Ecomotion Pro
Capsizes and Crabs
Rob Howard & EcoMotion Reporters / 19.10.2004
It was sunny start on the beach for EcoMotion Pro, with teams shouting above the noise of the helicopter and sails flapping in the breeze, though some of them looked a bit last minute and home made …Once underway, headed northwards towards the town of Jatimane, the unfamiliar boats and breeze did cause a few problems for some, but the Americans in team Epinephrine were soon to the fore. Paul Romero, Karen Lundgren, Ted Devitto and Gary Sutherland have the experience of more than 400 races behind them, so it was no surprise. (The novice in the team is Ted, only 21 years old, but he already has 10 races under his belt.) They had a ‘brief discussion’ with the Czech team who were drafting them but handled the boat well. "We’ve paddled in similar boats in China and the Philippines, so it’s not a problem", said Paul Californian, the team captain.
The teams were headed up the Canal of Jatimane, to reach PC2 (the first one after PC1 was taken out of the course), but struggled to make headway near the end of the paddle due to the low tide in the river Macacua. Epinephrine, Sportzhub.com and Quasar Lontra made up a multinational leading group, but Sequóia, Curtlo Wolf Guará and Eco2 were not far behind entering the river. Once into the city they met their support crews for the first time, for the transition to trekking. But it was a plan that very nearly didn’t’ work.
The support crews had to leave the start at Great Bar and catch a 10am ferry, then make a long drive round to PC2. The trouble was the ferry broke down with an engine problem and returned to the Peninsula of Maraú, worrying the 100 support crew. Fortunately, it took only 15 minutes to get a motor boat to the rescue and the support fleet headed for Jatimane.
Even so, Epinephrine’s support were still unpacking as the team paddled in first. The experienced team raced through the transition, stripping off their wet clothes in public, which in a small Brazilian town (about 600 inhabitants) caused something of a stir! Press Officer Camilia Faraj commented, “For the Brazilians, a very conservative people not accustomed to this type of ‘desinibição’, the scene was considered funny!� See All Event Posts
