Distance: 262 nautical miles (301 land miles).
Total time: 7 days, 14½ hours.
That was the common reaction when we told folks we were planning to participate in the WaterTribe Everglades Challenge, a 300-mile adventure race from Tampa Bay to Key Largo. When you think about paddling in Florida, you probably imagine sunny skies, gentle breezes, and turquoise waves lapping softly against white sandy beaches.
And true, some parts were like that.
—Paddling down the Gulf of Mexico in pitch-darkness, with a fantastically realistic hallucination of an old English forest on your right. Every so often you glance into the grey, ghostly “trees” and see lights twinkling among them. Then you look down… and your headlamp illuminates a pair of sharks silently crisscrossing under your boat. You realize with a jolt of fear that they are no hallucination!
Lovely? For sure. Relaxing? Not so much. Exhausting, exhilarating, challenging… yes, all those.
The trip roughly divides into “before front” (Segments 1-4) and “after front” (Segments 5 and 6). Before a strong weather front blew in, wind and sea conditions were (largely) not an issue. We took the most direct route and paddled as quickly and consistently as possible. Our primary challenges were sleep deprivation, dealing with the extremes of heat and cold, and night navigation—tough enough, but something we quickly learned to handle.
Once the front began to affect us, wind and sea conditions dictated our route. To avoid, or at least minimize the impact of, the conditions, we took a longer round-about route and so slowed down considerably in our progress toward the finish. Cumulative sleep deprivation was also now taking a major toll. “After front” was definitely the most challenging, but also the most gratifying.
A few photos from the entire race were here.
This entry was posted in Kayaking and tagged Everglades, Everglades Challenge, Florida Kayaking, Kayak Expeditions, Kayak Race, Kayaking Dangers, Sea Kayaking, WaterTribe. Bookmark the permalink.
Looking forward to the full stories!
Oh well if the sharks were only 2-3 feet long they wouldn’t kill you just have a chew on your hand for snack.
Searching for ways to thank you two for this wonderful winter escape. My exercise level didn’t compare to yours but I did experience some lost sleep following your progress. I wanted a real time video broadcast from helmet cams! Ha! That will probably be possible some day.
Looking forward to the “log” of your adventure.
Amazing. Well done on taking on the challenge!
The kayaking doesn’t sound that relaxing, but I know the views were spectacular. I love the gulf side of Florida. So much nature to enjoy.
Oops, a slip up. Alfie the dog wanted a ball from under the sofa…of gear to carry. I want to hear (read) more and more pics, please.
still following along on your adventures…I think I have found…that this is not for me!…but, so proud of you two for tackling such an experience!… enjoying your posts!
What an adventure! Great photo.
Yes, trust Vlad to take photos…. even in the middle of the race!
Wow, I’ve been enjoying following your adventure.
Thanks, plenty more to come!
It was a pleasure to meet and get to know Vlad and Johna.
You impressed me starting at Fort Desoto, then near Chokoloskee, at Flamingo, in Florida Bay, the finish line, and the after race activities. And now you impress me with a speedy and well done blog posting.
Congratulations on this great achievement. It was esp impressive to be done via commercial flight, with a folding kayak, a rented boat, and no sail power. The way you stayed up all night is amazing.
In case you haven’t seen them, Patrick, I’ve posted a preliminary selection of photos from the race here. And many more photos remain to be sorted out!
I know the boat Johna rented well. That was impressive. The folding boat may be even more impressive.
the sharks . . . that would scare me.
Of course, they DID make me think twice before stepping out of the boat to pee…..
Very interesting. I could never do anything like that in a million years.
Sounds like a trip to tell stories about years on!
I sure enjoyed following along your journey! Where will your next adventure be?
We completely agree! :-) Thanks, Maureen!!
Wow, what an adventure. I can only attempt to have a glimpse of your Florida experience by reading Carl Hiassen’s many books and how he describes the various landscapes you went through.
Great to meet more EC paddlers from NYC metro area. I did it last year.
Yes, we’ve come across you on the WaterTribe site and also on your blog. Great to meet you, likewise!!
There’s at least one other paddler in NYC that we know who’s done the EC: Tim Gamble. And there are probably more.
DolphinGal, who has completed 4 challenges, is also from NJ, we believe, but further south, Green Bank.
wow sounds like one epic adventure!
wow what an experience, we love Florida having holidayed on several occasions, particularly the area you kayaked we aim to visit again next year.
My last comment was a bit tongue-in-cheek. We had a great time, and it was actually a pretty comfortable trip—mainly because the weather was pretty good. There was only one major storm, but we were pretty sheltered inside the Everglades just then….
Wonderful! I took a new job and have certainly been away too long!
I am not but I will be in the future Vlad. Hugs to you two!
There’s going to be a book, right?
No two-foot florida shark can take a New Yorker. ;-) This makes a marathon seem like small potatoes.