By Johna Till Johnson and Vladimir Brezina
Photos by Vladimir Brezina
We completed the 2014 WaterTribe Everglades Challenge in 7 days and about 14½ hours. We set no records—in fact, we were among the last to finish. But in a race in which many worthy competitors don’t finish, simply completing the course within the 8-day time limit felt like a “win”. (Plus, we got snazzy sharktooth necklaces to commemorate the event!)
As expected, it was quite an adventure: Bright sunshine, dark nights, wind, rain, laughter, tears, friendly and scary creatures, sleep deprivation, hypothermia, hallucinations… and water, 300 miles of it. We made friends and discovered many things that worked, and quite a few that didn’t.
Our writeup is forthcoming, but meanwhile, here are some of the photographic highlights (click on any photo to start slideshow):
Tension builds in the predawn darkness
Dawn over Tampa Bay
There’s a sandbar just offshore that we have to drag our boats over
… on a windsurfer
Backlit by the sun
A lovely morning to be out on the water
Approaching Anna Maria Island
Friendly WaterTribers
Out in the Gulf with the sailboats
The wind dies and we overtake them (later they will overtake us)
A friendly sea creature
In the afternoon, the wind (fortunately, a tailwind) picks up
Sparkling in the sun
A mass of silver
Today, we paddle on the “inside”… But what’s this??
A swimming sea hare
We paddle down the Intracoastal Waterway
We stop for dinner on North Captiva Island. Then we continue…
Dawn hunt among the highrises
… just big enough for one tent
… precious hours before we have to get going again
We paddle on
… we are still paddling
A brief nap on the beach
We land on one of the Ten Thousand Islands
We paddle on down the line of the Ten Thousand Islands
A marker…
Another evening on the water…
High clouds catch the last rays
Dawn in Chokoloskee Bay
We glide over the still water
We paddle down the line of the Ten Thousand Islands
Whale skull at Highland Beach
This is worse than The Nightmare! :-)
Out in broader waterways again… but the storm front overtakes us
Dinner and boat repair on the Harney River chickee
Dawn in the Joe River
Dead calm, for the moment
We surf the last few miles across Whitewater Bay and, soon, Flamingo
The passes are well marked
Markers mark the passes
And he’s got a fish!
We chat… before he moves ahead
Shoals grow new mangroves
It’s not all blue and green
Last evening over the teal waters
We watch the last sunset of the trip
We paddle on into the deepening colors
After 300 miles, the finish is just a couple of miles away!
Update March 17, 2014: Our writeup begins here.
Vladimir Brezina (RIP) 
Johna Till Johnson
Wind Against Current 
Vlad and Johna, congratulations many times over! 300 x 2, I like that! I followed your progress and it was hard to type with my fingers crossed for you that last day as it got closer and closer to 8 days. What an epic achievement. Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos, like so many others I am really looking forward to your posts when you have time to share the best of times and worst of times.
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Thanks so much for following our progress!! We are touched by how many people did… :-)
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I love how you get away from it all
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And it really was all—no internet, cell phone service, electricity, hot showers, potable water… :-)
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So glad you survived! Beautiful pics. Couldn’t help but contrast this with our Winter Park boat tour – that’s more my speed :)
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You got it!—It’s all about survival… ;-)
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You’ve chosen such a lovely way to see the world. But that tent has claustrophobia written all over it for me. ;-) Thanks for sharing … Dorothy
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It’s a three-person tent (and so very comfortable for two): not claustrophobic at all! For that, try a bivy sack—
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Wow, congrats! I admire your courage, fortitude, stamina, bravery, and adventuresome spirits! Just wow!
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Thanks so much, Babsje!! Full writeup to come! :-)
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:-) Looking forward to it!!
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Wow! Congratulations to you & Johna! What an accomplishment. You must be proud of yourselves. Did you go and get massages afterwards?
I’m glad that you took the time to take pictures along the way. They’re beautiful! I’m looking forward to your writeup.
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Yes, I kept taking pictures, even though in a serious race I guess you shouldn’t…
Writeup coming up very soon! Thanks, Miki!! :-)
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Pingback: Everglades Challenge, Overview | Wind Against Current
My apologies for being late with this. What a great achievement! Congratulations! :-)
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Thanks so much, Jackie!! :-)
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Thank you again Vlad and Johna. Crossing your paths during the race was a blessing for me! Cheers!
Mike (Rawhide)
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You are most welcome, Mike! I am glad we were able to help in a small way at least. That’s what the WaterTribe is about, we, like you, are learning. It would be a very different race if one had to do it alone—and you weren’t alone.
I hope our paths will cross again soon. Maybe at EC2015? ;-) Or we may get crazy and do a downriver paddle, who knows? :-)
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Krásné fotky, úžasný výkon. Blahopřeju! :-)
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Děkuji mockrát! :-)
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Some great shots as usual. I especially liked to two dawn shots. Simply marvelous. Sounds pretty grueling. I’ll be looking forward to reading about it. And thanks for dropping by my blog. I’m glad you dropped by so this time I could remember to follow you. :) I’m not a kayaker myself, but you spin a great tale and take wonderful photos.
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Thanks—and thanks so much for following!! We’ll get the full story out, slowly but surely… ;-)
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Take your time; get it right. :)
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Great job!
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Thanks!!
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Such a beautiful adventure, thanks for sharing the photos, it was like being there:)
Lakshmi
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You are most welcome! Thanks, Lakshmi! :-)
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Blogging has been sidelined by other ventures, so I am very belated with heartfelt congratulations on a real achievement. Planned for by both, longed for by both, accomplished by both. Bravi! Now I can catch up with the rest of your posts —
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Thank you so much!! And not belated at all—we are still writing it up (beginning here), and are only half way through… :-)
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always love seeing your pictures- they are so colourful ;)
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Thank you!! :-)
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