You may recognize Baby, Tom’s sea beagle, from her appearance in photos I have run earlier. As always she is on watch, now in Tom’s kayak, in which he plans to paddle in next year’s Everglades Challenge, having completed the challenge this year in his beautifully built Welsford Pathfinder, FIRST LIGHT. I forgot to ask if Tom built the kayak as well. Looking at the fine workmanship of the bow, I expect he did.
Photos at Steve Earley’s site prove that Baby, who may have done more miles this year than I did, is permitted to sit and even lie down when off watch. Scroll down to ‘FIRST LIGHT’.
In doing so you will pass the cover of The Ash Breeze, which shows a story about Circumnavigating in a Small Traditional Craft. How absurd.
Tom writes that at the Everglades Challenge third checkpoint you make the decision whether to go outside into the Gulf or inside on the Wilderness Waterway. If you go outside, you get a shark tooth. Inside a gator tooth. He plans to go inside next year.
I wish Tom his gator tooth, Baby the continued joy of the wind in her ears, and all of you a happy holiday season and a splendid new year.
