The Elba Mare Marathon is one of the major italian kayak events, with tens of paddlers coming from Italy and abroad meeting in the wonderful sea of the Elba Island for a week of kayaking and more. On the Seakayakitaly website you can find the schedule of the 11th edition of the event, scheduled to begin Saturday June 21st, 2008

The program includes a tour of the Island of Elba divided into 5 stages for a total of 60 miles. This year there will also be a day of rescue techniques, and a 8 miles seakayak race.

if you need some extra motivation, you can get a copy of the current issue of Canoe & Kayak UK and read their special feature titled “Sea Kayaking Napoleon’s Island”.

Seahorses inhabit sea grass beds and coral reefs and they can be found both in temperate and tropical waters. The seahorse is among one of the most loved underwater creatures and, despite the smll size, a swimming seahorse represents quite an encounter even for the most experienced scuba diver.

As it is the case with many underwater species, seahorse numbers around the worl are falling. In many Asian cultures they are used in traditional medicine. Another growing trend is that seahorses are being collected for aquariums in the USA, Europe and Japan. Further still, the habitat of sea horses is under threat with declining zones of sea grass areas, coral reefs and mangroves throughout the world.

Seahorses are not yet considered endangered but they are red flagged as ‘threatened’ on several conservation lists. In the water surrounding Elba Island, where the embedded video has been shot, meeting a seahorse is not yet that difficult. We hope the same will be true for many years to come.

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