This morning, Steven and his brother Michael returned to Austin after completing the Texas Water Safari. The water safari is a 260 mile canoe race that runs from source to sea, starting at the mouth of the San Marcos river, and ending in Seadrift, Texas. In order to finish, participants must complete the race in 4 days and 4 hours.
They must also brave extreme heat, no sleep, dams and log jams, gigantic swarms of blood sucking mosquitoes, rapids, canoeing through the night, and rivers full of alligator gars. More on those later.
They don't call it the world's toughest canoe race for nothin'.
I saw him off on Saturday in San Marcos, and had the chance to watch the first part of the race. 115 boats entered this year, and 81 finished. In order to be considered a finisher, you must complete the water safari in 100 hours.
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| Start of the race |
It was a hoot to see the river full of canoes, friends and family lining the bank as folks got their paddles ready and adjusted their gear before the start. There were lots of people with fancy outfits- leggings to protect them from the sun, gloves, and long sleeve matching shirts. There were also some real characters there- rough looking guys with big beards and cowboy hats and shorts with the Texas flag printed on them.
It's the kind of event that people get hooked on- when you look at the registration page it will list the number of times the person has raced, and the number of times they have finished. Some guys have done this for decades. This was Michael's second race and Steven's third. I saw that lots of family had signed up to race- brothers, couples, fathers with their sons or daughters. There were also a good handful of women, both in teams and going it solo. Bad ass! They team that won overall was a 6 man boat full of some of the brawniest men I have seen on a river!
There are different classes of canoes that can enter- aluminum boats, carbon fiber boats, a few kayaks, and you can enter as a solo racer or as a team.
At one of the viewing spots I chatted with a woman who told me her son was racing with the man who might become his father in law.
"Well," she said laughing, "If my son does well in the race then I think he has permission to marry her."
I guess you could say the Texas Water Safari is a good way to separate the weak from the strong- good luck man!
The first recorded trip was completed in 1962 by two Texans named Frank Brown and Bill "Big Willie" George, who traveled from San Marcos to Corpus Christi in a v-bottom boat. They finished in 30 days, and decided the next year to establish a race.
In the old days, you had to pack all your food and water for the duration of the 4 days. If you ran out, you drank river water or tried to refill your jugs from a hose in someone's backyard without getting shot at.
Now there are Team Captains who follow each team in a car, and stop at certain checkpoints to resupply them with water, ice and some food. But don't go thinking this is some kind of luxury cruise.
Steven's parents, who were his Team Captains this year, said that past Victoria they had to stay in their car because the mosquitoes got so bad. Steven corroborated this, saying, "I had to piss running backwards to keep them from biting me!"
His folks did a stellar job, and had no choice but to fully join in the mania, sleeping about 6 hours over the course of 4 days as they drove to meet their sons at sketchy bridges and muddy banks at all hours of the day and night.
On the first day, I tagged along and watched at a few spots along the river in San Marcos. First was Rio Vista Dam, where two guys broadsided a rock in the rapids with their aluminum boat. The boat took water and began to wrap around the rock, and that was the end of the race for them. Apparently it took a fire truck and a winch to get the damn thing out. Here are a few actions shots from San Marcos for your viewing pleasure.
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| Cottonseed rapid |
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| Rio Vista |
The first section of the race covers many beautiful miles of clear blue river, with overhanging trees, numerous onlookers cheering you on and turtles watching from the river rocks. The second night is when it starts to get freaky, brackish water and steep muddy banks, and parts of Texas where it's best to stay in your boat rather then befriend the locals. Oh yeah, and there are tons of Alligator Gars.
Alligator Gars are basically prehistoric fish with two rows of sharp teeth, similar to alligators. They are the largest freshwater fish in North America, with adults averaging 8-10 feet long and weighing at least 200 pounds. They don't tend to bite people, but they are scary as hell. Here are some photos from the internet:
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| My pet Gar |
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| So many teeth! |
They have been known to jump out of the water, and knock into the bottom of canoes as they pass by. They are attracted to light, and apparently jumped at a woman's headlamp last year and fractured her rib. This year, as Steven and Michael were paddling in the dark, their friend called out (pretty calmly) from about 15 feet behind them- "Gar in boat!"
A young 2-3 foot long alligator gar had jumped out of the water, landed in his boat, and was crawling around underneath his seat! No one was bit, but the gar was kicking so hard that it took a few of them to overturn the boat and finally get him out.
So when people ask me if I would ever do the race, I just think about giant mosquitoes, dinosaur fish with teeth, and not sleeping for 4 days, and the answer is decidedly NO.
That said, I love supporting the people in my life and I was impressed by what a friendly community has been formed around the Texas River Safari, and canoeing in Central in Texas.
After 81 hours on the water, and a total of one and half hours of sleep for Steven, he and his brother paddled to the finish line in Seadrift, coming in 43rd overall and 7th in their class.
Today he says he wants to take a break, but I have a feeling that when sign up time comes around, his name may be on the list for next year.
If you're looking for an absolutely crazy, memorable endurance event with a bunch of other maniacs, this might be for you. Signe and Ben? Uncle Eric? All my friends in the Northwest who think rock climbing is hard core . . . Sounds right up your alley, and I promise I'll be there to watch.
The one thing I know for sure- the World's Toughest Canoe Race is not for the faint of heart.
Happy Paddling, y'all!
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| Mike on the left, Steven on the right. They are twins. |
