Mission accomplished! Caye Caulker Sol Sisters kayak south portion of the Belize reef

On Monday, July 3rd, the brave and dedicated athletes from Caye Caulker called Sol Sisters returned to La Isla Cariñosa after a six-day journey kayaking 227 miles along the Belizean southern border of the Mesoamerican Reef. The American duo, Elizabeth Meeker, 53, and Leigh Ann Epperson, 57, named their challenge ‘Going the Distance 2023’ to raise awareness about Belize’s marine beauty and raise funds for two institutions in Caye Caulker, the Ocean Academy and Caye Caulker Humane Society. Donations can still be made via these links: https://shorturl.at/lxNVW and https://shorturl.at/ruwN1.
Meeker and Epperson’s kayaking challenge started at 5AM from the Blu Zen Resort in northern Caye Caulker on June 28th. They customized a 22’ Seaward Passat G3 kayak for better performance, comfort, and safety. The athletes explained that hydration was essential for this challenge, and for this kayak trip along the barrier reef, they each used a three-liter hydration bladder in an insulated bag stored in a dry hatch behind them. They say that to make this possible; they had to drill a hole in the top deck of the dry hatches to feed a water tube through.
Along with a support crew aboard a catamaran, Meeker and Epperson say the challenge went smoothly; however, they did face one obstacle on the way back. “Only real obstacle was a squall on the way back. We had gone 205 miles already and had a strong storm where we only went two miles in two hours,” Epperson said. Throughout the entire journey, they clocked a certain number of daily miles. On the first day, they covered 48.6 miles; on the second day, 40.5 miles; third day, 30.1 miles; fourth day, 37 miles; fifth day, 41.5 miles and on the sixth day, 30.1 miles. With a total of 59 hours and 45 minutes paddled, the Sol Sisters said they kept an average speed of 3.8 miles per hour. They are in good physical and mental shape after the kayaking. According to them, they only experience some blisters, sore hands, saltwater abrasions, and a bit of soreness, but nothing serious. They paddled as far south as Gladden Caye before returning to Caye Caulker.
Regarding the beauty, the Sol Sisters said there are not enough words to describe the beauty of the Belizean Caribbean coast. “The journey was absolutely a highlight in both of our lives,” they said. “We experienced the incredible majesty of off-shore Belize, paddling past countless cayes, across incredible coral heads, and out long stretches where we could see nothing but open water ahead. We saw massive loggerhead turtles that were probably older than both our ages combined and paddled with dolphins. We also got to be on the water for the opening day of lobster season and saw boats scattered about with their dories all around and the hard-working fishermen diving for lobster.” Meeker and Epperson added that they had tough times due to exhaustion, but they had trained for the challenge and felt blessed to experience the country’s coast and reef system.
Upon their arrival at Blue Zen on Monday, they received a grand welcome from the resort’s staff, friends, and followers. Epperson and Meeker said they thanked those supporting their initiatives, especially their support crew and the management of Blue Zen Resort. The Sol Sisters announced they were already considering their next race or challenge.