Another post from my digging in paddling memories series: second part of pictures and comments from 2006 Ultimate Florida Challenge – Watertribe expedition style race around Florida including 40 mile portage between St Marys and Suwannee Rivers. Keep in mind that all my comments were written 17 years ago. At that time I had more links to some paddlers blogs and websites. Please let me know if you have any updated links.
Let’s look at paddlers and sailors at the race start in Fort Desoto. See also Part 1.
Ultimate Florida Challenge participants
From the left to right: Pelican, ManitouCruiser, ThereAndBackAgain, Sharkchow, Wizard, AlaskanSeaHorse, SandyBottom, and Doooobrd. Missing; DrKayak and me, Wayfarer.
ManitouCruiser aka Mark Przedwojewski
A veteran of WaterTribe Challenges. I believe that he has completed all challenges in Florida. Mark builds Kruger Canoes. My Seawind canoe #127 was the first Kruger canoe he built.
He finished the UFC in 19 Days, 7 Hours, 38 Min, less than 1 hour behind Warren Richey.
SandyBottom aka Dawn Stewart
She completed the UFC in 29 Days, 13 Hours, 33 Min. She doesn’t say that she would do this again, but she wants to be faster. You can check her old training diary and blog including day by day report from 2006 UFC. Some related articles by SandyBottom:
- Challenge Over! Still Loving the Kruger???
- The Scariest Moments during the Challenge
- I’ve Been Krugerized! My Introduction to the Kruger Dreamcatcher
Wizard aka Matt Layden
Matt completed the official part of the UFC in 19 Days, 12 Hours, 55 Min. Then he sailed further south and crossed Florida again through Lake Okeechobee to return to his home at Jensen Beach.
Sharkchow aka Warren Richey …
I shot this picture before sunrise on March 6 from a small beach near Sanibel bridge. I suspect that Warren was there in the afternoon of the previous day. I have participated with Sharkchow in three WaterTribe events but I have never shot a single picture of him. He and his kayak are not very visible at the start (he needs a more fancy boat), and during the race I have no chance to see him. He published a book about his 2006 UFC experience: Without a Paddle: Racing Twelve Hundred Miles Around Florida by Sea Kayak.
He won 2006 UFC finishing in 19 days, 6 hours, 48 min.
ThereAndBackAgain aka Kevin Dexter
He completed the entire Everglades Challenge stage, but dropped out from the UFC during the second stage. Kevin also participated in the first Everglades Challenge in 2001 but in a sea kayak and won the class 1 in 5d 14h 15m.
Sailing across Tampa Bay
The race seems to be dominated by Kruger canoes with outriggers and colorful sails. Sea kayaks are hardly visible. Who is paddling that Sea Wind with a yellow-green sail? It’s my favorite sail color and quite visible.
Wayfarer aka Marek Uliasz
30+ hours of non-stop driving from Colorado, a few hours of sleep – it wasn’t a good start for the 1200 mile race, but it felt good to be on water.
AlaskanSeaHorse aka Gregg Berman
He completed the Everglades Challenge stage, but dropped out from the UFC at Key Largo.
WaterTribe Chief aka Steve Isaac
And, everybody is gone
Related posts:
- Random Shots and Thoughts from 2006 WaterTribe Ultimate Florida Challenge
- WaterTribe Ultimate Florida Challenge 2006 – Wayfarer’s Short Story
- Pictures from 2006 WaterTribe Ultimate Florida Challenge – kayaks and surfskis
- My Experience in Three Famous Ultra Marathon Paddling Races
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