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Texas Water Safari 2001

paddling observer's report

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wait for me!
 		Cottonseed Rapid story continues ...



Wait for me!

where is my boat?

Where is my boat?

trafic jam

traffic jam ...

Ginger Turner

"Close to Heaven", boat # 12, Ginger Turner. I had the pleasure to meet her the next day when paddling below Gonzales and admired her steady paddling. Ginger finished in 80:10 h
(1st woman solo).

John Stockwell

John Stockwell's third Safari attempt.

Staples
 		Staples

Approaching the first checkpoint.

Staples

One of three options to portage the Staples dam.

Staples

< Thomas Mendenhall is using a cart to drive his 58lb sea kayak around the Staples dam.





To wheel or not to wheel?

I noticed at least two other teams carrying carts. However, a cart adds extra pounds to your load and can really be used only for a few portages. Thomson Island, Staples, Gonzales? I may enter next year with a rather heavy boat, so it is something I need to think about.

We followed the racers and visited all access and checkpoints down to Luling. At Luling we saw the first boat portaging over the Zedler Dam: the Mynar team.

June 9, 2001 - afternoon
San Marcos

Saturday afternoon I started my training for TWS 2002. For my warm-up just 6 miles from San Marcos to Westefield crossing and 3 portages: Rio Vista, Thomson Island and Cummings Dam. I decided to portage Rio Vista - it was not so easy to carry my long kayak through the crowds of kids playing above and below the dam.

< The racers are gone. San Marcos River is quiet again.

Cummings Dam

< Approaching Cummings Dam just after confluence with Blanco River.

Upper San Marcos looks like a tropical river. It may sound strange but, after paddling in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming for 12 years, San Marcos and Guadelupe Rivers remind me of the rivers and streams I paddled in Poland years ago. Maybe it is that green color ...

June 10, 2001 - safari day 2
My 1st day on Guadelupe River: Gonzales - Hochheim, 38 miles without access points or any significant landmarks.
Gudaelupe River

I passed several paddlers just below Gonzales and then nobody till Hochheim, just deer, turtles and snakes. I managed to maintain an average speed on the water of about 5 mph. The river was really slow and the current was not adding more than 1.5 mph to my speed.

Hochheim. We had a longer talk with John Stockwell's brother who worked as his team captain while John was trying to recover from muscle cramps. He didn't.

We moved our temporary headquarters from San Marcos to Victoria.

The first teams were finishing that night.

June 11, 2001 - safari day 3
My 2nd paddling day on Guadelupe River: Cuero - Victoria, 40 miles. More attractions than yesterday: access points in Thomaston and Nursery, and three sets of rapids near Thomaston bridge.
log jam

<Racers on Guadelupe River.

They choose the slow and shallow leg of the river on the left of this gravel bar. The right leg with its swift current and sweepers had eliminated three teams from the race during the previous night.

Thomaston
 		Thomaston bridge access point
< A paddler and his team captain - boat #32

Hot and humid, close to 100F. Fortunately, I was not racing so I could take longer breaks to cool down in the river and swim. I learned that dealing with the heat and eating under these conditions may be a serious problem during the Safari.

June 12, 2001 - safari day 4
Tivoli
 		Tivoli
the last checkpoint

< Safari paddlers rely heavily on duct tape

Seadrift
 		Seadrift

Several teams are finishing during the award ceremony including solo kayakers: Jack Krohn, < James Quinn and Thomas Mendenhall

Seadrift

<Safari boats at the finish line. My last chance to look at racing boats and examine their rigging.

We left Seadrift at about 3 pm after the award ceremony. We drove along the coast to San Padre Island. After enjoying beach, sea and waves for a longer while we started our return journey to Colorado and ended up for the night somewhere north of San Antonio.

June 12, 2001 - safari day 5
The safari was still going on when we were driving NW through Texas hill country, then flat Panhandle, finally reaching more familiar New Mexico. Stayed the night in Raton just over pass from Colorado.

76 boats finished the safari at Seadrift before 100-hour deadline at 1 pm. 113 teams started at San Marcos.

June 13, 2001
Wooton church
 		In the morning we crossed the Raton Pass and entered Colorado. We spent some time visiting the ghost town of Wooton. Some of its history can be found in Ghosts of the Colorado Plains by Perry Eberhart.

<The Wooton church or rather his remaining front wall is well visible from freeway on northern side of the Raton Pass.

1 pm, Fort Collins. We completed our Texas Water Safari trip:
3000 miles of driving. 84 miles of paddling. We met a great paddling community and we are looking forward to TWS 2002. Commuting from northern Colorado to southern Texas for training and racing will be tough ...


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