The forecast was for overcast skies, scattered showers and possibly thundershowers. Temperatures all week had dropped to the low 40's as night, rising to the low 50's during the day. Winds were gusting up to 20 miles per hour. All in all, it was not looking like this race was going to be run under ideal conditions.
With that in mind, I spent most of my free time the days before the event checking out safety equipment. For some reason, one of my favorite outdoor equipment stores (REI in Redmond, WA, does not stock any paddling gear. The staff there say "Go to the Seattle store". I say "No way am I driving downtown! I'm shopping elsewhere." - and I did.
After a couple of phone calls I ended up going over to AquaSports, not far from REI Redmond. The guy had lots of different styles of PFD's (life jackets). When we determined that the PFD I wanted had to have a front opening, that dropped the choices by half. Requiring no buckles or hardware on the back of the PFD dropped it further. Requiring flotation in the back reduced the choices to a mere handful. Finally, there ended up being just one (1) style that would work, made by Kokatat, and it came in Men's and Women's. For some unknown reason the Men's version had one less side pocket, so I went with the one and only Women's version in stock: a large MsFit. Well, that's what the label says, anyway. The pictures on the web site seem to call this one a MsFit Tour. Regardless, with the side straps cinched tight it fit pretty well, and provided potentially useful thermal insulation all around the body. The PFD had pockets to hold aerial flares, compass, cell phone, pocket knife, keys, etc., and places to strap things like a VHF radio, strobe light and more. It was comfortable to wear, too!
After a final trip to relatively close by and inexpensive Boaters World where I picked up a submersible Icom M2A handheld VHF radio and some waterproof bags to hold my cell phone ($10) and the VHF ($20), my wallet was depleted and I headed home. With the help of my son the Cadence was loaded onto the roof of my car in preparation for an early departure the next morning.
I woke up early, but time really seemed to fly. By the time I got onto the freeway it was about 8:15 AM - and the race started at 10 AM. That wouldn't be much of a problem, except it was about an hour and 40 minutes away by car!
Thankfully, there were no traffic problems en route. However, there were no parking spots left by the time I arrived, so I parked in a fire lane near the boat launch area and started to unload my stuff. Someone called to me and said that the pre-race meeting was in progress, so off I ran to hear what I could. Too late - I entered the room as it began to empty.
Some helpful people told me the most important details of the meeting as I picked up my pre-registered racer number and T-shirt. The main thing was to stay near the shore along the south side of Cypress and Guemes Islands, and then cut across the channel on the return to Cap Sante.
I lent my camera to Kristen, who I spotted taking her own photos of the racers as they prepared for the event. Meanwhile, with the help of Rainer Storb and his son Adrian we carried the Cadence down to the water's edge. I ran back and forth a couple of times ferrying equipment over the cobble beach from the car to the boat, and generally stressing out as the 5 minute and 1 minute signals sounded.
Kristen returned my camera. I managed to find a nearby parking spot and ran back to the boat. The starting signal was given, so I took a shot of the departing racers in the San Juan Challenge.
A couple of Sound Rowers members who were not racing helped me launch. Unfortunately, with the exceptionally low tide the water was quite murky. We did not see that where we were launching the boat there was a submerged timber where we were expecting reasonably deep water. We unwittingly were forcing the Cadence's rudder on top of and against this beam - ouch!
I ended up walking into the water with my bike shoes and carrying the stern of the boat further out into the water. From a distance it appeared that with the exception of a few weeds hanging from the prop everything seemed to be all right, so into the boat and off I went.
Squish, squish. Most of the water dripped out of my shoes pretty quickly. My feet wear in a pair of Cool-Max socks, so they were fairly comfortable even though the shoes and socks were soaked.
I was able to clip in to the pedals fairly quickly this time, having mastered the trick of pressing onto the pedals at the bottom of the stroke rather than the top. This was much more effective!
The San Juan Challenge includes two races on Saturday, the 25 mile long Cypress Challenge and the 6 mile Saddlebag Island Race. Both races started at 10 AM and initially head in the same direction past Cap Sante on the east side of Anacortes, WA. As I was doing the long race it was in my best interest to not overdo it at the start. Still, it was not long before I caught up to the last kayak in the race to Saddlebag Island. Other kayaks were starting to come into closer range, so perhaps there was hope for me after all!
I turned on my VHF radio and set it to scan the emergency and race channels. It was fun to hear the chatter, though most of it was from vessels not involved in the race.
Pretty soon I had passed a number of boats as we headed towards South East Point on Guemes Island. Here was where the Saddlebag Island racers would continue eastward and the Cypress Challenge racers would turn northward and stay along the shore. Here was where I encountered the first tide rip and with it a lot of sections of floating weeds.
Instantly my cadence slowed substantially as the weeds wound around my propeller. By forward and reverse pedaling I was able to shake the weeds off, but soon ran into even more weeds. While I was dealing with this several of the kayaks I had passed soon passed me and continued on towards Saddlebag Island. Rats! This was definitely not good. Perhaps I should do the Saddlebag race myself if this was going to continue happening.
I took out my canoe paddle, which was stowed alongside the cockpit, and started paddling. With a steady effort I was able to move through the rip and past the weeds to clear water. A nearby safety boat came over to see if I needed assistance. I asked the officials if there were any weeds attached to the prop, as it was difficult to pedal. "Yes - there is a big ball of them!", they exclaimed.
I tried more of the forward, stop, reverse, stop, forward action. That actually seemed to work, so off I went. Wait a minute - the Cypress race should turn left! Oops!
I quickly turned left and headed along the east side of Guemes. Distance covered so far: about 2.2 miles, and about 30 minutes had passed.
I continued pedaling north at a moderately fast rate, periodically working at freeing the prop from weeds that I thought were there. For whatever reason, the Cadence just did not seem to be moving as rapidly as I thought it should be going. Should I stop and check it out?
I decided that I would at the first dock I came to.
That was not a bad idea, except there were no docks anywhere to be found.
Eventually, however, one of the safety boats was coming into view. I asked the people on board if they could see any weeds on the prop. They said it was clean, so off I went.
Far off in the distance I could make out the flash of a couple of kayak paddles. Perhaps I could catch up after all!
Meanwhile, something big (as in large salmon sized or seal sized) made a big splash off to the starboard, about 100 yards away. Who knows what it was, as all I saw was the foam and large ripples from where it reentered the water.
There was a bit of a current I was fighting against. I went about as close to the tideland shores as I dared in order to reduce its effects, and still stay out of the weeds. It did not seem to help much, unfortunately, as the paddles seemed to stay as far out of reach as before. Soon I rounded the reef at Clark Point on the north end of Guemes Island and headed west towards the Cone Islands. Distance covered so far: 7.7 miles. Pedal cadence: approximately 84 rpm. Elapsed Time: About 1 hour 45 minutes
There were some interesting currents in this area. I encountered several tide rips, and several large oval areas of smooth water. The waves in the rips were just high enough to occasionally break over the bow or side of the cockpit and dump some water inside. This is where the speed bailer came in handy, and it did its job well.
Weeds were not a problem in this area. However, with the currents tending to push the boat one way or the other, it took a little concentration to keep on course. Off to the north near Sinclair Island a safety boat could be seen cruising - and probably keeping a close watch on me!
I reached Pelican Beach at the NE side of Cypress Island, and greeted a sailboat anchored there. The folks on board said I was about 10 minutes behind the last kayak. Oh well.
Approaching Towhead Island, located just off the north end of Cypress Island, kelp could be seen streaming in the current - opposite the direction I needed to go, of course. However, unlike my race last year around Shaw Island in an Escapade, I was making rapid progress. Chalk up one for the Cadence!
Soon I was heading south-southwest along the west side of Cypress. Finally the current was assisting rather than hindering!
Distance covered so far: 11.3 miles, and the sun came out. Time to slap some more sunscreen on my sweaty brow! Elapsed time: 2.5 hours
It seemed but a relatively short time before I reached Tide Point. With the assistance of the 2+ knot current my boat seemed to zip along. Of course, the racers ahead of me had the same assist, so those flashing paddles just never seemed to get any closer. Meanwhile, a couple of curious seals poked their heads out of the water and looked at me. Just as I had my camera ready to snap their photos they disappeared under the water.
About this time I had finished my 3rd bottle of juice and had a short panic attack. Where was my 4th bottle? It did not seem to be in either of the two bags in the cockpit. My water bottle was nearly empty, and there was only a small water bottle remaining in the food bag.
Digging deeper, below the pair of smoke flares and the now wet nylon pants packed in the bag I finally found the last juice bottle. Ahh! There would be enough liquid for the rest of the trip.
Distance covered so far: 13.6 miles. Elapsed time: 3 hours
Shortly after reaching Strawberry Island I ran into still more rips - and lost my free ride as well. However, the gap between my boat and at least one kayak seemed to be closing. Perhaps I wouldn't end up last after all!
Distance covered so far: 15.3 miles. Elapsed time: 3 hours 15 minutes
At Reef Point I ran across a safety boat that was waiting for a racer that had put ashore to take a break. The racer saw me coming and hurried back out onto the water. For some reason my legs started pedaling a little harder, too.
The rocks and weeds at Reef Point forced me out into deeper water for safety's sake. The kayak went a bit closer to shore and through some weeds, and then headed out further into the channel.
Distance covered so far: 16.8 miles. Elapsed time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Remembering what the race officials had said, I stayed close to the shore of Cypress Island. Eventually, after passing a group of wave eroded shoreline caves I encountered a large orange buoy anchored just off shore. It was now time to head across Bellingham Channel towards Yellow Bluff and Kellys Point on Guemes Island.
Of course, what should I find but another patch of rough water caused by the tide? It wasn't too bad, and the speed bailer made short work of the small amount of water that made it aboard.
To the right across the channel was the Anacortes-San Juan Islands ferry dock on Fidalgo Island. Ahead I could see the flashing paddles of another kayak.
Distance covered so far: 20.7 miles. Elapsed time: 4 hours 15 minutes.
Eventually I caught up with this other kayak. We traveled in parallel eastward along the north shore of Guemes Channel. It was pretty peaceful, and we encountered a man on horseback exercising his dog on the beach. We also passed by the Guemes ferry dock and took note of the lack of noise or traffic at the island's General Store. I wondered what rush hour looked like.
The first kayak continued in the middle of the channel, but eventually went back towards Guemes and rounded the last buoy before heading south. The eastward current in the channel made it advantageous to stay further out from shore, so that is the route I took, though not as far as the middle. The second kayak and I managed to make it around the final buoy at about the same time, and we turned south towards Cap Sante.
Crossing the channel was tougher than either of us expected. The current was rapidly pushing us further east than we wanted. In fact, the first kayak ended up far out of the way, nearly to South East Point, before he was able to leave the grasp of the current.
The second kayak and I stayed fairly close together and were able to reach Fidalgo Island and Cap Sante without going too far out of the way. Boy, was I bushed!
The second kayak continued on ahead as I took a short break. There were some weed beds here, so out came the canoe paddle. It was a nice change from nearly five hours of pedaling to use my arms and shoulders. My legs were pretty pooped!
I dug out some solid food, i.e., chocolate covered cranberries and dried apricots, and started to chow down. The first kayak paddled past, so I decided it was time for a last ditch effort to make it to the finish line ahead of him. Well, that's what I thought at first, anyway. My legs were not willing to go along with this line of thought, so the plan changed to merely finish the race.
It seemed rather leisurely and decadent to be eating the cranberries and apricots while slowly pedaling into the marina. People cheered me on to the finish in what felt very surrealistic to me. I was happy - the race was over!
Distance covered: 25 miles. Time: 5 hours 7 minutes 54 seconds.
As I had other commitments I was unable to stay for the dinner and the first day's awards ceremony. The fastest boat (a doubles rowing shell) finished the race in 3:17:52 - wow! The fastest kayak was not far behind, with a finish of 3:39:43. These are certainly some strong people!
P.S. After the race I found that the rudder on the Cadence had been bent quite a bit by striking the submerged timber during the launch. It is quite possible that this slowed down the boat considerably - at least that is my excuse and I'm going to stick to it!
The complete set of photos I took during the race can be found here.
The complete race results are here (no longer).
