San Ignacio to the city: 22 hours by canoe
It had all the ingredients of a romantic adventure, including a beautiful river and moonlit night. But, as News 5’s Janelle Chanona reports, that’s where the similarities ended.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
No, it’s not the Ruta Maya…but these persistent paddlers probably wish it was. Believe it or not, these eight men and one woman started out at exactly 4:26 p.m. from the Hawkesworth Bridge in San Ignacio on Sunday…and didn’t stop until they got to the Belcan Bridge in Belize City. They did it in impressive form, even managing a sprint for the finish.
The canoeists finished the one hundred and seventy mile journey in approximately twenty-two and a half hours, arriving in the city today at 2:55 p.m. Their welcoming committee was small, but their pride was well deserved.
The paddlers did everything on the move, including eating. They say darkness, rather than fatigue was their greatest challenge.
Leroy Romero
“The night.”
Janelle Chanona
“Why?”
Leroy Romero
“Coming the run, lot of sticks along the way, obstacles, stones.”
Alex Lisbey
“It’s a big leap to run this race.”
Janelle Chanona
“What was the most difficult part for you?”
Alex Lisbey
During the night. During the night because you can’t see very well you know.”
Janelle Chanona
“What did you do when you get tired?”
Alex Lisbey
“Well we just start, we paddle you know, but a little slower. Yeah that’s what we did when we got tired.”
Janelle Chanona
“Why do this?”
Amado Lopez
“Just volunteer to do it.”
Janelle Chanona
“And how you feel now that you’ve done it.”
Amado Lopez
“I feel great because I reached and I’m not that tired.”
Julian Sherrard, Chairman, Bz. Canoe Association
“At one point at More Tomorrow, which is the last time that we see them for four hours; we’re very concerned about that leg, it’s the longest leg that we don’t see them. If there should be a problem it takes the longest to go and look for them. We’re prepared as possible for any event that should happen during that time. But we feed that well, take a good look at them and see if psychologically if they are prepared for it physically, make sure that nobody’s going hypothermic, which sounds weird because we’re in the tropics and all. But if you get cold you lose body temperature and you can get hypothermia. And so you look at symptoms like that and if necessary you pull somebody out. We didn’t have to do it last night, everybody was in great shape, in great mood and eager to just push on.”
But perhaps most inspiring is the fact that the only female in the three boats is not only a Ruta Maya veteran, she’s only fourteen years old.
Janelle Chanona
“What do you say to all the kids who are your age looking at this right now?”
Francisca Cruz
“To come and join in the race and have fun.”
Janelle Chanona
“What you like about canoeing so much?”
Francisca Cruz
“Well when they stick together and they start to war and when they come in first.”
According to Julian Sherrard from the Belize Canoe Association, this is the dry run for an event called the Belize Extreme Canoe Adventure Race to be held in September.
Julian Sherrard
“It’s not crazy at all, it’s the next step. We started out with some small races up in Cayo for Baron Bliss Day many years ago and out of that the La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge was formed. We raced for five years with that and that’s an annual event and an incredible event that we enjoy participating in. But if you look around the world and what’s happening with canoeing, more and more races are becoming non-stop venues. And they’re people out there who want to race non-stop venues. They enjoy it, I’m not exactly sure why.”
Sherrard is hoping the accomplishment of these brave Belizeans will encourage others to get into a boat.
Julian Sherrard
“What we have proven is that it can be done and it can be done safely. It is an extreme event. What we require is that you have experience in at least one other event similar to this, namely La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge or an international event which would show us that you are prepared for an event like this. So anyone who’s participating in those events before are welcomed to come and participate in this event; we look forward to it.”
Reporting for News 5, I am Janelle Chanona.
The other participants in this race included John Moor, Robert Quilter, Albert Welch, Jesus Cruz and Armin Lopez. The date for the Belize Extreme Canoe Adventure Race has been set for September twenty-first and is sponsored by Belikin Beer. Prospective participants are asked to contact Julian Sherrard at Black Rock Lodge in the Cayo District.
