WaterTribe^TM Ultra Marathon (UM)

Tampa Bay To Stump Pass at Cape Haze Marina In Sea Kayaks, Canoes and Small Boats

The next Ultra Marathon is  Saturday, March 1, 2025. There is registration and equipment inspection on, Friday, February 28, 2025, prior to starting.  Cost is $295.00  for the captain and $295.00 for crew members if any.

Billing starts January 1.
Registration ends January 26 at noon.
Payment Deadline is January 26 at noon.

Due to the exteme commitment for this race late registration and/or late payments will not be allowed. We recommend that you commit to this race early so you have plenty of time for planning, training, and preparation. Pay early in the payment cycle. You can get a full refund up until January 26 at noon. No refunds after that date and time.

All WaterTribe events are dangerous events as defined by Florida law and common sense. You are responsible for your own safety. You must read and understand the warning before you register for this event.

The Ultra Marathon is an unsupported, expedition style adventure race for kayaks, canoes, and small boats. The distance is roughly 62 miles depending on your course selection. There is a time limit of 2 days or less. Your safety and well being are completely up to you.

Unsupported means that there are no safety boats or support crews to help you during the race. You are not allowed to have a support crew follow you or meet you during the race. It is OK to have family or friends meet you at the official checkpoints, but they cannot provide anything other than emotional support. See the official WaterTribe rules for more details.

Expedition style means that you must carry the same type of equipment and supplies that you would carry on a major expedition lasting 4 weeks or more. Camping equipment, food, water, safety, communication, etc. is required. See the Rules and Warning link at the top of this page for the official required equipment list for more details.

Although this is a race, many participants are more interesting in cruising and adventure. Whether you are a cruiser or racer is up to you. Just getting to the starting line is a major accomplishment and only about 40% of starters are able to finish. You should be an expert kayaker and/or sailor before you consider this challenge.

SPECIAL NOTE: As of UM2008 the required finish time is noon on Sunday.

Note that the WaterTribe Marathon runs concurrently with the Everglades Challenge.

Start - Fort De Soto Park, Tampa Bay, Florida

There are three events starting at the same time in Fort De Soto Park located on Mullet Key in Tampa Bay, Florida.  These events are the Everglades Challenge, the Ultra Marathon, and the Ultimate Florida Challenge. Pavilions 13, 14, and 15 are reserved for all day Friday.  Pavilion 14 will be our main registration and meeting place. We reserve the other two pavilians so that we have full access to the parking lot. Boats may assemble on East Beach facing south adjacent to shelters.   All boats should be left on the beach above the high water mark Friday night. A guard will be posted.  

The Pavilion 14 is at East Beach on the eastern leg of Mullet Key facing south.  There is a very nice beach perfect for launching boats.   This year and going forward, there is no road access to the beach. You must transport your kayak, canoe, or small sailboat by hand from the parking lot to the beach. If you cannot do that, you can sail around and pull your boat up onto the beach.

New Launch Procedure

Here's the BLUF:

• No road access to the beach. This applies to all Pinellas County Parks. They are protecting beach grasses and beach plants. WaterTribe fully supports this endeavor.
• All boats in Classes 1, 2, and 3 must be transported from the parking lot to the beach by hand. Boats may be carried or pulled by hand on a portage cart. Balloon tires are strongly recommended for this job. All other boats in Classes 4, 5, and 6 can use this method when possible.
• Boats in Classes 4, 5, and 6 can access the beach via water if necessary. There are some special rules defined in the upcoming PDF.

Note that this is a work in process and some details could change over the next couple of weeks. The above information will be updated as necessary and a PDF with full details will be published when everything if finalized.

Camping on Mullet Key at Fort De Soto

There is a very nice campground on Mullet Key.  

• Sites 1-85 are designed for tent, van, and pop-up campers.

• Sites 86-233 are designed and equipped to accommodate all camping units

• All sites have water, electrical hookup ( 30 amps), picnic table, and a charcoal grill

• Dump stations, restrooms, showers, and laundry are available

• Many sites are waterfront with room for your kayak or boat in your camp site.

Reservation is VERY limited.  Reserve your site as early as possible.  Google Fort De Soto park for reservation information.

EC CP1 and UM Finish - Cape Haze Marina, Englewood, Florida

Cape Haze Marina is the first checkpoint for the Everglades Challenge and the finish for the Ultra Marathon.

Roughly 60 miles along the coast from Tampa Bay you will come to Stump Pass which feeds into the Intracoastal Waterway. The Cape Haze Marina checkpoint is located a couple miles south of Stump Pass on your port side.

Finding Cape Haze Marina

Near Intracoastal Waterway Markers Red "8" and Green "9" there are private channel markers into Cape Haze Marina on your port side as you are heading south. After entering the marina, turn right just after the first set of docks. Turn left at the sea wall and proceed to the floating dock next to the rock sea wall. Sailboats can pick any open dock opposite the rock sea wall to tie up.

• Cape Haze Entrance
  Lat 26.875422°
  Lon -82.314172°
• Cape Haze Dock
  Lat 26.874206°
  Lon -82.312763°
• CP1Beach001 - See Special Note Below
  Lat 26.87348°
  Lon 82.31439°
• CP1Beach002 - Trail Head to CP1 - See Special Note Below
  Lat 26.87363°
  Lon 82.31445°

SPECIAL NOTE - The beach landing is for Class 1, Class 2, Class 3, Hobie AIs, and Hobie TIs only. All other boats must go into the marina docks. Class 3 boats and Hobies MUST retract or take off their amas and akas. Also, if you will be at CP1 longer than 20 minutes, you must move your boat up to the grassy area at CP1. These rules are intentional filters. If your class 4, 5, or 6 boat is too large or too difficult to get into the marina, then it is not a suitable Everglades Challenge boat. Violation of this rule results in a DQ.

The beach landing is located near marker Red 8. As you are heading south, turn left just after passing Red 8 and you can't miss the small beach landing. The landing and trail to CP1 is near an apartment building so BE QUIET when you land or launch.

Accommodations at Cape Haze Marina

There are two docks shown near the bottom left quadrant of the picture. The one farthest to the left in this aerial shot (partially obstructed by a tree in this shot) is a floating dock that is the official checkpoint landing. Please do not use the dock next to it.

Larger boats can tie up at any open dock opposite the grassy area and rock sea wall. There is no official time limit but try to make your stay at the dock as short as possible.

There is plenty of room to pitch tents as needed in the grassy area next to the rock sea wall on the left side of the picture. We will have a boat cart for kayaks to help move your boat up to the tent area.

Resupply is within a couple of miles and some shuttles will be available from time to time. Fresh water is available at the marina but you might want to filter for taste. We might have some bottled water for sale at the same price we pay for it. There is a shower, rest rooms and more.

One of the toughest filters in the whole course is the hot tub and pool. It is recommended that you do not use these features because you may decide not to leave.