To take the ferry, or not. That was the question.
Checking the schedule it appeared that one could either leave very early, arriving at the park 90 minutes before race time, or leave late and arrive with maybe 15 minutes to spare. All this, and pay $10.30 for the privilege.
I chose to take the long route through Tacoma, bypassing the ferries, and drive.
Traffic was fairly light, but it appeared that the return trip would be pretty slow. With the construction of the new Tacoma Narrows toll bridge the eastward (homeward) bound highway was restricted to a single lane. I guess I'll take the ferry on the return!
I reached the starting place for the Sound Rowers Manchester race by 8:45 AM. This gave me plenty of time to get a good parking place and prepare my Cadence for the race. It also gave me time that I could help some other racers with their boats.
As in previous years the race registration and staging area was at the picnic area just above the beach. People were carrying their vessels down to the grass lawn and setting them on the ground or onto stands they had brought with them. Dick Lyon was there and already had his P5 Gazelle set up on a pair of folding chairs, ready to take to the water.
This year we had company. Someone had rented the big brick pavilion. They hung large red curtains in all the window openings and were carrying to it the contents of several vehicles parked in loading zone. This made it a little busier than usual for the racers who wanted to unload by the registration area rather than carry their vessels from the parking lot.
Jim Szumila arrived a few minutes later with his Cadence. This was great! There would be an entire class of pedal boats. Ok, there really were two class equivalent boats and one other class, but still there were three pedal boats in the race. This was going to be fun!
Bela held the pre-race meeting. I listened for a while, determined that there was nothing different this year from last, and brought my boat down to the beach. There I emptied out the water that had collected inside from the recent storms and ended up nearly losing a memory card for my camera. Whew!
There was a short wait while people threaded their way down the narrow path to the beach. I had to drop off my excess clothing and camera stuff at the registration table. Eventually there was a gap in which I sprinted up the trail, reaching the lawn just before Rob O'Brien entered the path carrying a long two man rowing shell.
Returning to the beach I had to step carefully over the mat of weeds covering the ground. It was quite slippery. The beach closer to the water was mostly devoid of weeds but the sandy muck nearly removed the water shoes from my feet. It was a good thing they had snug straps!
The water was so shallow I ended up walking at least 30 feet from shore before it was deep enough to float the Cadence. Paul Rollinger walked out with me to assist and return the beaching dolly to shore. Thanks, Paul!
Bela tooted the air horn for the 5 minute warning while I was still washing the muck from my shoes and putting on some dry socks. I was barely finished when he tooted it a second time for the 3 minute warning. Quickly I cruised around the gathering boats, taking some shots while trying to warm up.
All too soon Bela started the race. As in years past we were to head east to the end of Rich Passage, head southeast going around Blake Island and return. It was a personal choice as to which way around Blake was the fastest. The concensus this year was that the clockwise route would probably be faster.
Since I had not yet gone around Blake Island in the clockwise direction that was the way I'd go this year.
The boat seemed to be moving fairly well through the water. It was definitely better than it had been at some previous races, but still seemed to be taking more energy to go a given speed than other Cadence boats I've raced. Perhaps the fin on the prop shaft was more of a drag than I gave credit.
I was breathing quite rapidly, pedaling around the mid 80's with a GPS speed of around 7 mph. Perhaps I could catch the wake of Steve and Vern's double sea kayak and let them pull me around the island. Faster!
Unfortunately, the double managed to get ahead and keep the same pace. While there was the possibility that I could catch it, the effort would drain the energy my muscles would need to complete the race. Nope - better to let them go and pace myself.
Besides, they soon took a heading that would lead them counterclockwise around the island. Oh, well.
A couple of hundred feet to the north I saw Dick pedaling his boat. It appeared he was heading in the clockwise direction. This would be interesting to see how he handled racing in this varied environment; i.e., open water with weeds strewn about, island shallows, kelp beds, boat traffic, etc.
I was sweating profusely in the hazy morning. There was a light breeze that helped to cool me, but I had to remove the old foreign legion style cap and neck blanket that I had been using to keep the sun off. It was just way too hot, even with a temperature in the 60's. If I had known there would not be much wind I'd have gladly worn my big, funky but cool hat. Hopefully the sunscreen would protect me from burning!
I sucked down a pouch of fruit juice. Ahh!
A scattering of rowing shells could be seen in the distance heading towards Blake Island. Dick was a bit east and slowly gaining distance as we passed through the floating weed patches. This year the weeds seemed to be fewer in number and smaller in size than in previous years. They hardly seemed to affect my boat at all, though I did periodically slow to clear the propeller. It was hard to see if they had any effect on Dick's progress.
About this time I noticed the camera lens was fogging. Rats! The dessicant must be too old and not up to the task of keeping the humidity low in the waterproof camera bag.
I removed the camera from the bag, which left it exposed to the elements for the duration of the race. At least the lens was no longer fogged.
By this time one of my three water bottles was completely drained. I was glad to have brought additional water!
Nearing the island an inflatable boat powered by an outboard engine passed by. The stench of its exhaust was mercifully cut short by the breeze so it didn't choke me for too long. They were heading into the Tillicum Village marina on Blake Island.
A middle sized motor yacht was heading on a collision course with me as they approached the channel into the marina. They were nice about it and slowed to let me pass. It helped they were in a slow "no wake" zone, too.
Dick could be seen pedaling around the north easterly corner of the marina breakwater. He wasn't really all that far ahead. Perhaps the weeds were slowing him down.
Soon I was pedaling around the shallow northeastern shore of the island. Off in the distance some boats could be seen approaching. Rainer and Adrian Storb were rowing their 2 man shell, closely followed by Joost Zeegers in his high performance kayak - also known as a surf ski. All three are strong athletes and frequently finish in first or second place overall. I took several pictures and continued pedaling along the eastern shore.
What I did not notice was that Deb Natelson was tailing fairly close behind in her Maas Aero, as is shown in the above photo. Most of these rearward photos are taken holding the camera and pointing it behind me, best guessing as to the direction and composition. Had I known she was there I'd have felt much greater incentive to pedal harder!
About halfway down the shore Vern and Steve passed in their double kayak. We shouted encouragement to each other and kept moving.
The southeastern corner of the island was in sight. Several other oncoming boats had passed, but so far no one had passed me from behind since I left Rich Passage nearly 40 minutes ago. This was good as it meant I was at least maintaining a good speed.
The kelp beds on the south side of the island indicated the tidal current was with me. The GPS indicated an increase in speed, too. Earlier my speed was in the 6.5 to 7 mph range; now it was closer to 7.5 to 8 mph. I remembered fighting this current in previous races heading the other way. It was good to have it assisting me!
Dick could be seen as a small red and black dot in the distance.
On the west side of the island I unconciously began pedaling slower. My breathing was not so strong, either. It was time to consume more energy food!
I had packed some Powerbar gel that I picked up at some outdoors show last fall. It supposedly contained some sort of easily digested chocolately caffeinated goo that was supposed to make the consumer more energized and strong in endurance events. I guess this event counted as such, so I ripped it open and squeezed the contents into my mouth. Not bad!
I rapidly emptied the pouch and drank a bunch of water to help wash the sticky taste from my mouth. It was time to pedal harder.
Some sailboats were moored near the middle of the west side of the island. Paddling among them were half a dozen people in blue and yellow kayaks. Apparently the folks in the sailboats used the kayaks as tenders, traveling between the shore and their boats.
Up ahead I recognized the yellow shirt of Paul Mueller, a rower, moving among some sailboats moored near the northwestern end of the island. He is typically a little faster than me and was proving it again today. Soon he passed the northwestern point of the island and was heading towards Rich Passage.
As I reached the northwestern tip of the island I could see the skyline of Seattle off in the distance. It was somewhat dark under the brooding clouds, not shining and sparkling as it is under sunlight. Some light rain droplets were hitting the water, too. Hopefully it would not turn into a real shower. I'd have to put the camera back in its bag, which was now at the far end of the cockpit and out of quick and easy reach.
Suddenly there was the roar of almost a dozen airplanes passing overhead. A squadron of identical propeller driven planes was heading south. I managed to capture a few of them with the camera. Perhaps there would be something about them in the news that night.
Last year an old restored bomber had passed overhead during the race. Could this somehow be related?
I'll say one thing in favor about going clockwise vs. counterclockwise. The last leg of the trip from Blake Island to Manchester State Park is shorter going clockwise. When you are pedaling out in the middle of a large body of water it is difficult to see that you are making progress. When nobody is close to you it can get to be something of a struggle to keep one's energy levels high, to keep the competitive spirit active.
The previous years I found myself slowing down during this section. This year I pretty much kept on pace. Of course, it also might have had something to do with that super duper goo I ate.
It still took a long time to make it past the Manchester Navy docks and lighthouse. I had to clear the propeller of weeds a couple of times, too.
Anyway, I could still see the red dot of Dick Lyon pedaling his boat, and Paul Mueller rowing his shell. Paul seemed to have caught up to Dick by rowing closer to the middle of Rich Passage. The tidal current might have been faster there. I could also make out a pair of OC-2's passing the last point of land before the finish line, their paddles flashing reflections of light.
I began pedaling with more effort, counting every other revolution of the cranks in my head. One, two, three, ..., forty one, forty two, ... When I got to 100 I took a momentary rest, placing my feet on the floor of the cockpit. That was a mistake! Almost immediately the muscles began to tense, getting ready to cramp.
Back to pedaling - and another big drink from the last water bottle!
Dick had just crossed the finish line when I passed the northeast corner of the park. It was now the home stretch, so I pedaled harder still. The GPS reported a speed over 7 mph. Huff, huff, huff!
Finally it was over. Bela sounded the horn and wrote down my time: 1:34:20 - a personal best record! Considering that this was done with water shoes and previous races were done with bike shoes and clipless pedals, this was a great improvement. Of course, the relative lack of weed or mechanical difficulties this time certainly helped.
Dick had finished the course with a time of 1:30:36. He said that he had to clear his prop of weeds 5 or 6 times, too, which slowed him down as well.
Interesting. There was only a difference of 3 minutes, 44 seconds, under nearly identical conditions over a distance of about 10 miles. Dick also used toe clips and straps, so perhaps if I had used bike shoes and clipless pedals we would have finished much closer. Rats - I like not having to change shoes when launching and landing!
Deb finished about a minute and a half behind me. Way to go, Deb! Her times have been improving steadily since she purchased her Aero last year.
Jim Szumilla crossed the line with a time of 1:40:22. His boat was missing its weed cutting blade and he did encounter weeds as well. All he could do was the forward and backward pedaling to free them, which apparently worked fairly well for him. Congratulations, Jim!
After shooting a few more finishers and letting my muscles loosen up pedaling around the finish line I went to shore. Paul arrived with the beaching dolly and assisted in bring it back to the grassy staging area. Thanks a million, Paul!
I retired to my car and changed into dry clothes. That felt much better!
Lunch had been served. People were milling about the picnic tables, filling bowls with home made steaming hot clam chowder, meatball or beef & vegetable soups, loading plates with bread, fruit, cookies and fudge brownies. Yum!
After consuming probably way more calories than I burned off in the race I walked back to the car and retrieved my garden sprayer. Another Sound Rowers racer caught onto the idea and brought a sprayer as well. Like me he was using it to wash down his boat. In fact, several other racers borrowed mine. It certainly does remove the vast majority of salt and shoreline muck!
The awards ceremony was held and ribbons were distributed to the first three positions within each class. I mentioned to Jim that perhaps we should have two pedal boat classes considering that Dick's boat was about 9 feet longer and half as wide as our boats. Maybe some day...
It was a short drive back to the ferry terminal, and a short voyage to West Seattle and another short drive home.
Thank you, Bela, for another fine race!
Photos I took during the race can be found here.
Map of the course I took, along with my statistics
Detailed map of the course, unedited track