WaterTribe Everglades Challenge, live.

Tampa Bay to Key Largo by small boat

The WaterTribe Everglades Challenge is an expedition-style race for kayaks, canoes and small sailboats from Tampa Bay to Key Largo, about 300 miles along the coast of Florida.

The 2027 Challenge starts on Saturday 13 March from Fort De Soto on Tampa Bay. The time limit is 8 days, though the winners usually finish in 2 to 4 days. The distance is 260 to 300 miles, depending on the course each boat chooses.

WaterTribe describes it as an expedition-style adventure race. Each boat chooses its own course between the start and the finish, and the field includes paddlers in kayaks and canoes as well as sailors in small boats.

For people who want a shorter test, the Ultra Marathon starts with the Everglades Challenge at Fort De Soto and finishes near Stump Pass at Cape Haze Marina in Englewood, roughly 64 miles away. It has a 35 hour time limit. Winners can usually finish within 24 hours, and most finish on the Sunday.

Both races are run by WaterTribe, which also holds challenges in North Carolina and Minnesota later in the year. Registration and the rules for each challenge are on the WaterTribe site.

On Livebib you can follow a paddler live if they choose to share their own position from the phone they carry on board, for example in a dry bag. That position comes from the paddler, not from the organiser's timing, and the official results are published by the organiser.