La Conner Race
February 19, 2005

On Saturday I attended the first official Sound Rowers race of the 2005 season. It starts below the Rainbow Bridge near the boat ramp at the south end of the town of La Conner, WA. The town is located along the Swinomish Channel at the north end of Puget Sound and somewhat close to the jumping off point for the San Juan Islands.

As seems to happen every year for this race I was running late. I had originally planned to leave home to allow 90 minutes for the drive. Unfortunately, due to some unplanned family matters I left only 75 minutes before the 9:15 AM pre-race meeting was to be held. To make matters worse I was bringing a stack of insurance waivers required by the club's new insurance carrier. Even though I had left voice and e-mail messages for the race director I was nearly certain that he had not printed his own copies for the event. Sigh...

The weather was nice and sunny, though the 31 degree temperature was a little brisk. There were still small patches of snow on the roofs of houses from the quickie snow storm we had a few days earlier. In addition, the traffic was not very heavy so I was able to make pretty good time en route to the Burlington exit.

As I drove towards La Conner the sky became fairly thickly overcast. It was going to be a chilly start!

Cadence on dolly Registration table

At the boat ramp I parked in a temporary spot, dropped off the waivers, ran back to my car, unloaded my boat and went back to register for the race. Paul Rollinger assisted with taking the boat from the car top carrier when, much to my surprise, a parking spot opened up right across the street in the boat ramp parking area. Sometimes good things happen to those who are late!

Race director at meeting Side by side Cadences

Rob O'Brien was the race director again. He described the course, offered some suggestions about which side of the channel one should travel on so as to not interfere with other boating traffic, and indicated that we would try to start the race at 10 AM. He also mentioned that there would be a post race lunch available at the town hall, after which the awards would be handed out. He also thanked the various safety boat volunteers who would be on station to help any racers that got into trouble.

Fulmar 19

This year there were two other pedal boats entered in the race. Jeff Wittenfeld brought his Fulmar 19 trimaran, and had it tied up to the dock. Jim Szumila brought his Cadence, which he had been busily pedaling for the past month and a half around the Olympia area. This was the boat I sold to him on New Year's Eve, so it was something of a veteran for these races.

I entered a brand new red and white Cadence. It was so new that I stayed up late the night before putting on some decals and installing the propeller and weed cutter. We'll have to see how long that nice, shiny and smooth gel coat can stay that way!

Wet dock Cadence on ramp

At first I planned to wheel the boat down the extremely bumpy ramp into the water. I thought the better of it and decided it would be a bit warmer and drier to launch off the side of the dock instead. Except for the large puddle in the middle of the dock, that indeed was a better plan.

Dock and ramp 5 men in a boat Warming up Double mixed up kayak

Once in the water I settled in to warm up. The tidal current was fairly strong, pushing everything to the south. I put the camera bag around my neck while pedaling, trying to snap photos of the other racers. It took a few minutes, however, before I was able to do so. As what happened last year the chilly air caused the waterproof vinyl bag for the camera to become very stiff and inflexible. It was only after several minutes with my hand inserted into the glove that the vinyl softened enough for me to adjust it so I could actually press the shutter and adjust the zoom.

Besides the usual single and double rowing shells, outrigger canoes, kayaks and surf skis there were a pair of 5 man rowboats, a couple of canoes, and a small river style double kayak. The Fulmar seemed to have disappeared, and Jim's Cadence could be seen every once in a while off in the distance.

Waiting to go More waiting

With the tidal current pushing us around the starting line could only loosely be called a line. We waited some more as a few stragglers put in, but eventually Rob decided that the race had to go on. We were off!

Close quarters Interference!

It was a rather surrealistic start. Mechanically I began pedaling as fast as I could. Oh, yeah - I should start my heart rate monitor. Done. Oh, yeah - let's take some pictures. Click. Click. Click.

Close to my starboard I could hear some shouts as the oars from two shells apparently became entangled. Click. That should be a nice shot!

Fast start

As I pedaled I could tell that I did not have the position of the drive tower adjusted properly. Rats! I quickly adjusted it, but not before some boats behind me made some emergency course corrections. Oops!

I pedaled some more. Oh, no - it still needed adjustment!

Once more I quickly stopped pedaling and adjusted the tower. Finally it was in the proper position. It was time to get this show on the road!

Being passed Drafting

With the tidal current assist the GPS was reporting speeds of 9 to 10 mph. I hoped it would be slack on our return! Pedaling hard with my heart rate monitor indicating a pulse between 150 and 160 I began to slowly catch up with some of the folks who had passed while I had adjusted the drive. Click. Click. Click.

Nearing the bluff Reaching the turn

I continued snapping photos and pedaling hard. My body was starting to generate quite a bit of heat, so I removed the windbreaker I was wearing over my PFD. That helped a bit. Hopefully I wouldn't have to remove my winter cycling pants. That would take a bit of time!

We reached the end of the Swinomish Channel and turned west towards Deception Pass.

Racers ahead at Goat Island Kraken attack

There were quite a few racers ahead of me at this point. Oh, well, that is to be expected when you aren't fully ready at the start - and you pause to take photos. That was fine with me today, though I felt pretty strong and the boat was moving quite well.

Surf ski and OC-1

I joined an OC-1 and a surf ski and decided to tag along while snapping photos.

Returning 5 man boat Fulmar returning

As we reached one of the channel markers Jeff Wittenfeld was passing by on the return leg. We exchanged greetings. Apparently he and one of the 5 man row boats started the race at 9:30 AM so as to not delay things at the end. He seemed to be having fun taking photos with his camera, too.

See ya later!

I began noticing that my cranks were starting to make some sounds that they had not been making previously. Uh oh - it looked as though the fixed cup on the bottom bracket was backing itself out of the bottom bracket. Hopefully it wouldn't come out too rapidly, otherwise I'd have to resort to my paddle!

There was some additional resistance to pedaling. I dropped behind the boats I had been pacing and continued to the turn.

Nearing the turn Racers heading to the turn

Shortly after the turn the cranks ground to a halt. The fixed cup had backed itself out as far as it could, forcing the sprocket arm against the bottom bracket. I couldn't screw it back in with the tools in my PFD pockets, though upon reflection now it might have possible that one of the safety boats had a channel lock pliers that might have done the trick.

Jim catching up More racers

I decided to take out the canoe paddle and start paddling. The clouds were dissipating and this would be a great opportunity to take photos of the slower racers as they passed by.

Joe on return leg Another racer

A couple of the safety boats came by to make sure that I was OK. I told them that when the last of the racers passed me I would be happy to be towed in. Meanwhile, I would paddle and shoot.

My GPS indicated a speed of about 2.5 to 3 mph under moderate paddle power. The frozen propeller probably didn't help things too much, but the rudder enabled me to continue paddling on one side or the other for extended periods.

Lurking sea life Following the tail

I made it to about the middle of Goat Island before the last racer, a paraplegic kayaker, passed me. By that time my hands were starting to get sore from the paddle. Gee whiz - do people actually use their hands for that sort of thing?

Getting a tow

I tossed a line to a nearby safety boat and we began following the last racer back to the finish line.

Following Vadin Nearing the channel

Except for the stench of the exhaust from the mostly idling motor it was quite a pleasant trip. This was the first time I had a chance to truly enjoy the beautiful scenery along the Sound and the Swinomish Channel. All the other times I was working like a dog trying to pass it by. Maybe someday I'll come back when I'm not racing!

Steep Bluff At the point Nearing the finish Hi Mike!

At long last we reached the finish line. The officials asked me if I wanted my time, and I replied "Yes!". I could always claim that the safety boat was in trouble and needed a push, and the rope had actually frozen and turned into a spar. Right...

Anyway, my time was about 1:36:00. At this point the camera's memory card was completely filled with shots, so I had to wait until I returned to my car for a fresh card before I could take any more. Sorry about that, safety boat crew! Thanks for a great job towing me in!

I threw the line to someone on the dock and was pulled in. Back at last!

I was rather chilled after all that time on the water not exerting myself. After retrieving the boat, washing it down and putting it on the car I changed into some dry clothes: long polypro undies, nylon pants, t-shirt, nylon shirt, wool sweater, insulated jacket, wind breaker, fresh socks and shoes. It also felt good to feel the heat from the car's heater!

I drove over to a street near the town hall parking lot, parked and walked to the hall. Most of the others had already taken their servings of soup and bread and were seated at the tables. There was only one person ahead of me in the line.

Soup Hall Soup Hall servers Soup Hall soups

There were 6 different types of home made soups this year. Wow! I chose the taco bean and vegetable soups, grabbed some bread and found an empty chair. I was starving!

Race awards Jim wins 1st place Race results

The awards ceremony was held about 15 minutes later. First place finishers received a nice blue ribbon and a loaf of fresh bread. Jim Szumila was the happy first place pedal boat winner, having finished with a time of around 1:08:47. He was thinking that if he was only 5 minutes faster he would be right in the middle of the pack. Maybe next year, Jim!

After the awards ceremony I transferred a bunch of Sound Rowers race gear from Rob's truck to my car and drove home. It's only 3 short weeks until the Lake Sammamish race - my first one as a race director!


Photos I took during the race can be found here.

Race Course

Map of the course and my stats


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