ADVENTURE RACING

XPD Day 2 - Dark Zone Lifted - Top Teams Battle on the Rough Waters of Halifax Bay

By Geocentric Outdoors

After a rugged island trek yesterday in hot conditions, around Magnetic Island, Team Raidlight were the first team to arrive at West Point.  They arrived to set up camp, in the early evening, after 13 hours of racing.  As a Dark Zone is imposed, the team made the most of refueling and resting before the impending epic 60km Ocean Kayak in Halifax Bay and up the scenic coastline.

Other lead teams, Mountain Designs, Peak Adventure and Bivouac Inov-8 arrived later in the night and early hours.

All the teams must camp on the beach, until 6:00am.  "A mass start from the beach" says Race Director Craig Bycroft "will see the teams vying for a position on the water, after a hard day of racing on land."

In contrast to near perfect weather yesterday, the teams awoke to the cold and windy conditions, rugging up for an estimated eight hours on the water.  As the Dark Zone lifted at 6am, the top teams were straight off the mark, paddling across Halifax Bay through rough waters to collect the first Control Point (CP) at Saunders beach.

Battling the swell and wind, Peak Adventure drew on their paddling expertise to arrive at Saunders Beach, only minutes ahead of last year's winners, Mountain Designs.  Merrell Adventure Addicts and Raidlight were next to land at the beach.

Teams were looking sore and tired from racing yesterday and were struggling to stay warm in the conditions. Gary Sutherland from Mountain Designs described the kayaking conditions as "very, very cold".

Most of the field found the conditions and weather challenging, some cautious about hypothermia. Others were later short coursed to the next transition area, after failing to make the 2.30 pm cut-off to kayak to Balgal Beach.  This means the teams will receive a six hour penalty and cannot leave until the last team who has completed the paddle has checked in.

At Balgal Beach, after collecting their CP, Peak Adventure extended their lead, with Mountain Designs and Merrell Adventure Addicts attempting to close the gap.  Raidlight and Bivouac Inov-8 paddled closely together, trying to stay in touch with the leaders.

Mountain Designs closed the gap to Peak Adventure, approaching the Transition Area at 3.30pm. The teams then collected a rogaine map here from officials, for the 50km trek leg, that will see them navigating into the night and into the next morning.  The trek takes the teams to Mount Spec and the Paluma Range, where they decide which order to collect their controls.

Making a quick transition, both teams exited quickly with just a brief look at the map to decide their strategy.

Bycroft says "The race is now on to complete the rogaine in as many daylight hours as possible, before the night rolls in.  This could be a crucial turning point at this stage of the race.  Night navigation slows everything down"

Merrel Adventure Addicts were the next to commence the trek, whilst Bivouac Inov-8 and Team Raidlight completed their paddle.


Photo courtesy of Geocentric Outdoors

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