as I wanted to take. The jugs were gallon orange juice jugs with screw on lids
that don’t pop off in the canoe and they were of a thicker plastic, I took three jugs and he threw in some oranges and York
peppermint patties. Wendy took some pics of my boat and me and I shoved off heading for the Havre De Grace maritime
museum. About a mile after leaving Chesapeake Isle I rounded turkey point and ran into very strong wind. By this time it is
12:30pm. The winds gusted into the twenties and a few times waves dumped water into my boat. It would be a strait shot
into the wind and the crossing was at least five miles and it would turn dark well before I could paddle five miles in this
wind. I found a beach and holed up for the rest of the day.
Saturday December 4 west side of Elk Neck N39`36.369 W76`07.792
Awoke early and left around 7:45am. The crossing was nice. The water was very flat and calm. Out towards the middle
several miles from land on either side everything was so quiet. Then my paddle hit bottom and I remembered David telling
me about the Susquehanna flats where the water gets very shallow and depending on the tide might become visible. The
water was shallow for quite some time and it was a feeling of security. The final distance of the crossing was 6.91 miles as
the crow flies according to my GPS. Of course I did not paddle in a perfect strait line so it was actually more than 6.91
miles. Once on the shore line I paddled alongside Havre De Grace looking for a place to get out and then I decided to just
push on and stop on the way back through. I pushed up the Susquehanna River past a very large island called Garrett
Island and as it was getting dark found another island to camp on. It was a private island, but the current was so strong I
could not get around the island and camped very close to shore and planned on leaving at sunrise.
Sunday December 5 2004
I left at sunrise as a fisherman came floating by fishing along the island, the current was still very strong and I paddled to
the west shore and it took everything I had to paddle upstream. At one point I had to rest and paddle as hard as possible
for 30 seconds to get around a set of small rocks coming out from shore. The dam could be seen looming off in the
distance. Even close to shore the current was very fast. Finally a spot came I could not paddle around. I could of got out
on shore and pulled my canoe through the water with a rope, and then I got to thinking. It is already December 5 there are
three large dams to portage around the water can freeze on the Chesapeake this far north. To reach Harrisburg, PA it was
going to take much longer than expected. I decided to cancel the upriver trip on the Susquehanna River. The miles could
be made up on any number of rivers. Drifting back downstream the currents ranged from 5.8MPH to 3.2MPH depending
on where in the river I was. It was Sunday and the library probably would not be open so I needed to find a place to camp
and forge into town tomorrow. The trick is also going to be how do I get out of here. All along the east shore is a place
called Aberdeen (sp?) and it stretches on the west coast for quite some time. Loud booms can be heard from time to time
some strong enough to shake things on the walls. It is an area where the military tests bombs and is a restricted area.
They even launch bombs out into the water in one area. There are no buoys to mark the area. When I leave Havre De
Grace I either have to paddle 7 miles across to the other side or paddle a long distance far from shore until I get around
Aberdeen. There are stories of barrels of toxic waste dumped in the area as well. Most likely I will cross back to the east
side and cross back to the west near Baltimore. Either way I must leave at the crack of dawn to assure I don’t get caught
miles from shore when it gets dark. I stayed on Garrets Island, which has signs everywhere saying no overnight camping. I
waited until dark and found a hidden place behind a tree that had blown over it was a safe place where no one could see
me. I prepared for rain
Monday December 6 2004 Garret island north side N39`34.340 W76`05.257
I awoke early, but lay in my boat until 8:30am. I was sort of hoping it would of rained to test my new setup. The rain held
off until I took everything down to pack up. I was set up for rain with my rain skirt, canpony, and my wet suit. It rained hard
at times on the short paddle to Havre De Grace and the fishermen were still out in force. Back in Ohio we don’t fish much
in December and if we do we don’t do it in the pouring rain like the guys down here. I really needed to get to the library
and found a place to get out at a boat ramp. The thing was it was private boat ramp owned by the lions club. I looked
around at the empty docks and weighed the odds and decided to tie up and walk into town and found the library after
asking a few people. One of the first e-mails is from Wendy Gilbert saying David is worried because I did not show up on
Friday and to let her know when I get the message. The rest of the day was spent catching up on e-mails. I left the library
around 6:00pm and was exploring town and stumbled onto a save o lot store and stocked up on food again. On my way
back to my canoe a woman walked out of a business and took a look at me and asked “are you John the kayaker from
Cleveland” sort of caught me off guard. The woman was Kathleen O’Brien from the Maritime Museum. Turns out David
drove over Friday night to return my raincoat and to take me out to dinner. When I did not show up it raised concerns. Of
course the next day I decided to push on and David was still concerned. It went as far as talk about sending a helicopter
out to look for me. In the end rational thought prevailed. If John paddled from Cleveland, Ohio he probably knows what he
is doing and held up for the weather on Friday and then decided to push on. Of course that is exactly what happened.
When I bumped into Kathleen she was going to businesses telling them to be on the look out for me. Kathleen invited me
back to the museum. I paddled my boat about a half-mile to the lighthouse and put the wheels under my canoe and pulled
it about 100yards to the museum. Kathleen gave me a quick tour of the museum and the Chesapeake wooden boat school
is located in the back of the museum. It was really cool to see wooden canoes cedar strip canoes and other wooden
boats. A restaurant in town called the La Cucina which is owned by a real Italian woman named Antonia Coppola offered
me a free meal. Kathleen drove me down to the restaurant and a man named Jack Davies showed up to meet me and talk
about the local area. He gave me advice on paddling around Aberdeen. Antonia asked me what I wanted for super and I
told her to pick. She started out with soup and bread and then a big plate of Spaghetti that I could not quite finish and
ended up leaving a bite. Spaghetti is my all time favorite food and tastes so good when cooked by real Italians. Kathleen
offered a place for me to stay in the museum, but it was going to warm out and I was fine with the set up outside.
Tuesday December 7 2004 Under the Maritime Museum in Havre De Grace Maryland.
I awoke early and moved my canoe to a different spot under the museum where the ceiling was solid unlike the slits in the
wood deck above where water could drip through.
Kathleen arrived around 10:00AM armed with coffee and doughnuts. Bill McIntyre arrived a short time after words and
gave us a tour of the light house keepers house and a tour of the inside of the lighthouse. Out of all the lighthouses I have
seen this is the first one I ever actually got to climb up and look out the top. It was a rainy dreary day so we could not see
to far, but it was still cool to look out of the lighthouse.
After the lighthouse tour I talked with Kathleen for a little bit and then headed for the library. Before going to the library I
stopped at the local newspaper and left a message about my trip with the receptionist and told her I would be at the library
all day the editor was on a conference call at the time so she was the only one I could talk to.
After about an hour at the library a really cute girl came up and asked if I was John the guy canoeing I told her yes and
she introduced herself, but I was thinking how cute she was I totally missed her name. We drove back to the museum so
she could get some pictures of my canoe and get an interview. After the interview it was back to the library to update my
website and that leads up to where I am now. My plans are to leave Havre De Grace early tomorrow and probably cross to
the other side. The two local experts Bill and Jack have total opposite ideas on the best way to go.
Hopefully next update will be coming from Baltimore.
October 25 Babylon N south shore of long island
This update is going to be long. In short I am fine and now on the south shore of Long Island, New York in the Babylon
library at the end of this update I will include a three month review. Every three months I will do an overall review and
October, 31 will be three months into the trip.
At the end of my last update I was just getting ready to leave the Erie Canal and enter the Hudson River just north of
Albany, New York. The trip down the Hudson was very scenic especially the further south I got. The most scenic part of
the Hudson River is from Newburg down to New York City. Of course the upper long Hudson is probably more scenic
because of the Adirondack Mountains. The lower Hudson has the Catskills which are very scenic. I was unable to raise
any media awareness except a couple of news stations in Albany. I called a few newspapers when I arrived in towns, but it
never worked out. They all expressed an interest in doing a story, but on such a short notice it was not possible. They
wished I had given them at least a days notice. I had a river traveler with me for a short time. I seen a squirrel swimming in
the middle of the river (the river was about a half mile wide) it was quite a shock and I offered him a paddle up and he sat
on the deck of my canoe before jumping inside under my seat and eventually to the front of the canoe. That night I slept
on a dock and the next morning packing up my sleeping gear a squirrel was hoping around the near a tree in the park.
Good he found his way out. Later that day a cruiser boat passed by gave off a large wake when I pointed the bow toward
the oncoming wave when the bow was high in the air the squirrel came out from the front and startled me enough to yell
out loud and right back to the front he went. Looking for a place to stay I peddled up a river into Kingston. I was looking for
a place to get out of the water when a voice from the back of a sail boat asked “how is the paddling going” The voice
belonged to a man named Paul Hoffman. He was an older man who had the look of a caption who had sailed for years.
He watched my boat while I forged into town for food. He invited on board and offered me a cup of coffee and we talked
about travel and life. I slept in my boat with the squirrel. The next morning Paul offered me a Danish orange juice and
coffee and me and the squirrel left. At this point the squirrel has got to starving and dieing of thirst. I knew that evening
come heck or high water the squirrel had to come out before he decided to chew his way out. Toward evening rummaging
around from the front of the boat told me the squierrl wanted out. I found a dock and got out of my boat and began to read.
Sure enough in a few minutes a head followed by a busy tail popped out from the boat. The problem was the dock was
about twenty feet long with one ramp leading up to land in the middle and I was sitting on the ramp. I tried to move to the
far side of the dock and back in the boat the squirrel went. At that point I moved to the far end of the dock and a few
moments later the squirrel popped back up and walked around on the deck of my canoe and jumped onto the dock. I
dared not move. The squierll walked right past the ramp toward me and got very close and turned back and scurried up
the ramp to freedom. It felt like he was coming over to thank me for saving him from the drowning. Something else about
the Hudson River south of Albany is the tide. For about six hours you have current going with you and six hours it runs
against you. There is about a half hour of slack tide where the water is neutral almost like a lake. The times of the tide
changes everyday based on location and even in the same spot the time of the tide changes everyday. The tide is about
four feet on the Hudson River from high to low. Coming into New York was quite a rush. The distant city came into site
around Hastings-on-the Hudson. I found a small beach tucked away just north of the break wall for a yacht club. I was
cooking super when a land rover pulled up with a kayak on top. I figured this was a spot where people launched there
kayaks from. A man approached me and asked me what I was doing? I told him cooking super and explained about my
trip. His girl friend was in from Colorado and they were coming down to the river to cook some food and hangout. One
minute I am cooking plain noodles and the next I am hanging out with a couple of architects eating big fat juicy burgers
and apples. Eric Seymour and Christy Collins really made my night with great company and good conversation. Where I
come from in Holmes county Ohio we have the largest Amish settlement in the world and the county seat of Millersburg
(which is the largest town in the county) as of the 2000 censes has a population of 3,336 people with 96.87% of the
population white. I grew up with 100 acres as a front yard about 80 acres of woods and 20 acres of fields with a few ponds
in the mix. We were nestled on a dirt road where we could not even see out nearest nebghior. The water we drank came
out of the ground from a spring at the top of the hill. My father rigged it up so the water ran by gravity down the hill right
into our house. The water was tested and does not get any better of more fresh. The catch was we had to leave the water
running in the winter so the pipes did not freeze. I was very lucky to have the chance to hunt fish and learn about nature
conservation from my father who was game warden before he retired. With that being said about where I grew up paddling
into New York City was going to be intimidating. Names like the “Bronx” “Harlem” “Queens” were names that put fear into
this country boy. It was a whole new world. However meeting Eric and Christy was really nice because they worked in the
city and Christy had lived there before. I don’t have any friends that live in the city so for me to hear true stories from real
people who work in the city about what it is like to ride a subway, and hail a taxi was pretty neat. To them it was just a part
of life but to me it seemed cool. They would rather be out in nature watching the river cooking out then stuck in a bar
playing the social game. They were both on top of envirmentional issues and conservation so we related very well. Then
there was September 11. During that time I was on my trial run trip just north of Memphis listening to it all unfold on the
radio. Now I was talking to people who were in the city when it happened. Just so happened Eric drove to work, which is
something he normally does not do, He usually takes the train, but Christy had a broken leg and he was being a
gentleman and taking her to and from work so she would not have deal with public transposition on crutches with a broken
leg. They said there were thousands of people walking. Not running or out of control, but just thousands and thousands of
people walking out of down town. They just did slip out of the city before everything got shut down. After talking with Eric
and Christy I felt a little better about traveling through the city. Of course it is different on the water then the roads. Eric
and Christy left then came back with some yogurt, ice and apples for breakfast. The next morning was my sister Julies
Birthday and I wanted to call her. My phone battery was dead. I went to town look for a place to charge it up. No one
would help me out by letting me charge my phone. The restaurant next store told me “we don’t do that here” I explained
about my trip and why I was doing it, but it did not matter to these people. I even offered to pay for what they thought the
electricity would cost. No one would help, they did not even care. The weather said rain was coming and I decided to hole
up and wait out the storm. I felt disappointed not being able to call my sister on her birthday. The next day the rain finally
ended. I built a fire to dry out my wet blankets. The guy at the yacht club next door called the cops and complained about
the fire. A couple of cops came down the younger Barney fife acting cop stumbled over the rock wall with a fire
extinguisher on his way down. They asked what I was doing I explained about my trip and told them I had permission and
gave them Eric’s card with his phone number so they could call. When they did he was not home. I put the fire out with
water from the river. The one Barney cop almost acted like he was doing me a favor letting me stay on the beach. In
reality I was about to tell him the fire is out and if he had no other business to please leave because he is on private
property and unlike me he does not have permission to be here. It did not come to that. The older cop with him was pretty
cool. Barney told me not to start the fire up again. I will admit the wood was wet and the wind was blowing the smoke
toward the yacht club, but it was not interfering the guy just seen the smoke and wanted to start something, but was not
man enough to come over ask me to put the fire out. That night it was very cold and my blankets were wet. I was using
Canned Heat to keep warm and caught my one light sleeping bag on fire. After that I was upset enough to stoke up the
fire, it was like two-thirty in the morning and I did not care if the police came back. The next morning I left with a low supply
of food and water. My plans were to call the coast guard and tell them about my trip and that I would be paddling through. I
would be more than happy to show them my information, registrations, and what ever else they wanted. I wanted to avoid
having them think I was a terreriost, but after September 11 New York is on a very high alert and has lots of security.
Shortly into the day near Yonkers a Yonkers police boat approached me. I was thinking they just wanted to check me out.
The officer asked me if I was running late for a stop. I told him no. After some calls back and forth it was determined the
coast guard was looking for me and put an alert out. My sister Monika called the coast guard when no one heard from me
around Julie’s birthday. According to Julie come heck or high water she thought I told her I was going to call her on her
birthday. It was sort of a blessing in disguise my sister called the coast guard because they gave me advice on how to get
to the long island sound and gave me an escort to the Harlem River. On the other hand I was very angry my sister called
the coast guard. I told my family before I left DO NOT CALL THE COAST GUARD NO MATTER WHAT. Things happen
out here if they had watched the weather they would have seen what was going on with wind and rain. Besides I am not
on a schedule. On my last trip I did not have a cell phone and was expected to make calls at certain spots. So many times
I risked my life battling bad weather just to make those calls. I refused to have that looming over my head on this trip. I
came with in an inch of getting rid of my cell phone and not calling my family anymore except maybe once a month and not
even tell them where I am. They could read about my trip from the updates. They were told NEVER to call the coast guard
again even if no one hears from me in two months. Here is my theory on this. If I drown, die, or get seriously injured my
family will be the first to hear about. The coast guard is not going to drag my body out of the river and play hide and seek
with it. I carry plenty of ID and if something happens they will be informed. Paddling through New York was such a rush.
The Harlem River runs between Manhattan and the Bronx. The tide was coming strong against me for the first hour.
There are a couple of buildings in the Bronx so big and so close to the water it makes you dizzy looking up at them.
Seeing the buildings where people are packed in like sardines makes me feel lucky and blessed to have had to
opportunity to grow up where I did. I feel like because my family I had such a head start in life and a better chance to make
the most of my life. Kids don’t have a choice where there brought up or the family they have. The kids living in these
building won’t have the chance to catch crawdads in the creek or watch a deer munching on grass. I was VERY lucky to
have good parents and three loving sisters. Darkness was coming on as I approached hells gate and when I finally
reached hells gate it was to dark to pass through. Hells gate is where the Harlem River and East River meet and there are
some pretty wild currents. There were too many rocks close to shore and water was moving to fast to chance riding the
shore and because it was dark I could easily get hit by a passing boat if I wondered out in the middle. I sat on the rock wall
cooking ramon noodles and listening to the first presidential debate while watching the Manhattan skyline. New York truly
is a large city. I was disappointed President Bush did not knock some of those hanging curve balls the flip flopping Kerry
left over the plate. At least Dick Chaney and mopped up with Edwards and Bush came back in the later debates, but at the
time I was just left with the results of Bush’s first debate. After the debate the tide had brought the water up enough to
cover many of the rocks close to shore and I paddled close to shore around hells gate and ended up sleeping on the rock
dike in the Bronx. When I awoke the water was way down the rocks. I had finally made the long island sound. The long
island sound is the water between the north shore Long Island and conneciet. It can get pretty rough in the bad weather.
My food supply was about gone and I had no clue where my next spot was to stock up. I had not eaten anything all day
and finally I was hungry enough to eat raw noodles. I did not have enough water to cook them even if I wanted to. Even if I
had water there was no where to get out to cook them. The next day I found a store and was back in food. However at a
very hefty price. The prices on long island are the highest I have ever seen.
I had a connection in Huntington Long Island. Brad Thayer a man I met while on Onondaga Lake in Syracuse, New York.
He told me when I get into the area to give him a call. I called on a Friday to let him know it would either be Saturday or
Sunday I would be in the area. I called Brad at around 9:00pm Saturday night and he picked me up the Boat ramp. Finally
a place to charge my phone, a hot shower and a big bed to sleep in. It was great! I took Sunday off and just sort of hung
out, went to the grocery store and relaxed. Called family and friends. It figures one of nicest beautiful fall day and I am not
on the water. If it had been raining I would have been on the water somewhere. Brad has an assortment of wind surfing
boards and sails from his racing days and now he more recently got into sailing his kayak. In fact that was what he was
doing the day I met him. There is SO much that goes into setting up a kayak for sailing. You just don’t go to the boat store
and say I want to buy a kayak ready to sail. Almost makes me want to rig up a sail on my boat. Brad gave a contact of an
outfitter who paddles around long island all the time. He would be able to give some tips on the hard spots. Monday it was
back out on the water fully recharged mentally. I was sort of bummed out about not being able to raise any awareness in
New York, but I would make it back around. The north side of long island has some large bays and many very large
houses overlooking the sound. It is not near as populated as the south side. My supplies were getting kind of low and I
was near Kings Park out of the way waiting for the wind to die down when a man and his son were out walking the beach.
The only people I had seen all day were a couple high school kids looking for a place to pee. It was tucked away really
well away from the sound. The man named Jim Shea started asking me the usual questions and offered to run me into
town. He had to have his son back his mothers at 8:30pm and they were just killing time hanging out at the beach and Jim
insisted it was no trouble. It must have looked funny to see me looking like a savage getting out of a Lexus. After leaving
the grocery store Jim invited me back for dinner. He said he had just got a Jacuzzi and thought I might enjoy it. Boy was
he ever right!! After a meal of grilled chicken legs and potato salad it was into the 102 degree water with the jets blasting
away at my back. On a trip like this you just never know one minute you are stranded waiting for the wind to break low of
supplies and the next your belly is full supplies stocked and you’re sitting in hot tub. Jim said he might know of some one
else who lived on the south shore who might want to take me in when I get there. A phone call later Jim had a name and
number and directions on how to get to his friends place which is just off the water on the south shore. The wind played a
very big role on how far and how hard I had to work. There were some bad times and good times. A few times I had to hike
quite a ways for food and water. Close to orient point the tip of the north side of long island stuck on a beach for the past
couple days and my solar powered radio broke on me I met a man who was out walking the beach. His friend lived above
where I was camped. He offered to fill my water jugs and charge up my phone. Troy potett was really cool and I fully
trusted him with my cell phone only after talking with him for a few minutes. That evening troy returned with my water jugs
and fully charged cell phone. He also had a plate full of stew witch was mostly meat, corn bread, and a slice of apple pie.
He said he was working just up the hill and would bring me breakfast in the morning. Sure enough the next morning
around7:00am Troy came walking up with an egg and sausage sandwich coffee and an orange juice. That was quite a
nice surprise running into Troy. He had some advice to give me about plum gut. I heard about the legendary plum gut all
the way back at Huntington from brad and his friend Paul. At the very north tip of long island there is an island called Plum
Island. It is an animal research center where they do experiments on animals and is totally off limits. Between the north tip
of long island and Plum Island the water is said to very rough. Troy was telling me of a place a few miles from the gut
where is would be a 100 yard portage and I could miss the rough waters. Soon after Troy left I did as well. A few hours
later I was nearing the tip of plum gut. The current really kicked up, but I stayed close to shore was fine. However further
out there from the tip were some very intimidating rough standing waves.
About a day from the Shinnecock canal I called James Loyde. Jim Shea (the Jacuzzi guy) had given me his name and
number to contact. I told James I expected to be tomorrow evening. He gave me directions to his place and said he would
be there. At noon the next day I call James up and tell him I have landed and if it was a bad time. He said no and told me
to come on up. His place is only about .2 miles from the river, but I had to set up my wheels which go on the bottom of my
canoe so I can drag it along with all my gear across land. James was great he took me to the store and gave me a tour of
the area including the shinnecock inlet and the Ponquogue Bridge which I would be paddling under the next day. He also
showed me the commercial fishing boats and explained what life was like working on the boats, a job he did in his younger
years. Now James is a master boat engine mechanic and had tons of plaques and awards he earned over the years. It
was the perfect night to be off the water as the wind and rain pounded most of the night. James slow cooked each of us a
couple of pork chops and man were they good! At the stroke of midnight it turned October 16 which is a special day to me
for many reasons. First that is my sister Becky’s birthday, it is also the day I finished my 1,800 mile 92 day canoe trip in
2001 and it represents the eight year anniversary that my sister Julie was diagnosed with MS. It felt good to be in a warm
place out of the weather. James gave me a pair of binoculars and a leatherman type tool made by SOG I like the feel
much better than leatherman and have used already quite a few time since he gave it to me. After leaving James place
things got bad with the weather. The day was windy, but it rained that night and the weather had not called for rain. The
next day was windy and it rained for the next few days and the tempature has been cold at night, flirting with the thirties.
One night I slept in my boat tied up to a wall I did not even take my seat out just layed back and when I was tired enough
fell asleep no matter how wet or uncomfortable you are you will eventually just fall asleep. I so much miss my radio. After
the wall I found an island and pulled my canoe on top and enjoyed a good night sleep not having to worry about dogs or
people finding me. I paddled into Bayport and got directed to a place to get out and leave my boat to find a grocery store. I
asked a guy walking his dog directions and we started talking and he invited me to come stay on his sail boat. It was about
a mile paddle back west, but for place to stay it was worth it. However I was unable to find where his boat was, but I ran
into Doug Rice which was even better yet. After talking with Doug a bit he offered me to stay on his sail boat which was
great! He got some coffee going and we talked a bit. What is real cool is Doug is in the Coast Guard so he was able to
give some very useful information. I asked his opinion on what would be the best way to communaite of a plan in place if I
capsized or found myself in an emeergey situation. Many people told me an EPIRB would be the best way, but Doug
explained how communication and the coast guard works. Here is an e-mail he sent me a short time after we talked. He
sent it from the coast guard station and it is very informative.
John,
…..Some information that may be helpful:
For Maritime Search and Rescue Emergencies please call the following
numbers:
For the Great Lakes, Gulf and East Coasts:
Atlantic Area Command Center - (757) 398-6390
For the Hawaiian, Alaskan and Pacific Coasts:
Pacific Area Command Center - (510) 437-3701
These two phone numbers will get you CG assistance anywhere in the USA.
They are direct numbers to the Atlantic and the Pacific command
centers, who can coordinate emergency resources with any of the local CG units. This is probably the second fastest way
to get help.
The FASTEST way to get assistance in any costal area is with a VHF
radio. It is faster than an EPIRB, because an EPIRBs signal goes to a
satellite in orbit, which then has to be interpreted by someone at one of the two Command Centers, who then has to make
telephone contact with a local Coast Guard Group, Activity or other Base, who then directs a local CG Search & Rescue
station to deploy resources. (Depending on the size of the area of responsibility, there