fitness paddling: exercise, train, race by kayak & canoe

2007 Texas Water Safari Story by Carter Johnson - Part III

With only 25 miles left, most teams take this opportunity to put on their life jacket for the final ocean stretch as well as emptying their boat down to all but the required gear. I ditched my batteries, extra food, spare paddle, garbage and anything else that wasn’t required.

13. Home Stretch

There was only 20 some miles of river left and 5 miles of bay till the finish. I was actually feeling ok and ready to just get this over with. As I pulled up to the last check point at the Salt Water Barrier (a dam that keeps the ocean from flooding the river at high tide), Richard informed me that I could possibly set a solo course record if I finished in 2 hours and 30 minutes. I knew that in my state this was impossible (nor was I aware of Richard’s trickery yet) but figured I would give it all I had. I blasted out of the Salt Water Barrier like I just started the race and did not let up for even a moment. It was time for war! Absolutely no idea who I was fighting or why I was even there, but it did not seem to matter.

The 20 miles leading up to the ocean was smooth except for a near wrong turn that involved my team captain correcting by running through the woods like a mad man trying to tell me to take the other fork. The river was very narrow with no current at this point.

14. Finish!!

I hit the Ocean right as the sun was going down on day 2 and of course there was a perfect 15 knot sturdy head wind. Duh…. I would have screamed as the feeling of paddling up wind was all to familiar, but I was wiped and decided that eating some M&M’s would be more constructive. After all, it was only 5 miles of this. I did not know the bay and of course unwillingly choose the shallowest route possible. The bottom drag and the wind made it feel like I was paddling through tar.

It did go by rather fast though as I was altogether feeling great all things considered and could smell the finish line. I soon found my self at a mile long sea wall that leads up to the finish. There I saw Richard on his bicycle jumping up and down again like a maniac and screaming into the wind at me.

Without knowing the bay very well, I ended up taking a shallow course that had me only 20 feet from the sea wall for the last mile. The water was only 6 inches deep. Note the small child wading near shore as I pulled in.

15. 7 minutes to go!

I re-adjusted my thinking and pondered 1 mile in 6 inch deep water into a head wind in 7 minutes after paddling for 36 hours non stop. It’s doable I told myself (Ya, right, if my name was Dawid or Oscar or something like that..). I took a deep breath and reasoned it would be simple. I would just paddle hard till I blacked out, then it would be all over with, which would hopefully would not occur before I finished.

What felt like an eternity went by before I heard Richard screams out you have 4 minutes to tie the record!!! It really felt like a seen out of a bad western where the hero was galloping on his horse to save the maiden in distress, but never quite getting there as each time the camera switch back to him, he is still in the same spot. Some 8+ minutes later I crossed the finish line. My body gladly let go and I collapsed off the Surfski. My sister nearly dove into the water along with many others and dragged me out up onto the steps. As my visions started slowly coming back and the ears were registering sounds again, I heard loud cheering. You did it with 5 minutes to spare! I should have known, but Richards 7 minutes was really 15.

My sister dragged me out of the water and onto the stairs. It was great to have family there. 36 hours of nonstop paddling does wonders for your hands! Still time for a smile though.

36 hours and 3 minutes of paddling without a single stop of more than a few minutes was the final deal and put me as first solo and second place overall to a 6 man canoe. My hands were pruned and many of my fingernails were falling off. As always, it was great to be on dry land again and with family and friends. If I ever do this race again, I will try to persuade Sally to let me be her partner or jump in one of the 6 man boats!

16. Worlds Toughest Race?

So is it the world toughest canoe race? I must say that this one was pretty tough. It just keeps on wearing at you and tearing you down. And with stiff international competition, you simply can never stop if you expect to be competitive. What actually made it tough for me is it is just “Short” enough that you can finish without stopping. In the 460 mile Yukon River race, There is 10 hours of mandatory stops. These are life altering! In the 300 mile Everglades race (Ocean vs flowing river), it is simply too long to even consider without sleeping for a few hours each night. The Texas Water Safari on the other hand can be done in a single sitting, which is out right loony.

Here are some of the other boats. Far left is called a “Spenser Eagle” Similar hull to my Surfski, but no deck. Next is a “Spenser Patriot” it is a very fast tandem. The most impressive thoughts is the 3rd boat. It is a speck marathon canoe. It was powered by Jerry Rhaburn, the #1 ranking professional canoeist from Belize. He was only an hour back. Single Blade, no rudder!!! He was joking with me latter that real men don’t need rudders. I think I mumbled something back to him that nor do they need wings on their boat for balance.

Related posts:

• 2007 Texas Water Safari in a Surfski by Carter Johnson - I. Race and Boat
• 2007 Texas Water Safari in a Surfski by Carter Johnson - II. San Marcos and Guadelupe
• 300 Nonstop Miles Solo in a Surfski - 2007 WaterTribe Everglades Challenge by Carter Johnson
• Guinness 24 Hour Flat Water Paddling Record by Carter Johnson on Huki S1-X Surfski
• Carter Johnson on Training for Ultra Marathon Kayak Races
• 2007 Texas Water Safari - Paddle, Swim or Portage Rio Vista?
• Is Ultra-Marathon Kayak and Canoe Racing Growing?
• 2007 Marathon Race Calendar

Technorati tags: surfski Huki SX-1 race Texas Water Safari Seadrift Guadelupe Carter Johnson paddling