On Fort De Soto’s East Beach on the afternoon before the start. One hundred and forty boats were in this year’s Challenge. Photo by Steve Morrell.
WaterTribe Everglades Challenge 2014 St. Petersburg, FL, to Key Largo, Florida Keys, March 1 By Ron Hoddinott Photo captions by Steve Morrell Cover: Randy Smyth on his self-designed and built trimaran, Sizzor, in the lead just north of Anna Maria Island The Everglades Challenge starts in St. Petersburg and ends in Key Largo.
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ne hundred forty small boats of every description sat perched on the edge of the starting line above the high tide line at East Beach in Fort De Soto Park at the southern tip of Pinellas County, FL, before dawn on March 1. Three races were about to start and were being
run concurrently: the best known, the Everglades Challenge, a 300-mile race to Key Largo; the Ultra Marathon, a 64-mile race to checkpoint one of the Everglades Challenge; and the Ultimate Florida Challenge, a race around Florida of 1200 miles. Most racers were entered in the 300-mile Everglades Challenge to Key Largo. There are three checkpoints along the way, but competitors are not required to stay any length of time. Most simply check in and continue. The checkpoints are Cape Haze Marina near Placida, Chokoloskee, and Flamingo in the Everglades National Park. From there, the challenge is to find your way across or around the Florida Bay flats to the Bay Cove Motel in Key Largo. This year there were three Ultimate Florida competi38
May 2014
SOUTHWINDS
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