Although today was the hottest day of the race so far, racers found the Danum River swim freezing cold, their teeth chattering and their lips blue as they floated along for hours. Salomon/Eco-Internet held a three-hour lead on Team Spie as they left PC 18, at the gorgeous Borneo Rainforest Lodge, where orangutans and gibbons are common sights. However, a slight navigational blunder (they followed a riverbed instead of a trail) cost them a couple of hours, and Spie managed to close the gap. Spie had passed Team AussieSpirit.com in the transition at PC 18.

From PC 19 to PC 20, teams floated up to their necks in the deep brown river, muddied from recent rains. Their heads just poked above their life jackets and they looked like pods of river turtles from a distance.

The river section of the race stretches from the Danum Valley Field Center to the confluence of the Danum and Segama rivers. The stretch seemed to suck the strength from Salomon Eco-Internet, and they arrived at their traditional dugout Sampan canoe shivering, a bit haggard, and slightly disoriented. Team member, Robyn Benincasa, insisted on using a kayaking paddle in the front of the boat, -a bold choice, considering the move will require her to carry the paddle on the 18-kilometer river section trek at the end of the 100+ kilometer river section. Paddling into the murky river at the Segama River Bridge, the battered team then dropped their spare paddle, which took them a few minutes to retrieve before they settled into a rhythm and paddled downstream in unison, turning up the brown water in great strokes.

Team Spie churned downstream behind them only thirty-six minutes back, and looking significantly stronger than the leaders they were chasing.

The 76 Sampans being used in the race were specially made from local timber called “Seyara,” a medium-hard wood that is relatively heavy, making portages difficult. The boats are about twenty-feet long and flat-bottomed, creating a testy craft to maneuver in rapids, which should favor the expert paddlers. All three top teams consist of at least one paddling champion who has competed in various world events.

Spie burst from the water at the Segama River Bridge and literally sprinted up the steep fifty-meter embankment to their waiting Sampan. With shouts of “un, deux, trois, allez!!” they lurched the boat forward over the loose rocks and gravel, at one point crunching the left ankle of team member Jeff Robin. But the strapping French fireman hardly flinched, and the team muscled the boat into the water in an amazing display of strength and freshness, especially under the circumstances. Hundreds of locals cheered from the bridge as Spie paddled downstream.

An hour later, Team AussieSpirit.com [go to Team Bio] waded onto the banks. Jane Hall led them her team out of the water, encouraging them with “come on guys.” John Jacoby and Matt Dalziel limped in agony, pain appearing to shoot up their legs with each tender step. Despite their gimpy state, the Aussie’s made a fast transition into the Sampan, and were in their element, -paddline in the water, just an hour behind Spie and an hour and a half behind Salomon/Eco-Internet. The race on the circuitous Segama River, with a number of powerful rapids, could well determine the final outcome of Eco-Challenge Sabah 2000.

After the takeout of the Sampan paddling section, racers will trek 19 kilometeres to their wating Perahu canoes, which they will sail to PC 23 (Camp 1 at Silam).

Two formidable teams are lurking in 4th and 5th place. Last year’s winners, the most decorated racers in expedition racing, Team Fairydown Fleet Cookie Time [go to Team Bio], is still within striking distance, but they’ll need to make a move soon or they will run out of course. Behind them is the tenacious Red Bull Playstation [go to Team Bio] from Spain, which finished 2nd last year behind Fairydown Fleet CookieTime. But to come from behind now, Red Bull and Fairydown either need flawless finishes or a little help from the front.