At about 10:30pm Sunday night, Jan and Randy DeWise were watching the surf from their patio at Villa Del Mar when Jan noticed an odd light approaching from the water. The couple, vacationing from Michigan, ran out to the beach where they encountered retired Marine Steve Isaac, dripping wet and pulling his 17-foot kayak onto the shore. It turns out that Isaac, who hails from Cleawater, had capsized in his tiny vessel less than 24 hours into a 1200-mile kayak race that circumnavigates the state of Florida.

"My husband and I saw his headlamp heading in, and we figured it was someone who needed help,” Jan told us. They helped the hypothermic paddler to shore and helped him warm up. We met Isaac this morning as he was repairing his boat before re-entering the race.

"There are seven other guys out here doing this, too,” he told us. "There's sensible kayakking, and then there's what we do.”

The race is called the Ultimate Florida Challenge, and has only been held once before – in 2006. The UFC and two concurrent races (the 68-mile Ultra Marathon and the 300-mile Everglades Challenge) are organized by the WaterTribe, a tight-knit group of paddlers who "live for adventure in small boats”.

Members of the "WaterTribe" number in the hundreds and have tribe names that reflect their paddling personas. More than 70 boats launched from DeSoto State Park on Mullet Key (St. Petersburg) at 7 a.m. this past Saturday on a route that will take them south along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, through the Everglades, across the Florida Keys, north along the Atlantic beaches and on the St. Mary's River to the woods of north Florida, where they will carry or tow their watercrafts 40 miles to the Suwannee River, before paddling back to the Gulf.

The rules seem simple for this grueling test of endurance: The first person back to the beach at Fort De Soto State Park wins. The course record is 19 days, 6 hours, 48 minutes – set by 50-year-old Plantation resident Warren Richey – aka "Shark Chow” – in 2006. Contestants, who paid $995 to compete, have 30 days to finish. Richey's book about his adventure – "Without a Paddle” – will be released on June 10 of this year.

Isaac, whose boat is outfitted with two outrigged pontoons and a tiny sail, told us that he ran into trouble at about sunset Sunday evening. "I got hit by a rogue wave and I capsized, which broke one of my pontoons,” he said. "When I first went into the water, I didn't feel the cold so I kept paddling after I got the boat righted. But, since I couldn't get all the water out of the boat I began to feel hypothermic after about 4 hours so I headed to shore.”

He credits the DeWises with "saving his life” by offering him a warm place to dry off. Even though Sunday was a warmer day than it has been, the temperature in the Gulf of Mexico was about 65 degrees Sunday night. According to an online medical website, this temperature could be life threatening with prolonged exposure: "A person falling into water of 65°F will lapse into unconsciousness in about two hours if not wearing protective clothing.”

"They let me take a hot shower, and fed me soup and twice baked pototoes, and let me use the phone,” he said.

Isaac isa 61-year-old computer consultant from Clearwater. He is known as The Chief because he founded the WaterTribe in 2000.

"I wanted the first Everglades Challenge to be an event that anyone with a week or so of vacation could do and get a taste of expedition-style adventure racing in kayaks, canoes and small boats," he said.

Isaac told us that he moved to Florida in 1979, and that over the years he has bought a number of small sailboats and kayaks, building half a dozen more. "I read the account of Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 crossing of the Pacific Ocean on a raft,Kon-Tiki, and decided that I wanted a life of adventure,” he said.

He explained that he plans to get back into the race after he repairs his boat and replaces the charts he lost when he capsized.

"I'm carrying about 30 days worth of food, and it's mostly in the form of MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) which are kind of heavy since they have so much packaging,” he said. "I will head for Chokoloskee Bay next, then on to Flamingo and then to Key Largo. I plan to sleep on spoil islands using my tent or in the kayak under a tarp.”

"I am excited about this race – it's at the very top of my bucket list.”

In addition to Isaac, seven other men are participating in the race, including Ft. Myers native Toby Ripper – "Whitecaps” – who is paddling a Kruger expedition canoe with full sail, outriggers and a leeboard. Readers can follow their progress by going to www.watertribe.com

Keri Hendry