I'd like to invite the good folks on this Forum to take part in the inaugural, Texas 200 Raid style event in June. The basic format is for five days of 40 miles each day with the group camping at designated locations each night.
There will be no specific classes in the event and little likelihood of sleep deprivation needed to pound your way to the next stopping point. As you will see from the website, the route goes, literally, straight up the Intercoastal Waterway, beginning at the far end of the Texas Gulf Coast.

Weather patterns at this time of year are temps in the 80's with regular winds in the 15 knot category that can clock through from the south to east. Sail rig equipped boats will have a distinct advantage in these conditions, but I could see a fit kayaker, outfitted with a hand pumped desalinator (there's very few fresh water stops on the journey) making the complete Raid to the conclusion. I'd love to see a single or double kayak pump-out this journey in the five days scheduled.

I'll be joining the owner of the recently completed, XCR sailing canoe (photo below) and we are looking forward to finding out what this bad boy can do in steady reaching conditions. We might even spring a surprise in the way of a large, water launchable traction kite, just to find out how quickly the boat can move through the water with the bow lifted and double the downwind sail area.

I hope to see as many of you guys as can get there (that'd be you Tejas boys, especially) The Raid concludes with a weekend boater's Messabout at Magnolia Beach where owner/builders of other types of wooden boats will congregate to tell stories, loan-out their boats for test drives and just generally hang together to promote the activity of building your own vessel.

Chris