Records and Wreckage

This Year’s Guadelupe Island Karujet Enduro was a Battlefield of Breakdowns and Bruises

Text by Nicole Christina Farthing

Photography by Santtalikan Yohann

(Above: Made in the shade, three-time Karujet winner Dustin Farthing enjoys the afterglow of victory.)

The French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe is famous for its "butterfly shape." The two main islands, Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre, look like the wings of a butterfly and are joined together by a mangrove swamp. Known for the La Soufriere Volcano and Jacques Cousteau underwater reserve, Guadeloupe is also the location for the annual Karujet endurance race.

This year, the highly anticipated race was put on hold back in March due to the island-wide strikes of the Union workers. A deal was finally met, ending the strike, allowing the race to be rescheduled for June. Seventy riders were scheduled to arrive at the starting line of this four-day, immensely difficult offshore race.

DAY 1

Starting out in the village of Gosier, racers were scheduled to speed off to St. Charles/Basse Terre for a quick fuel stop and then back to Gosier for a roundtrip total of 70 miles. The day began with racers feeling confident and ready, but ended with many mechanical failures for a few of the more promising opponents, like Jean-Pierre Simonini from Corsica, French racer Jean-Bruno Pastorello, and Nicolas Rius.

Bad luck also fell upon local Guadeloupian champion, Davy Vaitilingon, as ignition problems caused him to slow his pace down (rather than DNFing). He had to ride, watching his competition race past, all the while knowing he should be with the pack. The worst luck of the day, though, would befall France’s Teddy Pons, riding a Yamaha FZR. Pons made it to the fuel stop in second place only to break down on the way back to the finish.

First place at both the fuel stop and the finish in Gosier was the American racer and previous two-time winner Dustin Farthing, aboard his TBM-built Kawasaki Ultra 260. Dustin is known as one of the best surf racers in the world, so it wasn't a surprise when the day ended with farthing leading the pack with a four-minute lead. Second place for the day went to local racer Vincent Thomas with third place going to Jean-Christophe Prayas of Saint Maarten. Both second and third were also aboard Kawasaki Ultras.

(Above: TBM Racing’s Tim Bushman has been instrumental in getting Farthing to every stop of the Hydro-Turf National Tour, as well as Karujet.)

DAY 2

Split into two separate legs totaling 100 miles, the race course commenced in Viard and traveled to Pointe-Noire, where lunch was served and a local festival took place. After a break, the racers would then board their watercraft and race back to Viard to finish the day out.

Mechanical problems hounded racers as well as injuries and more bad luck. While Nicolas Rius may not have had a boat problem this day, a previous knee injury was taking its toll. The rough conditions eventually sent him to the infirmary to have the knee wrapped. Vaitilingon seemed to be back on his game, finishing first ahead of Dustin Farthing and Jean-Christophe Prayas during the first leg of the day. This accomplishment put him back into sixth place overall halfway through the day.

Jean-Bruno Pastorello suffered more mechanical problems during the first leg of the day, but bounced back fiercely in the second leg to finish two minutes ahead of Dustin Farthing with a close third going to local Lucas Oujagir Granger.

The worst luck went to Brice Lopez, who lost control in the chop and was thrown from his boat. The seas raged like a crazy washing machine with six- to eight-foot waves, coming in from every angle. After some time, Brice was found floating by the safety crew and was brought back to Viard with hypothermia. He was brought to the infirmary where a pale-as-a-ghost Lopez was wrapped in a heating cover to get his body temperature back up. This would undoubtedly take him out of the competition, especially after his collapse from exhaustion on the previous day.

As Day 2 drew to an end, Dustin Farthing was still holding a strong lead with a 7-minute, 20-second lead over Jean-Christophe Prayas and ten minutes in front of Vincent Karam of Guadeloupe.

(Above: Smile for the camera!)

DAY 3

The race began again in Viard and sent racers to Saint-Francois and back in a two-part sprint. The race totaled only 40 miles – which to some racers would seem like a godsend, as many were aching, sore and worn out from the previous two days. The first leg of the day might have been only 20 miles, but was described as the roughest yet.

These grueling conditions put Teddy Pons out after his Yamaha FZR came down hard. The bad luck award for the day went to Yamaha’s Nicolas Rius, who withdrew from the second leg, having his watercraft trailered back to Viard.

It seemed like the Kawasaki Ultra was the "Choice of Champions" at this race. Jean-Bruno Pastorello rode flawlessly and made it to Saint Francois first with Farthing finishing second, followed by Guy-Albert Prud'Homme of Guadeloupe. The race back to Viard continued to show Pastorello's talents as he battled through the technical conditions with Davy Vaitilingon finishing right behind. Local racer Pascal Julien Esnard finished third, followed by Dustin Farthing, who still maintained his overall lead. "I rode smart and with my head today. I felt no need to rush ahead to win both legs when I knew that if I just rode consistently in these rough conditions that I would be able to maintain my overall lead going into the last day of racing," replied Farthing.

(Above: Kawasaki Ultras were the weapon of choice for this year's brutal Guadelupe Island Karujet)

DAY 4

With Farthing starting with a seven-minute lead on Jean-Christope Prayas and more than ten minutes on Vincent Karam, these were the three to watch. Racing this final day consisted of a "closed course" race and then a track set in front of the beach that the racers would run for 40 minutes straight. The "closed course" event wasn't what most people would call closed course. It was merely three buoys set up off of Viard, Saint-Felix Gosier, and again in Viard. The three buoys formed a triangle that the racers were supposed to go around four times, totaling 73 miles. Each racer would have to stop for gas during the race and refuel as quickly as possible so as to not lose any time or position.

(Above: Gene Farthing (right), Dustin’s father, has served as head mechanic for the entire tour.)

Pastorello started off strong and battled with Teddy Pons. Farthing finished third with Prayas and Karam finishing in fifth and sixth. The three still remained positioned as they had coming into the day with only one final race to go. During one of the pit stops, however, Farthing was docked a five-minute penalty for a gas spill, shaving off some of the points leader’s cushion.

(Above: Dustin "Mohawk" Farthing)

Live TV coverage was brought in and the crowd of more than 10,000 watched as the final race took off. It was Teddy Pons, Nicolas Rius and Jean-Bruno Pastorello who nabbed the holeshot, riding rail to rail. Pons squeaked into the lead with Pastorello following close behind in second. While trying to pass him, Rius hit Pastorello from behind, causing them both to be ejected from their skis. The two managed to get back and continue the race but Rius ultimately had to pull in with severe mechanical problems, the fourth DNF in four days.

The last bad luck award of the day definitely went to Jean-Christophe Prayas. Prayas was in second place overall for the championship going into this race. Unfortunately, persistent mechanical failures allowed Vincent Karam to not only pass him in the race, but also in the overall. Teddy Pons ended up winning the last race of the day with Guy-Albert Prud'Homme finishing in second, followed by Davy Vaitilingon in third.

With the last race of the last day of Karujet and points totaled, it was Dustin Farthing who came out on top, winning his third Karujet championship. Nobody else has ever won this race that many times, which makes Dustin the most "Crowned Racer" in Karujet history! Vincent Karam finished in second overall with Jean-Christophe Prayas ending in third.

(Above: "Yeah, baby!")

At the end of the day, Farthing was quoted saying "The Karujet race is the toughest and most grueling race in watercraft history. You have to be in excellent physical condition and be able to ride consistently and use your head. Not only use your head in riding techniques, but also being able to read the waves and have a good sense of direction when you are out there in the middle of the water. Most of all you need a reliable watercraft that will finish each day with no mechanical failures, which in turn wouldn't happen without a great mechanic and pit crew."

Above: (Left to Right) Vincent Karam (second), Farthing (first) and Jean-Christophe Prayas (third)