Sea2Sea 2014

Sea2Sea Adventure Race

February 13-16, 2014

Rev3/MK: Britt Mason, Dave Ashley, Dusty Reppuhn

Rev3: Joe Brautigam and Jeffrey Woods

Report by Britt Mason

The Rev3/MK team started off its AR season by traveling down to sunny Florida to take part in Pangea’s Sea2Sea 72 hour race. 2014’s course would take us from the Gulf side to the Atlantic. We were racing as 2 teams but planned to stick together unless 1 team was forced to slow significantly or stop. Joe and Jeff came over to the dark side this year from Checkpoint Zero, so this was an opportunity for everyone to get to know each other. What better way to do that than spending every moment of the next 3 days together?!

Pre-Race

We met up at the host hotel Coral Sands Inn on Wednesday night for check in, dinner, and the pre-race meeting. A storm came through, forcing everything indoors.

We received an overview map showing all of the TAs and our passport with the breakdown of each leg of the race. There would be 6 paddle, 7 foot, and 7 bike legs. That’s right, count ‘em 19 transitions! A race like this could literally be lost in transition. We made some last minute changes to gear bin organization and then loaded our bins, paddle gear, and bikes into the U-Hauls that would transport our gear from coast to coast. With no maps or gear to tinker with, we got a full night’s sleep!

Race day dawned cool and rainy but still warm compared to the winter the northerners on our team have had. At 0630, we loaded charter buses for the trip from the finish to the start of the race, where the Withlacoochee River meets the Gulf of Mexico. We were given our first set of maps (18 total) that would get us through what looked like the first 24 hours. We spent the ride route planning, getting excited for what the next 3 days would bring. When we reached the coast, we were greeted by high winds and big waves. Our first CP was on an island along the shore, which would require us to paddle in the Gulf. For safety reasons, the start of the race was moved inland to the first TA, Inglis. The paddle would be shortened to an out and back from the TA.

Day 1

After relocating and hearing last minute announcements, we were off! A 1 mile run took us to the canoe put-in. We made great time paddling downstream to the bridge turnaround. The 3 of us felt strong in the boat together. We love our Epic carbon wing blades! The return trip was slower as we paddled against the current. Next up was a 5 mile O course ending at the Lock TA and our bikes. A fast 15 mile road ride took us to the next paddle put-in on the Rainbow River. By now, the sun was out, and it had turned into a beautiful day. The river was crystal clear, and for once we were able to enjoy a river’s beauty in the daylight. We took out at Rainbow Springs State Park. For this leg we were required to walk through the park to gather 3 CPs. You could not leave earlier than 25 minutes after your arrival time. Basically, you had no choice but to enjoy the gorgeous park, including the CP at the base of Seminole Falls. It was a nice break from the usual rush of racing. Back in the boats, we paddled back downstream an hour to Blue Run. From there, it was a short road ride to Pruitt, where we had access to gear bins and could hop on the Florida Trail. During the run, we didn’t attack one of the CPs cleanly, and Checkpoint Zero (CPZ) caught back up to us.

At the Ross TA, we geared up for a solid mostly singletrack section of 35 miles on the OMBA singletrack. It’s rare to get this much singletrack in an adventure race, and these trails did not disappoint. With the recent rains, the early trails had plenty of flooded sections to splash through. Once we got into the Vortex and Santos sections, the trails were in great shape and a blast to ride. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been on dirt trails. Where’s the snow?! Early in the evening, CP16 was a sticking point for us. It was located just off the trail near an old farm plow. We spent 30 minutes or more here, mostly within 200 meters or so of the right trail. Once found, it was smooth sailing for the rest of the section. I seemed to have a knack most of this race for locating the CPs whenever we got within a couple hundred meters of them. “Hey guys, it’s over there.” “Got it!” “I see it!” Maybe my eyes are just younger J

At the Marshal TA, we refueled and set out on a 10k trek through Silver Springs State Park. CP25 was a challenge. It was located just off the Florida Trail; however, this portion of the trail was hardly recognizable as such. It was mostly a swamp, and the only way to follow the trail was to look for streamers on trees. We initially thought it was the wrong trail and tried to reattack but eventually realized we were on track. It was interesting to watch 2 accomplished navigators in Dave and Joe team up. Each has his own style of navigating, so route choice was no necessarily the same, but in the end, they were able to nail almost all of the CPs. After punching CP25, we headed back to the road, which took us to another set of trails and the rest of the trekking CPs enroute to the Silver TA.

We entered transition around 0400 on Friday. Temps were hovering around 40. We layered up for a cold 16 mile paddle down the Silver and Ocklawaha Rivers. I used plastic bags and full rain gear but still got very cold in the last hour of the paddle. Dusty wrapped herself in her emergency blanket and was much warmer. Since this race, I’ve also acquired some Pogies, which are mitts that that go over your paddle shaft. Joe and Jeff each have a pair and swear by them. The fog on the water was very thick, with near zero visibility when using our lights. Luckily, it was a clear night, and the moon was almost full. We paddled in darkness the majority of the time, using the treetops to anticipate curves in the river.

Day 2

As the sun started coming up, we paddled into TA. Here, we received our 2^nd set of maps, which would take us up to the big orienteering section that evening. We basked in the sun while route planning and gearing up to bike. This leg was a 30 mile ride on paved and sandy trails that took us through Ocala National Forest. The first point was CP32, which was a bearing from this beautiful magnolia tree. The passport stated the CP was in the forest 90m at 33 degrees from the tree. We searched and searched. No dice. After 20 or 30 minutes, Dave decided we should search 90m out from the tree in all directions. Sure enough, the CP was actually 30m away at 90 degrees. Nice one, Greg! The rest of the bike was uneventful.

At the Farles TA, we switched to trail shoes for 12 miles along the Florida Trail. Everyone except for Dave. He left his shoes at the last TA. Ouch! It made for a long trek in bike shoes. We got through it and went back to the bikes for a ride to Alexander Springs. We dropped our bikes at the Mud TA, where we would start the bigger trek, and ran down to the put in. This next paddle was fun. I’m glad we did it during the day, though. The river was full of vegetation and various islands and would have been much more difficult at night. We finished a bit before sunset. Then it was back to Mud for our last set of maps.

The race’s main foot-O was in Ocala National Forest. We were given 2 LIDAR maps with a total of 20 CPs, ~18 miles redline. Many trails crisscrossed the map but were unreliable, as we found out early in the evening. We essentially wandered for about 2 hours without finding a CP before getting on track and clearing the course. For the most part, we set bearings and stayed off-trail. The clue for all but 2 CPs was either depression or distinct group. So many distinct groups in one place!! Night 2 was a struggle for me last year, and this one was no different. I took a solid nap on my feet sometime in the middle of the night. Trekking poles are great for sleepwalking! When we got back to TA, we found CPZ already there. They had erased our 2 hour lead and were hustling to get on their bikes once they saw us. We inhaled a delicious pasta meal courtesy of the volunteers here as we packed up for the rest of the course. Game on again!

Shoveling a delicious pasta meal in transition

Day 3

The sun came up as we rode away, and just like that, I was wide awake again. As we approached the first CP in this section, we entered the woods two or three hundred meters too early. We realized our mistake and went back out to our bikes. We continued on the road to the correct attack point and passed CPZ’s bikes in the process. They, too, were short of the point, so we retook the lead. Once we hit pavement, we hit a good paceline to put as much distance as possible between them and us.

We rolled up to the put in for the St Johns Backwaters and found…nothing. No boats, no volunteers. We double-checked the map. Definitely the right place. Started a timer. After about 20 minutes, the canoes arrived. At this point in the race, teams were very spread out, and they were hustling to move boats up the course. We wanted to get in and out of TA before another team arrived, and we made it happen. In the middle of the paddle, we had to traverse a pretty treacherous lake. We were getting hit by 1-2’ waves from the front left side of the boat as we crossed. It felt pretty hairy at times, but I can’t say enough about Dave’s expertise in a boat. He maneuvered us across with no issues. When we reentered the backwaters, we all caught our breath for a bit. The lake and wind had taken a lot out of us. (Dusty also discovered an alternate use for the bailer, since there was nowhere to beach onshore!)

We hopped back on our bikes for a sleepy ride on paved and dirt roads, picking up a few CPs enroute to the beach. People kept falling asleep in the pace line on busy roads to keep things interesting. At the final TA (#18 or 19?) we headed to the beach for a 12k run down the coast. I chose to go barefoot because it felt better than being in shoes by that point. We kept the pressure on since we didn’t know how far back CPZ was. Turns out they ran the road and finished less than 20 minutes after us. Our two Rev3 teams managed to cover the course together and cross the finish line as champions. We even had family at the finish to welcome us back! This race was a great start to our season and even better way for us to get to know each other better as teammates.

Hats off to Greg and the rest of the Pangea crew for putting on another fantastic race. It’s no small feat to move gear that much in an expedition! Also, thanks to our sponsors Rev3 Adventure, PowerBar, Pearl Izumi, Honey Stinger, Epic Paddles & Kayaks, and OutThere Packs for supporting us along the way. You guys rock!