Thrill of the hunt: Twisty, puzzling Miami GeoHunt a tribute to iconic Tropic Hunt

Jeffrey Rothkopf loves geocaching. He loves the thrill of figuring out puzzles so much that he finally decided to start his own hunt.

He calls it the Miami GeoHunt, and he designed the multi-puzzle geocache to mirror the style and feel of the Tropic/Herald Hunt, and to pay tribute to its creators.

Humorist Dave Barry co-created the Tropic/Herald Hunt in 1984 with Miami Herald Tropic magazine’s Gene Weingarten and Tom Shroder.

It’s been a labor of love, Rothkopf said. He and his wife, Michele, won the Tropic Hunt in 1998 with two friends. “I have been talking about doing this for nearly 15 years, so I am so excited to be putting it out there for fans of the Hunt and for geocachers,” Rothkopf, 56, said.

Miami GeoHunt began at 10 a.m., May 14 full of tricky challenges for geocachers. It’s still out there for anyone who wants to play.

Jeff and Andrew Gordon claimed the first-to-find $100 prize on June 1.

“Jeff lives in Boca, but his more-local brother went and searched for the container until he found ground zero,” Rothkopf said. “Jeff Gordon is actually another former winner of the Herald Hunt. He won it on Miami Beach the year you had to give a password to the ‘sand witch.’”

When Andrew Gordon solved the last clue, he posted a photo with a few items in his lap including the logbook, the envelope with the first-to-find prize, and some completion certificates. “He also included a photo he put into the cache of him, his brother, and Dave Barry from back when he and his brother won,” Rothkopf said.

In preparation to make Miami GeoHunt fun for all, Rothkopf hosted a social event at Briar Bay Park where those who had never geocached before could ask questions. He also conducted some run-throughs before the clues were published.

“My beta-testers, who are both huge fans of The Tropic/Herald Hunt, told me that when they were finished, they had forgotten that this hadn’t been the actual Hunt, so I’m hoping that means I’ve successfully captured its essence! It should be a huge amount of head-scratching, lightbulb-moment-inducing fun,” he said on the Miami GeoHunt Facebook page.

Jerry Lynn DellAmico, Stephanie Stubbs Whitney, and Kelly Doan made up the second team to get to the end. Brad Folkers and his wife Vanessa also solved the puzzles, as did Eric Bechtinger.

Miami GeoHunt will be available for people to participate in for many years to come, Rothkopf said. All info and clues are at https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC9R7HW_the-miami-geohunt

“There are completion certificates inside the container for everybody who finds it, and there are also small ‘swag’ items that are often included in larger-sized geocaches,” he said “People can take one of those swag items as long as they put something in to replace it. That’s part of the geocaching experience!”

Rothkopf went out on his recent birthday with his son doing the whole Miami GeoHunt “while I got to rubberneck-watch him working on it.” He said he discovered one stage had been damaged by the weather.

“I replaced it the next day.”

Rowers win national championships

Two Miami Beach Rowing Club Rowers, Grace Matos and Charlotte Paley, who are also recent Miami Beach Senior High graduates, beat the top 2X rowers from around the country by over five seconds to win a National Championship in the Varsity Women’s 2X (Double).

“Bringing home a National Championship title feels unreal,” Grace said. “Not just for my double partner and I, but also for this club that has meant so much to me. All of MBRC lead us to this success.”

The win is on the heels of a Florida State Championship and a Southeastern U.S. Regional Championship in the same boat.

“MBRC has played a huge role in my high school years because of the team, the coaches and the culture,” Grace said. “Training as much as we do, having a group that I know is pushing as hard as I am every day to make the team as strong as possible for nationals, challenges and encourages us so much. Especially when they’re as competitive, supportive and uplifting as we are at MBRC!”

Grace and Charlotte will be attending Duke University and Harvard University, respectively, where they were both recruited and will continue their rowing careers.

The Miami Beach Rowing Club is small, by national standards, and serves as a local non-profit club that caters to adaptive rowers, adults, and local youth.

The Club Head Coach is Vladimir Matovic and the Head Varsity Girls Coach, who coached the National Championship boat, is Eduardo De Camillis.

“Notably, Coach Eduardo is a retired surgeon who returned to his passion and family heritage coaching rowing,” said Peter Matos who is a member of the board of directors and Grace’s dad.

“The club trains at the Ronald W. Shane Center on Indian Creek, which was founded and is still supported by Dr. Shane, who in many ways remains the heart and sole of the club and its mission,” he said.

Check out www.rowmiamibeach.com. Learn To Row classes are offered each month.

Free bully dog services

Friends of Miami Animals Foundation has partnered with Miami-Dade County Animal Services and Wings of Rescue to launch “Operation Pit Stop” during July. The effort will provide free spay and neuter services, vaccines, and microchipping for over 500 Miami-Dade County bully breed dogs.

Yolanda Berkowitz, FoMA president and founder, said it has always been her group’s mission to help pets: “I am grateful that through Operation Pit Stop we will help bully breed dogs. Through this campaign we also hope to share information with the community on the importance of spaying and neutering pets and the many benefits it provides to not only pets but to the community.”

Services will be provided at the Miami-Dade County Animal Services Department clinic in Doral, at the Animal Services Cutler Bay Clinic, and through weekend events via the Mobile Animal Clinic (MAC).

Miami-Dade County residents can register at www.operationpitstop.com or call 311. In addition to free health services for their pets, bully breed owners can enter to win cash and other prizes.

Write to ChristinaMMayo@gmail.com with news for this column.