On this fine September day my wife and daughter were camping with the Girl Scouts, my oldest son was running in a cross country race, and I was left in charge of my 7 year old son, Max. What should we do together? Such a silly question - we would go boat racing!
The drive to Olympia was uneventful, though there seemed to be quite a breeze from time to time as we traveled down the freeway from Seattle. The final turns into the Swantown Marina were well marked with "Boat Race" signs.
At the marina itself, however, the parking lot was being paved. Boats had to be unloaded in the boat launch staging area, and the cars parked about a block away in a temporary lot. The local security force arrived to make sure that cars did not overstay their welcome in the staging area.
I dropped off the boat with Max to guard it, parked the car and returned. Registration had opened, and there were quite a few local rowing teams entered. They had brought their single, double, quad and eight man rowing shells. Wow - this was going to be interesting!
Steve Wells, the race organizer, held the pre-race meeting. The directions around the course were described, with hints as to how to make sure you were going in the right direction; e.g., follow the boat in front of you. He also said that if someone needed to help that you were obligated to do so. The time spent helping would be deducted from your finishing time. A comment was made that if someone wanted to stop for a social chat, then in order for that time to be deducted at least one of the chatters had to be in the water.
Lastly, any racer found to not be having a good time would be disqualified.
On that note everyone began launching their boats.
Most of the shells and kayaks were launched from one of the two floating low lying floating plastic platforms on the northernmost dock of the marina. With the assistance of Paul Rollinger I was able to roll my Cadence into the water using the boat ramp and its dock, without even having to get my feet wet. Thanks, Paul!
With Max holding the boat I carried the dolly back up to the registration table. There I also left my street shoes and extra clothing. With the temperatures already in the mid 70's it looked like it was going to be a warm day!
Back at the Cadence I lifted Max into the rear cargo compartment where he faced backward and sat on a cushion. I got in and we pedaled toward the warmup area at the end of the marina.
There were quite a lot of boats out on the water. In fact, there were some 43 boats, all doing their best not to collide with each other in the rather limited space. At least the tide was still rather high; otherwise there would be considerably less room.
Among the standard rowing shells, kayaks surf skis and outrigger canoes I was pleasantly surprised to see a man in a Hobie Mirage pedal kayak. He also had a kayak paddle, and was warming up by both pedaling his boat and paddling. It would be interesting to see how well he did in this race.
We circulated among all the boats in order to take as many photos as possible. The other racers called out encouraging comments to my rear copilot. He told them about all the jellyfish and other fish he saw in the water.
Soon the 5 minute warning was given. The boats began lining up with the northernmost dock. There was not enough room for all the boats, so many chose to position themselves in one or two rows behind the front. We ended up behind Vern and Bela's OC-2 just as the signal was given to start.
With a flurry of paddles, oars and pedals the armada headed north into Budd Inlet. The front line of rowing shells quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the fleet. My acceleration was a bit sluggish, as I was hauling an extra 55 pounds, but soon we were going over 8 mph. Some of the speed could be attributed to the ebbing tide, but I was definitely working hard! The sound of the wake from my transom was certainly a lot louder than I was used to, that's for sure!
Up to this point I had pretty much resigned myself to just going my own pace and finishing the race whenever we happened to finish. Then I noticed an OC-2 some 50 feet ahead of me I decided that with a little effort I could use their slipstream to make the race a lot faster and easier - assuming that I could keep up with the extra load!
Our speed was now over 7 miles per hour.
Off to the right I saw a group of boats that decided for some reason to follow the shoreline. Who knows why they did it - it was actually longer and slower that way.
Putting the pedal to the metal I began pushing harder. Slowly, the distance between us and the OC-2 shrank until the bow of the Cadence nearly overlapped the stern of the OC-2. Yes! It was definitely easier here. Their slipstream was definitely helping to carry me along as well.
Now all I had to do was stay in position and not crash into their boat nor get too far off to one side or the other as they zig-zagged down the course.
We were making good time towards the first channel marker turn. En route we encountered more jellyfish, a couple of small logs, a piece of a bush and what looked like a bundle of Baby's Breath. The boquet was pretty, but not something I would want to tangle in my propeller!
My benefactors were paddling like robots, splash, splash, splash, switch, splash, splash, splash. Sweat was dripping from my brow and I noticed that the rear paddler's T-shirt was only slightly damp from his exertion. I called out, saying "It doesn't look like Vern is working hard enough!", forgetting that it was Bela's back I was looking at. Sigh... Anyway, Bela turned around and smiled at me, noticing perhaps for the first time that he was being followed.
Meanwhile one or two rowers in single shells slowly made their way past us. Max wondered what body of water we were traveling on, assuming that it was a lake. When I informed him it was Puget Sound, he immediately knew that it was part of the Pacific Ocean. "We're on the Pacific Ocean! Wow, Dad! Are there sharks here?" he asked. I replied that there are some 9 gill sharks that live in the very deepest parts of the water, but we were not likely going to see them. Still, he kept a close lookout in case one came alongside. In fact, on a couple of occasions I had to quickly adjust my balance as he shifted his position to get a better look at something that caught his interest. This was accompanied by a "Sit down, Max", or "Sit still, please!", by yours truly. He was pretty good about it over all.
The turn around the channel marker was pretty easy. There were several boats ahead, and somewhere far behind were more boats. The ripples of water emanating from the barnacle encrusted pilings supporting the marker indicated that there was a bit of tidal current assisting us on our way north. Well, as long as I was following the OC-2, it did not really matter much to me. Wherever they went, I would go.
About half way to the second turn Max told me he was ready for lunch. I informed him that we would have lunch when we got back to the marina, especially since I did not have any food on board.
Meanwhile, the first 8 man rowing shell caught up and passed us on the left. They had started some five minutes after everyone else, just so they would have the pleasure of passing everyone. I momentarily thought of following them, and decided against it. Too much work!
On the right side ahead of the OC-2 I spotted the head of a seal looking at us. I pointed him out to Max, who was thrilled to see it in the wild. Just as I got the camera ready to take its picture he slipped beneath the surface and disappeared.
We approached the second turn at Gull Harbor. It was marked by a small cabin cruiser sporting a couple of large inflatable orange buoys. On the deck was someone snapping photos of each of the racers. (His photos can be found at this location.) Steve Wells said that everyone should smile for the photographer, and that's what Max and I did.
The 8 man shell made a very wide turn, and ended up somewhat behind as the OC-2 and I started back towards the finish. It was a few minutes before they caught us again.
The second 8 man shell was a bit further behind, but it also managed to pass us on the home stretch.
Now we were going only about 5.5 to 6 mph. The effects of the tidal current were apparent, though I think that Vern and Bela were starting to take it a bit easier as well.
A couple of times I tried pedaling faster and moving past the OC-2. However, with the extra drag caused by Max it was difficult to go much faster than the OC-2, and I was already sweating like the dickens. I was also wishing that I had brought my "cool hat" rather than the Sound Rowers baseball cap. The strong winds I had feared encountering did not materialize, and the shade and cooling features of that hat would have made a big difference in my comfort!
Holding a baseball cap up in front of my head was just not as good a solution.
Suddenly, off the port bow a large silvery salmon jumped out of the water, did a somersault and splashed back into the depths. Max heard the splash, but didn't see the fish. "No, it wasn't a shark, Max."
A couple in a rowing shell approached us on the right side. After a while they dropped behind, and then slowly passed us on the left side. It seemed that they were not quite used to rowing together as they did not seem to synchronize their strokes as well as others I have seen. Then again, I'd hate to see how I would look as a beginning rower!
Far ahead the dome of the state capitol building came into view. Again I tried to put on some speed to pass the OC-2, but it was just too much effort. Either I would have to jettison some cargo or just stay behind the OC-2 for the duration. Decisions, decisions!
I held onto the cargo.
The shore was definitely becoming more exposed as the tide was still ebbing. I had some worries about whether there would be enough water to cross directly from the last point of land to the marina. Later on, when the tide was fully out this area would all turn into dry, or rather muddy, land. In fact, in previous years in my Escapade I managed to run aground in this vicinity.
This year, however, there was sufficient water for us to cross unscathed.
With the finish line in sight, Vern and Bela began to sprint. I put on some speed as well, and managed to cross just after they did. Whew!
Max cheered, and proclaimed that we were definitely the fastest boat - at least in our category!
We cruised around the finish line for a few minutes, taking more photos of finishing boats. We then made our way to the launch ramp and got out. Paul helped take out the Cadence while Max went to play with some dogs over in the picnic area.
Steve Wells had arranged for a catered salmon barbecue for all of the racers and their guests. It was an impressive spread, with plenty of salmon, salads, bread, desserts and beverages for everyone. It was truly delicious. Even Max enjoyed his salad and salmon, as well as the lunch I had packed for him.
The awards ceremony was a little different this time. Apparently the person responsible for bringing the ribbons either did not come or forgot them. The net result was that if you needed to have a ribbon then it would be mailed to you. Regardless, the results were announced for each class and place.
Several course records were set this year, including the fastest overall with a time of 51:58.54, by Robert Meenks in a single rowing shell. The pedal boat record was also broken with a time of 1:11:40, about 3 minutes faster than the previous record held by someone who borrowed Bob Stuart's Lilac pedal kayak from me last year. Of course, I am certain that my copilot was instrumental in my having placed so well!
After the ceremony I let Max wash down the boat while I retrieved the car. He is already talking about the next race he is going to help me win.
Total distance traveled: 7.8 miles.
For the full sets of photos, take a look here and here and here.