The tide waits for no man. Competitors enthusiastically start the race.

ADF athletes, ready to put their bodies and minds to the test, recently ventured to the south coast of NSW anxious to compete in a 48-hour adventure race, GeoQuest 2002.

Seventy competitors in teams of four, lined Corrigan’s Beach with their sea kayaks in the early hours of the morning and as a testament to the toughness of the race, only three of these teams eventually crossed the finish line.

A team of ADFA cadets, The Seakers, were one of the teams lined up in the morning chill. Midn Luke Baker, Midn Aaron Tait, Midn Ryan Kelly and OCdt Laura Sutton did not let age stop them from putting in an exceptional effort and showing determination beyond their years.

Competitors headed off on a course that included sea kayaking, trekking, mountain biking and roping their way across some amazing terrain. Cross-country navigation and the odd mental exercise were all a part of the challenge.

During the cross-country navigation leg, teams were forced to make tough navigational decisions – whether to take fire roads to a check point and cover more distance or whether to trust their navigational abilities and take cross country short-cuts.

This is where Capt Stuart McFadzean of Latrobe Valley Tri Club and his team excelled.

“This was a crucial leg and involved a high degree of navigation and route planning skills,” he said.

“Smart teams tackled the hard parts of the course while still fresh and avoided making costly mistakes when tired.”

Many of the other teams were finding night navigation too difficult and chose to wait until daylight to collect their final checkpoints. This saw a flood of teams return from this leg between 5.30am and 10.30am – 24 hours into the race.

To start leg three, teams crossed a waist-deep creek with bikes and roping equipment above their heads. On the other side teams began peddling their way 60km north to the Castle mountain. From here they trekked up to the top (an elevation gain of 500m), often forced to don their harnesses to traverse steep rocky sections of the track.

At the top they were confronted with a multi-pitch abseil that while greatly shortened their return journey, required significant courage to descend.

Teams then mountain biked another 45km to complete leg three.

Darkness began to fall 36 hours into the race and entrants were faced with the prospect of another night out and the likelihood of not meeting a cut-off at the end of leg three. After 39 hours of non-stop racing only eight out of 17 teams remained on course.

In an incredible effort, the remaining members of team Seakers cycled in to complete the third leg, almost 48 hours later. In their first adventure race, the team demonstrated courage and determination to meet the extreme physical and mental challenges GeoQuest 2002.

More information about the race can be found at www.geoquest.com.au

• By Capt Craig Bycroft

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