Tinkerbell

She's here, and she's not small. Old Town makes an XL Tripper: 20ft LOA (length over all) and 41" beam (41 inches across). But although she's big, she still seems lithe, and she carries her 105lbs well. We had her outfitted with 4 seats instead of the factory 2 seats (thanks Austin Canoe and Kayak!). A day trip to Houston to pick her up gave us plenty of time to talk strategy - and there is plenty to talk about. Portages, when to sleep, if to sleep, what to eat, gear... the list goes on. But now, with Tinkerbell in our possession, we can start training and figuring everything out. Two weeks to go before the Texas Water Marathon, a preliminary race of 40 miles between Gonzalez and Victoria. There will be only 3 of the team members going on this one, but for us it's more of a scouting expedition than a race. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed.

Texas Water Safari is Happening

It's been a number of years since the idea of competing in the Texas Water Safari starting circulating amongst myself and a couple of buddies. Every year there is an excuse. This year, there is none. I'll be out of school for 2 months, son at Summer Camp, and just enough vacation time at work to make it happen. And the best part: a team captain that is every bit as enthused as I am. We're not taking the Lil' Longhorn, my burnt orange Coleman canoe. No- our captain has commandeered us 2 other paddlers and has sprung for a 20', four person canoe (or, one that will be outfitted for 4 paddlers anyways). Billed as the "World's Toughest Boat Race", the Texas Water Safari is an annual race via the San Marcos and Guadalupe rivers, from Aquarena Springs in the college town of San Marcos, to the shrimping village of Seadrift on the Texas coastline, a total distance of 262 miles. Check out testimonies, pics, the route, etc. at the website. Keep checking back to see how the training is going. We have about 8 weeks to get ready for 262 miles of dams, sweepers, log jams, rapids, heat, sleep deprivation, snakes, and gators. This will be one for the books.
Picking up canoe this weekend from Houston. It's finally sinking in: what have I gotten myself in to?