WaterTribe Events are Expedition-Style Adventure Races for Small Boats.

Expedition-Style means these events are unsupported. You must carry your boat gear, safety gear, camping equipment, food and water for the entire race. You must be an expert in the boat you choose and the gear you use. You cannot count on resupply. Assume you are in a very remote place on the planet and all you have is what you carry.

Adventure Race means that there is a time limit and you are expected to meet certain deadlines no matter what the Weather Gods provide. You deal with it. You adapt. You overcome. Or you drop out. It is all up to you. Your safety is up to you. You make the choices. If the weather is dangerous, you are expected to be smart enough to sit it out. When the weather moderates, you are expected to make up the time. No whining, no excuses, and the race clock keeps ticking. Consider that almost anybody can paddle from Tampa Bay to Key Largo given enough time and good weather. But very few can do it within 7 days in ANY weather.

And we do it in Small Boats. But what exactly is a small boat? First, it holds one or two people at most. Second it can be launched off the beach from above the high water mark without assistance. And it is a boat that can safely handle an expedition load. It has a shallow draft and the mast is easily dropped. It is not a SUP. It is not a round-the-buoys racer. It is not longer than 22′ 6″ on deck.

The Narrative: You have been on a long expedition and are currently on the western shore of a long peninsula. You need to catch a biannual train that passes about 300 miles south of your current position in 7 days. If you don’t get down there by the deadline, you have to wait six months for the next extraction opportunity. Why are you still sitting on the beach?