Ruta Maya goes high tech

The canoe race known as La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge has always been a curious mixture of well-muscled athletes with their well heeled sponsors and high tech canoes, side by side with starry eyed rookies armed only with rugged dreams and an endless supply of Bengay. If today’s opening leg is any indication, the 2002 version is going to be a classic. News 5’s Janelle Chanona was on the river early and returned to the city with the following story.

Janelle Chanona, Reporting

The activities at the starting line were underway well before dawn. One by one, the seventy boats competing emerged from the darkness, some on foot, others by hand. As the crowds began to assemble on the banks of the Macal River, teams tried to gain an edge while sizing up their competition. And that rivalry came in different shapes.

Julian Sherrard, Sponsor, Black Rock

“It’s cedar and fibre glass and it’s a very unique design. It might be on the radical side, as far as the topside design, but if you take a look at the bottom, it’s very, very similar to like some of the Koop boats and other boats around here. But we did a little special thing on the top, so that the middle man can reach the water easily to paddle.”

Javier Teck, Atlantic Bank Team

“I don’t feel much threatened or afraid of their canoes. We will need to see that in the water, because the performance of the canoe can be different with the men in it.”

For the women in the race, trouble was bound to come from outside the boats.

Elaine Lambert, Swamp Witches

“We’re scared, but it’s fun.”

Janelle Chanona

“What are you scared of?”

Elaine Lambert

“The rapids.”

Janelle Chanona

“What are you guys expecting this year?”

Dorette Wellington, Swamp Witches

“Just to finish…to reach Belize…have a good time and if any prize come up, yes we will.”

The Witches competition had their own ideas as to why they should get a prize.

Cathy Barothy, Baker’s Dozen

“The first year we went we were the Tail Teasers, we’re returning as the Baker’s Dozen. That should at least tell you all that baker’s dozen means thirteen. Thirteen kids between the three of us, we should get a prize for that.”

Baker’s Dozen Paddler

“I only have two.” (Women laugh)

The regular contenders from BATSUB were also planning to make waves in this year’s race.

Col. David Leigh, BATSUB Team

“We’ve brought nine teams, including one from Germany. It’s getting bigger, it’s a great fun activity, and for BATSUB, it’s the highlight of the year really. We’re all for ourselves now, dog eat dog on the river, so now it’s just personal best, as long as we all finish, we’ll have all achieved something, we’ve all have won.”

As race time drew near, every effort was taken to make sure the journey would at least be comfortable. And suddenly, the moment had arrived.

Organiser

“Professional orange line, amateurs white. You’ve got ten minutes, get up there.”

Some of the canoes crumbled in the clash like this collision between the Black Rock and Belize Bank boats. As the unfortunates tried to regroup on the sidelines, most of the crowd had disappeared into the misty morning.

By Branch Mouth, Koop Sheet Metal had already established a lead, with Big H and Black Rock in hot pursuit.

That was still the order as the men were greeted by the welcoming committees at Baking Pot Ferry.

Nine of the ten boats in the lead are made from kevlar, similar in texture to fibreglass, but lighter and stronger, cutting the boat’s weight in half. Top honours for design had to go to Elvin Penner.

Elvin Penner, Koop Sheet Metal Sponsor

“Since the canoe did well last year, quite a few people wanted to purchase the canoe to compete in the race. We sold fifteen new canoes this year and we have three from last year. So this race, we have now at this point in time, eighteen identical designs running. At this very point in time, out of that design we have nine of the top ten in this race right now.”

There was no shortage of canoe design in this year’s race as the boats had as many different shapes as the men and women who paddled them.

But whether it was aerodynamics, technique, or sheer muscle, as the first boat rounded the corner at Banana Bank, it was the team from Koop Sheet Metal, breaking the record of the first leg, set in the 2000 race, by over an hour.

Alex Lisbey, Koop Sheet Metal Team

“We knew that we were going to do the time because we were working out very hard for this race this year. That’s why we knew that we would break the record. Because while we were working out, we had checked that we were doing good.”

Janelle Chanona

“Even when you saw your competitors boat launch this morning, the Black Rock team, the Big H team, you weren’t worried?”

Alex Lisbey

“Yeah we were worried, because we heard they were working out also. We thought that we were going to have tough competition, but we’re hear early and we haven’t seen them yet.”

Janelle Chanona

“With more than a few teams hoping to clinch victory in the 2002 La Ruta Maya River Challenge, the next three days of intense paddling will be a test of stamina and skill, and some might even say sanity. Reporting from the Macal River for News 5, I’m Janelle Chanona.”

At the end of today’s run Black Rock was in second place, Big H in third, Belize Bank fourth, with Pine Lumber Company rounding out the top five. The race finishes Monday morning at the Belcan Bridge in Belize City. This year’s event is being run in memory of Thomas Green, an institution on the Macal River, who died earlier this year.