We will NOT drown!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Gear list

Personal
(my list)
-hat
-sunglasses
-strap sandles
-rain coat
-long underwhere
-fleece
-bag
-layers layers layer
-wool socks
-sun screen
-gloves
-cold meds.
-blanket
-instruments
-good flashlight
-camera
-journal
-soap, and detergent
-nail clippers
-mess kit
-good knife

(I'm trying to pack for cold and hot.. north and south)

MUST BRING OWN LIFE VEST. (recomend type 3) I will pantz anyone on the water caught without it.

Things needed for our lovely raft

-VHF radio- to call other boats
-Marine rated fire extingushier
-out board engine (or two) hoping for a 4 stroke.
-spare parts^^ (cannot use auto parts on marine engine, unless we want to explode)
-Running lights, one 360arc white 90red 90green
-A big bell, horn, or air horn. (I'm thinking we can impromise)
-solar panel rig some kind of energy source, recharge batteries off motor
-two marine batteries (one running lights, two engine start)
-mosquito netting
-good tarp/canopy
-lots of rope/lines
-tool kit
-compass
-charts, chart box
-Library (wouldn't that be fun)
-stove
-Head (some sort of composting toliet?)
-first aid kit
-water barrels

As I think of more I'll just add it right on.. I've been saving up a little, but these things all add up. If you see something on creigslist or somewhere cheap we should jump on it. I want to get a radio new. A good radio is necessary if we get in a jam.

Good news about the law.

Just talked to a big wig coast guard man, and when I asked him about getting hasseled by the po, he says not to be worried. "there isn't much down there.."

He just warns us about basic saftey and barges.

Got it. We will not drown.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Angola bound. "Alcatraz farm"

We will be floating right on by the" largest maximum security prison in the US".

32 people die a year on average, and were buried in cardboard boxes until someone fell through the bottom. Today, modern times, prisoners make their own coffins...

Several people have drowned trying to escape by swimming across the mile wide Mississippi river.

Burl Cain, warden, "you've got to keep the inmates working all day so they're tired at night."

I stumbled over this while looking at the charts... it takes up the majority of chart 114... a mile wide. They are making a replica off highway 119 as a "tourist attraction" with a petting zoo. "Hey kids lets go look at the bad guys!"

http://leadercall.com/local/x1037667292/Sheriff-Hodge-looks-to-expand-penal-farm

Reply from the rafting Neutrinos

Hi
Thanks for the kind words. You are quite right not to underestimate the
power of the "Mighty Mississippi." Below you will find some links to
parts of our site that you may not have seen, which will answer most of
your questions so far.
If after reading all this, you have further questions, please feel free
to write again.
1. basic raft construction for the river:
http://www.floatingneutrinos.com/Other%20Rafts/construction_of_the_vilma_b_for_.htm
2. photos of how we built the Mississippi River raft:
http://www.floatingneutrinos.com/Vilma%20B/vilma_b_photo_gallery.htm
3. log of our Mississippi trip, starting at St. Louis. The log reads in
an upward direction, but there is a link at the end of each entry, to
jump you to the next entry.
http://www.floatingneutrinos.com/Vilma%20B/vilma_b.htm#August%2024,%202000,%20a%20few%20miles%20below%20St.Louis,%20MO
Best wishes in your dreaming and doing,
Betsy

I wrote:

Hey there!

Sweet rafts. Grand adventures. A solid crew and I are heading down the Mississippi this spring, from St. Louis on (no dams from there down), and was wondering if been down that way or have any pro-rafting tips for us. I admire your courage and all your work.

We're thinking of constructing a caravan of pontoon boats out of whatever we find in Detroit. We have a small budget, so enough for some basics like life jackets and a motor.. I would love to do without power, but its a tricky game when having control means being faster than the river. Control seems to be a valuable thing when up against a beast like the Mississippi.

I'm so curious. What do you recommend for a raft build? What are some of the challenges that you had to overcome on your adventures?

In rafting solidarity,
Faith