Amazing Race 10 Tidbits -- Thoughts and Outlook

Amazing Race Tidbits

CBS' The Amazing Race 10th Edition

Thoughts on Episode 7 and Outlook for Episode 8

Thoughts on Episode Seven -- Mauritius

Episode Seven was a non-elimination leg. The saga of the Kentucky team of David and Mary continues for yet another episode as they finished last, but were not eliminated.

In Kuwait, teams went to the airport to find only one connecting flight to their next destination, Mauritius. Some teams tried in vain to find a better and faster commection. The Mauritius' official website does refer to other flights serving the island, chiefly from Paris, but all eventually accepted the word of the ticket agent to fly British Airways. Even so, sparks flew between Karlyn and the beauty queens and the models when the beauty queens asked the agent to go ahead and book Tyler and James with them.

The Cho brothers took another risk by helping both Karlyn and Lyn and David and Mary, renaming their alliance the Sixpack. This time, the move did not pay off for the Cho Brothers, as they finished in fourth and the other teams in the Sixpack finished behind them.

Route Info

Teams took British Airways to London, then to Mauritius, located east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. When the teams first found their marked cars, they found a model schooner with the words, "swim to me", at its base. Teams had to ask locals where the real schooner was located. At Grand Baie in the northern part of Mauritius, and opposite side of the island, both team members had to swim to the schooner Isla Mauritia. Once both team members were aboard, they would be handed a clue, and then allowed to swim back to shore.

Episode Seven Route Info
Team	Result
Tyler and James	Last to arrive, so fast they nearly caught up with David and Mary
Karlyn and Lyn	Slow in the water, out of breath as they came out both times
David and Mary	Mary was very slow in the water
Rob and Kimberly	Rob started right behind the beauty queens, Kimberly asked him to wait for her
Dustin and Kandice	Strong swim
Erwin and Godwin	Third, but well ahead of next team

Detour

Salt: Teams had to drive two miles to a salt pan, one important source of employment in Mauritius. Once there, they needed to search among three enormous salt piles for a salt shaker that contained their next clue.

Sea: Teams had to walk a short distance down to a nearby dock, choose a boat captain, who would take them two thirds of a mile to a small island. Once on land, they had to use a treasure map to search the island for their boat's mast and sail. Did someone mention to watch out for the pit? After locating the mast and sail, they needed to carry them back to the boat and attach them to receive their clue from the captain before returning to shore.

The Sea, or pirate theme, Detour was easier as teams found salt shakers that were empty or contained pepper in the salt piles, and some teams figured out the treasure map. David and Mary lost a lot of time with too much indecision. Dustin and Kandice made the best decision by going directly to Sea, and Rob and Kimberly and models Tyler and James gained the most by switching early and moving quickly.

Episode Seven Detour
Members	Detour Selected	Result
Tyler and James	Salt, then Sea	Switched Detours to finish a strong third.
Karlyn and Lyn	Salt, then Sea	Fifth
Dustin and Kandice	Sea	Dustin found the Sea challenge a natural match to finish first
Erwin and Godwin	Salt, then Sea	Fourth
Rob and Kimberly	Salt, then Sea	Worked quickly and efficiently to finish second.
David and Mary	Salt, then Sea	Sixth, but close behind other Sixpack teams

Just a little lost on the way to the Pit Stop

Had Rob and Kimberly not turned inland from the coast road too soon on the way to the Pit Stop, they would not have dropped a place to the models, James and Tyler. David and Mary kept asking for directions, and still made a wrong turn close to the Pit Stop, Chateau de Bel Ombre, separating them from the rest of the Sixpack teams at the end.

Outlook for Episode Eight

The Amazing Race 10 has been less predictable than the previous couple of editions, with teams that are very competitive. The six remaining teams have diverse backgrounds, including a team of black single mothers and another all female team. The six teams are skillful and resourceful. Each of the teams has a unique combination of strengths and weaknesses that have emerged.

Comparison of Teams in AMAZING RACE 10
Place	Members	Strengths	Weaknesses
1	Dustin and Kandice	Competitive, college educated, athletic, good navigation, good swimmers	Not paying attention to details of clues--or even preservation of clues, try to push ahead of others, not fastest in foot races, emotional. Dustin is bossy and domineering.
2	Tyler and James	Most athletic team, good swimmers	Not paying attention to details of clues, some bad luck, poor navigation, immature, poor decision making, communication with locals
3	Rob and Kimberly	Athletic, fast enough in footraces, good swimmers, good at tasks	Arguing, fighting, hot tempered, even hitting each other. Rob loses patience easily, Kimberly fights for control all the time.
4	Erwin and Godwin	Very intelligent, somewhat athletic, helpful and thoughtful	Small in stature, bad luck, too concerned with friends
5	Karlyn and Lyn	Communication, determination	Limited traveling experience, short in stature, slow at tasks, fair in rowing, poor in swimming, Lyn may be slower in footraces
6	David and Mary	David is athletic and has traveled. Mary has sweet personality, and is a quick read	Mary is weak, does not like to hear advice, afraid of unknown, is a poor swimmer, and has an injured ankle, David is fair in rowing, too stubborn, fails to lead when needed.

Dustin and Kandice finished a strong first. The beauties posted the best performance in Mauritius, completing all regular tasks first. They were aggressive, but effective, coming back from their accident by being allowed to continue on while still in first. Likewise, James and Tyler were strong in all tasks, despite getting lost in the opening drive to Grand Baie. Kimberly has announced that she is taking control, and Rob was frustrated following the situation with the stalled car on the road to Case Noyale. Still, Rob and Kimberly did well enough at tasks to overcome their hot-tempered bickering, and road woes. They could have had second, but settled for third place. Their on and off again fighting will bear watching for signs of causing them more trouble. Will they go the way of Lake and Michelle or benefit from the sparks like winners of Amazing Race 3, Flo and Zach?

The Cho brothers worked steadily in all tasks, even while shepherding the other Sixpack teams. In the newest twist, an intersection, the Cho brothers will have to work with the beauty queens. How will that work out for the Cho brothers? Will it slow down the performance of Dustin and Kandice? Lyn and Karlyn looked exhausted when they reached the Pit Stop as they returned to their form as a struggling team. Mary was slow in the swimming, and David was indecisive while driving and while mulling over the Detour choice, badly costing the team. It resulted in the other two Sixpack teams just running for it at the Pit Stop. David and Mary could reach the end of the line, as they are again marked for elimination. Could the Sixpack be just the Backpack again?

The theme of Amazing Race 10 is the promise of twists, turns, and surprises never seen before in the Race, clearly seen in Episodes 1, 3, and 5. The second non-elimination leg arrived early, but with the promise of a twist. What will Episode 8 reveal about the teams and who will be eliminated next? Watch Sunday, November 5 at 8PM Eastern/Pacific after 60 Minutes. Also, be sure to catch the FINISH LINE at 1 PM Monday November 6 on the THE AMAZING RACE 10th Edition Web site.