Length of the Lake, September 20

Surfskis lined up at the start in Vernon

And they’re off

Jeff and Katja arrive at Bear Creek check point just north of Kelowna

Busy pit crew at the Bear Creek check point

Wife Leah helps Alex prepare for the next leg

Alex departs Bear Creek for leg 3’s journey to Peachland

Tandem ski arrives in Peachland

Peachland transition zone after leg 3

Stellar pit crew Brent and Sheila get us ready for another leg

Tandem ski departs Peachland heading across the lake, Rattlesnake Island in the background

A quick glance to see if the competition is close on approach to Summerland

Brent replaces Katja’s water bag at Summerland

Here comes the first boat

The double ski arrives at Penticton

Jeff and Katja with their LOL finishers ribbons

DJ happy at the peach

After nearly 100 km the pack is fairly tight

Paul arrives in Penticton

2007 LOL team-mates Jeff and Paul congratulate each other

Sean arrives in Penticton

Sean hits the beach

Keith and Sean congratulate each other for a fine race

Keith satisfied with a great race

1st place solo Ironman Alex hits the beach

Jeff and Katja hit the beach in Penticton

Alex makes the dash to kiss the peach

Bear Creek check point, Penticton’s OC-6 crews with Larry awaiting DJ’s arrival

WHOOOHOOO!!!…with both of our paddles raised high above our heads Katja and I speed down the face of another awesome wave on the leg from Peachland to Summerland…but more about that later.

On Friday evening all the racers gathered at the Sandman Inn at Vernon for registration and pre-race meeting. There was lots of nervous excitement in the room as racers chatted about tackling Okanagan Lake. The weather forecast was a hot topic with the prediction being for a high of 23 C, light or no wind in the morning with the potential for about 20 km/h north wind in the afternoon. This was encouraging especially after the strong headwind last year’s racers encountered south of Kelowna.

On Saturday morning the racers gathered early to prepare for the 7 am start…except for an OC-2 crew that began their race at 6am to ensure they would complete the course by the required check-in times. As far as surfskis go there were a variety of teams: Jeff/Katja (Vancouver) paddling Iron in tandem Fenn Mako XT, Bellinghamers DJ and Larry racing relay using their Huki S1-X Specials, Sean (Vancouver) and Keith (Peachland) racing relay using their Think Evo’s and Greg (Calgary, Mako 6), Paul (Vernon, Barton Black Marlin) and Lynda (Calgary, Valhalla) racing relay. Solo iron surfskiers were Alex (Revelstoke) paddling his newly purchased Epic V10 (see September 10th’s post) and Jason (Kamloops) also new to surfski (June) paddling a Valhalla ski with overstern rudder. Also in the race were 2 OC-6 crews, one from Penticton, the other from Calgary. There were also many OC-2 crews…I believe one of which was doing the race Iron.

The race started promptly at 7am under flat calm water conditions. DJ blasted off the line with Jeff/Katja taking up position on his left slip with Sean and Alex following in behind. Greg was keeping pace off to the right along with Penticton’s orange OC-6 followed by the Iron OC-2 in tow. Soon Greg moved over to join the surfski pack, taking up position on Jeff/Katja’s left slip with DJ now having settled back onto the double ski’s right slip…Sean and Alex were lined up behind the double ski. We had settled into about 11.8 km/h pace…there was still a long way to go. Early on we felt a couple taps to the back of our double ski which I took as being a bit rude considering we were providing wash for the 4 single skis…so we responded by jacking the pace up to 14 km/h for a few seconds resulting in a bit of a rearrangement of the pack. Greg was still sitting on left slip, DJ was now on stern wash…I believe Sean and Alex dropped back a bit but soon caught back onto the line. Things stayed fairly mellow with the pack of skis holding a slight advantage over the orange OC-6 and OC-2…but then came another tap to our stern…we warned you guys…this time we bumped the pace up to 15 km/h for a few more seconds…Greg did great to hang onto our left slip, apparently Greg used to be a National Team level flatwater sprint kayaker…ah yes, another one of those guys, great! DJ stayed on our stern but Sean and Alex became disconnected from the group. Oddly enough we didn’t feel anymore taps after that. Sorry guys, I couldn’t resist…the accelerations served another purpose too but I won’t go into that here. The first leg was to a place called Fintry about 16 km from Vernon over on the west side of the lake…all of the 4 check points were at locations on the west side. As we got into the main part of the lake there was a gentle north wind helping us along…nothing strong enough to make any appreciable waves but it certainly help us keep a decent pace. As we neared Fintry DJ picked up the pace…he could afford to use up a bit of extra energy since he would be handing off to Larry…we moved our Mako XT onto his left slip as the pace rose to the low 13’s. Interestingly Greg was not able or chose not to respond to the acceleration dropping back from the leading skis. As we neared the transition area we shot off to the left heading down the lake while DJ proceeded into the beach area so Larry could begin leg 2. We kept the pace high for a few minutes to ensure Larry wouldn’t be able to close the gap and jump on our wash. With the light breeze at our backs we continued on down toward Kelowna. Apparently during this leg Paul managed to catch Larry, perhaps with the assistance of the OC-6 he was drafting. Larry posted a good report on his race on the Whatcom Paddlers yahoo group, check it out using the link at the right of this page.

At this point Katja and I were pretty much on our own…now we had to play our cards well enough to keep it that way. The wind gods were being kind so we were able to hold about 12 km/h without much difficulty…so far so good…but having done this race before I was well aware that the wind on this lake can do some nasty things…and quickly. At the Bear Creek checkpoint, just north of Kelowna and 40 km into the race, Katja and I needed to stop in order to restock our water supply…because of this we hoped to have openned up a sizable gap on our competition since the relay teams took little or no time at the transitions…as one paddler arrived immediately the other took off…the OC-6’s took a bit longer to switch the 6 paddlers, but they were still quicker than were we. Our stops consisted of my bro Brent and his gal Sheila each switching out our water carriers, They’d hand us a powerbar, sans wrapper, Katja would take a drink of water, to get a break from the ultra sweet energy drinks in our water carriers. Sometimes we would eat a piece of bagel, another attempt to give our stomachs a break from the sweet energy drinks and bars…it worked with varying success. Our water system was pretty sweet…a buddy of ours works in pharmacuetical sciences and was able to score us a couple cool connectors from a high tech water purification system…they worked extremely well…we owe you one Lloyd! Apparently we left transistion 2 with an about 4-5 minute lead. Our average speed through 40 km was 12 km/h which was sort of a loose target we had set, weather permitting, but a pace that we figured would be tough to maintain for the duration of the race.

Leg 3 took us under the new bridge linking Westbank and Kelowna…the waves were rebounding off the bridge making for some bouncy conditions but these posed no problem in the Mako XT. After the bridge the lake was flat…but our speed dropped to 11 km/h. After a few minutes of this I asked Katja to check if we had weeds on our rudder…she couldn’t see anything on the rudder. A few minutes later Katja asked how I was doing…I told her I was getting a bit tired but was mostly frustrated at why our speed had dropped so much. She pointed out that my stroke rate had slowed and obviously this was the reason for our slowing down. Hmmm, ok, so I upped the stroke rate…sure enough the speed bumped back up to 11.5 km/h…ok, but this was more work. At this point I had a little chat with myself with the conclusion being that if I wanted to win this thing it was going to hurt, well I knew that, but is different when it is happening. So I told myself to ‘Shut up and Paddle’…deal with the pain and fatigue later. With that worked out we proceeded on toward Peachland. Shortly after the bridge the lake makes a right turn, and the farther along we proceeded the stronger the wind and the bigger the waves got. The waves were coming from our left rear quarter which worked out quite well…since the waves were moving slower than were we, travelling though the waves on an angle gave us their optimum push without slowing us down so much as we passed through them. Apparently the wind had subsided somewhat from what it had been a bit earlier at the Peachland check point. With the waves hitting the beach, Brent and Sheila changed our water bags, Katja took a leak, I puked up a bagel, powerbars were tossed into our laps and we were off again.

Leg 4 continued on to Summerland…right off the bat the leg takes a sharp left turn, with the shortest route requiring crossing the lake to pass by Rattlesnake Island on the inside of the turn. The waves were coming pretty much side on during the crossing but the farther along the crossing the more the waves came from  behind. Along this crossing we passed the OC-2 team that had started at 6am, they were off to our right. During the crossing Katja and I took turns eating our powerbar…shortly after finishing my bar my stomach decide to hit the eject button…wonderful, now I’ve got a cockpit full of pink ‘water’ with pink ‘chunks’…whatever, just keep paddling. Fortunately my stomach settled allowing me to continue to drink my sweet energy drink. After making the turn we headed out into the middle of the lake…we weren’t exactly sure where Summerland was going to be, other than that it was on the west side of the lake. Here is where the race took a turn to the ultrafun side. The wind picked up considerably, blowing straight down the lake…the waves started to build…soon we were flying along on wave after wave…this was so cool…our gps regularly hit 15 km/h with a max speed of 16.8 km/h…not bad for a lake in the BC Interior, eh! This was some of the most amazing surfski paddling I’ve ever done…and this was after having already paddled 72 km. As we approached the beach at Summerland the waves had died down considerably. We made a quick stop at the check point to switch out Katja’s sweet drink for plain old water…her stomach had enough of the sweet drinks.

Leg 5 took us around a pennisula then a straight run into Penticton. We cruised along at 11-11.5 on this final leg…we were definitely feeling the effort to get this far. We hit the beach in Penticton after 8 hours 17 minutes and 34 seconds…and the total distance was 97 km. With the time it took for us to carry the boat up the beach then kiss the peach our final time is probably 8:18. DJ (Larry) came in next, just ahead of the Penticton OC-6. Paul (Greg, Lynda) was the next surfski followed a short time later by Sean (Keith). Alex came in with a time of 9 hours and 3 minutes, having knocked 1.5 hours off his time from last year…I think he is pretty happy with his new surfski. The final race finisher was Jason, hitting the beach to great applause from the rest of the teams…he was totally stoked to have finished the race. Doing this race solo iron is an amazing accomplishment…I’m so impressed with Alex’s and Jason’s achievements…way to go guys!

After the race we went to a Penticton Racing Canoe Club member’s home for a scrumptious meal, BBQ pork roast and pasta…and tons of Dairy Queen ice cream and cookies for dessert. PRCC president Nancy gave out tons of prizes…iron finishers received a fleece shirt with ‘Length of the Lake…Iron Finisher’ enscribed on it.

Katja and I are both feeling pretty beat up, sore and tired at the moment…but we are already making plans for next year’s Length of the Lake.

Surfski Teams	Fintry	Bear Creek	Peachland	Summerland	Penticton
Jeff & Katja	1:19	3:17	5:23	6:58	8:18
Larry & David	1:19	3:25	5:30	7:16	8:28
Greg, Paul & Lynda	1:20	3:22	5:44	7:29	8:39
Sean & Keith	1:24	3:32	5:42	7:34	8:48
Alex Szirmai	1:22	3:29	5:48	7:45	9:01
Jason Doucet	1:33	3:53	6:23	8:38	10:08

Final Deep Cove TNR, September 16

Tonight’s race was all about speed! Right off the line the pace was smoke’n fast, the lead pack quickly organized into a tight group with the Foellmer boys leading the way in a Lightning K2, Morris/Daryl had their pink Millenium double locked on the right slip with Reid/Paul in Mako XT double on left slip, Katja/Jeff had their Mako XT double sitting pretty on the diamond right behind the K2 with Dion (Legend) sitting just left of Reid/Paul. Jim was lingering nearby in his Thunder K1. Apparently a few boats got squeezed out as this lead pack formed, Brian/Sasha had to slow their Mako XT double slightly as the available water disappeared around them. Shane (V10), Gareth (Legend) and Bob (V10) found themselves behind the lead pack too. My gps says we peaked out around 16 km/h on the start then dropped to the 13-14 km/h range. As we rounded the first turn the K2 found itself needing to take a wider radius turn, the surfskis on the other hand swung tight around the south 5 knot buoy…unfortunately for the pink double they were on the outside of the K2 so had to put in a hard effort to make up the lost ground…which they did without much difficulty. Apparently on the crossing to the north 5 knot buoy there was just enough side on wave action to disrupt the rhythm of the sprint kayaks causing Nic/Seb and Jim to lose touch with the leaders. Rounding the next turn went fairly smoothly with Jeff/Katja coming out of the turn on Reid/Paul’s left slip and Morris/Daryl on the right, Dion was left of Jeff/Katja. The pace stayed quite fast helped along by Katja putting the hammer down to push the double ski into the lead, ahead of the boys’ skis. Entering the portage all 4 boats hit the beach together, with Dion being fastest to get his boat on his shoulder and hit the trail. Katja was saving her sensitive hamstrings for this weekend’s Length of the Lake race so we quickly walked the portages, thus loosing touch with the lead pack. Gareth was able to use this opportunity to close the gap on the leaders catching them as they entered the water. The water was thigh deep at the bottom of the stairs making it challenging for some to get back in their boats, particularly the boys in the K2. As we started lap 2 Shane was riding our stern wash after having caught up on the portage. Out front Dion was leading along with Jim who had opted to skip the first portage due to his adventure with the beam on waves during lap 1. By the second buoy the 2 double skis had caught Dion while Gareth dropped back a short distance from the leaders. After the second buoy Jeff/Katja accelerated hard to drop Shane which we figured we needed to do since he was faster than us on the portage. After the second portage Gareth had once again caught back up to the leaders, I think the order back into the water was Dion, Gareth, Reid/Paul then Morris/Daryl. The light was getting faint so was difficult to see exactly what was going on up front, but apparently Reid/Paul led until the second buoy after which Morris/Daryl caught up and took up position on their left slip. Dion positioned himelf on the pink double’s left slip. Gareth managed to stay with the leaders during the all important 3rd lap. The inside position proved to be advantageous as the leaders made the final 2 left turns around the yacht club before the finish alongside the dock. Sounds like Dion started the sprint at the first corner but couldn’t hold the pace that was being match by Morris/Daryl who managed to guide their pink double ski to 1st place. Dion placed 2nd followed by Gareth then Reid/Paul. Jim finished 5th just ahead of Jeff/Katja who were followed by Shane then Bob.

There were 5 double surfskis in tonight’s race which helped make for some exciting racing. The beauty of a double ski is that it can help paddlers who wouldn’t normally be quite as fast on their own to be able to compete closer to the front of the pack. Apparently there are a couple more double skis on the way to this area too so next year’s racing should be even more exciting. Mike pointed out that next year we may want to designate certain of the TNRs for doubles racing, night’s when we’ll all bring our double skis…probably for some of the longer paddling only races. Imagine a pack of 6-10 double skis dicing for the lead in the sprint to the line…we’ll enjoy watching that action over a post race beverage.

A big THANKS to Bob and his Deep Cove Outdoors crew, especially videographer extraordinare Jimmy, for their successful 10th year of Deep Cove Tuesday Night Racing. All the paddlers should pat ourselves on our backs for continuing make the weekly trek to Deep Cove on Tuesday evenings…it is the racers that make this series so special.

Next Racing:

Saturday September 20, Length of the Lake (Vernon to Penticton) see September 3rd post for more info

Saturday September 27, Lake Samish Salmon Roe (Bellingham) see September 8th post for more info

MEC Big Chop final race, September 11

Last evening’s bright sunshine and warm temperatures provided fantastic conditions to end off the 2008 MEC Big Chop Summer Paddling Series…especially when we think back to all those ‘early’ season races that were provided with such cold weather. Was so cool that the final race of the season was so well attended too…sounds like there were 98 Big & Little Choppers on the water for the race. This boost in paddler numbers included surfkiers: Dion (aka Dr. Tyrone) was out in his Legend just back from Halifax where he won a silver medal in the 1000m junior K1 at Canadian Nationals, Graham (now one of the kings of dragon boat and OC) found his kayak paddle and was out to shake things up in Jonathan’s V10L and Katja was out in her Legend to challenge the surfski gals.

At the start Dion hit the front with Jeff (Evo) on his right slip until we caught the escort boat’s wake at which time I dropped back. Graham was off to the right out in undisturbed water looking comfortable with the pace. Soon their paths would converge to form the lead ‘pack’. As this was going on Shane (V10) was getting his big diesel engine up to speed and was on the charge to the join the leaders. Bob (V10) and Jeff formed the next group with John (Millenium), Brian (Evo) and Daryl (Fit) close behind. Bob was doing a great job of setting a speedy pace…I was doing my best to stay out of his way while he powered us along. Tonight’s course had us make a left turn at the red marker then head off to round an orange flag off of Kits Beach out near the yacht club then head back keeping the red and green markers on our left and continuing on to counterclockwise round an orange buoy off Second Beach, from here we headed back to do a left turn at the green marker for the run back to the start/finish line. Bob kept the pace high for most of the first half of the race, I think he was trying to test me after I mentioned to him before the race that I didn’t have much speed these days due to all of our Length of the Lake training. I wasn’t disappointed when he eased off the pace and started to chat. Bob was telling me about John, the fella in the red Fenn Millenium ski, apparently he is an uber fit multisporter who rides his bike at 50 km/h then bolts up the Grind in the low 30’s then rides home again…yikes…so when he figures out how to better paddle his ski he’s gonna be tough to beat. After rounding the orange buoy Bob mentioned that John was getting close to us so Bob picked up the pace again for a couple minutes. On the final run in to the finish I was on Bob’s left slip when a red surfski came into my field of view…”hey Bob, here comes John”…”hey Bob, there goes John” as he continued on paddling right past us with his head down and a serious look of determination on his face. I promptly moved onto John’s right slip while Bob stayed on his own. After about 10 seconds of this we were getting close enough to the finish so I picked up my pace in preparation for the sprint…John didn’t seem to be able to respond to the pace which is not surprising after the work he must’ve done to catch us. Bob matched me stroke for stroke as we neared the line where fortunately I had another gear that allowed me to sprint my Evo’s bow just ahead of Bob’s V10 as we crossed the line.

Apparently at the front Dion came 1st followed by Graham then Shane. Me, Bob and John were followed by Brian then Daryl. In the women’s race Katja took 1st followed by Carolyn (S1X) and Leo (Evo). Other surfskiers in the race included Darrell (Evo), a fella I don’t know who was paddling a blue Robberg Express and the father daughter team of Matt and Olivia in double Mako XT.

After the race the festivities moved to the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. for some fine pizza and tasty beer. Hey, anyone figure out why we can buy a pitcher of Russel Cream Ale for under $18 almost everywhere except the Raven who insist on charging $23 for the same beer? As promised there were heeps of great prizes given away…with the high/lowlight of the evening being Gary’s winning of an Accent wing paddle only to later have his name pulled again this time for the Think Evo surfski…unfortunately he could only win once…bummer man!

Next races…

Tuesday September 16, last Deep Cove TNR of the season (party being planned for October 3)

Saturday September 20, Length of the Lake (Vernon to Penticton) see September 3rd post for more info

Saturday September 27, Lake Samish Salmon Roe (Bellingham) see September 8th post for more info

Final race of the 2008 MEC Big Chop and year end party!!!

Thursday September 11th (tonight!!!) is the final race in the MEC Big Chop Summer Paddle Series and the year end party! The season has flown by and it has been another great year of paddling down at Vanier. The party will be a great way for all of us to celebrate with a cold beer, pizza, and a massive amount of draw prizes!Here’s a summary of what will be given out in draw prizes on Thursday:

MEC MEGA PRIZE PACKAGE – It’s been described as ‘everything but the boat’ and it includes: – A carbon-fibre Lendal paddle; a PFD; MEC neoprene gloves, shorts, vest, and booties; MEC Paddling Jacket; and a MEC Mesh Duffle to put it all in! Total value over $1000.00!

HELLY HANSEN SHOPPING SPREE – A $500 shopping spree at the Helly Hansen store on Graville Street.

THINK EVO SURFSKI – valued at $2400!

SEAWARD INFINITI KAYAK – valued at $2300

TWO ACCENT WING BLADE PADDLES – valued at over $320 each

Plus there will be lots of other great prizing like PDFs from STOHLQUIST, sunglasses from Ryders Eyewear;  able locks from LASSO; a blender from GSI; boxes of Carb-Boom gels, MOMAR gift certificates, H20 Audio gear, Old Town Kayaks shirts, Rocky Mountain Pizza Co gift certificates, and much much more!!!

You need a ticket to come to the after-party and there are ONLY 15 TICKETS LEFT. You can reserve one by emailing info@bigchop.ca and then you can pick them up before the race starts. Tickets are $10 each.

Surfski Paddling in Revelstoke

And he’s off…surfskiing is alive in Revelstoke!

Alex figuring out how to make his new ski work

Looking northward up Lake Revelstoke…Alex’s first day in his new surfski

Alex looking relaxed during Day 2 of paddling his new surfski

Surfskis approaching glacier fed stream at the head of an inlet on Lake Revelstoke

Mountain top glacier viewed from inlet of Lake Revelstoke

Alex was on the beach as we returned to the campsite after cruising the shores of Lake Revelstoke in our borrowed double surfski, a Fenn Mako XT…thanks Mike (and Reid and Paul).  “How long have you been out there?” “4 and a half hours…the last half hour was tough cause the wind eased off on our return leg so we made it back earlier than we’d planned, so continued on past our launch site to do the extra half hour.” Alex is one of the few people to whom a 4.5 hour paddle doesn’t really faze…he did Length of the Lake last year in a Tornado K1, finishing the 100 km race in 10.5 hours…so he knows a thing or two about sitting in a kayak for a long time. This was Tuesday, the first day of our week long stay in Revelstoke. The weather for most of our week ended up being fairly miserable…well it wasn’t that bad, just wasn’t the sunny, warm weather we had the last time we stopped in with our K1’s back in 2005 while preparing for the World Masters Games.

While Katja and I snacked on post paddling nachos and beer we chatted with Alex about his great paddling venue…especially for a surfski. The lake we were on is something like 140 km long, running north-south, and if you move below the dam at Revelstoke the Columbia River turns into another lake that apparently goes for another  about 200 km south. So as you can imagine, when the wind blows, lakes with that much fetch can set up some mighty fine downwind paddling conditions…with some spectacular scenery to boot! During our long Tuesday paddle we started out with a nice south wind pushing us along as we travelled north up the crystal clear lake, with the wind building in one particular section where a steep valley carried to the lake its ice cold stream from a south-east direction. For the most part we were not getting many good rides on the waves, particularly since we were in a double ski which seems to prefer longer waves, but it certainly allowed us to get the boat moving along well. After paddling downwind for 2 hours we decided to turn around a bit early, thinking it was going to take us longer to get back. We crossed over to the west side of the lake for the return leg…sure is comforting to be in a double Mako XT when crossing a big lake in white capping beam on water conditions. The next hour was spent pushing into a moderate headwind but our speed didn’t suffer as much as we’d anticipated. Then after passing by the afformentioned valley the wind died off leaving us a mirror smooth surface to glide along. About 15 minutes north of the campsite the wind picked up again, but despite the head wind and pee stops we made it back 30 minutes prior to our scheduled workout time so we continued our southerly direction of travel for another 15 minutes before heading for our temporary home.

Back in camp, the wind finally eased off enough for Alex to venture out onto the lake…Alex does most of his paddling in a Vajda Supersonic 1 K1, a flatwater racing kayak that is quite tippy, at least it is too tippy for me. Alex was telling us that sometimes he gets caught out on the lake by wind squalls that force him to shore where he usually just waits out the wind before heading back onto the water. We couldn’t help suggest that a surfski would be awesome for his waters. Sure it is not the ocean where surfski seems to be most at home…but the big lakes in this part of BC can be just as demanding as much of the south BC coast.

On Wednesday afternoon we met Alex for a quick paddle in K1’s, launching in the Columbia River just under the bridge on the west side of town. Holy cow is the water below the dam cold…this is not a place that we wanted to be falling out of our boats. We started out heading upstream but soon found the current too much for Katja and I, so we turned around to explore the river below the bridge. Alex guided us along the west shore where there was much less current in this now much wider section of the river. Apparently the river gets even wider to become lake-like again as it continues on for another 200 km. Our downstream journey took us 2 km downstream where we then turned right heading back upstream through a backwater slough that had almost no current. This part of the river was very cool, paddling through the tall grass lined banks with bushes growing in the middle of some sections of the waterway, it was real peaceful. Alex pointed out that it isn’t always like that, apparently there is a guy with a jet boat who gets his kicks out of flying at breakneck speed through this slough once in a while, which apparently tends to dampen the tranquillity of the paddling. Fortunately the day was a bit overcast and cool which may have contributed to our not encountering any motorboats (and it was Wednesday afternoon) so we took advantage of our good fortune to do another lap.

On Thursday Alex travelled to Vancouver to attend a meeting so we suggested he take the opportunity to test paddle some surfskis, “talk to Bob at Deep Cove Outdoors…he’ll have V10, Legend and Evo surfskis for you to try…he may even join you on the water if he has time.” After returning to camp from a hike on Friday, we had just finished setting up the tarp when Alex pulled up to the shore in his Vajda. He had launched from his dock 10 km south of us, just above the dam, and it turned out the closer he got to us the stronger did the wind get…so he continued on to our camp to see if the wind would ease up…and to tell us that he bought a V10 surfski. So as the wind continued to blow we made tea and hot chocolate and made plans for some weekend surfski paddling. The wind never did subside so we gave Alex a ride back to the dock…and of course the water was mirror calm at his launch site. We then joined Alex and his wife Leah for a scrumptious dinner at their resort’s restaurant, for more information on Glacier House Resort see below.

So on Saturday morning Alex unwrapped his new ski, installed the rudder and headed over to our camp for his inaugural paddle in his new boat. After a quick adjustment to the footboard we were off for a challenging training session. It took Alex some time to get used to the big nose on the V10…we informed him that he would learn to appreciate his ski’s buoyancy when he got into some bigger ocean waves…or a particularly nasty day on his lakes. The one thing Alex had a tougher time getting used to was the water in the cockpit seat…which is a bit annoying when used to paddling in a K1 which more commonly has a raised seat. The day’s workout was 10 x 6 minutes AOP, which means to go as fast as we can for 6 minutes while maintaining decent technique.  Alex dropped off the pace slightly during the first interval…on the 2nd interval he discovered the stern wash…by the 3rd interval he had figured out the side wash and managed to stay on our side wash for all of the remaining intervals. Katja and I were doing 13-14 km/h for much of the time during these intervals so Alex was doing well to stay with us. On our return to camp we instructed Alex on how to re-enter his ski…after a few attempts he had both the Straddle and Sidesaddle techniques figured out.

On Sunday we did another long paddle, this time 4:45 was the target time. Once again the 3 of us launched from our camp heading north up the lake…this time making our way into a stiff headwind. Alex had outfitted his cockpit with foam to enhance its comfort for the long sitting time. During the session we encountered a variety of water conditions: headwind, downwind, side chop and flat calm. Alex got some good exposure to the skills he will want to practise before coming down to the coast to join us for some ocean surfski racing. Despite the sometimes nasty water conditions he managed to stay in his boat throughout the session.

If any of you are looking for an inland getaway where you can do some cool hiking and surfski paddling in the same day then Revelstoke has much to offer. The hiking in Glacier National Park was fun, although we had to turn around before the top due to the heavy snowfall…yes, snow in August, but up pretty high in the ountains. We did an awesome alpine hike about 50 km north of Revelstoke, then 16 km up a mountain logging road, where everywhere were wild flowers in full bloom. A trip up Mount Revelstoke is worth the price of admission for the amazing views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. Then there are the lakes…we really enjoyed paddling surfski on Lake Revelstoke…it is crystal clear, is surrounded by stunning mountain views and there is hardly anybody else around except for the occassional fishermen and campers. I’m sure Alex would enjoy having some company to paddle surfski with. Alex and Leah own Glacier House Resort in Revelstoke which has very cool log cabins and lodge rooms, as well as a pool and hot tubs. We can personally vouche that the food in the restaurant is excellent and the Mt. Begbie Kolsch beer is tasty too.

Check out www.glacierhouse.com/ for more information about Glacier House Resort…one of their specialities is snowmobiling where you can access three mountains that receive more than 50 feet annual snowfall…right from the front door of your log cabin.

Lake Samish Race, September 27

Lake Samish Paddle/Roe Race Sept 27th Largest race in the NW states, featured 110 boats last year, OC’s, Native Canoes, Canoes, Kayaks, surfski’s, Shells…….Salmon BBQ immediately following race.

Coming from B.C., less than 40 minutes from the Border, take exit 246, turn left, follow to the lake, across the bridge and follow the road straight to the end! Call me, Peter for more info (360) 739 2257 or look up Sound Rowers (see link at right of page), Lake Samish Race. Approx 6 mile course. Entry fee is 14.00 for Sound Rowers members, 24.00 dollars for non. BUT this includes a cool shirt and a “killer” BBQ.

Hope you can make it!!

Regards, Peter

Length of the Lake, September 20

Ed’s note: This is an awesome race!!! Paddlers race the entire distance of Okanagan Lake, starting in Vernon travelling south past Kelowna, Peachland, Summerland and finishing up with a kiss to the big peach on the beach at Penticton. For those who haven’t been there, there really is a huge peach on the beach at Penticton that serves as the finish line for the race. Of all the races I did last year, this is my second favourite event, coming in just behind Round Bowen.

The race starts at Kin Beach in Vernon at 7:00 AM (6 AM for early starters) and ends 100 kilometres later on Okanagan Beach in Penticton. In between are four on-shore aid station/check points where paddlers and their support crews will find water, washrooms, and parking.

The race may be long, but the list of rules is short. In a nutshell, crews must arrive at each check point before the designated cut-off times. Crew changes are optional, but may take place only at the check points.

Race registration includes an after-race dinner and a limited-edition race T-shirt. Race categories with three or more entries by the early registration deadline (midnight Monday, Sept 1, 2008; apperently there will be some leeway here) are considered official and are eligible for prizes. Unofficial, including “build-your-own” categories are welcome and are eligible for bragging rights and a place in the Length of the Lake Ultra-paddle history books. (Ed’s note, last year it seemed all categories were given some sort of prize recognition, it seems likely the race organizers will do the same this year, so long as they have enough notification by way of registration)

We hope to see you at Length for a day of racing you’ll never forget! For further information, course maps, rules, and registration information, go to the PRCC website, www.pentictonoutrigger.com.

We encourage you to submit your Intent to Race pre-registration by midnight, Monday, September 1, 2008. (Registration form is at the end of this posting.)

If your pre-registration is received by that date, we guarantee your paddlers will receive one of our limited edition race T-shirts. There may not be shirts available for later registrants.

Your pre-registration will consist of:

1. The attached registration form. Please complete the WORD document electronically and forward to our Registrar via email: register@pentictonoutrigger.com

2. A Credit Card number to hold your place as a participant (not to be processed unless crews do not provide cancellation with 72 hours notice of race).

NOTE: Please note that we have divided our race fees into a hull fee for all craft (which covers the increasing cost of escort boats) and a per paddler fee (which covers everything else).

· Race fees can be paid by Canadian cheque or cash at the pre-race meeting on September 19th, 2008.

· At least one team member required to mandatory check-in at pre-race meeting on September 19th, 2008 – full team roster, signed waiver, team cell contact #, and full payment due then. Race directions and packages to be provided to participants at that time.

Ed’s note: I spoke with the race organizers about the rather substantial increase to the entry fee for this event, particularly for those in small boats. Basically it comes down to the high costs of ensuring the safety of the paddlers. The early years of this race saw a half dozen or so OC-6’s racing down the lake. In recent years more and more surfskis and OC-1/2’s have been attracted to the event so now it is common to have many boats spread over a great distance on this huge lake. The race organizers are commited to making the effort to ensure a safe event for the participants and unfortunately this costs money, particularly with the substantially higher fuel costs. Interestingly a review of CORA’s 2007 financial statements indicates an about $30,000 surplus…perhaps CORA should consider using some of this money to help clubs like PRCC to offset some of the costs required to host some of these amazing events for CORA’s members…rather than the clubs having to raise entry fees and risk losing participants due to high entry fees.

Length of the Lake Ultra-Paddle 2008
Rules

This is an ultra-distance event with a large number of watercraft of varying speeds and abilities. In order to safeguard all participants, everyone must follow these rules and remain in communication with race officials at all times.

1. All paddlers who are not members of the Canadian Outrigger Racing Association (CORA) must pay a $10 day-of-race CORA fee. Paddlers from outside of Canada may show proof of membership in a local, state, or national paddling association which insures them for international racing in lieu of paying this fee.

2. All craft must carry Transport Canada-approved PFD’s for all paddlers. Paddlers in OC-2’s, OC-1’s, surf skis, and other small craft must either wear their PFD’s or use a boat leash. OC-6’s must carry bailing buckets and at least one spare paddle. Paddlers are expected to comply with all Transport Canada and CORA safety rules and any safety rules or instructions given to them by the race organizers and volunteers.

3. Crews must check in with the volunteer(s) at each checkpoint. Craft should come in as close to the beach as possible, but paddlers are not required to exit their craft or go ashore.

4. Crew changes (total or partial) are allowed only at checkpoints.

5. Craft must arrive at each checkpoint by the following cut-off times to remain officially in the race. These cut-off times assume an average speed of approximately 9 km/hr.

Fintry (16 km) 8:50AM
Bear Creek (40 km) 11:30AM
Peachland (64 km) 2:10PM
*Summerland (84.5 km) 4:30PM (this location may change due to road construction)
Penticton (100 km, finish) 6:00PM

The above cut-off times assume a 7:00AM race start. Should the start of the race be delayed, these times may be adjusted at the discretion of the race director.

6. An optional 6:00AM race start is available to any crew(s) who have concerns about meeting the cut-off times, provided the crew informs the race organizers of their intent to start early as outlined in the registration package. See Registration Information for more details.

7. A crew which does not arrive at a checkpoint by the designated cut-off time must remove their boat from the water at that checkpoint. The crew may then exercise one of two options:

Option A: Drive to the next checkpoint and continue the race from there as an unofficial entry. The crew must inform the volunteer(s) at that checkpoint that they have re-entered the water.

Option B: Hit the showers and join us for the post-race dinner.

8. Any crews withdrawing from the race before the finish for any reason must inform the checkpoint volunteer(s) that they will not be continuing the race. If the crew is unable to get to a checkpoint, they must inform an escort boat driver or other race official that they are withdrawing from the race.

9. On mixed teams, at least 50% of the paddlers in the boat at any time must be female OR there must be all female paddlers for legs 2 and 4 or for legs 1, 3, and 5 of the race.

10. Only race categories with three or more entries as of the early registration deadline (see Registration Information) will be considered “official” and thus eligible for prizes. Unofficial categories are welcome and eligible for bragging rights.

 Length of the Lake Ultra-Paddle 2008

Registration Form 

Contact Information

Team Name:                                                                                                                         

Club Affiliation:                                                                                                                              

Contact Person:                                                                                                                                  

Address:                                                                                                                                           

Phone number(s):  (Home):                                              (Cell):                                                 

Email Address (required):                                                                                                                 

Credit Card Number (to hold spot – no transaction will be processed unless crew does not provide cancellation notice – 72 hours)

MC or Visa _________________________ Exp Date ___________________________

Race Category

            Gender:  □ Men’s      □ Women’s            □ Mixed

            Craft and team type:

Surf ski                                                       OC-1

□ Iron (one paddler)                                    □ Iron (one paddler)

□ Iron (2 paddlers, double surfski)             □ Relay (2 paddlers)

□ Relay (2 paddlers)                                    □ Club (3-5 paddlers)

□ Club (3-5 paddlers) 

OC-2                                                           OC-6

□ Iron (2 paddlers)                                       □ Iron (6 paddlers)

□ Relay (3-4 paddlers)                                 □ Relay (7-12 paddlers)

□ Club (5-10 paddlers)                                □ Club (13-30 paddlers)

Build-your-own

Craft type and number of paddlers:                                                           

Description:                                                                                                           

Optional Early Start:

            Teams concerned about not meeting the cut-off times (see Rules) may opt for an early start provided they inform the race organizers on their completed registration forms by Monday, Sept 1.  Will you be starting at 6:00AM instead of the official 7:00 AM race start?                                                  □ Yes              □ No

Limited Edition Race T-shirts:

            Teams who submit their completed registration forms by Monday Sept 1, will get the 2008 race T-shirt included with their registration.  Please indicate the number of each size shirt your team will need:

Men’s:  S               M              L              XL              XXL        

Women’s:   S             M            L            XL        

Fees:

Paddler fees:            paddlers @ $45 per paddler =                              (A)

Hull fee:  $50 per hull                                                        $50.00        (B)      

Extra dinner tickets for family and friends (dinner for paddlers is included in your race fee):

          adults @ $12.00 each =                                                             (C)

          children 10 and under @ $6.00 each =                                      (D)

                             TOTAL (A+B+C+D) =            $