Garmin inReach® / SPOT Announcement
November 24, 2024
Texas Water Safari Community,
A reminder that for 2025 Texas Water Safari competitors may use any handheld c device or a SPOT Generation 3, 4 or X device, in the boat.
The Texas Water Safari will complete the switch to Garmin’s inReach® technology in 2026. The inReach® system will have been tested for two years and any issues with the Safari will have been worked out.
In making the switch, Texas Water Safari racers will be afforded greater latitude in choosing their Garmin inReach® devices. Choices range from the entry level inReach® Messenger and inReach Mini 2, to the high-end Montana 700 series. As with the SPOT devices, racers may use a device they own or choose to rent one from an external vendor for the duration of the race. Garmin has a wide variety of subscription plans for inReach® that can be found here: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/837461
The only requirement as far as what unit you use is that it be inReach® enabled.
NOTE: While the adoption of these Garmin devices allows tracking to be combined with a GPS device, regardless of what device you choose to use it must be able to be charged, or have a backup/external battery pack, in the boat.
If you have any questions, please contact texaswatersafari@yahoo.com.
TWS Board:
1. Board Member- Jay Daniel
2. Board Member- Bob Spain
3. President – Allen Spelce
Texas Water Safari
“They don’t call the Texas Water Safari The World’s Toughest Canoe Race’ for nothing. In addition to the length, the challenges include whitewater rapids, multiple portages, and the relentless, soul-sapping Texas heat. Competitors have four days and four hours to paddle from San Marcos, in the center of the state, to the shy little town of Seadrift on the Gulf Coast. There is no prize money for the winners; just Texas-size bragging rights for the finishers.”
Larry Rice, in July 2009 Canoe & Kayak Magazine
The Texas Water Safari is actually comprised of several events including an information seminar, two short races (one of which can be considered as a preliminary race) and of course, the Safari itself – the 260 mile race to Seadrift from the headwaters of the San Marcos River. The Safari itself, billed as the "World's Toughest Boat Race", is an annual race via the San Marcos and Guadalupe rivers, from Aquarena Springs in the college town of San Marcos, to the shrimping village of Seadrift on the Texas coastline, a total distance of 260 miles. The first official race was held in 1963, and is run annually on the second Saturday of June.
The primary requirement is a boat powered only by human muscle. Racers must take all equipment needed with them, receiving only water, ice and food along the way.
