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.
John