Not Just a Canoe Race, a Water Safari
17 Jun
We’ve been intrigued by the reports coming out of south Texas about the Texas Water Safari, billed “The World’s Toughest Canoe Race.” The race, which originated in 1963, runs 260 miles and is contested non-stop.
A six-man team headed by Andrew Stephens and which included some “ringers” imported from Belize won the race down the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers in 46 hours, 23 minutes over the weekend.
The New York Times ran a story in March about the event, Stephens, and colorful 1976 Water Safari champion Butch Hodges HERE. Stephens, it turns out, was beaten in 2007 by a team stocked with paddlers from Belize. Since then, he’s raced in the country himself and powers his sqaud, in part, with natives of the country.
The Houston Chronicle ran THIS story while the race was still underway, highlighting some of the elements that make the Water Safari so difficult — sleep deprivation, fire ants, triple-digit temperatures.
Finally, there’s a video clip about the event, HERE, thanks to News Channel 8 in Austin. Conditions for this year’s race –thanks to low flow in the river and high temperature — were said to be some of the worst ever.
