Deep Cove Distance Surf Ski Paddle

It has been two weeks since I was actually in a boat, that you can paddle. It was a group paddle out of Deep Cove, on a beautiful partly sunny day. It was a well organized paddle and thanks goes to Jeff of SurfSkiBC for setting it up.

It was a good turn out with eight paddlers taking part. There was Jeff in a Fenn XT, Katja in a Think Legend, John in his Fenn Millinium, Ben in a Fenn 6, Tom in a Westside X-Par missle, Gary in a Think EVO, Caroline in her Huki SX-1, and myself in a Think EVO.

We had a brief discussion on which course we were going to do, and the north or old marathon course was picked. this would take us out of the cove going, of course north, to the power stations and back. So off we went, at a nice easy pace. The pace was perfect for practising technique, and since I had missed the previous days' Technique Class, this is what I needed.

As I was paddling along, I heard a boat motor coming from behind. I turned and saw Tom riding the stern wash of a big sail boat that was going up the arm. So I jumped over and rode the side wash for a little while. Then I dropped off the waves and let it go for a short distance, and then hammered along the side wash back up to the boat. It was a good drill, but very tiring. By this time Ben and John were up in the distance ahead. We managed to get spread out a bit, but every once in a while the leaders would stop and we would regroup.

As we were coming to the point where we turn to cross the arm to head over to the power stations on the east side of the arm, I saw a familiar face coming towards us. It turned out to be Bern coming back from paddling to the end of the arm and back. This was a long paddle of about X kilometers.

We all stopped and grouped up to cross the arm together. Caroline had cut the corner, and was at the north power station waiting for us to cross. As we headed south along the east side of the arm back to the cove, we were four across, and cruising at a nice pace. I could see Tom off to our right closer to the middle of the arm, and Gary and Caroline bringing up the rear. As we came to Twin Islands, the front group stopped for a quick rest and then we were all off in different directions.

Jeff and Katja headed towards Bedwell Bay, John and Ben headed towards Raccoon, and Tom and myself waited for Gary and Caroline to catch up. Tom and I discussed which way to go, and I said I was just going to head straight to the cove from here. Once Gary and Caroline had caught up, off we went in a group of four. Once we had passed Raccoon, I could not see which way Ben and John went. It turned out that they went towards Jugg. As we headed towards the cove, our group split in two, with Tom and Caroline going down the middle, and Gary and myself heading over to the west side of the arm.

At this point I was starting to get fairly bagged, but I looked over and Gary was going strong, so I sucked it up, and kept up the pace. It wasn't until we got inside the cove did Gary say I needed to take it easy on him. The whole time I thought Gary was driving the pace. Oh Well.
Since I did not know when I was going to get out actually paddle with a group, I decided to crank up the pace, just for fun. At first it was 10 kph, then I upped it to 11kph, and then I had some left in the tank, and pushed it pass 12 kph. It was a good hard push at the end of a great paddle. Hopefully I will start feeling a little better, for the next paddle. hopefully next weekend in the Thunder. So the paddle ended up being 18+ kilometers in two hours.

Last Tuesday Night Race of the Season

Tonight was the last Tuesday night race of the season. Just another step toward winter and the dark and raining days that go with it. I got there early because I know that parking was going to be at a premium.

I looked at the race board and saw that the race was going to be a criterium style race with a portage. The race would go from the normal start line to the south 5 knot can, then left to the north 5 knot can. From there it was off to the beach by the marina, then it was a portage along the path that goes along the shore, to the Deep Cove Kayak shop, and then down the steps into the water.

The tide was up, so getting back into your boat was going to be a squeeze, because the area was going to be tight. Since over the years of this race, I had not portaged, I thought why start now. So my race was going to be the long course of three laps with no portage.

After doing a warm up paddle with Heide, it was off to the start line. I managed to get myself next to Gareth in Daryl's carbon Legend. I know Gareth is very fast, and that he would take off, right from the get go. I was going to use him as a pacer for me. I had to try and stay with him as long as possible. This was only going to be about 80 meters because the start was blazing fast. It seems everyone had saved up their energy for this race. The start and the pace caught a lot of people off guard and were dropped very quickly.

I was close to the front coming up to the first turn, and we went around the marker without any problems. As we approached the second marker people were starting to catch up, and the turn ended up being a little tight. Then a group of three slowly passed me, and were heading for the first portage. One of the group was Brian and Trista in their Nelo double, who beat me last week at the Big Chop. I knew they were not going to do the portage, so i hammer to keep up with them.

I did not want a repeat of the week before. We moved over to the left to give the people going for the beach a clear shot, and a better line for us to go around the marina. I was right on their tail all the way around the marina and under the wharf, as we headed to the end of the first lap. This is where I decided that being in front of them is the place I wanted to be. So I powered up and concentrated on a vertical catch and a strong stroke. With the foot board moved closer, it was easier to really put a lot of pressure on my blade.

It was not long before I was passing them. Now some of the faster paddlers who did the portage were starting to catch and pass me. I used them to pace myself. I did not ride their wakes, but just tried to keep the stroke rate up with good power. I managed to stay in front of Brian and Trista for the rest of the race, but I could hear them behind me. This was the motivation that I needed to keep going as hard as I could.

Not much happened until the final leg on the final lap. As I was approaching the marina for the last time, Terry who is a very fast paddler was catching me. Terry had done all the portages and was heading for th finish line. Just as Terry got in front of me, Gary had caught me on my left. I said Hi, and then Gary had realized who he was catching, and said something about a sprint finish. I told him to move up beside me, but for some reason he didn't. I think he was trying to set me up. Since I could not see him i had no idea which side he was going to sprint from. So I tarted to crank it up, as I was going around the marina. Once I got around the last corner, I hammer it. I managed to generate a lot of speed and actually caught Terry. We finished with Terry in front with me half a boat length behind.

It was a good hard race. A great way to end the surf ski season.

Deep Cove #15 - Hard, Going to Die Race

Tonight's race went south out of Deep Cove, across to the east side of Hamber island, continue south around Boulder Island, then back across the arm to Grey Rocks, and back to Deep cove around the 5 knot can. The race would be just under 5 kilometers.

I have been really tired these past couple of weeks, and tonight would be no different. I kept the warm up to a minimum to conserve what little energy I had. I started next to Katja and Kiran in the K2, and Saen in his V10S. Both of us had the same game plan. At the start we would get on the K2s wash and try to ride it as long as possible.

So right from the start I head start for the stern of the K2, and like wise Sean. He got on to the side wash, and I got on the stern wash. For me this was a really short time, about 2 minutes max before I jut died. Off the back I went. I had to slow down to a speed I could handle for the rest of the race. After dropping back about 5 or 6 boats, I managed to find a groove.

I had both Lina (who has really improved this season) and Gary in front of me. They were about 50 meters in front of me. Going across to Hamber, I managed to bring the gap down to about a boat length. It was a hard grind just to do that, and I started to slide back again, losing the gains I had made. By the time we were going around Boulder the two had about 30 meters advantage on me. This distance remained the same all the way to Grey Rocks. After the we hit the wall section after grey Rocks, I started to use the waves more and started to make some ground on Gary and Lina.

Coming up to the 5 knot can, I was about 10 meters behind, and thinking there is no way I am going to catch them. Then a gift from the heavens shined its light on me. Bob in the safety boat was filming and came right up on my right hand side. Well I was not going to pass up on this gift. I ramped up the stroke rate and got on its side wash. Yeehaa, off I went towards my targets. I rocketed up to and past both Gary and Lina. But as I got about 5 meters in front, the boat slowed down and veered off, leaving me to hold off the two racers I had been following all night.

I was just knackered by this point, and I slowed right down, just waiting for the inevitable. There was still about 200 meters to go, and I was just trying to survive. I tarted to listen to the racers who had already finished there race and were cheering on the people coming in.
Just then I saw in the corner of my left eye, the bow of Gary's ski. So I upped the rate just to hold him off, but there still a long way to go. Then I heard someone say to Gary, “go Gary, you got him” upon hearing that, I knew it was time to hammer or give up. So I put the power on and crank the stroke rate as fast as I could go.

After that I could not hear anything because my head was just pounding and I was on the edge of exploding. As I was going over the finish line, I thought I was going to barf. I was completely wasted. After the race , I just managed to paddle to the other side of the dock, and just sat there resting. It was a really hard race for me.

New Deep Cove Web Cam

Deep Cove Outdoors has installed a new web cam.

It can be viewed at:

http://www.deepcovekayak.com/webcam/webcam.html

Now you can checkout the conditions before you go paddling in Deep Cove.

Deep Cove # 14 – Hard Race, Paddle Test

Tonights race was going to include a swim in the middle. The long course was going to be, out from Deep Cove over to the mainland across from Jugg Island. Beach your boat and swim 160 meters over to Jugg and back, then paddle around Raccoon Island, over to Lone Rock lighthouse and back to Deep Cove.The total distance would be just under 8 kilometers.


As well tonight I was paddle testing. I'm in the market for a new paddle, so I am trying out as many blades as possible. During the race I was using a Max paddle. It was the Hank McGregor model in carbon. As soon as it was handed to me, I knew that this paddle was going to be a little much for me, due to its size and the aggressive shape. It came in between the SET paddle I normally use and my large blade Epic, which I use on occasion.


The quality of the paddle was top notch, and the small shaft was perfect for my hands. So off I went for my warm up paddle. With the blade in the water, it became apparent that this was going to be a chore for me over the 8 km distance. The grip at the catch is big, and the blade holds the water all the through the stroke with minimal slip. The exit is effortless.

After a quick paddle to the 5 knot can, it was time to hustle to the start line. As we were sitting at the line, Bob got out of his ski onto the dock, and started to speak through the load speaker. He said that Ty's wife to be, had secretly bought him a new Kevlar Legend and was going to give it to him in a couple of weeks, but because he was whining about getting a new ski, that she gave it to him tonight. So with that said Bob pushed the boat out into the cove and said that if Ty wanted to use his new ski, he would have to swim for it. With everyone cheering him on, that is exactly what he did. He had the biggest smile as he was swimming for it.

Then it was time to go. It was a quick start, and I got a good position beside Rod. I looked over to the far right and there was a group of paddlers behind the double XT of Brian and Sasha, moving fast. Up at the front of our group was Jim in his K1. During this time, actual throughout the whole race my balance was just not on. I was tippy, and could not seem to get it to work. It was not long before I was off the back of the group. I was basically on my own for the next 2000 meters, when Lina came up on my left hand side. Lina is getting stronger every week in the XT. So I decided to fight with my balance a little and stay with her. She would start passing me, and I would up the rate and move in front . She would then up the rate and try to pass again, so I would up it again. It was fun messing with her, but after awhile my balance became an issue again and I dropped off.

As we were coming up to Jugg, and the swim, I could see Jim carrying his K1 up the beach, and head out for his swim. I got to the beach and pulled my ski up on the beach, and headed out for my swim. Boy was it cold. It may have been a hot day, but that water was not. I managed to pass a couple of people on the swim. Once back on shore I grabbed my ski, and tried to manoeuvre through the piles of boats all over the beach.

I managed to squeeze through a gap, and get going after Colleen who was ahead of me. Around Jugg, and off to raccoon, With both Hope Brothers right behind me. The balance thing was still going on, and slowing me down. Rod passed me, but I managed to hold off Greg. As we approached Raccoon Island, I pulled up beside Colleen, and sat there for the length of the island. We we reached the northern tip of the island, I decided it was time to go. So I upped the pace, and managed to catch some decent waves to scoot ahead. I was on my own from then on. Steve was just in front of me, but I just could not real him in before the finish line.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Deep Cove #8 - Figure Eight, Crash, And Bump

Long course: (10 kms)

the long course goes to the north 5 km can, then goes to Lone Rock. Passing between the lighthouse and the island, we then proceed to the southern Twin island, keeping it on our left side. heading north we go between the islands and go around the north island, keeping it on our right side. Basically we are going to do a figure eight around the islands. Which should be fun, we just have to watch out for crashes in between the islands. From there we head back to the north 5km can, and into the finish.



Today I am going to do the long course in my EVO. The start was a wild one. it was one of the most interested I have ever been in. As we were lining up, the wind started blowing everyone toward the dock. it was getting very tight, with boats side by side and no place to put your paddle in.

Then the starter said three, two, one go, and it was nuts. blades everywhere boats bouncing off of each other, it was great. I managed to go about 100 meters and wham, everyone from the right came rocketing over at me. I had no place to go, with Bob on my left. It was a quick smash up. I was kidding Lina by asking who taught her to drive. she was two boats over, but I could easily reach over and touch her, that's how close we were.

We managed to get untangled, and get moving again, when I heard Corky telling me to go left. I couldn't and we got hooked up. I did a side draw, and got free from him. Bob was beside me looking good in his Epic V10 Elite. He then decided that all this crashing and banging was not his cup tea, and hammered away to the front of the pack. Boy when he puts the power down, he can really scoot.

The group stayed together until we got past the north 5km can. During the leg to Lone rocks it spread way out. After the start I was really behind, and had to crank it up just to keep up. I could see Csaba in front of me in an EVO, and he was going to be my first “goal”. It took about 6 minutes to catch and pass him. Next was to catch Brian and Bridget in their Millennium double ski, Micky, Bill, and Katja. Who were about 100 meter in front of me.

This would take the whole race just to catch Katja. I reached the lighthouse and turned toward the southern twin island. The group in front of me had strung out in to a long line with Brian and Bridget leading the way. Katja decided to go on her own, and was off to the left of the group. I was stuck in no man's land again, not gaining and not losing ground, just maintaining position. It was like this all the way across the arm. As we approached the island I noticed that the waves were going north, and that once we got to the other side of the island i could use the waves to try to surf up to the group.

The group all got around the point before I got there, and was racing away, so I cranked it up so I could try and keep the gap from increasing. Looking up a head I could see a couple of paddlers heading toward us. One was a beautiful carbon Think Legend who did not take the turn between the islands. Next I could see the group in front stop, and lined up trying to squeeze through the 3 to 4 foot pass between the islands. seeing this I hammered to catch up.



As I got closer I could see that a stand up paddle boarder coming from the north was going to reach the exact same spot as me. He managed to get into the tight pass before me, he slowed right down, but I “helped” him through, something I don't think he liked. Going through I could feel my rudder scraping the bottom. I was hoping that I did not damage my rudder. after getting through, I passed the surf boarder, and hammered to get back up to speed. I did a couple of zig zags to test the rudder. everything seemed ok. Going around the corner of the north island, I could see the group had really shot ahead in the current. I could tell we were in the current because my GPS went from 9.6 kph to 12.8 kph, in a snap of the fingers.

Of course everyone in front of me had the same advantage, and it was going to be hard to catch up. I powered up, and managed to close about 75% of the gap. Coming around the north end of the island, wham, now I was going against the current. Just as fast as the speed went up, it dropped just as fast.

I could see the group just in front of me heading for the gap. I thought if they had to stop last time, then it should happen again. So I kept the power up, hoping I would catch up. Sure enough the group stopped and was waiting their turn to go through. As I was getting closer, I could see each one getting through. Behind them there were more boats coming for their first shot at the gap. I eye balled a red plastic sea kayak, and figured we were going to get there at the same time, but this time I was not going to give way.

He managed to just get his nose in there, before me, but that was ok, I just rammed my ski in there, and kind of used him as a bumper against the rocks. From there I just kept paddling to move myself past. I don't think he knew what happened. Coming out of the gap and around the corner, I saw Matt on the shore working on his rudder. I guess a casualty of the low water level. From here it was just going to be a grind all the way back to the finish line. My goal was to just catch the group in front before the finish line.

My progress was slow and steady all the way across the arm. By this time Micky had gone a head of the group of Brian and Bridget, Bill, and Katja. Bill was drafting Brian and Bridget, and Katja was off to their right all alone. It took me most of this leg to finally catch Katja. I needed a huge rest. So I was glued to her wash for the next 1500 meters or more. Then I decide that I should do my time up front, so I moved over to the right and started to pass Katja. I though she would jump on my wash, but I don't think she did. My next goal was to catch the double ski, since Bill had now passed them, and was making a charge for Micky up ahead.

It was too little, too late. Brian and Bridget finished an easy 20 secs in front of me. It was a good hard race.

Deep Cove #7 - XT Double Surf Ski

Tonight's race I am teamed up with my wife Amber in the Fenn XT double surf ski.

Since Amber has not paddled in over a year, ( she is a competitive rower ) we decided that we would do the short course if there was one. As well I would have to use my large Epic wing blade, and let Amber use my mid blade Set. This is a very hard paddle to use over distance, so the shorter the course the better.

When we got to Deep Cove, I went over to check the course board, and our prayers were answered, there was a short course. Once I had the paper work done for the boat and the race, we set up the boat to our liking. I was going to go in the front, because I know the area and where “most” of the large underwater rocks are. I was also going to set the pace, and be in charge of any race tactics that might come into play.

As this was our first paddle together in a surf ski, and Amber's first race in a ski, I thought this was a good arrangement. This was also our first training session together, as we are teaming up to race K2 in Australia at the World Masters Games.

Once we had the boat set up, we went out for a warm up paddle. The boat was quite stable and we seemed to be going pretty good right off the bat. I took us through some bouncy chop, and Amber indicated that she was not as stable as she would like. So we headed to the beach to make some adjustments in the foot board. I moved the foot board out to lower her knees, and give her a little more room to push with her feet.

After we paddled out to the 5 km can and back we lined up for the start. I kept us over to the far left, next to the wharf, so we wouldn't have to deal with too much wash. Beside us to the right was Chris in a V10, and then Ben and John in their Mark 2 double ski.

The short course was going to be to 5 km can, then south to Boulder Island, then back to the 5 km can, and then to the finish at the dock. Our start was a nice easy one. I stayed over to the left of the group, and way from the group's wash. We kept this position, all the way to the can, then I cut in toward the group, and rode their wash for a little bit. Then we split with the group and headed off toward Boulder, while the long course racers headed to Cates Park, and beyond.

In the middle of the channel, I was looking to get rides off of any wave I could see. The going was slow as our speed dropped to around 9 kph. I did managed to find some current going our way, combined with some good waves and the speed jumped to over 12 kph. We cruised all the way to Boulder. As we were coming around the south end of the island, on our left side came a orange double. Upon see them, I started to crank up the stroke rate. I completely forgot about my partner behind me, and her ability to keep up.

After a while she commented on slowing the pace down so she could keep up. Oops. By now we were going with the current and waves, that slowing the pace down, and getting our timing insync was making us go faster. As we were getting closer to the 5 km can, I saw Jodi paddling along the wall. She had turned back from the long course and was heading back to the cove. I steered right on to her side wash, and we chatted for a little bit. I had asked her what side of the 5 km can, were we to go on the way back. She said we needed to go around it. That was fine with me. We still had to deal with the orange double right behind us.

Once around the can both Jodi, and Amber and myself started to put the power on. I wanted to see what the orange double would do. They matched what we did. So here is all three of us bearing down on the finish line. Jodi on our right, and the orange double on our left. Just then Amber asks if the dock is the finish line. I say yes, and next thing I could feel the ski being pushed from behind. So that is when I started to bring up the stoke rate, and head straight for the dock.

By heading straight at the dock, I insured that the orange double was not going to pass us on that side. They would have to slow down and try to pass on the right. I was trying to get ahead of Jodi but she managed to hold us off at the line.

A good first race for us as a team. Now we have a “base line” to go forward with. Next up, a K2 practise on the weekend.

Deep Cove #6 - Rain, Rain, and More Rain

I got to Deep Cove a little on the late side, with only 30 minutes before the race. It was raining out and traffic as usual was a nightmare. I did not have a lot of time to prep for the race.

As per usual lately, I was tired from the running workout two hours before hand. The course was from Deep Cove to Lone Rock, across to Raccoon Island and back to Deep Cove, about 7.43 kms. Starts are always good, with Bob on my left and John and Lina in the Mark 2 double on my right. As we were accelerating, I heard Bob say he was tired. I think he was messing with my mind because he just kept powering up and off he went to catch up to the front group. I managed to stay with him for the first 150 meters or so.

As we approuched the 5 km can, the front group was making a big gap on the second group. I was now behind, Micky, Matt, Rod, Kiran, and Ty and Terry, with Katja on my left and Jodi behind her. I had fallen off the side wake of the second group and was sort of on my own. I should have jumped on Katja's wash, but I wasn't thinking, just trying to get back on the group in front of me. I could see that everyone was drafting Ty and Terry. Both Katja and Jodi past me as we were getting closer to Lone Rock, just as the safety / camera boat came up on my left. I tried to get on its wash, but had a hard time of it, so I backed off.

I watched the boat catch up to the second group, and off went Micky on their wash. He is the king of wash riding. I almost thought he was going to catch the first group, but he did not quite make it. Too bad he was really going. So now he was stuck between both groups. As I turned at Lone Rock to head off to Raccoon, I saw that Micky had picked a line farther north than the second group, so I decided to do the same. At first it looked like the right move to make, as I thought I was catching Katja and Jodi.

The closer I got to Raccoon the harder and harder it got to just keep up, let alone catch the girls. I had hit the wall. 25 minutes into what would turn out to be a 43 minute race. UGH. The rest of my race was going to be a act of survival. Just paddling to get back to the Cove. The rain was still coming down fairly good at this point, and when I had turned behind Raccoon, I stopped paddling to clean off my glasses. I was having trouble seeing at that point.

I could see both Katja and Jodi about 150 meters in front of me, and I tried to speed up a touch, and try to catch up. No such luck. I said to myself if I could catch Jodi by the 5 km can, that I might have a chance of having a sprint finish. Again no such luck. I did managed to cut the distance in half by the time I had crossed the finish line, but that was about it. Good thing to, because I didn't know it but Brian Wong was trying to catch me.

As with every race, I had fun, but I hope to go faster as my endurance builds in the coming months.

Bob's new web site is very nice and should be up tomorrow. www.deepcovekayak.com Go have a look. All the race results are now up to date.

Deep Cove #5 – Four Races in Seven Days

Today's race was going to be a bit of a struggle having raced three times already in seven days, so I was tired. It was to the point where I didn't want to do a overly long warm up.

I guess the warmer weather is starting to bring out more paddlers. There was a debate on how much or how little clothing to wear. I opted for the thinest long sleeve shirt with neoprene pant and boots. I noticed Gary is no longer wearing his dry suit after the weekend's race.

I didn't really have a strategy for this race, just go as hard as I could, and see how long can I last. The start was fairly quick at 14.4 kph, being led by Jim in his K1, and Garth in a Think surf ski. I considered this start as a good one because Katja and I did not bang together as per usual. As with every race going south there was a long line of boats on the right hand side. So I was riding up the left side of the line along the good size wave being created by the group.

I made some progress, by not very much. I had Micky, Matt, Rod and Katja in front of me. A sight I would have to get used to for the rest of the race. So for the rest of the race this is how it went. I would catch up to Katja, and then after a while fall back. Catch up, fall off, catch up, fall off. I just did not have the energy to stay in there.

Rod fell off the line of Matt and Micky, who were now drafting Ty and Terry who were in their marathon canoe. I managed to get on Katja's wake for the nth time, and she pulled me up to Rod. Then it happened again, off the back I went. So all the way from Boulder Island to the 5 kilometer can I was trying to get back up to Rod and Katja. the really frustrating thing was seeing not far in front of us was the group of Ty and Terry, Micky, Matt, and now Daryl tagging along. The guys in the back looked like they were barely paddling. Their stroke rate was noticeably slower than mine. They definitely made it look easy.

As we approached the 5 kilometer can, I knew I had better get moving and catch up or I was not going to be in the heat of things at the end. So I started to crank up the power and the rate from way out. I was starting to make some head way on Rod and Katja just when the safety boat came by with their good sized wake. Well I wasn't really thinking and got caught by the side waves and it cranked my around sideways. I came to almost a complete stop, with the other two riding the waves away from me.

I quickly got turned in the right direction, and started to hammer to try and catch up. I concentrated solely on technique and power. By we got to the finish line, I had reeled in the 30 meters that separated us, and finish right behind Katja. I was going so hard that I thought I was either going to crash into Katja on the right or the boat parked at the dock on the left.

I good try at the end, so I was pleased with that. As for the rest of the race, humm..... not so happy with. Oh Well. More training, and a rest day tomorrow.

Tour de Indian Arm - Photos

More to follow.....

Tour de Indian Arm - Long Course

Tour de Indian Arm - Short Course

Time for me at this race was going to be limited, and I didn't think I was up to doing the 19 kilometer long course, so I signed up for the short course. I was hoping that the short course, would turn into a good race, turned out to be a 10.6 kilometer time trial. (more on that later)

The course(s) was going to leave Deep Cove and proceed south to Grey Rocks. From there it would continue south to the Cates park light house. This is where the two courses would split, with the long course going west toward the Iron Workers bridge, and the short course going east toward Port Moody.

The short course would then go over to the east side of Indian Arm, where a large yellow turn marker was. Then from there it went to the north side of Boulder Island, across the channel to the south end of Grey Rocks, and back to Deep Cove.

The long course would go to the turn marker near the bridge, before turning back east, and going to the yellow marker. From here the long course would go to the south side of Boulder Island, go up the wet side, and continue all the way to Jugg Island on the east side of the arm. they would go around Jugg, and then head back to Deep Cove.

At the race meeting, Bob indicated that some of the racers doing the long course, might jump ship at the Cates light house turn, and do the short course instead. This was good news to me because it did not look like many people were going to do the short course. So I was hoping a couple would bail on the long course, but that was not to be.

We all grouped together for the start of the race. this time my GPS was reset long before the line. I pushed myself next to John and Ben in the Huki double, because I knew they were going to hammer from the word go. Jeff paddling a Think Legend move up to my left. Humm, this was going to be a fast start for sure. There was little fan fair, and the race started quickly. Right off the bat, everyone was hammering away to get up to the front. I thought I was moving up ok, until I looked to my right and saw a huge line of skis rocketing past.

As I was coming up to Katja, something weird happened. As we were side by side, our boats just instantly came together. I thought I was going straight, but it sounded like Katja saw things differently. I do apologize if i was the cause of the bump. With the added adrenaline from the incident, I hammered up the side wakes as quickly as possible.

I got to the point where I wasn't catching anyone, just maintaining pace. Jodi and Colleen in the XT double were coming up hard on the left, as we approached Grey Rocks. As we came around the point, they were passing me, so the only thing I could do was to get on their wake. I rod their wake for about half way to the lighthouse, before dropping off. I managed to keep them close, but I could not get back on.

As we came closer to the lighthouse and the turn for the short course, I started to look to see who was going to turn and do the short course. As I got closer to the turn, and saw that no one was making the turn, I was getting worried that my race was over. I made it to the turn, and I was the only one going east. Everyone else in front of me was going west and doing the long course. I could see the yellow marker in the distance so I started to hammer. This direction had actually some waves / boat washes to ride. So I started to look for some rides.

As I got closer to the turn, there were more boats coming out of Port Moody. There was a large boat that gave off so good sized waves, as they came closer, I handled the first set, and then put the power on to catch the ones going the direction that I was going. I caught them and away I went. This was fun. I reached the marker, and looked back to see was behind me, and saw Brian and Bridget in their double surf ski. They were back a bit, but I knew I should not take them lightly, because they can really go.

I turned towards Boulder Island, and upped the pace. There were currents running in the channel, because my GPS would read 11.6 and then shoot up to 12.4, then back down to 10.8. The goal now was just to keep my GPS reading above 11.0 for the rest of the race. I managed to do this most of the time to the end of the race. I crossed the finish line at 58:36ish. I won' know exactly until the results are posted by Bob.

I quickly got my ski up to the van, and got changed. I did not have a lot of time before I had to go, and I wanted to get some picture of the long course finishers. After I got pictures of the first ten or so finishers, I had to go. Unfortunately I missed the barbecue and the awards. John was nice enough to stop by my place afterwards to drop off my first place ribbon.

Deep Cove Tuesday Night Race #3

Tonight's race was going to be interesting, with two days since the Sun Run, it would be fun to see how I will do. I had a race plan for tonight's race, which was to go hard right from the get go.

I had Bob in his V10 Elite on the left side of me, Jim in his K1 Thunder just ahead and to the left, and John and Lina in their double baidarka. The race was going to be straight across Indian Arm, counter clockwise around Jugg Island, and back. It was a fast start, at least to me it was. Jim just shot ahead like a rocket, with Bob and myself in hot pursuit.

Jeff, Chris, and Daryl was paddling hard and fast coming from the right, as well as Gary and Sean in the XT double. Everyone seemed to merge in the middle before heading toward Jugg. I had a good hard start, but could not hold it, and started to slide back a little. The other juniors, Kiran and Kristin were in the battle of things as well in their K1s.

Soon there was a long line of paddlers all trying to catch the boat in front of them. I pulled out to the left and was trying to find the side wash to ride up. As we headed out into the main channel and out of the safety of the cove, the waves started to build. It was getting fairly bouncy, and fun. Slowly I was being caught by a couple of paddlers on the right. Just as I was glancing over to the right to see who it was along comes the safety boat on the left with a bunch of tag a longs.

So here I have Katja on my right and john and Lina on my left riding the boat wake, and flying. I tried to get on the same wave, but got bounced around, and almost into Katja. Once they had passed, I gathered myself up, and put my head down and started to grind to catch up. By now the waved were getting fairly large and coming from all directions. this made the last 300 meters to Jugg a little dicey. As I came around Jugg, I saw Gary and Sean standing on Jugg, doing something to their double. They got back into their boat and they were off again chasing down the rest of the field.

Now that I was around Jugg, I thought that my next goal, should be to chase down Rod and Micky, since they were the closest to me, and it was achievable. We were now going mainly with the wind, but from the back left quarter. I started to look for waves to use to ride up to my two adversaries. slowly but surely I was catching up, but I realized that it was going to take along time. I noticed that Rod was starting struggle. It wasn't until after the race that I found out that he was injured. Points to Rod for paddling with cracked ribs.

It wasn't too long before I had caught up to Rod, but it was not easy the waves were coming in from my right back quarter. Which made for a fun and rocky ride. As I passed Rod, I could see Jim having trouble in his K1. This was big because Jim can basically balance in anything. (paddles an OC1 without the ama)

My next target was about 100 meters in front of me. Micky. I had a good guess that I could catch him, but I was going to have to work hard to do it. I managed to move up close enough to catch Micky's side wash. From there it was just riding the wash right up to him.
Now we were side by side, and cruising. With about 200 meters to go, I starting thinking on how this was going to go down. If I waited too long, Micky for sure would take me. So at about 125 meters to go, that's what I did, I went. I start to hammer, as hard as I could. Micky cranked on the power as well, and the sprint was on. In the end I managed to get ahead, and held off Micky to the line. A great finish to a fun race.

The running and the swim training is starting to help me in these races. Normally I would not have even caught Micky with such a lead over me, let alone beat him in a sprint.

Updated Race Results for Deep Cove #2

Here is the updated results for Deep Cove #2.

Katja has been added. Thanks Jeff for the update.

Deep Cove Race #2 Results

Here are the results from the Deep Cove Race #2.

There seems to be an error. I have noticed that Katja was left off of the standings. I think she finished near Jodi. If anyone notices any other omissions, please send a comment, and I will make the necessary changes.

As well, just a reminder that PFDs are mandatory and must be worn during the race. If not, your name (s) go to the bottom of the list.