Moss aiming for 20th finish in Texas Water Safari

Nearly all of the 140-plus boats that cast off from the Meadows Center Saturday morning for the 59th annual Texas Water Safari (TWS) have a goal they want to achieve. To place first in their class. To hit a certain time. To just finish the “World’s Toughest Canoe Race.”

For Hoyt Moss, it’s to reach Seadrift for the 20th time.

The Water Safari veteran first tried paddling 260 miles down the San Marcos River on a dare in 2000, along with his roommate at Southwest Texas State, Grant Jacobs. Their aluminum canoe wrecked into a log in high water and folded in half, knocking them out of the race. They sat in the water for 45 minutes before being rescued.

But they signed right back up and earned their first finish in 2001 in 93 hours and 25 minutes. They kept coming back afterward, too.

“If you can make it through the race, everything’s better the rest of the year — hot showers, toilet paper, bug-free,” Moss said. “You know, it’s kind of like a penance, I guess. Like crawling on your knees to the church.”

Texas Water Safari racers get out of their canoes to port the boats over the waterfalls at Rio Vista Park. Photo by Gerald Castillo

In 2012, in honor of the Water Safari’s 50th anniversary, the TWS board introduced a Hall of Fame to recognize some of its most well-traveled paddlers. There are three levels to the Hall of Fame: the 2,600 Mile Club, the 5,200 Mile Club and the 7,800 Mile Club.

Moss was one of the 50 inaugural inductees of the 2,600 Mile Club. He’s now looking to become one of the rare few to climb into the next tier — per TWS’ website, there are currently only 16 members of the 5,200 Mile Club.

“The worst part is (Friday) night because you can’t sleep. You want to sleep but you’re worried about if you’re going to get up in the morning too late or you’re going to feel like crap in the morning. That’s the worst part about it,” Moss said. “You know, things can still happen to keep me from getting in that boat tomorrow morning. That’s what gets you the most, the anticipation. My heart’s sputtering now just talking about it.”

The only other year Moss didn’t finish was in 2002. Jacobs, his partner, suffered from extreme heat exhaustion and began hallucinating. Moss said Jacobs “saw Peter Pan.” The pair had to pull their boat out of the water.

Moss had another close call in 2011 when Jacobs chose to get out of the canoe and remove himself from the competition as they were crossing the final leg of the Safari in the San Antonio Bay. Moss completed the race by himself, clocking in at 74 hours and 14 minutes.

The former teammates haven’t said a word to each other since. Jacobs did not respond to a request for comment left via voicemail.

“I really think we would make amends if we saw each other face-to-face,” Moss said.

Moss now works in the Parks Department for the City of Junction. He helps put on a 30-mile kayak and canoe competition on the South Llano River called the “Up & Back Boat Race.”

But aside from that, and some recreational rowing, Moss doesn’t train for the Safari. He just tries to learn something different every time he makes it through the race. The Safari itself is his training ground.

That’s been especially helpful for Moss’ new partner, Jay Jackson, a doctor from Junction, who will be paddling in his third Safari this year.

“Hoyt is stubborn as a partner, but he’s great. We’re good friends in Junction, we work well together as a team. He’s got a lot of experience, obviously. And so he knows a lot of the nuances and knows how to prep you for what you need to do,” Jackson said. “I think a lot of people, they start hurting a quarter of the way into it and think, ‘I can’t do this.’ And so to have somebody back there who says, ‘Yeah, that’s how it is,’ and that you can do it, and you’ll be fine on the back end is huge.”

The Texas Water Safari will conclude Wednesday at 1 p.m. in Seadrift. Moss and Jackson plan to finish the race well before then in their aluminum canoe named “Ze Pearl.” The duo placed 33rd overall and third in the Aluminum class last year with a time of 56 hours and 58 minutes.

Instead, by 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Moss hopes to be the newest member of the 5,200 Mile Club.

“I’m more scared not to get it, you know?” Moss said. “I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t get it and something happened where we had to get out because we’ve worked so hard to get up there. And then you’d have to wait a whole nother year to try again. But yeah man, it’d be incredible. And first place in Aluminum would be great, too. I’d like to have both of those.”

Texas Water Safari paddlers cast off from the Meadows Center on Saturday. Photo by Drew King