Patagonian Expedition Race
Restart at Perales
Rob Howard / 21.02.2016
After a very wet and windy night camped out at Estancia Perales the teams chasing race leaders YogaSlackers set off on the race again at 07.00 this morning. During the night no more teams had arrived at the checkpoint so 5 teams camped out waiting for a weather window at dawn, when conditions are least windy, and it duly arrived.
Originally the plan had been to resume at 06.00 but it was still dark then so the restart was put back by an hour and beforehand Race Director Stjepan Pavicic had a briefing with the team captains to explain how he would handle the timings. 'We will adjust all the race times by stopping teams at Balmaceda (PC13) as there is a hostel there and it's the best place for them to wait.' Once the teams were underway he added, 'It is good now we have some kayaking in the race and a strong competition.' His plan is for teams to stop at PC13 to correct their race position. This will mean a long stop for some, especially YogaSlackers who will be there for a very long stay, which may suit them well, allowing Jason Magness to rest his injured hip in a comfortable place before the final trek.
The arrival times at Perales (PC9) were as follows, and these determine the time differences between teams. (All on Feb 20th) YogaSlackers; 12.55 am. (Depart 07.12am) Godzone; 08.20 East Wind: 17.10 Merrell; 17.40 MOB: 18.12 Norcal; 18.50 All the teams seemed happy with this, although Graham Bird of Merrell Adventure Addicts could not really understand how it worked and set off perplexed. 'I don't get it,' he said, 'but we are just going out to race!' Merrell were the most organised and first on the water.
As the teams were still busy preparing at 06.59 Pavicic shouted, 'The clock starts in one minute!' That hurried things up and Merrell were the only ones leaving on time, quickly followed by Godzone.
Team Mind Over Body were much slower getting away as they are not anything like as experienced as the other teams. For a team on their first expedition race to be in their race position is an amazing accomplishment and all those they are against have dozens of big races and many years of expertise to draw on. As teams moved onto the beach to leave the sun rose across the mountains they were heading towards, brightening a gloomy and wet morning.
The hills they were aiming for were still wreathed in cloud and covered in snow and looked forbiddingly steep, and Pavicic has advised them to move as quickly as they could today. 'The weather is not good today,' he said, 'but it will be much worse tomorrow so you should aim to cross the highest, most technical ground today.'
[The continued bad weather may also mean another time out at the Last Hope Camp at PC12 as this is where the second kayak starts. I am heading there today, weather and boats permitting, to report developments in the next couple of days.]
Race Report submitted via YB Tracker
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