Sarasota to Key West

[JoJo1117]

I found this article in the Keys Newspaper yesterday.

http://keysnews.com/node/9323




The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
By ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff


Five young men from South Florida plan to leave a beach near Sarasota Friday and travel about 200 miles south by southwest, arriving in Key West by nightfall -- on their kiteboards.



And if there be fair winds and following seas, the five men should break the world record for distance covered on a kiteboard in one day. The adventurers are trying to raise awareness about ocean environmentalism through their sponsor, Greenpeace.



"For us, our whole lives revolve around the ocean," said Matt Sexton of St. Petersburg. "To attempt something like this is bigger than us. It will be pretty cool to get our names in the Guinness [Book of World Records], but we wanted something bigger and better to come of it."



Sexton will be joined by Tripp Hobbs, Chase Kosterlitz, Alex Moore -- all of St. Petersburg -- and Sean "Superleg" Reyngoudt of Summerland Key. The men will be battered in rough seas and packed down with satellite tracking devices, emergency homing beacons, water, energy bars and walkie-talkies.



"It's not going to be fun," Reyngoudt said, smiling.



All five men have lived near the sea their entire lives and said they have seen Florida waters change for the worse. Moore sprang into action after spearheading the adventure and called Greenpeace, which will provide chaser boats and keep a safe eye on the kiteboarders.



Four of the kiteboarders met with Phil Kline, senior ocean campaigner for Greenpeace, and Millard "Mike" McCleary of Reef Relief at the latter's Greene Street office on Wednesday. The men hope the adventure will prompt more people to sign a petition that will be hand-delivered to President-elect Barack Obama, asking that coastal and ocean conservation be a priority in the new administration, Kline said.



"We're asking all our visitors to sign the petition," McCleary said.



Moore said he and his colleagues want more people to notice what is happening in the oceans. Reyngoudt called the amount of trash visible from Marathon to Key West "shocking."



"As kiters we've had to deal with dirty water, red tide, dead fish, and we're really just tired of it and we want to use our sport to help solve the problem," Moore said. "Talking with Phil really inspired us."



The men kiteboarded from Smathers Beach to Boca Grande and back last weekend as part of their preparations for the big trip. The group operates the Triton Kiteboarding School through their company, Water Culture Inc., in St. Petersburg.



The men are already veterans of other distance kiteboarding excursions, having participated in the 60-mile Jupiter to Fort Lauderdale and Tampa Bay Kite Masters race.



And the Sarasota-to-Key West run is but part of a much larger vision to kiteboard to the Keys from Jekyll Island, Ga., which will be done in shifts, Moore said.



"Coming here is a pleasure for us," Sexton said of the Keys. "The water in Tampa is filthy. Tripp landed on a conch shell in St. Pete about two months ago and his foot swelled up to the size of a football. The level of infection caused by dirty water is rising. What used to be clear water is sludge and mud. It's just filthy."



Smathers Beach is not far behind, Reyngoudt said.



"It's depressing and we want to change that," Moore added.

[conchxpress]

Good luck to all the riders. Stay warm and hydrated. Watch out for all the crab traps in Florida Bay.

Frank

[Steve-O]

any word?