DART-nuun News
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San Felipe, Baja (April 8th, 2007) -Last weekend, team DART-nuun powered by Northwest Kayaks won the prestigious Baja Travesia expedition race for the second consecutive year. This year's edition is sure to go down in the record books as one of the most demanding expedition races in North America. Teams had to negotiate, among other sections, an epic ocean paddle in 10-20 foot swells and one of the most impressive canyoneering sections in the sport's history on their journey from Ensenada, on the Pacific Ocean, to San Felipe on the Sea of Cortez.

The tone of this non-stop race was set in the first section when teams had to confront an angry ocean that tested everyone's paddling skills with massive swells on an exhilarating but tense 56 km course along the rocky shore. ErikNachtrieb, DART-nuun team manager, described the conditions, as he was filming at the end of the kayak leg, as such: "As I watched a Mexican Navy coast guard cutter off in the distance pulling in an abandoned kayak, the entire vessel disappear in the troughs of the swells. And, I was standing on a cliff about 100 feet or more above the shore!" While a few teams demonstrated a mastery of their boats - and a little luck - to complete the paddle unscathed, many others were not so fortunate and had tall tales to tell of boats exploding against jagged cliffs and harrowing rescues. By the time the night fell, all teams were safe but 8 boats had been lost and a few teams had to spend the night on the coast with no food or equipment but their soaked paddle gear.

For this premiere race on the team's race calendar, DART-nuun fielded 2 teams.The first team - and defending Baja Travesia champions - was comprised of Cyril Jay-Rayon, Jen Segger-Gigg, and Aaron Rinn. The second team was comprised of the experienced trio of Ryan Van Gorder, Jen Van Gorder, and Glenn Rogers. The latter lead the paddle right from the start but, after all the teams got dispersed by the enormous swells, they later lost their kayak while attempting to rescue another team with a hypothermic teammate as they drifted close to the rocky shore. Despite their unfortunate fate, a local, who lived near the rocky shore where the boats were lost, offered them shelter and some food for the night as they waited for daylight. "Everywhere we've raced around the world,we've been greeted with amazing hospitality from the locals. This race was no different except maybe that we were in a more dire situation and the only person to live in the area shared with us everything he owned. We were touched and will never forget" reflected Ryan.

Meanwhile the other DART-nuun team managed to make it to the end of the kayaking leg in second place capsizing only once a mere 500 meters from the take out. "Our Northwest Kayak Seascape 3 triple performed brilliantly in the waves and, although on edge most of time, we greatly enjoyed surfing the waves", recalled Aaron with a large grin. The first place kayakers, Kayak Lake Mead, made up of experienced paddlers also used a Northwest Kayak Seascape 3 triple. Despite the chaos of the first section, most teams kept going for the reminder of the 3-5 day race, a testament to the tenacity and perseverance of those who embarked on the amazing journey that is the Baja Travesia.

The next day of racing was less eventful but nonetheless spectacular. Teams mountain biked wind swept cow trails along the coast before beginning their journey inland with a series of stunning trekking and biking sections that took them to the foothills of the Sierras, the 9,000 foot mountainous ramparts that separate northern Baja's west coast from it's warmer east coast. The way across the Sierras was via a 18-30 hour canyoneering section. Teams were required to climb up a canyon on the west side to the "top of the world" at 2410 meters which offered teams an absolutely spectacular view of the Esperanza Canyon snaking its way down to the desert floor with mainland Mexico in the distance. "This must be one of the most incredible views I've ever seen while racing,"exclaimed Aaron. The descent down the Esperanza canyon was punctuated with dozens of waterfalls, swimming pools, and rappels. "Absolutely incredible", proclaimed Jen as she came out of the canyon after an 18 hour journey. "We spent all night route finding through a maze of boulders and cliffs where, most likely, no other humans have been before us except for the race organizers."

The team emerged out of the canyon in first place with a commanding lead over the rest of the field and a renewed energy to reach San Felipe and a cold Mexican beer. What followed was an exciting 100 km auto rally in true Baja style where the teams had to navigate through a network of dusty buggy tracks through the desert. "The rally was a relief for our sore feet but after 2 1/2 hours in the vehicle, we felt as stiff and brittle as uncooked spaghetti," noted Cyril. The next leg of the race was a simple but long desert trek in the heat of the day to the water's edge. The final paddle was a welcome change from the heat of the desert and was in striking contrast to the Pacific Ocean. Only a few ripples appeared on the water as the team glided the final 14 km to the hustle and bustle of San Felipe in full Spring Break celebration.

DART-nuun crossed the finish line after 2 days 12 hours and 44 minutes of racing. They gave it all and successfully defended their title.

After a short rest, DART-nuun will be back at it again when they send 2 teams to compete in the inaugural adventure race of the Sea Otter Classic on April 13th in Monterey, CA.

Labels: Press Release, Race Results