Next up- LaConner

Hope you’re all ready to join us for the annual kick-off race at La Conner, next Sat Feb 5th. This scenic 7 mile race begins and ends at the Sherman St Boat Launch (under the Orange Bridge); proceeds south down the Swinomish Channel, then west out past Goat Island to & around C-1 can Buoy and back.

Post-race Soup ‘n’ Bread feast following race. NOTE: change of location. This year it will be back at the Shelter Bay Clubhouse as it was a few years ago. But this is different location from Maple Hall, a few blocks away from the race start. Please check the SR website for directions to this year’s soup digs.

Race start: 10am with mandatory pre-race meeting at 9:15. PFD, whistle, and ability to self-rescue in cold water required.

Deception Pass Dash report

I know the spirit of a blog is to have frequent and timely write ups. This one is a little late. We’ll work on that! In the mean time, enjoy:

By Jeff Knakal

12-4-10 Deception Pass State Park. Over 150 human powered watercraft gathered at Bowman Bay for this year’s edition of the Deception Pass Dash. The day was cold, but calm and sunny.  The organizers debated a start time of 1:00 or 1:05, trying to put us in the pass exactly at slack. If I can guess Deception Pass currents within an hour, I figure I’m doing pretty well. But their calculation was spot on making for perfect conditions (for the rowers anyway)

Theresa and I were in our Maas double rowing shell, so we positioned on the far end of the starting line to stay out of the tangled mass. We got off fast and had an amazing view of flying paddles against the green trees and blue sky.  Morris and Debbie Arthur came into view behind us and picked up their paddle rate to catch us for a draft.  We picked up our stroke rate to hold them off.  My only thought was, “are they pulling on the same water we’re pulling on?” They soon caught us and were joined by Brandon Nelson and Gabe Newton, and “we had us a convoy” as the old 70’s song goes.  I caught a glimpse of Robert Meenk in his rowing single out in front and thought our group would probably be racing for second place.

The paddlers took an inside line around Deception Island while we swung wide of the kelp, coming back together at the gap in the kelp promised in the pre-race meeting. They graciously let us through first and hopped back on the draft.  Morris and I stared each other down at close range on the long crossing to the bridge.  Brandon and Gabe jockeyed for position just behind. Morris suggested a few minor course corrections as we rowed through the pass and they made another move, taking the inside line around Strawberry Island. We swung wide, our hull clunking loudly against the kelp.  We were now a boat length behind the pack and slowly inched our way back, passing through canoe pass almost together.  We diverged in our course back to Deception Island. Us to the south, the paddlers to the north, each guessing at the best current. When we came back together, Brandon and Gabe tucked in behind us again, we didn’t see the Arthur’s and the biggest surprise, Robert was well behind us.   The water got a little choppy on the outside of the island. Brandon followed us wide, while Gabe took an inside line.  As we swung onto the final straight to the finish, Brandon and Gabe pulled up even just behind us, the Arthurs close behind and Robert further back and charging hard. Was this really turning into a sprint to the finish?  We rode a few swells on the way to the finish, frantically trying to hold off Robert.  As we neared the finish, Gabe made a move to pass us.  We countered with a sprint, chasing Robert from behind at this point. He finished 4 seconds ahead , followed in rapid succession by us, Gabe, Brandon and the Arthurs.  We all finished within 30 seconds.  An exciting finish to a great race.

Next up- Deception Pass Dash

Outside the Sound- OtS articles are meant to be about non-Sound Rowers events. OK, some of the SR events are also “outside Puget Sound”. We’re trying to be clever here…

This weekend is the Deception Pass Dash, organized by the Outdoor Adventure Center. Arguably one of the crazier ideas of the year. We all hope for good weather and that the organizers know how to calculate slack tide at the pass! Check it out here:

http://www.outdooradventurecenter.com/40227/Deception-Pass-Dash.html

Dress warm, remember your life vest and have fun!

The Magic of Sound Rowers

I learned to row in high school on the east coast. I liked the discipline and the formality of the sport. There were structured commands for picking the boat up, putting it down, commands for starting to row and stopping. By following the rules, we were able to work together and go fast.

But one thing always bothered me. Why did we always row 2000 meters? (Actually, high schools rowed 1500 meters then, 2000 now-inflation you know…) The distance is so ingrained in the world of rowing, that one of the most popular rowing websites today is “row2k”. It would be like limiting the world of track and field to only the mile run, or swimming to only the 100 free.

I like Sound Rowers for exactly the opposite reason. That is, the lack of formality. It’s not 2000 meters, it’s any distance. It’s not in a straight line, not a carefully controlled course. And here’s the real magic: It’s not even about rowing. It’s about racing any human powered boat. It’s about testing your skill against the other person’s skill, your conditioning against theirs, your preconceived notions about your sport against theirs.  (Read: the paddlers sometimes beat me)

Rowing purists have argued with me. “Rowing races should be limited to rowers”. And that leads me to the second piece of magic that I believe we have stumbled upon. Critical Mass. If I held an open water race, I may get only 10 rowers to show up. OK, but not much fun. Open it up to all human powered boats and we get 50, 70… 100 or more.  That is a quantity that is exciting and sufficient to sustain an organization.  A critical mass. And it gives us a chance to test ourselves with and against people we might otherwise never meet.

Don’t get me wrong. There is a place for rower only races, or paddler only, or outrigger only. I enjoy them too. And I enjoy watching their brands of formality and tradition.  But it’s also good to bring us all together every now and then to share our experience.  That’s the magic of Sound Rowers.

The author in "2 seat", long ago

2010 Race Roundup

Here’s a round up of the year’s racing season.

By Jeff Knakal

LaConner

Conditions were flat with light winds, and a side current that helped mix up the inbound and outbound traffic. No collisions were reported (an unusual accomplishment for the LaConner race!) The mixed double rowing team of Tyler Peterson and Nikki Sherry outclassed the pack in a time of 48:50. Jeff/Theresa Knakal (mixed 2X) and Eric Moll (HPK) rounded out the top 3. A soup feast in LaConner followed the race and provided a good start to the racing season.

Lake Sammamish

Strong winds whipped up conditions on the south end of the lake to make racing a little more challenging. Tyler Peterson in a single rowing shell (1X-OWIII) won the long course followed by Eric Moll in an HPK and Greg Spooner/Rainer Storb in a double rowing shell. At least 3 competitors stopped to assist boats in trouble. On the short course, the Junior K4′s battled to a 1-2 finish, followed by Peter Marcus in an HPK.

Jetty Island

Some sailors I know call the waves that build off the south end of Jetty Island the “waves of Death”. Apparently some of the rowers I know now do too. I wasn’t there. I heard it was epic! Tyler Peterson (1X-OWIII) continued his winning ways followed by Joost Zeegers and Jason Cross in HPK’s. 21 boats finished, 9 more were smart enough to not risk conditions beyond their ability or ambition.

Lake Whatcom

Conditions were relatively mild, except for the annoying headwind in both directions. At least that was my impression. It didn’t seem to bother Anne Browning and Nicole Sylvester (W-2X) on the long course, finishing in a quick 1:31:36. They were followed by Ian Mackenzie (K-1) and Brandon Nelson (HPK).  The short course was dominated by the HPK’s of Jeff Hilburn, Erik Wermus and Simon Brownlie.

Commencement Bay

Sunny sky and smooth water greeted racers on the 6 mile course. The lead rowers took their normal divergent courses to the first turn buoy, Evan Jacobs and Tyler Peterson  (2X) finding their way there and back first in a quick 41:44. Robert Meenk (1X-OWIII) and the Rainer Storb/Todd Silver team (2X) followed.

Rat Island

Held on the same weekend as the NAOWRC (North American Open Water Rowing Championship), Rat Island drew rowers from around the country. Dan Gorriaran and Mike Smith (2X) and Diane Davis/Rich Klanjscek (2X), were followed closely by local Robert Meenk for the top 3 spots.

Manchester

The day was sunny and warm with light winds. To challenge the racers, there were significant tide rips near Blake Island. You have to be prepared even on the best of days! Tyler Peterson and Rainer Storb were this day for a first place finish. Two OC-6′s followed, led by Paul Lugo and Mike Szewczyk.

Elk River

Racers moved down to the coast and were met with breezy conditions and a chop up to 1 ft. Joost Zeegers (K1) finished first, followed by a rowing 8 (really- can they make the turns??? I bet the oysters had never seen one of those before…) from Oregon Rowing Unlimited and Peter Turcan in a K1.  The “Little Elk” race was run by Vanessa, Callum and Kylie Turcan in an SK3, followed by Dylan Hall (FSK) and Daryl & Perry Graham in a C2.

Round Shaw

Morris and Debbie Arthur in an HPK 2 found a faster way around Shaw Island than everyone else, followed by the father/son team of Rainer and Adrian Storb. Dean Bumstead followed in an HPK to round out the top 3. Susan Kinney (1X-OWIII) in 7th place at 1:59:45 became the first woman to finish in under 2 hours in a single.

Bainbridge Island Marathon

The full Marathon was dominated by Robert Meenk in 3:24:21 in a 1X-OWIII. Rainer/Adrian Storb (2X) and Will Stones/Glen Evans (2X) followed to fill the top 3. Jeff/Theresa Knakal won the half marathon in a new record time, followed by the skeg-less double of Rob O’Brien/Theresa Batty. Susan Kinne (1X-OWIII) was third, also in a new class record time.

San Juan Orca Challenge

The water was flat and the winds light, but the currents around the islands kept things interesting. Jeff and Theresa Knakal were first in a double rowing shell, followed closely by Kirk Christensen and Dean Bumstead in HPK’s

Budd Inlet

Racing moved to the South Sound in Olympia and the big rowing shells took over in calm conditions. The OAR 8 person rowing shell won on home turf followed by the OAR 4X. Two VLRC 8+ rowing shells followed both under one hour for the 7nm course.

Lake Samish

The level of Lake Samish raised slightly as 111 boats settled in for racing. Larry Goolsby and David Jacobsen finished first in a double HPK. Debbie/Morris Arthur were second in a double HPK and Alex Twist third in a single rowing shell.

Mercer Island Sausage Pull

The final race of the Sound Rowers season was rowers’s conditions (read: flat, flat, flat) The long course was won by Austin Nichols/Michelle Williams-Davis in a mixed 2X out pacing Rainer Storb and Todd Silver in a 2X. Greg Barton finished third in an HPK.  On the short course. Tyler Peterson teamed up with Nikki and Dave in a shell modified for 3 rowers to take first. Evan Jacobs (1x-OWIII) was second, followed by Rachel Alexander/John Alberti in a mixed double rowing shell. Many sausages were consumed as we celebrated another successful Sound Rowers racing season.

Sound Rowers News

This is the online Newsletter for the Sound Rowers Open Water Rowing and Paddling Club.