There were two USCG rescues from a small boat race on March 3, 2018. #watertribe #evergladeschallenge

The US Coast Guard rescued an Olympic silver medalist in sailing near Sanibel Island, Florida and another man near Casey Key, Florida on the evening of March 3, 2018. Slow Boat Sailing identified both men as participants in the first day of the Watertribe Everglades Challenge race for small boats, which includes kayaks, canoes, and sailboats. Both men, Randy Smyth and Paul Friedman, were in sailboats. Randy Smith, 63, the former Olympian, saw his 20-foot trimaran capsize, 12 miles south of Sanibel Island, Florida before a 29-foot US Coast Guard boat rescued him. The Watertribe Everglades Challenge goes from Tampa Bay to Key Largo, Florida.

A dismasted 14-foot sailboat sits at Crow’s Nest Marina, Venice, Florida, March 3, 2018. A 29-foot Response Boat-Small II boatcrew from Coast Guard Station Cortez transported the sailboat to the marina after the sailboat’s owner, Paul Friedman, contacted the Coast Guard for emergency assistance. (U.S. Coast Guard photo.)

A Coast Guard 29-foot Response Boat-Small II boatcrew from Station Fort Myers Beach rescues Fort Walton Beach native, Randy Smyth, from his capsized 20-foot trimaran sailboat 12 miles south of Sanibel Island, March 3, 2018. Smyth was participating in the Water Tribe Everglades Challenge, a boat race spanning from St. Petersburg to Key Largo. (U.S. Coast Guard photo.)

A Coast Guard 29-foot Response Boat-Small II boatcrew from Station Fort Myers Beach rescues Fort Walton Beach native, Randy Smyth, from his capsized 20-foot trimaran sailboat 12 miles south of Sanibel Island, March 3, 2018. Smyth was participating in the Water Tribe Everglades Challenge, a boat race spanning from St. Petersburg to Key Largo. (U.S. Coast Guard photo.)

USCG photos: On the top left is 14-foot sailboat owned by Paul Friedman. The top right and bottom is the rescue photos of Randy Smyth.

Paul Friedman was not immediately identified as a racer because he was listed as “anonymous” with only his Watertribe name of “RumLime.” Slow Boat Sailing matched the WaterTribe nickname to his “Rougues Gallery” on the WaterTribe site, which identified him as Cork Friedman. Given the time of his rescue, it seems likely that “Cork” or “RumLime”, who was the only monohull sailboat to drop out of the race after the start and its first checkpoint, which was some miles south of the rescue, is Paul Friedman. Paul Friedman was dismasted two miles west of Casey Key in his 14-foot sailboat. The USCG’s 29-foot boat towed Mr. Friedman’s sailboat into Venice Inlet’s Crow’s Nest Marina.

Check out Slow Boat Sailing’s vlog about Venice Inlet below:

The author wrote about his stay in the Crow’s Nest Marina in the book Slow Boat to the Bahamas.

by Linus Wilson