Congratulations to all of the participants in The
BEAR 2005!
Once again, weather played a part, though not as
seriously as a year ago. The morning of this race began with breezy winds
coming from the Northeast, bringing some substantial surf along the beach.
Additionally, as the day progressed the humidity stayed high and the
temperature climbed into the 90's. The BEAR 2005 started with a Trek Stage
in which all but one member of each team was blindfolded as they searched
for three signs along the trees and brush that cover the secondary dunes
near the oceanfront. The team leaders needed to literally lead
their teams through sand and woodlands to complete this Trek and begin the
next challenge.
Following a gear check on the beach, teams were provided
with instructions for a Paddle Stage that gave each team a choice: paddle
on the ocean or portage to the Intracoastal Water and paddle to two
locations on the flatter water of the ICW. After seeing the surf, most
teams immediately chose to portage -- and search for the required
checkpoints along the ICW. About six teams decided to attempt the ocean
paddle and three of these teams succeeded in paddling past the surf and
heading out to the ocean checkpoints. Other teams less successful in their
ocean attempt were able to begin the portage to the ICW and try to catch
up with the others. The two paddle stage choices were about equal and
teams were mixed together again after returning from their different
paddle stages.
Next came the first (and for most teams, the only) Bike
Stage of The BEAR 2005. This required teams to pedal and bushwhack through
about half of the trails at Hanna Park. Since teams were not allowed to
use wooded bridges along the bike trails, it became necessary to get off
of the bikes and carry they across some of the ditches in the woods. There
were five checkpoints along the Bike Stage and teams needed to collect
information or solve puzzles at each assigned point. The Bike Stage
was followed by a quick run into the surf called the Shark Bait event --
really just a chance to cool down after a hot, energetic bike ride in the
woods.
Perhaps one of the hardest stages of the race came next
-- the Free Trek Stage. Teams were provided with instructions to find
their way to a specific point in Hanna Park, where they would find the
directions to the next checkpoint Each point found would have directions
to the following point, until the teams were directed back to the Main
Transition. Since teams were not to use bike trails, there was a need for
some creative bushwhacking that covered much of Hanna Park. This Free Trek
stage took many teams as much as three hours or more, when they had
difficulty locating some of the CPs. As most teams completed the Free
Trek, they discovered that they were at the Finish Line -- but not for
every team...
In a very unusual situation, at the end of the long Free
Trek Stage, the top three teams arrived at the Main Transition together --
in fact, they seemed to be overlapped. These three teams were given
instructions to continue on the Tour de Beaches Bike Stage and this became
the final leg of the race for Team E-Caps/WeCeFAR, Team Flight, and Team
Chi Junkies. All other teams finished the race at the end of the Free Trek
Stage.
In a difficult final Bike Stage that took their team
over two and a half hours to complete, Team E-Caps/WeCeFAR was able to
win The BEAR 2005, as they gained a 14 minute advantage over Team
Flight and even more on Chi Junkies. In a display of real strength,
although they completed another stage in The BEAR, these three teams still
finished within the 12-hour limit. As Race Officials, we were
truly inspired by the efforts of all of the teams in The BEAR 2005 and
they are all to be congratulated!
