Racers reach Seadrift, ending Texas Water Safari

The 2022 Texas Water Safari came to a close on Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Bill Sanders Memorial Park in Seadrift.

High temperatures and low water marks took a toll on many of the paddlers in the already-rugged 260-mile race — of the 138 teams that cast off from the Meadows Center in San Marcos on Saturday, just 71 reached the finish line.

The six-man team “Black Flag,” made up of racers Andrew Condie, Clay Wyatt, Gaston Jones, Ian Rolls, Logan Mynar and Weston Willoughby, and team captains Jill Wyatt and Fred Mynar, took first place overall and in the Unlimited class, completing the Water Safari in 40 hours and 56 minutes.

Two other unlimited teams claimed rounded out the top three: “G. O. T. A.,” featuring racers Chris Issendorf, Kyle Issendorf, Nick Walton, Tim Rask, Tommy Yonley and William Russell, and team captains Wayne Thorpe and Steven Rask placed second with a time of 42:40. And “The SMRF’s,” made up of Dodd Yeager, Jason Cade, Shannon Issendorf and Virginia Parker, and team captains Cecile Bugge and Kaitlin Mynar, finished third at 45:45.

Andrew McEwan was the top solo finisher at 48:31, placing fourth overall and claiming the Men’s Solo Unlimited class. Salli O’Donnell won the Women’s Solo Unlimited class and placed 11th overall at 65:57. None of the three entrants in the USCA C-1 class completed the race.

Brian Jones and Nate Tart won the Tandem Unlimited class and fifth overall, finishing in 51:47. Holly and William Orr completed the race in 64:22, winning the Mixed Tandem Unlimited class and placing ninth overall. Joe and Libby Geisinger finished in 65:10, taking the Aluminum class and 10th overall. 

Bill and Brandon Stafford earned a victory in the USCA C-2 class and finished 14th overall at 68:08. Chris Champion and Wendell Smith clocked in at 68:53 to become the only finishers in the Standard class and place 16th overall. Bren Rose and Trent Lowry won the Novice class and finished 24th overall. And Katie Bee and Kim Kaiser won the Women’s Unlimited class and placed 34th overall at 77:38.

Chris Withers and Cody Hardin, racing in the Novice class, were the last finishers of the Water Safari, reaching Seadrift just 18 minutes before the 100-hour limit.

Among the group of 67 teams that didn’t finish was Hoyt Moss, who was hoping to reach the 5,200 Mile Club this year in the Aluminum class with the help of teammate Jay Jackson. Hoyt’s wife, Linda, said he had to pull out of the race just seven miles from the finish line due to extreme heat exhaustion.

“The World’s Toughest Canoe Race” lived up to its name this year.