Round Shaw Row
August 13, 2005
Race Course

The latest Sound Rowers race that I attended was the Round Shaw Row. The course starts at Indian Cove, just off South Beach Park located at the southeastern side of the Shaw Island, located in the middle of the San Juan Islands. From there you head around the island in a clockwise or counter clockwise direction until you end up back at the start.

Some folks with a great understanding of the currents, eddies and winds around this island are able to make an informed and excellent decision as to which direction yields the fastest route. Others just go which ever direction they feel like going and suffer the consequences.

I'm in the latter group.

Camping at South Beach South Beach, looking east

So, on the morning of the race, having my sleep interrupted numerous times by late arrivals to the campground, extraordinarily loud and frequent blasts from the Washington State Ferries due to the thick fog that had apparently formed during the night, I emerged from my tent to greet a dim, gray morning.

"Great day for a race", I thought to myself. However, looking upward blue sky could be seen. That meant the fog should burn off fairly quickly and we might actually have a sunny day for the event.

I ate breakfast and made preparations for the race, even though it was nearly two hours before the scheduled 10 AM start.

Late arrivals Boat dump

People arrived in fits and starts as the various ferries came and left. By 10 AM quite a few people had arrived, filling most of the space along the gravel park road and much of the grassy field where some of us were camped. The sun had come out, the fog was mostly gone, the skies were blue and the birds were twittering sweetly in the trees. Ok, so maybe the birds were actually seagulls arguing over something on the beach. Still, it was definitely turning into a beautiful day, with temperatures in the low 70's.

Mike Reid, the race director, had called ahead to say that he was going to be a little late, taking the 10 AM ferry to the island from Orcas. This meant that the race would definitely start late. For some folks this didn't make much of a difference. In fact, since the ferries had been delayed by the fog this helped additional competitors make it to the course before the race started. For others who intended to take an early ferry home after this race in order to head on to another race on Sunday, this was more of an annoyance. They would just have to take a later ferry.

New boat Taking it easy Distant arrival

I strolled around the venue taking pictures and helping out here and there.

One of the racers had camped on Lopez Island and paddled over for the race. Another pair rowed over from San Juan Island, which was several miles away. Hmm, maybe one of these years I'll do that, too, rather than camp out. It has been quite a while since I saw Friday Harbor and the rest of San Juan Island.

Race director making announcements Waiting to start Ready to go

The tide was fairly high as we launched our boats. In fact, today there was no real tidal change during the race. This meant there would be very little in the way of currents to be encountered. The winds were pretty light, too. They were expected to be less than 10 knots from the southwest changing to less than 10 knots from the northeast as the day wore on.

In other words, generally excellent conditions for racing regardless of the direction one took around the island.

As one of the last boats to actually get in the water I pedaled out to the group waiting at the starting line, snapping photos and warming up. It appeared that the vast majority of the racers intended to head around the island in the counter clockwise direction. I joined them.

We are off! Early mayhem Pulling ahead

After a few minutes Mike started a count down, and at about 11:10 AM we were off!

Fast field ahead Close quarters Trailing OC-1's

As this was my first real athletic event in over a month I was not surprised to find myself falling behind the field fairly rapidly. I was trying to pace myself somewhat, and also had concerns as to the location of a reef that I thought I would shortly be crossing.

I needn't have worried about the reef, however, as it was quite a way to the north of my route. Some of the other racers were quite a bit closer, however, and could easily have scraped their boats on the rocks.

As we approached Picnic Point we encountered the first kelp bed in the race. I made a slight course correction to pass through a kelp-free zone. Meanwhile, a rower in a shell off to one side and behind me decided that he, too, wanted to go through that same zone. We managed to not collide, though his oars would have scraped my hull if he had continued unabated.

Soon we were past the kelp and we went our separate ways northward on Upright Channel, which separates Lopez Island from Shaw.

Pacing the OC-1's Leaning Madrona NE point Shaw Island

Try as I might I was not able to catch up to a pair of OC-1's that were quite close ahead. They seemed to be going the same pace, but pedaling with additional effort did not appear to increase my speed enough to close the distance. Rats! This meant I could not draft them and take it relatively easy around the island.

I resigned myself to just keep pedaling with my heart rate in the upper 140's to low 150's and try to make use of whatever currents and short cuts were available. In addition, the light tailwind meant that there was not much air cooling. I had to repeatedly stick my hands in the water in order to keep cool. Sweat was dripping profusely from my brow.

The familiar trees and rocks of the island stood out beautifully in the sunlight. I took some shots of birds on the rocks, and a madrona tree stretching its reddish arms over the water. The tidal pools seen during previous races were submerged today. There would be no purple and orange sea stars visible today!

Nearing Shaw ferry terminal

I soon turned westward into Harney Channel, the body of water between Shaw and Orcas Islands. Most of the field had disappeared off into the distance, though one of the women rowers had taken a very wide turn and ended up much closer to Orcas than she needed. No matter. She soon caught back up to the OC-1's and by the time I reached the Shaw ferry terminal she had passed them.

I was pedaling a little slower now. With no one close by my sense of urgency also diminished. Why not enjoy the beautiful day and the nice cool breeze?

Among the provisions chosen for the 14 mile race was a bottle of some sort of race beverage named Fuze. I opened it and sampled the contents. It was not too bad, and it supposedly had all sorts of performance enhancing vitamins and calories. At least it should help keep my energy levels up during the race a bit better than just water!

Nearing Orcas ferry terminal

Off in the distance behind me I could hear a ferry boat blasting its horn. Normally they did that to get the attention of boats in its way. As far as I could determine I was out of its way if it was heading to Shaw, and nearly out of its way if it was heading to Orcas. Still, I pedaled a bit faster, turning slightly in towards Blind Bay in order to give it more room.

Still the ferry blasted its horn. It definitely must be after someone else, as it was nearly a mile away from me!

About this time the drive mechanism started to click every time the propeller shaft made a revolution. The click could be felt by my feet through the pedals, and it seemed to be coming from the gearbox. Uh-oh - could there be a problem with the gear box?

The click did not happen in the reverse direction, so that eliminated everything from the small sprocket and its gear assembly to the cranks. Perhaps there was a problem with the bearings in the gearbox.

So far I had gone nearly 5.75 miles. Let's see if the problem gets worse. After all, I had a paddle, cell phone, VHF radio and a tow rope. The weather was nice and there were a lot of boats on the water so I could probably get assistance if I truly needed it.

I pedaled a little more slowly. My heart rate had dropped to 115 and my speed had dropped to 5.5 mph.

Wake maker

Quite a few motor boats passed by in each direction. Most of them left fairly minor wakes, but once in a while a fairly substantial set of waves left behind. In the distance I could see the rower turning her boat into those waves and bobbing up and down. I did likewise, getting very little water into the cockpit even though some of the waves washed over the bow.

Soon I was past Broken Point and heading into Wasp Passage.

First clockwise racer Oh, no - competition!

Shortly after entering Wasp Passage I encountered the first of the clockwise racers. Steve Chapin, a strong rower from the Port Townsend area, was rowing close to shore. I cheered him on and told him I might need a tow. He laughed and continued on his way.

Competition

On the other side of Wasp Passage I noticed a guy in a kayak more or less keeping pace. Uh, oh - could he be in the race? It certainly looked like it. I had better pedal faster!

I began pedaling faster, increasing my heart rate to 130 bpm.

Ahead in the distance a ferry could be seen approaching the passage. It could get rather tight, depending on what course the ferry chose to go.

Next clockwise racers Clueless by the ferry

A short while later the couple in the new double row boat passed. The man in the boat said that they really wanted a picture of themselves showing that they both were rowing, so I complied.

Meanwhile, the guy in the kayak was still paddling down the middle of the channel, apparently oblivious to the oncoming ferry. Was he crazy?

Perhaps he was, as the ferry passed by with not a whole lot of room to spare on either side between the shore and the kayak. I think I could guess at whom the earlier ferry was blowing its horn.

Marine patrol NW cove

A large red and black inflatable boat rushed by. It had a flashing light on its roof, and the people on board wore helmets and orange survival gear. I wondered where they were going? I thought about turning on the VHF and listening to the chatter, but decided against it. I already had too many distractions!

Vadim passing More rowers

Shortly afterwards I reached the NW corner of Shaw at the same time as Vadim, a paraplegic kayaker who took the clockwise direction. We exchanged greetings and I took more shots as he passed. He seemed to be doing quite well.

Closely following him were the people who had rowed to the start from some other island. They seemed to be in high spirits as they passed, thoroughly enjoying their time out on the water.

Entering Post Office Bay Sailing regatta Sailing regatta becalmed

Rounding the NW corner I entered Post Office Bay and the San Juan Channel. When the tides are strong this channel is a main conduit for water heading north or south. Currents can reach up to 5 knots or more. Today, however, the predictions for current speeds were closer to half a knot.

The town of Friday Harbor was visible across the channel to the southwest. A fleet of sailboats under full sail could also be seen, slowly leaving the harbor and attempting to head north under the light breeze. Unfortunately, some of the boats went too far across the channel and were becalmed. I thought of asking their captains if they needed a tow, but decided against that. It was probably against their rules.

Meanwhile, the kayaker who had caught up to me in Wasp Passage was catching up and falling behind, catching up and falling behind, depending on how consistent I was with maintaining my speed (at 145 bpm) and whether or not I reversed to make sure the propeller was weed free.

South end Post Office Bay Whale watchers

A boatload of whale watchers sped by on an inflatable somewhat similar in color and appearance to the marine patrol boat. The folks on board seemed rather stiff. Perhaps they were feeling a little chilled moving at such speeds without the warmth from exertion.

While I was staring off into space I noticed what appeared to be a trio of baby orca whales porpoising off to one side. They looked like the could have been Dall's Porpoises, though their dorsal fins were solid black in color. I struggled to get the camera pointed in their direction for a telephoto shot, but they disappeared below the surface by the time it was ready. Rats!

Eventually I reached the south end of Post Office Bay and continued along the shore.

kelp Waves Rear view

In years past there had been several large tidal eddies at the SW points of Shaw. This year they were all absent except for one. This eddy seemed to be quite muted compared to previous years. It still had regions of one and two foot waves, strange interactions with the incoming boat wakes, and flotsam and jetsam at the fringes.

I had no problem crossing directly through it. Not too long afterwards I was heading along the southern shore of the island on the last major leg of the race.

Entering Upright Channel Shellfish Motives

I was getting pretty fatigued by this time. The vibration from the drive system seemed to be getting stronger and it was negatively affecting my muscles. I was down to just water for nourishment and the time was approaching 1 PM - lunch time!

As in years past I had a little trouble recognizing exactly which cove or inlet I had to head towards in order to reach the finish. I consulted my GPS, into which was loaded a map of the state. It clearly showed where I was and indicated the finish line was dead ahead! All right!

The kayaker had been joined by another paddler. As we headed towards a shellfish harvester moored in our way in the channel the kayaker asked which way we should go. I suggested that he head off to the southeast while I headed more northeasterly. For some reason he did - at least for a short while. He and the other kayaker asked the folks running the harvester for directions back to Indian Cove. Wouldn't you know it but those guys actually gave the racers the right directions? Darn it!

Of course, they would have found the error of their ways pretty quickly anyway when they saw me heading in a different direction.

Finish line ahead Mike waiting

I suppose my poor directions caught up with me a few minutes later as I pedaled as fast as my muscles would let me towards the finish. The other two boats managed to get slightly ahead as we passed a bunch of boats moored in the cove and they continued to the beach. I stopped just past a motor cruiser that reminded me of the one the race director was in last year. There were two guys in it, and one was writing stuff down. I thought he was the race director and I had finished the race. It was only after a minute or two that I noticed the race director sitting in his little row boat a hundred yards closer to the beach wondering what the heck I was doing!

I sprinted to the real finish line. Oh, well. What's an additional minute in a 2.5 hour race?

Thank you, Mike Reid, for running this event.


Photos I took during the race can be found here.

Route & my stats

My route and statistics. In addition the heart rate monitor claims it was on 2:26:24, in the zone for 1:47:51, averaging 137 bpm over the period.


Epilogue

Saturday evening, well after the mini pot luck dinner had been consumed, the kids from the French Immersion School had departed and night had fallen, Jeff, Vadim and Martine took their kayaks out for a paddle on the calm starlit waters of Indian Cove. They were in search of bioluminescence - and they found it! Wherever they splashed with their paddles could be seen momentary blossoms of eerie greenish blue light.

I was intrigued enough by this to throw off my fatigue and put my Cadence into the cold, murky waters. It wasn't too bad, actually, once I got moving.

Sure enough, the bow wave ripples created by turning the boat right and left glowed brightly with the light of millions of algae. Looking astern it seemed as though the boat was rocket propelled, with a bright glow starting in the vicinity of the propeller and extending backward for perhaps ten feet or more. In the water on either side of the cockpit quite a few ghostly objects could be seen floating in the depths. It was much as though I was flying along the edge of space with stars and nebula passing below me.

As an experiment I tried pedaling in reverse. Sure enough, as the turbulent water passed under the boat towards the bow it seemed as though millions of lit bubbles swirled under the boat. Cool!

What an experience!


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