This year’s Texas Water Safari had 161 boats that paid their registration, but on the day of the race they had 154 boats that started the race that included 340 paddlers. 92 boats finished the race. Two brothers, Tommy and Jonathan Yonley, won the race in 39 hours and 46 minutes. This is the first time in 36 years that a two-person team has won the race.

Commenting about the race Ed Jones from Cedar Park gave us his report:

“This year is the 60th anniversary of the Texas Water Safari. The Safari (June 10-14) was amazing this year with over 160 boats and more than 350 paddlers registered. The water was low volume on the upper San Marcos River which made for a longer journey and fewer finishers, only about 100. The Port Lavaca Lion’s Club provided the shrimp and fish fry at the awards banquet and served about 400 people, but most of the paddlers and their crews were still on the river trying to reach Seadrift. Calhoun County Judge Meyer and Commissioner Gary Reese prepped Bill Sanders Memorial Park and even helped serve food to all the participants. The First United Methodist Church of Seadrift team baked homemade cookies for all the paddlers and handed out complementary Bibles at the finish line. We really appreciated the welcome they all provided.”

Ed Jones, his wife Brenda, and two other team members finished seventh overall in the race. See picture with Ed on the far left and his wife Brenda in the middle. They finished the race in 51 hours and 45 minutes.

The Texas Water Safari race is dubbed as the World’s Toughest Canoe Race. It began in 1963. The race begins at the mouth of the San Marcos River and ends in the San Antonio Bay. Initially there were 58 canoes that entered the race. Only two teams finished that year. People come from all over the world to compete in this grueling test of endurance. Competitors have come from at least 41 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Eight foreign countries have been represented which include Australia, Belize, Canada, Dubai, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Generally, it takes anywhere from 48 to 100 hours to complete the race. The course itself is 262 miles. Along the way there are usually about 11 checkpoints which are set up to make sure participants are amply supplied to finish the race. Team captains and race officials are present at the checkpoints.

Our hats off to all that made this year’s Texas Water Safari a success! And a big “Thank you!” to Bob Spain who contributed the information about this year’s race. Also, Bob has published a book about the race entitled “Texas Water Safari.” You can find the book on Amazon.

Environmentalist Diane Wilson of Seadrift received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in San Francisco on April 23, 2023 for her grass-roots activist work and environmental achievements.
She was the sole prize winner from North America along with six other environmentalists representing continents or regions from around the world. The prize winners were recognized in San Francisco, California and then traveled to Washington, D.C. to be honored again at the Kennedy Center. Wilson is known for winning the largest citizen lawsuit, $50 million, in the history of the U.S. Clean Water Act against Formosa Plastics for their role in polluting nearby waterways with plastic pellets (nurdles). Wilson is an example of what one person’s dedication and hard work can do to make a difference in their community and inspire others.

On Friday, July 1, local Firefighters got into action, not putting out a fire, but putting over 1,600 pounds of meat on the fire. The work went on all night and by 11:00 a.m. the meal was ready to be served. And folks were already waiting to purchase them. In and hour and a half, over 1,000 plates were served!

A variety of silent auction items were generously donated by locals and visitors. The biggest ticketed item was a Light-up Marlin.

The barbecue and auction was deemed quite successful by the firefighters, some who have been a part for over 20 years, and some less than a year. Donations are still being received. Money raised will go towards a new rescue truck and gear.

The Fire Department thanks everyone who supported the effort- those who purchased bbq plates, bought T-shirts, brought desserts, and bid in the silent auction. Also, a HUGE thank you to the volunteers, individuals and businesses who made monetary donations and the ones who donated the silent auction items. Thanks to all, this year was a great success and POCVFD appreciates your continued support.

Surviving the Island Summer Season

A hot, humid and sweaty greeting from the island! I hope everyone is doing well, and hanging in there with this brutal high pressure staying over us, and creating this prolonged sweltering heat.

There are certainly tropical storm advantages to having this high pressure over us, but dang, it could maybe drift away for a week or so and give us a much needed reprieve, before wandering back over the top of us. I’ve said it before, and very likely will again, I don’t know if these south Texas summers are actually getting hotter each year, or if my aging body simply cannot tolerate the heat and humidity as well as in my younger years. I’ll tell you what, these feel-like 100°+ temps are almost swaying me into getting an AC window unit to feel the inside summer coolness like regular folk. . . but my stubbornness is keeping me from it, much to the chagrin of Corky. But we are doing okay, just gotta find the shade and something cool to drink during the worst hotness of the day.

And if the intolerable prolonged heat wasn’t enough, the island has seen practically no rain in the last several months. There were two days a few weeks ago, that a very much needed and appreciated 2” of glorious rain fell from the sky, this basically being the only rain for the summer thus far. The mornings felt so nice and cooler those two days out on the porch drinking coffee, and I was thankful for the rain that I had gotten.
Fresh water is an absolute must for survival, no matter where you are, particularly on a barrier island. With the absence of rain, which I collect in tanks and depend on for all my fresh water needs inside the cabin, for the past 3-4 weeks I have been needing to slowly pump underground well water into my rain tanks. However, with no rain to replenish the underground water table, I am noticing my well pump, which I run very slowly, runs for a shorter amount of time before the 4” well casing ( PVC pipe ), runs dry and I have to wait for it to fill up again.
This shorter amount of time before the pump starts sucking air, coupled with the water becoming a little more brackish, is an indication that the underground water table is getting lower, simply from the high heat and lack of rainfall. And making the well deeper is really not an option, as the salt water level on a barrier island rests below the fresh water. A continuous and uninterrupted supply of fresh water year round, is nearly impossible to achieve when you live full time out here.
Well, my tomato growing season is over, it has simply gotten too hot and dry to keep the plants healthy and producing. I am very happy with the amount and size of tomatoes that I was able to grow, starting all of them from seeds. Luckily the worst of the heat and lack of rainfall began after the tomatoes began to set, and they were able to grow very well. I ended up with seven tomatoes weighing over 1 lb, with the heaviest being 1 lb, 14 oz, a very nice one. And I also had lots of cherry type tomatoes, with the Sungold being my favorite. I don’t usually have a Fall tomato garden, and the conditions we are having right now is exactly why, just too hot and dry.

That’s it from the island for now, everyone have a great day and try to stay cool in this dreadful heat.

42nd Annual Seadrift Shimpfest Royal Court

Miss Shrimpfest – McKenna Boedeker
Junior Miss Shrimpfest – Princess Few
Young Miss Shrimpfest – Elizabeth Tolar
Teeny Miss Shrimpfest – Fallon Ameraon
Little Mr. Shrimpfest – Weston Wygrys
Tiny Mr. Shrimpfest – Zander Garcia
Baby Mr. Shrimpfest – Easton Harris