I am a late forties kayak racer. My goal is to compete at the World Masters Games in Turin, Italy in 2013. I will be racing in ICF sprint kayaks. This blog will be my training diary for the next 4 yrs. I use a variety of running, weights, and cross training to hopefully become a better kayaker.

Monday, June 30, 2008

MTS 2008 – Paddling Leg


I left my house at 5:30am, so I could be at the border by 6am. A quick stop for a coffee and a couple of power bars, and I was on my way. It did not take long to get to the border, so I decided to go into Canada Customs to get my ski registered, to prevent the hassle coming back.

After getting my stamp of approval, I got into the line going into the states. Since it was a single lane, I was getting a little concerned, but after about 5 minutes, a second lane opened and I just breezed through. I turned into the parking area in Redmond exactly two hours later.

I checked out the boat area, and was surprised at how many boats were already there. So I placed my ski with the others in the staging area, and headed off to find some shade, and to hydrate up. With the heat already increasing at 8am , drinking lots before, during and after the race is important. I managed to down about 2 liters of water before the race, because during the race I don't drink enough.

I have everything set-up by 9am, and was chopping at the bit to get going, but I had to wait another 2-1/2 hrs. before I would be on the water. I have to say waiting is the hardest part of the race. As it was getting closer to 11am , Will, Joanne, John, and Daria showed up with my numbers and to tell me Wayne was on his way.

It wasn't long before my team was signaling that Wayne was coming up the chute for the tag. We tagged off, and it was a quick run through the crowd to my ski. I grabbed my ski ran over to the path to the launch, and came to a quick stop. There was at least 6 boats in front of me waiting to get on to the water. This was painful, it I even considered to cut through the bush and launch there, but thought better of it, and waited with everyone else.

After about 4 to 5 minutes I was on the water. Pushed my start button on my GPS, and was paddling hard to catch the boats in front of me. Right off the bat I was up to 11.8 kph, and catching the boats in front a little too quick. It was the area where you had to be in the middle of the river or you run aground. So I had to cut it close to the boats and kind of push my way through.

Before I got to the first bridge about 500 meters down river, I had passed about 6 boats. From here it was just picking one boat off after another. There was so many boats in front of me, I just used them as goals all the way to the finish line. Once I got past one group I would aim for the next one in front of me. This was a lot of fun, and managed to chat with everyone along the way.

The one major problem I had, was the weeds. I had to jump off the ski, and get to the rudder to clear them. Five times I had to do this. Once I pulled a clump the size of a volleyball off my rudder. Next year I think I will hook up one of those electric knives to my rudder.
I was passed by only two other paddlers. The first was when I was down to 8.4 kph from the weeds. But after stopping and clearing the weeds, I came pass him and never looked back. The next gut to pass me was on an Epic V10L and was motoring quite well. This was right before entering Lake Washington. The lake was fairly bouncy, much like English Bay with all the boat chop. I was trying to catch some rides on the waves but it was not working. Cruised into the finish, ran up and touched off with Will, and the next leg of the race was off.

Then I staggered to the grass for a little rest. see below.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Mountain To Sound Relay Victory



Today our team "Heavy Boots of Lead" came in 17th overall, and 1st in our division.

All team members and our team support, had to handle the hot temperatures, that were rumoured to be in the 90s'.

My personal thanks to all team members:

John Ward - Mountain Bike / Captain
Wayne Halabourda - Road Bike
William Schuurman - Half Marathon
Joanne Wild - Sprint
Daria Kurkjy - Support

This was one of the best racing experiences that I have had. It was a lot of fun with good competition.

Hopefully I will have complete team write ups with pictures of the race soon.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Deep Cove #12 – Short Course, 5 Km. Time Trial



Deep Cove #12 – Short Course, 5 Km. Time Trial

Today I was not feeling 100%, and with the upcoming Mountain to Sound relay race on the weekend, and Big Chop #5 on Thursday, I decided to do the short course tonight. (if there was one) Not many racers choose the short course, so I knew it would be a time trial for me.

Since I have a slight cold and a bit stuffed up, I wanted to test some of those Breathe Right nasal strips. As soon as I put one on, there was a huge difference in my breathing. It was alot easier, and a bigger throughput, so to speak.

Checked out the course board for tonight's course, and was greeted by a short course, yes! It was going to be from Deep Cove to Boulder Island and back. The same course Amber and I did in the double XT. Of course I got the usual flak for doing the short course, but with the up coming races, I was willing to take the heat.

Bob had a pre-race meeting with all the paddlers on the beach. He was telling us that we should be ble to self rescue should be come out of our boats, and that part of the race would involve a self rescue. Luckily for me, it was going to be at the end of the race. I didn't want my cold to get worse, and paddling soaking wet for 25 minutes was not going to help. So as you approuched the dock on the left hand side, you had to get out of your boat, and go under water, (head and all) and get back in your boat. This was for everyone, not just the skis.

With that said everyone went for a quick warmup paddle, and headed to the line for the start. After the usual course description, it was a GO. I started fast because I wanted to stay near the front. I managed to get on at the end of the lead group, and kept it there all the way to the edge of the cove. After that a gap started to form. We were cruising along the west wall out of the cove trying to dodge the incoming current. I could see some confusion at the front of the pack, as to where they were going. All of a sudden everyone cranked a hard left and started going across the arm.

Everyone up front was doing the long course and were going far to the left of where I wanted to go. This wasn't a problem because I was off the back of the lead group. That was until a white nose witha big red maple leaf came along my right side. That was going to be a problem because he was in the way of me heading to Boulder. To make things worse along came the nose of a V10L inbetween us. It was Renee, and he was telling us to go left, but I kept heading towards Boulder. He did not like this too much and then he started banging the side of my ski with his paddle. I guess I was squeezing him up against Mike.

I could see that this was going to go no where fast, so I let up and let them pass in front of me. This gave me a clear shot for the north tip of Boulder. As I was crossing over, I glanced down at my GPS, and saw 9.8 kph. I could feel the current, but didn't realize just how much it was slowing me down. My tactic would be to go to the north tip of Boulder and paddle as close to it as I could get. That way I might catch an eddy , and push up my speed. Sure enough the GPS was reading 11.5 going along the wall.

As I was going around the corner, I was checking out the for sale sign, and was wondering how much does an island cost these days. Soon I was back in the middle of the arm going with the current and making some good speed. I passed Brian and Brigid Wong going the other way in a plastic sit on top. I found out later that they came in second in the short course.

Coming into the cove the sun was shining directly into my eyes. This was another good time to practice eyes closed paddling. So that is what I did. Four strokes eyes open, and four strokes eyes closed. I did this for about 6 sets. Once I was in the shadow, I could see the dock and my destiny with the water. I really wasn't looking forward to being cold, but them are the rules.

So I hanged my legs over, which is really easy in the EVO, and in I went. I looked back to see if anyone was coming, and saw no one. I said to the girls/time keepers that I guess I could take my time, but since I did not want to stay in the water for too long, I quickly dunked my head, and remounted my ski. Then it was a easy paddle to the finish line.

My time was in the range I was looking for, and the nasal strip did its job perfectly. Made for a good time trial.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Mountain To Sound Relay Race



I have joined a local team to race the Mountain to Sound Relay race on June 29th in Redmond Washington. It is going to be a lot of fun and a good race experience. I will be in the 12 mile (20 kilometer) paddling leg. I am going to use my Think EVO surf ski.

Course Length - 100 Miles

Mt. Bike 23 Mi. / Road Bike 50 Mi. / Canoe - Kayak 12 Mi. / Run Legs Half Marathon and 6 Mi.


This 100 mile course extends from the Snoqualmie Pass areas beginning with a 22 mile Mountain Bike Leg that plunges riders into a two mile long, pitch black abandoned railroad tunnel requiring each rider to carry their own illumination. This leg continues on down the meandering Iron Horse Trail once used by the Milwaukee Railroad Co. and has been converted to a biking/hiking trail. Riders end at the Iron Horse Trail Head and Rattlesnake Lake where they touch off to the Road Bike Leg participants.


Road bikers immediately cruise down to North Bend along Cedar Falls Rd, giving a taste of what's to come over the next 50 miles. The Road Bike Leg takes riders through Washington's most scenic rural areas anywhere. Participants are treated to routes along the base of striking Mt. Si, then along the Three Rivers Natural Area and on via Snoqualmie Falls, Fall City and Carnation. A stunning, bucolic ribbon of roads meanders through Snoqualmie Valley giving enthusiastic bikers plenty of hills and dales to test their endurance. The course has been carefully planned to minimize traffic and maximize enjoyment. Riders culminate their leg by riding the the famous 'Redmond-Roubaix' Red Brick Road along 196th near Redmond ridden by the likes of Greg LeMond. Traffic will be controlled where necessary for safety but it is an open course.

Bikers finish by riding through Marymoor Park and ending at Luke McRedmond Park for the handoff to the Canoe / Kayak Leg.


Paddlers are in for a 12 mile, downstream adventure on the Sammamish Slough. Winding through rural and residential areas, the Slough parallels the Sammamish River Trail that becomes the Burke Gilman Trail in Seattle. The slough runs calm at about 1 kt. This paddle promises to be a unique experience to many paddlers who've not seen this part of our city. As the Slough enters Lake Washington, they'll cruise around to their right being cognizant of the many seaplanes landing and taking off at Kenmore Air. Keep paddling out into the lake leaving Kenmore Air and the marina to your right and look for marker balloons or flags on the end of the long dock jutting out from Log Boom Park. Go around the dock and disembark on the beach and touch off to your Half Marathoner or keep on trucking if you're an Iron Solo. Course Monitors will be out on the lake to aid your navigation.


Runners begin their test on a Half Marathon run over the top of Lake Washington and our famous Burke Gilman Trail. The trail meanders along Lake Washington's western shore past Magnuson Park and ending their leg at Seattle's Gasworks Park.


The Glory Run starts near Gasworks Park on the north end of Union Bay. Touch-off from the Half Marathoners will be ON the trail just before Urban Surf. You'll find adequate parking along Northup Way and Gasworks Park. Follow signs and course monitors and where Stoneway crosses the trail you may need to wait for the light. Stay on Burke Gilman and follow the direction signs along Shilshoal Bay. Stay on the parking strip and beware of cars and parking lots. At the Boat ramp, go left and get on the path again. That will take you to the Beach House at Golden Gardens and GLORY !!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Master's Technique Class - K1'

Tonight was our bi-monthly Master's technique class at Burnaby Lake. Every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month we have the class. The club offers this class for $200 for the whole year. Since our coach Lynn is away right now, Sara the coach from Fort Langley came to coach us. It was a good turn out. There was seven of us, six in K1s and one on a surf ski.

Our workout was going to be 1000 meters:

The first 1000 was at 70%.
The second was 250 meters at 70%, 500 meters at 80%, 250 meters at 90%.
The third was 450 meters at 70%, 100 meters at 90%, 350 meters at 70%, and 100 meters at 90%.
The forth was 250 meters at 70%, 250 meters at 100%, 250 meters at 70%, 250 meters at 100%

With each set we were given certain aspects of our stroke to concentrate on. Mine was to pause at the setup, before rotating, and then to pull the blade out of the water quicker.

These got tougher with each new 1000, but I managed to get through it, with only having to stop twice. Then we practiced starts at the dock. we did about five starts before we finished. My starts were a lot better than the ones I did at the regatta on the weekend.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

K2 Practice, Skipped Deep Cove Race



Today we decided to do a K2 practice instead of going to race in Deep Cove. I was tired from racing on the weekend and it turned out that tonight was a good night to go to Burnaby Lake. Amber and I went out to practice timing and technique.

At first we were a little rocky in the Sagitta, but after about 5 minutes we seemed to settle down. I was in front setting the pace and steering, or should I say trying to steer. It was not easy keeping the boat going straight, and required quite a bit of corrections. We did the first 4 kilometer loop, and then stopped at the dock to stretch and discuss what we needed to concentrate on. I was having trouble rotating, and my right leg was going numb. Before we started the next loop, we did some turn practice, turning hard left and hard right, keeping the same stroke rate and technique.

Then it was off for the second loop. As we were approaching the 1000 meter platform, my right leg was going numb again, so I decided to cut the loop short. We turned around and headed back to the dock. We were looking straight into the sun, or I was being in front. I was not wearing sunglasses, so it was hard to see. So I decided to do a blind drill. I would do 4 strokes with my eyes open and 4 strokes with my eyes closed. I did not tell Amber what I was doing counting 4 stroke sets. I did not want her to freak that the driver had his eyes closed.

It was a good drill, you really get the feel of the boat on the water. We finished off our workout with a couple of starts. This we will need to work on. On the start I was three strokes ahead of Amber. The main thing is that we are in sync. If it means pulling the blade up sooner, than that is what has to be done. It is not very efficient for us to be out of time at any time during the race.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Ted Houk Sprint Regatta Day 2



First up was the Open / Masters K1 500 meters. Technically I thought I had a better race than the day earlier, but finished in 5th place. This time I was positive that I did not make the final, and started to get ready for the K2 500 meters with Daryl.

We were going to use the Sagitta K2 in this race. Since we were going to go against some very fast competition, wash was going to be an issue, at least for me. Daryl said that we should just concentrate on being smooth, and I totally agreed.

The start was fast, but not for us. It is amazing to watch these guys race. when they start, it is like an explosion. The boats just jump out of the water and rocket away. Unfortunately they were rocketing away from us. Daryl and I got into a pretty good rhythm and were cruising down the course, watching the race in front of us. At the end we came in 5th place. We were head of the other K2s by a good amount, so I think our race was a good one.

Next up was the K4 500 meters, but because Daryl had to go, we had to make some team changes. At first we had Dion Maxwell paddling for Daryl, but he found out that he was actually in another boat. So we picked up Nick Foellmer to be our 4th. I asked Jim which boat we were going to use and he said the white and red one. I was a little concerned because I have never paddle in that particular boat before. I have been in the more stable Plastex K4. This was the real tippy (according to me) Lightning K4, which is similar to a Nelo.

This was the seating arrangement: 1st – Jim, 2nd – Nick, 3rd – Eliot, 4th – Darrell.
Well the race did not go exactly as planned. My balance was the subject of discussion after the race. I am used to a little "rolling" during a race, but the guys were not used to that kind of movement in a boat. So Eliot was doing some heavy duty bracing to try to compensate for the roll. This of course slows down the boat, and puts everyone out of sync.

We managed to come in 3rd place. Not bad, in my opinion. Nick, according to his mom, had a good time in the boat. He does not get too many chances to race with the older guys.

The last race for me at the regatta was the 5000 meters. this was going to be specially fun, because the notorious Green Lake wind had kicked up. There was about 24 paddlers in the Open / Masters class, and would make for exciting race. I had already decided that this was going to be a fun race, and would use it for training. We all lined up, and off we went. Right from the get go, Dion, Jim, Eliot, and the rest of the faster paddlers were gone. I was right behind Daryl and Brent for the first up wind leg. The waves were coming right up to the cockpit, and at times coming over. Without a spray skirt, I did managed to get a little wet. I wasn't really gaining on the two in front, but I wasn't losing any ground either. Around the top , and then the down wind section is where they I started to lose ground. I never really do well going with the wind, and would not catch them for the rest of the race.

At the bottom turn, this is were all hell broke loose. Side waves like crazy. I was coming out of the turn, and bang a wave push me all the way over, right to the cockpit rim in the water. I did a huge, boat stopping brace, and managed to stay out of the water. So here I was completely stopped in the waves. I quickly started paddling, to get moving or I was done for. Going up the course again, the two lead girls from the group behind had caught me. They were powering through this stuff. One of the two was Kirsten who has raced a many Tuesday nights in Deep Cove, so I knew she was going to do well in this stuff.

Going to the top and back down the course was pretty much the same as the last. Lost more ground to Daryl and Brent. As I came around the bottom, I heard a familiar voice, it was Steve in his Thunder coming beside me. I though good someone to paddle to the end with. We managed to stay together up to the top of the course, then as usual I started to slip back a bit. Just then Katja had caught us, and was motoring by. So I used her pace to set my own pace, and managed to pull in some distance on steve, who was about 5 meters in front of me by now.

At the end Steve got me by about 6 to 8 seconds. It was a fun race, and I really enjoyed my regatta weekend in Seattle.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Ted Houk Sprint Regatta Day 1



This morning a felt rough. I got real late after the scratch meeting at Green Lake Kayak Centre, and did not get a lot of sleep. So getting up was a real chore, and I ended up sleeping longer than I was suppose to. Now I had to hustle because racing was going to start at 8am sharp, and the Open / Masters K1 1000m was going to be one of the first races. They decided to combine the two groups, which basically cut my racing in half.



There was enough racers to make three heats, and I ended up in the third heat. So when I got at the lake, I could not take my time, and had to get my boat ready to race. I am racing the Super Lancer this weekend. It is such a nice boat to use. I got the boat off the trailer and found my number,then headed off to the start line, which is at the other end of the lake.

As I was paddling, I was just not feeling right. Humm the sign of things to come. Our race was called to the line, to get ready to start. I was in lane 7, which was close to the starter. I had only one racer on my left and no one on my right. this was good, only wash from one side. the starter lined us up, but he kept calling racers up to the line. this makes starting very long. the tarter is only suppose to call the racers back, if they go over the line. It i the racers responsibility to get the bow up to the line. Normally we put the nose over the line and wait for the starter to call us back. Waiting for paddlers to get to line is time consuming.

After a couple of races getting caught way back, will get them to get to the line faster. We finally got lined up, and the starter said “start with in ten seconds” go. Well let me tell you, the wash from the left was pretty big, and had the boat going all over the place. the first 500 meter of my race was bad. Nothing was working, my breathing was going nuts, steering was areal chore, and I felt bad.

Once I got to the 500 meter mark, everything all of a sudden started to click. The wash was gone, I could ease up on my out of control breathing, and concentrate on my technique. In the last 100 meter I was able to crank up the stroke rate and keep it there. In the end I ended up coming in 4th place. The top two from each heat and the next three fastest times moved on to the final. This was not I good race, and I did not think I had a chance to make the final. So off I went to test paddle a Think Carbon Legend.

After about 30 minute of paddling the Legend, Steve came up to me and said I had made the final. I checked the time, and I had only 20 minutes to get ready and to the line. I grabbed my number and my boat, and off I went. Made it to the start line with a little time to stretch on the shore, and think about what kind of strategy I was going to use. I had two very fast paddlers on the left of me, so the strategy was fairly easy. I only had two choices, either start fast and try to stay ahead of the wake for as long as I could (which would not be long) or start easy and let the wash go in front of me. I picked the first choice.

Soon as the starter said go, these two were off like rockets. I managed to get on the wake on the guy next to me, and rode it for as long as I could. I managed to go about 100 meters on his wake, then I slipped back into the mixed waves. This was hard to steer in, and I kept turning all over the place. After a while, I managed to get it together, but by that time I was fighting just not to be last. It was close but I got beat right at the line.

Next up for me was the Open / Masters K4 1000 meters. Our boat comprised of: Jim, Brent, Daryl, and myself. As we were warming up, Daryl was having problems sliding around on his seat. This resulted in some amazing bracing on Daryl's part. This is where Daryl's whitewater skills came in handy, and we managed to stay dry. Since we had time before the start, we went over to the swim area, to sort it out. After some fiddling with the foot board we were off to the start area. We had to wait a couple of races in front of us to go, before we were told to go to the line.

The start was ok. We powered it up, and managed to get off to a decent start. As we were heading down the course, Daryl started to brace again, as he was starting to slide around again. Jim realizing that we were not going to compete for 1st, or even second, he backed down the stroke rate only to have everyone behind him crank it back up again. He tried this a couple of times but we kept increasing the rate. I guess we need to follow the driver a little better. Anyways, it was a fun race.

Thats was it for day one. Tomorrow was the 500 meter and the 5000 meter races.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Test Paddle – Sammamish River

This afternoon I went to Redmond to test paddle the Sammamish River for the adventure relay race I am in at the end of the month. I found the start of the paddle section no problem. Right off the bat I can see parking is going to be a problem. Definitely going to use the bank's parking across the street. That is where I parked today, but only after checking the parking signs and asking if it was ok with the bank.

I sure did not want my car to have been towed after coming back from my paddle. I check out the put in area for the race, it is going to be real tight. They say there is room for 6 boats, I don't think so. Maybe 3 if you are lucky. The first bit of strategy is to take the ski down to the launch area stern first. There is no room to turn a boat around at the water.

This race is 20 kilometers, and all of it with the current, which was moving pretty good. The river is deep enough not to have to worry about my 6” rudder on my ski. The tricky parts are in the first 500 – 800 meters, after that I did not find any large rocks, trees, or drain pipes hiding just below the surface.

My paddle was an easy one in the Thunder K1. I can see why people like to paddle this river, it is very nice. It is clean, peaceful, and meanders from Redmond to Lake Washington. there is a paved path way on the side, that had a lot of cyclists using.

My original plan was to paddle 5 kilometers down and back, but as I got to 4.5 kilometers, I decided to turn around and head back. Now I realized just how much current there was. I had to work going back. I had to paddle non-stop the whole way, or the current would grab the boat and quickly turn it down stream. I was sideways going down the river a couple of times. Just to try things out I would paddle in the middle , jump over to the side, observing how the boat handled and what kind of speed I was getting. You sure do want to paddle close to shore and out of the current to maximize the speed.

During my paddle, I was checking my speed with the GPS. That way I can estimate my finish time, and report it during our team meeting next week, so we can plan our race.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Big Chop#4 – Good Start, Strong Race

This afternoon the skies were sunny with some clouds and warming up. this was a concern for me because I brought paddler gear for cold weather, after Tuesday night's race. As per usual with weather in Vancouver, by the time I got to Vanier Park, the weather had changed to cloudy and was looking like it was going to rain.

So on went the neoprene pants and booties. So all geared up, GPS on, and reset, and it was off for a warm up paddle. The water was basically flat, with the occasional wave from a passing boat. Went to past Heritage harbour, around the point, only to find yep more flat water. This race was going to be a grind. Good time to practice technique.

Paddled back to the start, got turned around, and lined up at the start line. I had Bob on my right, and Chris and Jeff over a couple of boats on my left. Soon as Ryan said go both Jeff and Chris hammered away. I took off after them,with Bob right behind me. I caught them and jumped on Chris's stern wake. Bob came right by me and positioned himself on Jeff's right side. I managed to stay there for a little while before a slide off the back. I kept the fourth position all the way to the red marker.

As my turning skills are not really up to snuff, both Sean on his V10 and the Billy's in their double dugout, passed me. by the time I got straightened out, they had a good gap forming. So for the rest of the rest of the race, I was playing catch up. So I worked on technique. This was good. I was able to put weight on each stroke, and start using more of my torso and legs to generate power.

There was a couple of times I managed to get on some waves and really get some speed going, but as I did it the group in front did it as well. Oh well. Hopefully I will improve with each race.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Deep Cove#10 - Fast Start, So So Race



While I was in Deep Cove Outdoors store buying a weed deflector, Bob and I started chatting. He asked me what course should we do tonight. So I though about it for a minute. We had gone north and south but not really to the east, so I said how about into Bedwell Bay to the 5 km can there. He said good idea and the course was set.

The weather was, as we now expect, not as warm as it should be. It was a long sleeve shirt night, if not two shirts. Burrrr. I waited to the last minute to get on the water, and warm up. It seems everyone had remember last weeks race start, and were not going too far from the start line. It was like sharks circling for the kill.

Everyone lined up well in advance of the starter telling us what the course would be, and just like last week, the very second she finished with the description it was 1, 2, 3, go. I hammer hard to get near the front. I had a really good start and was up just behind the fast guys. Ben took off like a rocket in his new Fenn, and was right up there near the front. Most of the boats were all single file, with me riding the side wash. I managed to hold on to this position for about 100 meters and then my side really started to ache, and I started to slide back. One after another the boats began to pass. It wasn't until about 4 or 5 boats past me, that I managed to get the pain under control. I had to really concentrate on my breathing to get things to settle down.

At this point both Micky and Katja were right in front of me, so I took advantage of their wakes and jumped in to the cradle, and basically sit there for the next 10 to 15 minutes. Even though I was getting a good ride, it was still hard work to stay with them. It wasn't until the turn into Bedwell that they shook me off, and were speeding away.

I upped my stroke rate to match Katja's, and manged to minimze the gap that was forming in front of me. This part was a really hard grind. We got to the 5 km can, and Micky shot off like a rocket after going around the turn. With Katja in hot pursuit of Micky, and my ( as usual ) bad turn. ( I really need to work on that ) the gap doubled in a very short period of time. Crap! The only way I thought to be able to catch these two, was to totally concentrate on technique and power. So that is what I did. I sat up straight, actually slowed my stroke rate down, and powered each stroke through. This made a noticeable difference, and I started to catch up.

As we were approaching the exit from Bedwell, the safety boat with its beautiful wash came up on my right. Along for the ride was one of the Billy clan riding a Millinium. I quickly jumped on the wake and was gifted with a rocket ride all the way up to Katja. Just then the safety boat stopped and turned around. So now Katja and I were side by side going into the turn to Jugg. I kept looking down to make sure I was not going to run aground.

From here I could see Bob and his Son Seth in the double XT, and decided that they would be my goal. So I started to keep the power on and bring the stroke rate up a little. This seemed to keep Katja at bay, but I did not catch the speedie XT. At this point I had to just keep it going, to keep Katja from catching and passing me. I thought my head was going to explode. As I was approaching the finish line, Daryl who had already finished, started to tell me to crank it. I thought Katja was trying to sneak up and pass. So I hammered it. As I crossed the finish line, I looked back to see not Katja, but the guy with the beautiful cedar strip kayak about 3 seconds behind me. Boy that was close. If Daryl had not told me to go, he would have caught me at the line.

Thanks Daryl.

Big Chop #4 - Reminder



Just a quick reminder about Thursday's race.

Registration is at 6 pm, with racing at 7 pm.

Below is the race course.

Racing, Food, and the hottest prizes around. What more could you ask for.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Busy Week Ahead

This is going to be a really busy week, with two surf ski races and a regatta in Seattle on the weekend.

First up is tonight's core workout, and the way I am feeling right now, it is going to be tough.

Tuesday's race is Deep Cove #10, I am hoping everyone is bagged from the Round Bowen race on the weekend.

Wednesday is the World Masters Games road show, where i will be one of the guest speakers. I am really looking forward to it.

Thursday's race is Big Chop #4, which as always is a good race.

Friday is a travel day down to Seattle for the weekends sprint regatta. Also I will be checking out the Sammamish Slough for an adventure race I am doing on the 29th of this month. I need to check the parking, launch area, and the course before the race. I will probably go for a easy 10 kilometer paddle, along the course to see how it is.

Saturday and Sunday will have a lot of races packed into the two days.

By the time I finially get home on Sunday night, I think I will be completely bagged.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Registered For Worlds Masters


Registration opened for the World Masters Games last week , and we are now signed up to race in Sidney.

I am registered for K1 200m, 500m, 1000m and Mixed K2 200m, 500m, 1000m.

It feels good to have one more thing on our "to do" list for the games. Now we or should I say Amber, just have to tackle the next 500 or so items left. ;-)

Amber did a great job of getting us signed up for our respective regattas.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

World Masters Games Roadshow Reminder



Just a reminder that the World Masters Games Roadshow is this Wednesday June 11th.

It takes place at the Best Western Richmond Hotel & Convention Centre, 7551 Westminster Hwy, Richmond, B.C. in the ballroom, and begins at 7:00 pm.


I have been asked to be one of the guest speakers, and will be discussing our experiences at the last games, and my preparation for the games in Sidney.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Easy K1 Practice

Today was a easy K1 practice in my Thunder. There was a slight breeze and a big current by the bridge. I started on the west side and paddled easy all the way to the bridge. As I was crossing from the west side to the east side, I could see the current ripping across my path. The nose of the boat hit the current and immediately turned 90 degrees to the left. That was an eye opener.

Along the east side, the dike blocks the wind, so it was a flat water paddle. So it was mainly a technique practice with a bunch of power ups to spice it up a little. I had time for a couple of laps around the slough before I had to leave.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Deep Cove #9 - Crazy Start, Great Race



The start for tonight's race will definitely go down as one of the craziest. I heard the starters say over the bull horn that the race will start in 5 minutes. I did not think anything about it, and went to the line along with Ben. Both he and I had the same idea. We both lined up on each side of Jim.

Jim is a very fast and strong young paddler, who just happens to race for Burnaby. It is nice that the juniors can help out the masters every now and then. But as we were sitting there at the line, Jim decides to paddle around, and off he went, just as the starters came to the end of the dock.

The starter then tells us where the course was going. “The course will south out of the cove, south to Hamber Island, keeping the island on your left, from there, head north to Jugg Island keeping it on your left as well, and back to the finish in the cove” Well the very second after the course description was announced, she said” racers ready 3, 2, 1 Go” I could hardly believe it. I quickly reached down and started my GPS, as Ben was taking off. Brian and Sasha in the XT double were leading the pack out of the cove, with Martin in tow. I managed to get on the side wash of Chris, I think. I can't remember, it was such a blurr. As we were heading out of the cove Jeff came cruising by. He was really moving. I wasn't thinking, I should have tried to jump on his wake. Oh well 20 / 20 hindsight.

Next up was Jim. He was moving very well. This was his first time in a Legend surf ski. He was getting used to the ski for this weekends Round Bowen race. I jumped on his side wake, and hammered to stay on. it was hard work, but I managed to stay on. Right behind Jim was Mike.
As we were going across to Hamber, Mike kept banging into Jim's tail. After a couple more hits, Jim said for him to stop it, Mike said go faster, and then Jim said if you want to go faster you go in front. So that is exactly what mike did. and that was the last we saw of him. He just move over and launched himself forward. He went all the way to the leaders.

At this point Jim picked up the pace and I got left behind. As I was coming around Hamber, rod moved up beside me. So I upped my pace to stay on his side wash. I stay there for awhile, but ended up sliding back to his stern wash. He kept increasing his pace every now and then. I think he was trying to catch Jim who was now paddling with martin about 20 meters in front of us. It stayed this way almost all the way to Jugg. Right after Rod finally shook me off, the safety boat came by. It was perfect, the right speed, the right direction, I jumped on its big waves and rocketed up to Rod in no time.

As I came up to Rod, he saw the waves and sped up to catch them. This made Rod go left, right into my line, so I turned left across the wave I was riding and stalled. I quickly turned back to the right and paddled hard, but I was going up hill at that point. So I slowed down and let the next wave go by, then as the back of my ski came up, I hammered to catch the next wave. The boat just took off, and was rocketing towards Rod, and the corner leading to Jugg. As we came to the corner at a very fast pace, I could see both Martin and Jim. This was great, we were going to catch them no problem. As I was watching Jim trying to catch the waves, Martin all of a sudden turned hard right, this put me on a direct collision course with him.
Martin managed to move to the right as I was cranking it to my left, and just missed each other. That was close. Now I had lost the wave I was on and had to crank hard to try to minimize the gap that both Rod and Jim were making as they rode off on their respective waves. I watched Jim go all the way around Jugg riding the safety boat wave. By the time I had got around Jugg, he was long gone.

Rod was not that far away, maybe 50 meters, so off I went in pursuit. As I was going along, I felt a sudden tap on my tail. It turned out to be Martin riding my stern wash. This went on for about 5 minutes when I decided to hammer it and try to shake him off, and to catch Rod who I was gaining on. It did not take long to catch Rod, just a big effort, which meant my sprinting ability at the end was going to be compromised. Riding my wash the whole way was Martin. This move really wore me out, and I started to slide back. Martin sensing this quickly jumped over to Rod and they paddle ahead.

My goal now was not necessarily to catch the two now in front, but to keep anyone from passing from behind. So from the 5 km can, I just started to power up my stroke. By the end I did manage to catch up to Rod and Martin, but didn't have anything in the tank to try and pass.

Right behind me about 5 seconds back was Matt and right behind him Ben. This was a really strong race for me. I was very happy with my effort.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Deep Cove Tuesday Night Racing


This year is the 10th anniversary of the Deep Cove Tuesday Night races. Every Tuesday night from April to September, competitive and non-competitive paddlers from all over the northwest come to race. The race is open to basically any human powered craft. Everything from row boats, kayaks, dugouts, surf skis, canoes, outriggers, ICF boats, draagon boats, and more.



The cost of the race is only $3.00. If you need a boat to use Deep Cove Kayaks rents them right at the beach. A single goes for $15, and a double is $20. This includes the surf skis they rent as well. there are Think, Epic, and Fenn skis to rent.

At the beginning of the season the races are about 30 minutes long, and increase as the season continues. There is also a short course as well. Just to spice things up a bit, they sometimes throw in a run, and or a swim into the mix.

These races are very popular with paddlers,as the numbers of racers is between 50 to 80, with a record high of over 100 paddlers.

So if you are in the area and looking for some races, or if you jsut want to try out kayaking give Deep Cove Kayaks a call at 604-929-2268.