This report covers the second day of the Sound Rowers San Juan Challenge race.
After driving back home and spending a couple of hours working on my Cadence, I managed to strip the screw for the weed cutter, break my last new X-Acto blade, mount a new larger sprocket that only as it was being installed in the boat did I find it wouldn't fit, and experience just a bit of frustration in putting it all back together again for the race.
It was time to get whatever sleep I could and hurry back to Anacortes, WA, for the second day of the race.
I actually slept fairly well. The drive to Anacortes was uneventful, and the sun was actually making an appearance from time to time.
As luck would have it, the Ace Hardware store I noticed close to Seafarer's Memorial Park was actually open at 8:30 AM Sunday morning. Hurray! The helpful clerks were able to track down some replacement stainless steel screws and X-Acto blades for the weed cutter. While I was at it I picked up a file to clean up the leading edge of the propeller blade that crunched into a submerged rock the previous day.
I drove into the park and managed to find the closest possible parking spot. Wow - perhaps things were going to go my way today after all!
The pre-race meeting was held shortly after my arrival. There were not nearly as many racers present today as yesterday. I guess most people were taking Sunday as a day of rest. It also might have been my imagination but there was not quite the same sense of energy in the air, either. Why could that be?
Registration today was simple: just tell the registrar you were racing again! She would then put a mark next to your name and off you went on your business.
I returned to my car, took down the boat and got things ready for the race.
GPS? - check. Batteries? - should last through the race. Food? Hmm, the ham sandwich remains should be tossed, along with the other trash still in my cockpit bag. Drinks? Still have lots of juices, and the water bottles have been refilled. Sunscreen? - check. PFD? - check. Shoes and socks? - check. Paddle? - check. VHF? - check. Camera and waterproof housing? - check. All ready!
I wandered around talking to folks and taking photos.
An unusual kayak had been brought to the race today. It was completely transparent! You could look through the deck and the hull and clearly see the grass below. Of course, one could also see the internal bulkheads, which were also clear, and the gear stowed inside. It was pretty cool!
Rob O'Brien showed up with a double rowing shell and a new partner today, Theresa. Since Theresa's husband was out of commission with a bad knee she and Rob decided to do the race together. So, on the same boat Rob would be completing the San Juan Challenge while Theresa would merely be doing the Guemes Island race.
Deb and Paul were there, too, having stayed the night in town. I thanked them again for clearing the weeds from my propeller the previous day. We also agreed that today we would be "independent", so that we could each try our best to complete the race as fast as we could. Paul suggested that I would not want to be held back by Deb, but I told him that nothing was guaranteed!
It was another gray morning, but without the mist of the day before. The tide was not quite as low, either, so it didn't stink quite so badly. Again I launched off the end of the dock, tied up the Cadence and returned the dolly to the car. It was time to warm up and get some photos!
I pedaled around taking shots of all the racers. Some seemed to be a little happier and energized than the others, but all seemed ready to compete.
It was just before the racers were lining up for the start that I noticed I had not done a great job of sealing the camera in its waterproof housing. Oh, no! I would need to get a screwdriver to fix it - which I forgot in the heat of the moment I actually carried in my PFD pocket in the form of a Leatherman tool. Wait a minute - duct tape will work! Perhaps the race officials have some at the dock!
I rushed over to the dock and asked if anyone had some duct tape they could give me.
One of the registrars ran off to get some. However, the race director said he would have to start the race on time regardless of when I was ready.
The one minute warning was given, and the woman with the tape was running back towards the dock. Would she make it in time?
No! The race signal was given, and the racers were off!
I grabbed the tape, applied it to the camera and returned the roll to the woman and thanked her profusely. I backed away from the dock, turned around and began pedaling madly towards the departed field. They were already at the southern end of Cape Sante.
With the GPS showing a speed of 7+ mph, my legs feeling fine and the sun starting to make an appearance, perhaps it will be a nice day after all. Well, this might not be so bad. I could play catch up, and shoot each boat as I passed.
I managed to catch a double kayak still at the bluff. One down, many to go!
Soon I had reached another group of kayaks. This was pretty easy! Of course, these guys were pacing themselves, but it was still fun to pass them.
Crossing Guemes Channel to Guemes Island I noticed several times when the drive system momentarily had slightly more resistance than normal. Aha! The weed cutter must be doing its thing, with the resistance caused as the weeds were being sliced and diced. At last it was doing what it was supposed to be doing. This was good!
The crossing was completed in fairly short order.
Just as I passed Deb she called over to me to ask if I had any Ibuprofen, aspirin or other pain killers on board as she was experiencing quite a bit of shoulder pain. I told her that I did have some in a first aid kit in a dry bag in one of the cargo compartments, but she would have to open the hatch and get it herself. We stopped and as I held onto her boat she dug around in the dry bag, found the stuff and put it back again.
Just after we separated I thought to ask her to check my prop for weeds, as the resistance seemed to be a bit higher than it should have been. Sure enough, there were weeds wrapped around the prop. Sigh... Deb removed them and continued on her way.
Shortly afterwards I ran into a large patch of weeds. No, I was not going to ask Deb for help. Instead I decided to do it myself and headed into a nearby cove where a sailboat was anchored to beach and check out what was going on.
Unfortunately, the waters of the cove were even worse. The weeds were so thick that I had to use my canoe paddle to get to shore. Hmm, if I clean off the prop on the beach it will probably get clogged on the way out, even if I use a paddle! I did it anyway.
One of the personal watercraft safety vessels followed me in to make sure I was OK. I had told them what I was planning to do via VHF, but they wanted to be doubly sure - and they wanted something to do, I guess. They also explained that their boats, PWC's especially, got fouled up all the time and required cleaning out by hand.
At the beach I found that the cutting blade was still there, but not extended the full distance to the propeller blade. An 1/8" was all the weeds needed to cause problems! However, this also meant that I just had to be a little more vigorous in forward and backward pedaling and the weed problem should be mostly under control.
After removing the accumulation I paddled back out through the weed patch, with the PWC safety man following. Once we were in the clear the safety man jumped into the water, removed the new accumulation of weeds and sent me on my way. Thanks!
I decided to leave my water shoes on rather than returning to my bike shoes. The Speedplay Frog pedals weren't really all that comfortable as they poked into the bottoms of the water shoes, but there was enough padding that my feet didn't complain too much. Besides, it would make it much easier and faster to check the prop the next time.
By this time everyone I had passed was now way ahead. Continuing northward along the steep, rocky eastern shore of Guemes the GPS indicated my speed was about 7 mph. The sun had come out along with a slow tailwind, which meant that I was absolutely roasting. Having forgotten to bring along a sweat band I resorted to wiping my face and eyes with a handkerchief. That broad brimmed hat of mine would certainly have helped here!
There were only a couple of times when I had to momentarily stop out in the water to clear the prop before reaching the northern end of the island. In fact, I was making pretty good time and caught up to the next racer who was making his way along the shore. The safety boat ping ponged between us a couple of times as I was about half a mile from shore and he was within fifty feet of it.
After taking a short break I reached the northern tip of the island, which was known for the presence of tidal eddies and a fairly widespread kelp bed. Some weeds were snagged as I threaded my way between the rocks and kelp, but they generally seemed to come off. Well, at least I was able to go at about 5 mph, which meant the prop was not too badly fouled. I'd wait until I found a nice sandy beach before checking it.
It was bright, sunny and breezy heading down the west side of Guemes. The shoreline here was gravel, and there definitely was a moderately strong current going exactly the wrong way. Ahead the guy in the clear kayak could be seen hugging the shore. Out in the middle of the channel was a double kayak. Why would they be way out there? The water there was considerably choppier and they would be more vulnerable to pleasure boaters. In addition, the current against them would probably be even stronger. It made no sense.
I stopped to check the prop. Yes, there were some weeds on it, but not very many. The current must be the main reason for my slow progress.
Soon I was ahead of the double kayak. The safety boat decided to tail them instead as it was now the last boat. About a mile later I caught up to the clear kayak and decided to beach one more time to check the prop. Unfortunately, the nice area of beach fronted a nice bed of eelgrass! The guy in the kayak came over as I pulled off the beach and we had a short discussion about the race, weather, etc. He then continued on hugging the shore while I took a route somewhat further away, avoiding rocks and most weeds.
Slowly pulling ahead I rounded the SW corner of Guemes Island before the kayak. Immediately my speed increased from about 5 mph to 7, then 8, then 9 mph! Wow - this is great! I was really zooming down Guemes Channel.
After fighting the heat, wind and currents it was a real joy to have the current helping. The GPS display was jumping between 9 and 11 mph, depending on how hard I pedaled. There was a nice breeze keeping me cool, and the chop was not too bad.
Ahead I saw the Guemes ferry pulling away from the Anacortes terminal on its way across to the Guemes terminal. Something told me we would probably have been on a collision course, except the ferry took a very wide jog to the east. After I passed the terminal the ferry turned sharply to the west and just barely made it into the Guemes terminal. Thanks for being so accommodating!
The last turn buoy was off the port bow and I was approaching it fast. With some effort I managed to change course and go around it before the current swept me past. Now came the fun part - crossing the channel to get to the Anacortes side!
With such a strong current I pointed the bow of the Cadence at right angles to the Channel. Pedaling strongly I would cross the channel and the current would push me to where I actually wanted to end up which was southeast of the turn buoy. A couple of safety vessels arrived as escorts to make sure that no pleasure craft would be causing troubles.
It was a bit of a struggle but the crossing was made without trouble. Seeing a couple of nice docks ahead I made for one so I could check the prop for weeds - and take a break.
The kayak finished his crossing while I was checking out my boat. I got back in the Cadence and soon caught up with him. He said he was ready to finish the race so, taking him at his word I started pedaling harder. He tried to follow in my wake, but didn't stay there for long. Soon I was far ahead, approaching the steep rocky bluff of Cape Sante.
With the exception of a couple of boats leaving the marina it was pretty quiet as I entered the harbor and made my way to the dock. One of the safety boats was at the dock and a couple of race officials were there to record the finish. It was over!
The GPS display was blank. Oh, no! The batteries must have died! Swapping new batteries for old I discovered that they had quit about 2 miles earlier. What was worse, however, is that the device did not track my course. Rats! There would be no record of my actual speeds or route. Oh, well.
Paul arrived with his dolly to help me bring the Cadence up to the car. Thanks, Paul!
I rinsed it off, put it on the car and changed into dry clothes. That felt good!
Shortly after the double kayak arrived the awards ceremony was held. A trophy was awarded to the two guys who finished the SJC with the shortest time, and ribbons were given to the first place finishers in the various classes of kayaks, row boats and, new for this year, pedal boats!
Ok, so my overall time of about 10 hours for 42 miles was not all that great in comparison with the others, the fastest of whom completed both days with a time slightly under 6 hours. Between the weed issues and my intent to take it easy so as to survive both days in good condition I think I did pretty well. As a side note, Deb finished the race about 30 minutes ahead.
Also, I think I'll change the pedals on the boat from the clipless ones back to the standard factory pedals. The last stretch of the trip using water shoes would have been quite a bit more comfortable with normal flat pedals, and there didn't seem to be an extraordinary amount of improvement in power output or speed using the clipless pedals. When combined with the hassle of changing from water shoes to bike shoes and back in the transition from shore to ship to shore, such as if I need to clean the prop, it would be much faster and easier to just wear water shoes.
This trip also taught me that proper adjustment of the weed cutting blade is essential if it is going to do the job!
My thanks go to all the folks who worked to put on this event. I had a great time regardless of the weeds - and was definitely feeling a lot better than I did after last year's race!
Photos I took during the race can be found here.