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Wenonah makes great canoes.

The 2025 Water Safari was shortened this year due to flooding – instead of 260 miles and ending at Seadrift, we paddled 230 miles and ended at Swinging Bridge. Floodwater from the San Antonio River buried the end of the course. The fastest boats got through, but they were paddling through treetops in the cuts

Race officials made the decision to end it after hearing how wild it was for those faster teams.

We had a great time, and learned a ton. The river moved us fast – our pace was around 5 miles perhaps hour – much faster than we ever dreamed of. And no major mishap or injury.

So much rain fell towards the sections of river near the coast that some parts have entered flood stage. Above is the most recent data from Bloomington. The problem in this section with flooding is the river widens. You can’t tell where you are, and racers get lost. Worst case scenario, race officials will end the race higher up, near Victoria. The levels are expected to drop over the next day, and hopefully this doesn’t happen.

For now, the race is scheduled to kick off as planned in San Marcos.

Rain makes the river go. There has been a drought this spring, and overall the rivers are low in the hill country. However, rain has fallen on much of the course the last 48 hours. The above data from the USGS data centers reflects that. This is a very good thing, as much of our training runs were marked with shallow water and dragging the canoe.

The San Marcos River arises from the Edwards Aquifer, so it’s not as dynamic as other rivers with large catchment basins. The Guadalupe, which the San Marcos eventually joins, behaves more like a normal river with rain fall. Lucky for us, the water goes down stream and will raise levels for the whole race.

The race starts at 9:00 AM in Spring Lake in San Marcos. All 160 boats cram into it, and all start together. It’s right in the middle of Texas State University.

We are in a two man aluminum boat. There are many different types of boats – from solo canoes all the way up to 40 foot long 6 man canoes, and everything in between. Many of the boats are hand made by local racers, customized for the challenges the course offers.

Weather on Friday is supposed to be sunny, with all rain clearing up by then.

Final preparations are underway. Everyone has different tastes, we enjoy breakfast tacos for a considerable amount of our calorie intake. Below is Mitchell’s kitchen, where 30 tacos were made today.

We head out for San Marcos tomorrow.

Michael Rokyta and Mitchell George with captain Jesse Fornear are paddling the 2025 Texas Water Safari.

The race starts at 9:00 AM, June 13th in San Marcos, Texas and finishes in Seadrift, Texas.

Click here on race day for a map of the race with GPS tracking of our boat #7203: Texaswatersafari.org

Michael and Mitchell will paddle a 17 foot aluminum canoe non-stop from the head waters of the San Marcos River to the Gulf of Mexico. Jesse will follow them by car and supply them with food, water, ice, and encouragement. They will be racing against 160 other boats. Challenges along the way include portages over dams, alligators, heat, hallucinations, dehydration, gar, and snakes.

Follow here for updates about the race.