It was a dark and rainy Friday night. Loading the boat and packing the car for Saturday's Medina-Mercer Sausage Pull Race would have to wait until Saturday morning.
As luck would have it the rain had mostly stopped by the time I had finished breakfast and began loading the car Saturday morning. Still, there was a bit more wind than usual blowing in the trees, and the air had a certain chill to it. Fall had definitely arrived!
The drive to Medina Beach Park from my house in Bellevue was short and sweet. There were few cars on the freeway, fewer cars on the main drag through downtown Bellevue past Bellevue Square Mall and, best of all, the closest possible parking spot to the asphalt pathway from the parking lot down to the beach was sitting vacant waiting for my arrival. You can't beat that!
It is possible that my arrival about 90 minutes before the race had something to do with it, but I was by no means the first one there. Still, the chilly wind and drizzle were not exactly the sort of things that would entice people from their nice, warm houses on a Saturday morning.
I registered for the race, paying all of $7 for the race entry fee, a nice commemorative T shirt and an all you can eat sausage fest after the race was over. Such a deal!
The Cadence was loaded with gear for the race and wheeled down to the staging area just above the beach. I grabbed the PFD and camera stuff and placed it on a table under one of the portable shelters. I didn't want to put on a cold, wet PFD before the race if I could help it!
I helped some other folks unload their boats and bring them down to the staging area. Walking up and down the slope to the street helped to warm me up. Eventually it was time for the pre-race meeting.
Adrian Storb led the meeting. He described the two routes one could take, the short one which turned back after rounding a set of pylons supporting the East Channel bridge of the I-90 freeway, and the long course which continued southward and circumnavigated Mercer Island. He indicated how the starting line was to be organized, with the winds and waves shoving everything around in the water. Rainer, Adrian's father, took over and continued talking about other stuff. Eventually the meeting sort of disintegrated and people went off to make their preparations.
I went back to the shelter to get the camera ready for the race.
Uh, oh - where was the adapter ring? The camera lens could not be secured to the optical port inside the Ewa waterproof camera bag without it. It wasn't in the boat, the Ewa carrying case, the camera bag or the floor of the car. I placed a quick call to home.
Sure enough, it had somehow escaped from the camera bag and was on a shelf at home. My lovely wife said she would quickly bring it over and save the day.
While I was waiting for her arrival I removed my nylon pants, wool sweater, T-shirt, jacket and tennis shoes - leaving on bike shorts, wool leg warmers, a nylon shirt - and put on my PFD and water shoes. A Sound Rowers baseball cap helped to retain some heat.
People had started launching their boats by the time my wife pulled into the parking area. Just in time! She handed me the adapter and off she went. Thanks, Kate!
The 5 minute warning alarm was sounded while I struggled to get the camera sealed in its bag. I hurried down to the nearly empty launch area and, with the assistance of a bystander, carried the boat into the light surf. Hey - the water was not as cold as I thought it would be!
Yuck! The water along the shore was filled with all sorts of slimy green weed fragments. I turned the boat sideways, parallel to the shore and waves, and hopped in. A few pedal strokes later and I was past the end of nearby docks. In the relative safety of the deeper water I washed the gravel and weeds off my feet and shoes, put on some wicking socks and the water shoes - when the 1 minute alarm was sounded.
Wait a minute! I'm almost ready!
Most of the boats were in extreme disarray. There was nothing even close to resembling a starting line. With the boats all being tossed about by the waves or blown around by the wind it was much more like a starting field than anything. It seemed that some were having a hard time just keeping upright, let alone able to maintain station.
So, without time for a warmup, the race began. Luckily I had already set up my GPS and heart rate monitor. The rocking of the waves and the mayhem of the start made picture taking somewhat difficult - especially since the spray and mist were continually getting all over the camera bag's optical port. I did my best not to run into the other boats, though I did end up getting rather close to Zeke's oars at one point.
Eventually the field began to spread out a bit. Quite a few people steered over towards the west, perhaps intending to try to get into the wind shadow of Mercer Island. Well, it would be quite some distance before that would have any effect. On the other hand, following each other's tail possibly would help reduce the effects of the waves. Others such as myself just plowed straight ahead into the maelstrom.
As the boat plowed into another wave, sending a bit of water into the cockpit, I remembered a piece of optional equipment I had forgotten to bring: the pipe insulation dam. This handy dandy piece of foam, secured with a bungy cord running down its length and placed just in front of the cockpit, would reduce the influx of water running down the front deck. Oh, well. It was time to open the self bailer.
The heart rate monitor was reading about 156 bpm. Not bad - at least I shouldn't burn out too early. Strangely enough, however, I noticed that the field was slowly falling behind. I turned around to check.
It was true. There were still a few kayaks and surfskis ahead, but I was actually gaining on them! What's going on here?
It had to be the propeller drive. The Cadence was cutting through most of the waves with aplomb, and the nearly continuous thrust of the propeller kept the boat moving at about 6.5 mph regardless of the wave action. The other guys had to worry about balance, variable bite of their paddles and oars, and were just not moving as efficiently as they would normally. Yahoo!
I knew something was up when I caught and passed Greg. Even though this guy had not been paddling much this summer he is still quite a powerhouse. It was even more telling when I saw Adrian and Rob, two of the top rowers in the club, just barely ahead of me near the eastern shore. Even Robert Meenk wasn't that far ahead, though his lead was increasing as we entered the calmer waters near Mercer Island.
What surprised me the most was that the OC-1's and OC-2's were also falling behind. My impression of these guys was that the outrigger afforded them balance so they wouldn't have as much effort placed in staying upright. I guess they just don't go as fast into waves and wind.
The heart rate monitor was still reading around 156. I was getting hot and quite sweaty, so I took off my hat and kept cooling my hands in the lake. Ahh, that felt good! Now there was only a guy in a blue and white surfski and the three rowers ahead - and I'm gaining on the surfski. Closing the bailer would reduce the drag a bit, too.
I caught the surfski a little before the I-90 bridge. I rested a little in his wake, bumping his stern only once (sorry!) but found his pace to be slower than what I wanted. Besides, it was getting fairly calm here and the other boats would start catching up. Off I went, heading for the middle set of bridge pylons for my turn.
Ok, it made more sense now. These two guys were saving a bit of energy for going around the island. Should I do the long race, too?
One look at the white caps coming up the channel and I decided to wimp out. Besides, I didn't have anything but a little water with me. I'd need some better sustenance to properly complete a 14 mile trip. See ya later!
The turn around the last pylon was quickly made. The OC-2 was not far behind, nor were the leaders of the field.
Going with the wind was an almost completely different experience. First, there was hardly any wind to be felt, just a light breeze with an occasional light burst. Second, the waves that had been sliced and diced by the bow were now gentle rollers that the boat slowly passed over, one after the other.
I made a point of traveling close to the incoming field as was reasonable, trying not to put people off course, but close enough to take their photos. Several people expressed their amazement at how fast the boat had been through the rough sections, but most merely yelled "Hi Mike!" as I aimed the camera at them.
The lack of strong wind was causing me to overheat. It was time to take off the leg warmers.
While I was struggling to get the warmers past my shoes the OC-2 passed, followed fairly closely by a rowing shell. I managed to keep up with the shell for a very short while, but upon encountering some floating weeds I fell behind while clearing them from the prop.
There were some additional weed patches along the route I was taking down the middle of the channel, so I ended up taking a course somewhat closer to shore in order to avoid them. This seemed to work. However, even with the tailwind and following seas my speed did not seem to exceed about 6.5 mph. Rats! Heading up and down the swells was keeping my speed down.
On the other hand, the OC-2 and rowing shell seemed to be going faster. Uh-oh - that means that the other guys would probably be going faster, too! I had better start working harder!
Try as I might I couldn't catch those guys. They were just too fast and my legs weren't cooperating to go any faster. One of the water bottles was empty and the other was well on its way, too.
Finally, with a time of 1 hour and 20 seconds I crossed the finish line in fifth place. Whew! Not too shabby for such a day!
My heart monitor indicated an average of 156 bpm, which seems to be typical for me for these races, too.
I headed back down the course to get some shots of the other boats as they headed toward the finish line. The difference between the two directions was amazing, as there was now a strong, cool wind and the waves were back to breaking over my bow. Well, I did this before so I can do it again!
I managed to get most of the rest of the boats and turned around before reaching the entrance to Meydenbauer Bay near downtown Bellevue. I passed a guy in a red and white kayak and took his photo just before heading on to try to get a picture of Zeke, a one legged rower. However, the wake of a passing motor vessel caught me almost unawares from the stern (you can see the tip of its bow in the shot of the kayaker above), and over I went!
Everything not fastened to the boat fell out and began drifting about. My PFD kept my head and shoulders out of the water, which was actually not all that cold. The camera bag had been doused in the water, but it looked like the bag was still doing its job, so I took a picture of Zeke and one of my now empty water bottles drifting nearby. Perhaps I should consider getting back in the boat!
The safety crew boat arrived and Zeke came back to see if I needed any assistance. I told them thanks, but I wanted to try reentry myself. However, being somewhat pragmatic, I did ask the crew boat if they could collect the stuff that was getting blown away I'd appreciate it.
All my previous capsizes were practice runs done in calm water. I tried a couple of ways of turning the boat back upright before determining that the easiest way by far of turning the boat back upright was to grab the prop shaft and pull it toward me. That was simple!
The next thing was to figure out whether to try to collect stuff by swimming around to get it or to get in the boat and get things using the boat.
It was easy to get the things that were the closest, but with the wind and waves there was a real danger in the boat being blown away. I decided to reenter the cockpit and get things using the boat.
I held onto the gunwales near the cockpit on the upwind side and pulled myself over the seat area. As I tried to swing my legs into the cockpit the boat flipped again. Oops!
Quickly righting the boat I swam back to the upwind side and tried again. This time I had no problem.
The first thing I did was open the bailer. While there was only about 3 inches of water I didn't really want the extra weight sloshing things around when I collected them from the water.
Pedaling moderately fast the first thing collected was the mass of floating rope still tied to the bow. This was followed by some of the seat cushions and a water bottle.
The crew boat person picked up the cell phone in its bright blue waterproof case, the Sound Rowers cap, another water bottle and another seat cushion. She said she'd drop it off at the finish line dock. So, it looked like the only things lost were the navy blue leg warmers. Oh, well.
The water in the cockpit was quickly drained away. I was actually feeling pretty toasty as I pedaled back to Medina Beach Park, with the insulation of the PFD doing a good job of retaining the heat generated by pedaling.
Back at the beach I dragged the Cadence up on the beach, with the stern still floating in the green morass along the shore. I put the bow onto a plastic seat cushion, left the wheeled dolly near the water, and lifted the stern up and onto it. With the belated help of another racer we rolled it back up to the staging area beside a couple of other boats.
After toweling off and changing into some dry clothes I returned to the portable shelters for lunch. The various sausages smelled and looked delectable - and they were! Yum!
It was a while before the first of the long racers returned. At least the weather was starting to change for the better during this time, with the occasional misty drizzle changing into sunlight. The cool wind remained, however. Many of the short course racers chose to pack up and return home rather than wait for the awards ceremony, probably because they were cold and wet!
Two of the long racers made it to the finish line or quite close, anyway, and managed to capsize. One decided to walk along the bottom to the shore; the other got back onto her boat almost before I could snap her picture. She was that quick!
Eventually most of the long racers arrived and it was decided to hold the awards ceremony before the rest of the people left. Adrian and Rob presented the ribbons for all the classes, which was doubled with the two courses for this event.
After packing up the Cadence I headed home. The shower and sauna felt pretty good!
Photos I took during the race can be found here.
My course and statistics