Since yesterday's regatta was only one day, I decided to come back today and do some training. The other paddlers were here to do some racing to qualify for funding. I could have joined, but really, what is the point at this time.
When I arrived at the lake, the wind was blowing pretty good. This was going to be a good hard session, at least going into the wind. Since I got there at a more casual time, all the racers were there already getting ready for there first race.
I got my boat ready and headed out. On my first of two laps of the lake, I headed south to the part of the lake I had not seen yet. It was an easy paddle up to the section where the lake makes a 90 degree turn, right into the wind. The valley funnels the wind and it bounces back and forth all the way down the lake. So at one end of the lake the wind is blowing one way, and at the other end it is blowing from another direction.
I made the turn and started heading back north with the wind and waves. At this point the waves were not very big, and you could still catch rides. The farther I got towards the race course the higher the waves got. At this point I was starting to get some good speed. I was thinking to my self that I should be paddling my EVO instead. Passing the race course and heading towards the north end of the lake, the wind was getting faster and the waves were getting higher. Now the front of the boat was going through the wave in front and submerging.
This was fun to be paddling in. I got to the end of the lake in record time. Now it was time to make the turn, which would be a little dicey. I got to within 3 to 4 meters of the shore, where the waves were big and the reflective waves were coming from the opposite direction. I made the turn and now the waves were coming directly across my beam. This was a little concerning, with the boat rolling from side to side, but I just went with it and paddle to the opposite shore and started to paddle south again. Now I was going against the waves, and it was a slog going back to the dock.
Once I got back to the dock, I went and rested at our club tent and got ready for the next lap. After about 25 minutes and a cup of coffee, I was ready to go. this time I was going to go the other direction first. Again the wind was blowing pretty good, and my trip north was fairly quick. At the end of the lake the waves were even bigger than last time. The boat was really rolling going along the shore line. When I turned to go south the boat was jumping up and down on the waves.
The bow would go completely under water, and the way to the combing. I managed to see a big one coming, and was ready went it hit. It came right up the deck and nailed me in the chest. I had just enough time to grab my glasses and hat or they would have been blown off my head. This was fun. The waves stayed this way all the way to about three quarters of the race course, then dropped a little.
After the race course the waves were about half the size and smaller than that the north end. During this time I just kept practicing technique. For the rest of the paddle it was all technique with some power ups. This turned out to be a good practice session. A big difference from the day before.
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