ARWC 2015 Brazil - Pantanal
ARWC Pantanal is Underway
Rob Howard / 14.11.2015
ARWC 2015 in Pantanal is now underway and teams are paddling up the River Paraguay on the first 50km stage.
The race began on time though it wasn’t a ‘le mans’ style start as planned, the water level was too low so teams lined up on the water in front of the school. They were inching forward, impatient to get started and I’m not even sure if there was a shout to start or whether the momentum just built and the race was off!
All got away well apart from Team 9, who had to return to shore for a new kayak, and in short order the fleet of boats pulled across to left hand bank to get out of the swift flow. They are paddling upstream and the expectation is it will be a 9 to 10 hour paddle, taking them into the first night.
The route is not all up the Paraguay, after PC1 at Porto Laranjeiras they take a much smaller side river, the Riozinho to make their way to Baia Vermelha. This is a huge lake which they paddle almost the length of to PC2 which is also the first transition. This is right on the border with Bolivia.
From there the teams start the trek/pack raft stages, passing over some hills called the Morraira Santa Tereza before dropping down to TA2 at Retiro do Bonfim.
For today they will be hoping for some breeze on the water to give them some relief from the overpowering heat, and they should all be able to look for the side river off the Paraguay in daylight.
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