Boat No. 22 is shown passing through the Cottonseed Rapids on the San Marcos River in Martindale on Saturday with Brad Ellis paddling in the front. Ellis, a 30-year-old Dripping Springs resident, was airlifted from the Guadalupe River early Sunday and died in a San Antonio hospital on Monday. (Photo by Erich Schlegel)
STAFF REPORT
A Dripping Springs man competing in the grueling 280-mile Texas Water Safari died Monday in a San Antonio hospital where he had been airlifted from the Guadalupe River south of Gonzales.
Brad Ellis, 30, was pronounced dead at about 2 p.m. at Brooke Army Medical Center, a hospital spokesperson told the San Antonio Express News. A statement issued by Texas Water Safari board President Allen Spelce said Ellis died of hyponatremia, a condition of low sodium concentration in the blood stream that results in brain swelling.
“The water safari participants are a very close-knit community and everyone is deeply saddened by the tragedy. We extend our condolences to Brad’s family and share in their grief,” Spelce said in a statement.
Ellis and his safari partner, 34-year-old Ian Rolls, embarked on the race Saturday morning in San Marcos along with about 130 other racers. Ellis was removed from the river between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. Sunday morning, the Victoria Advocate reported, when his boat flagged down other participants to ask for help.
According to GPS tracking data, Ellis and Rolls “scratched” from the race at about 4 a.m. Saturday at mile 98.19 of the 280-mile route from San Marcos to Seadrift. The canoe had maintained an average speed of 5.1 mph for its nearly 19 hours on the water, the data states, with only nine minutes of “stopped” time.
A Texas Parks & Wildlife game warden told the Victoria Advocate that he is investigating the death.
“Ian Rolls, the other man in Ellis’ boat, said he had been rowing for the last 20 miles by himself and the other gentlemen had given up and laid down for a nap in the boat,” game warden Dan Waddell told the newspaper in Victoria. He has jurisdiction to inquire into the cause of Ellis’ death because the canoeist became ill while traveling a state waterway.
Rolls told Waddell he accidentally tipped over the canoe while pushing off the bank after stopping, plunging Ellis into the water. Rolls pulled Ellis out of the water, the newspaper reports.
Boat 314 added a third consecutive win to their record when they reached Seadrift first Monday night after 37 hours en route. As of 5 p.m. Monday, 18 boats had completed the trek with 93 still paddling toward the finish line. Twenty-four teams had dropped out by then.
