Miscellaneous

The Texas Water Safari: Prelude

By Chris Stevenson

Today is the last day I'm going to have internet access until Monday, June 21st, so this is just a short prelude to what is probably going to be a string of long posts about my experience in the Safari.

The Safari starts on Saturday at 9am at Aquarena Springs in San Marcos.  It ends 262 miles later at Seadrift on San Antonio Bay.  I'll be covering that time and distance paddling a 24 ft. Spencer Raptor carbon fiber and kevlar canoe.  I'll be paddling through the night and hopefully nonstop until the end, although we may end up sleeping a couple of hours.  Most of you know that I have spent nearly an entire year preparing for this event.  I have spent an extreme amount of time and effort learning everything I can about anything and everything related to the Safari.  I have also spent a lot of time getting ready physically, having lost 12 lbs. in the last 6 months.  And I am ready.  As ready as I can possibly be while still holding a job and keeping relationships with people, that is.

Some of the pleasures we are going to experience include:  possibly getting rammed by other boats during the crowded start, portaging our boat loaded with supplies over 20ft. tall concrete dams, millions of stumps and rocks any one of which can damage our boat and end our race, logjams covered with ants and snakes that you can fall through and get pinned under and probably drown, extreme fatigue, muscle and joint pain, vomitting, hallucinations, mud, alligator gar that weight over 100 lbs, alligators, mosquitoes, wind and waves in the bay.

I have projected, based on a lot of research and number crunching, that we will finish the race after 62 hours at 11pm on Monday night.  I also project that we will come in 25th place overall out of 106 boats.  These estimates can vary widely, of course.

The link to follow live results is here:  http://www.on3go.com/Competition/display.aspx?id=833

I've been trying to come up with a canned answer for the question of "Why?"  I mean, it's a legitimate question.  Why would someone subject themselves to certain suffering and possible debilitation or even death like this?  So far, the best thing I've come up with is something that sounds like a cliche', but I actually made it up - "Live every day like it is the first day of the rest of your life and there is no tomorrow."  I think I pretty much live like that and does the most to explain "Why?" in the fewest words.

I'd ask you to wish me luck, but I don't believe in it.  I'd ask you to pray for me, but I think there's only a .5% chance that it would do any good.  Instead, hope for the best and get ready for the stories - I think it's going to be epic.

Full post as published by Cursed With Ambition on June 12, 2008 (boomark / email).