We have a winner! At 08:30 (EST) April 26, 2007, BILLIE crossed into the finish zone as the winner of The Great Turtle Race! Congratulations, Billie, on an amazing swim!!
Although not the largest or strongest lady in the bunch, Billie swam hard for 10 straight days, surprising her competitors with superb navigation and unparalleled endurance.
Billie’s early career was marked by predator attacks, and while it's given her the know-how to outrun a lot of other ocean life, it's also left her with some injuries that she had to overcome for the win. Her exemplary performance was undoubtedly aided by billfish throughout the Pacific who rallied to support their turtle hero in the race.
Stephanie Colburtle now seems to have a lock on second place, barring any unforeseen currents or wrong turns. She is now less than 30 miles away from the finish zone.
The end: The last two days of the race saw most of turtles come in for a finish. Stephanie Colburtle made a strong showing in 2nd place, disappointing her adopted dad Stephen Colbert, and Champiro came in 3rd place. Turtleocity, Purple Lightning, Genevieve, Saphira, Freedom, and Windy, in that order, all finished the race.
Two contenders, Drexelina and Sundae, never left the coast! Rumors were flying that they were applying for residency in Costa Rica, patrolling the beaches for coastal development, or, in Sundae’s case, churning the water in honor of her “slow-churned” sponsor. Despite spectator worries, their trainers assured us that were in good health. Some turtles just take longer to get started and not even the incentive of winning could entice these gals into the ocean."
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Day 11
Purple Lightning and Turtleocity seem to have found the route they were looking for, and are now back on track for a sideways finish, but it may be too late... We'll have to wait to see just how strong the current they're riding is.
Day 10
In spite of appearing to be lounging on the beach, Drexelina showed what she's capable of yesterday with an amazing dive to 2,264 feet – nearly half a mile below the surface!! For those of you who haven't been that deep… it's down within the twilight zone, where almost no sunlight reaches and the pressure is so intense that it actually compresses our bodies!
You may be wondering why on Earth these ladies are diving so deep between breaths… well, one word: jellyfish! That's right, jellyfish are plentiful in the deep, and we're always willing to head down there for a meal. Plus it helps us cool off.
Day 10: Over near the finish zone, Billie held her lead with a strong swim. She's now less than 35 miles from victory if she can keep those flippers going! Stephanie Colburtle is staying strong in second place, and Saphira has taken over the third place spot.
You may be wondering why on Earth these ladies are diving so deep between breaths… well, one word: jellyfish! That's right, jellyfish are plentiful in the deep, and we're always willing to head down there for a meal. Plus it helps us cool off.
Day 10: Over near the finish zone, Billie held her lead with a strong swim. She's now less than 35 miles from victory if she can keep those flippers going! Stephanie Colburtle is staying strong in second place, and Saphira has taken over the third place spot.
Day 9
: "Now less than 60 miles from the finish zone, Billie took the lead back from Stephanie Colburtle on Day Eight of The Great Turtle Race, as these two ladies continue to go beak-to-beak at the front of the pack.
Day 8
After a weekend of swimming, the race is still too close to call. Billie and Stephanie Colburtle are now fighting for the lead, although today's strong swim has kept Stephanie ahead by a few shell-lengths. Both ladies have been staying shallow for quick access to air, with neither taking a dive yesterday…
They're able to take advantage of this strategy because a La Niña event is keeping food closer to the surface than usual. Turtleocity and Purple Lightning seem to have regained their internal compasses after breaking away from the pack and heading towards Colombia last week… Will their navigation errors cost them the race, or are they on track to pick up the Equatorial currents straight into the finish zone?"
They're able to take advantage of this strategy because a La Niña event is keeping food closer to the surface than usual. Turtleocity and Purple Lightning seem to have regained their internal compasses after breaking away from the pack and heading towards Colombia last week… Will their navigation errors cost them the race, or are they on track to pick up the Equatorial currents straight into the finish zone?"
Day 3
Windy and Billie are the leaders for day 3, flipper to flipper. There are suspicions that Turtleocity has run afoul of a plastic bag as she has gone severely off course.
Day 2
Windy shot ahead on day 2 – I guess that diving helped her after all! Stephanie and Billie went back and forth as the turtles sent in their positions every ten minutes, but only one stayed in 2nd. Turtleocity seems a little confused...
Day 1
Champiro and Windy both started off the race with some deep dives, but it didn't get them ahead. Stephanie Colburtle was in first place at the end of the first day with Genevieve and Turtleocity both close behind.
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