Florida Coast to Coast 2006

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Last thoughts on this years race

Greg Yetter / 05.06.2006

On Friday May 26, 2006 at 1:00 am the Florida Coast to Coast race was officially underway. Racers paddled out into the calm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and began a grueling race across the state of Florida. Competitors utilized kayaks, bicycles and their own legs to cover nearly 300 miles in heat, humidity and rain over three days.

Starting with the initial kayak paddle racers made their way to Homosassa to TA1 and switched to their bikes for a short section, short only when measured out against the other sections. Once to the bike drop, teams left their bikes for the support teams to pick up, and began a long trek to TA 2. This is the section named by a racer as the “Suntan Death March� due to the unrelenting sun and heat.

Team then climbed back onto their bikes and began a 125+ mile bike leg to Lake Hatchineha. With over 15 CP’s during this section, navigation took on prime importance as racers tried to find all the CP’s. Once to TA 3 competitors took to their kayaks again as they paddled through some beautiful sections of Central Florida heading Southeast toward their final goal of the Atlantic Ocean and the beaches of Sebastian. A quick detour on Lake Kissimmee to perform a short orienteering challenge was followed by more paddling to Lake Jackson and TA 5.

From the Lake Jackson TA racers began on foot navigating their way through the lowlands finding the CP’s and trying to combat the high heat. In this section race organizers being concerned with racer safety, set up a water aid station in a shady section of the course. Here racers could take a short rest and refill their water bladders to help combat the elements.

At TA 6 in the San Sebastian area racers took to their kayaks for the final time to paddle their way to the finish line and a well deserved rest. The race leader was at the finish line at 0638 on Monday morning. Team Mighty Dogs ably defended their title and showed great style while doing so. A commanding 8+ hour lead dwindled to just shy of 2.5 hours on the final day. Teams Jay Challenge and OAGear.com were second on the beach followed closely by other teams to complete the race this year.

The race organizers would like to thank the racers and volunteers who made this years’ race a great event. Also, the organizers would like to thank the following agencies who allowed the event to use all or parts of their areas:

St. Johns Water Management District
Florida State Parks and Recreation
Withlacoochee State Forest
Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area
St. Sebastian River State Buffer Preserve
Lake Kissimee State Park
Fish and Wildlife Comission
Florida Department of Forestry
Department of Environmental Protection

With a race like the Florida Coast to Coast having a great run this year, one can hardly wait to see what next year has in store.
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