Florida Coast to Coast Adventure Race
When Good Manatees Go Bad
Greg Yetter / 25.05.2007
Team Wilson began the race with hopes of good racing, a great time and some fantastic scenery and wildlife sightings. They never expected to have an up close meeting with a full grown manatee in shallow water. When the team arrived at TA 3 they asked the question “what happens when a manatee and kayak meet. Answer: Nothing bad for the manatee� When the team chanced upon the semi stranded mammal it was a brief and explosive meeting. The manatee surged forward creating a wave that engulfed the entire front half of the kayak. This is but one of several stories coming out of the first paddle section of this years race. Team Remedy crossed the St. Johns River without the aid of a rudder on their kayak. It wasn’t until they crossed the river that they could find a place to pull out, fix their rudder and dump the water that had accumulated in their boat.Team Tool is currently in first place overall with Team OAGear/ECaps is leading the Elite division. Only the elite division is in the running for the space in this year’s GoLite/USARA National Championship Race. At the time of this posting no teams had dropped out, disqualified or been short coursed so everyone is on the full course. Of course this is subject to change at any point during the race. The two person and soloist lead the race during the beginning sections of running and biking. But when the teams entered the water the longer waterlines of the two person boats and advantage of two motors (paddles) brought one of the 4 person teams into the top 3.
The weather has been fantastic for the race and more of the same is expected for Saturday. With the daytime highs in the low 80’s and night time lows in the mid 60’s teams are making good time on the course. Teams that competed last year remember the blistering heat and high humidity from the daily rain showers that made it an ordeal love this year.See All Event Posts
