Once again we were treated to great weather for tonight’s TNR. Many racers were paddling in shorts and short sleeves…let’s hope this trend continues. The course took paddlers south out of the cove to round Boulder Island then keeping the Hamber Island lighthouse on our left on the return to the cove. There was a strong incoming tide making for some interesting currents out in the channel and especially near the lighthouse. The course distance was 5.0 km and took the winner just under 25 minutes.
At the start Gareth shot to the front on his new red strip V10L, customized with a special cockpit feature that any of you with tailbone rubbing issues will want to check out…is quite the slick adaptation that has significantly improved Gareth’s comfort in the cockpit, especially during longer paddling sessions. I lined up on Gareth’s right figuring he’d be the speed in tonight’s race, it took all I had to keep the Bumble Beevo on his right slip, Jim took up position on my right slip in a SuperLancer K1. Mike missed the front pack by having lined up on the left side of the starting line…it seems that when there is a strong tide change there can be subtle currents in the cove that can help or hinder the right or left side of the starting line…tonight the right side was the place to be.
About halfway to Boulder we crossed a very obvious current line, my GPS showed that our speed dropped from 12 to 9 km/h. As we neared Boulder the speed slowly crept back up to 12 km/h, the island was likely sheltering us from some of the current. Somewhere along here Jim fell off the pace…the waves were slowing him in his K1. As we neared the island I fell off Gareth’s side wash so slipped in behind his stern…I had to work hard to stay with him…geez he is strong! After rounding Boulder, fortunately without banging our rudders, our speed shot up over 14.5 km/h. And of course the video boat was sitting there recording the action…so I had to struggle like mad to stay with Gareth without showing that I was about to implode from the effort!
As we approached the lighthouse things got…interesting. There was a lot of current but nothing to worry about…but I noticed Gareth was heading to the left of Hamber Island…when I launched to warm up at 6:35 the map indicated the course was to travel along the right side of Hamber. Gareth indicated that his understanding of the map was that we were to only round the lighthouse not the island…I was certain it showed us rounding Hamber. Gareth started to move to the right of Hamber, I followed…Jim too. Mike called out from behind asking where we were going…we all sort of decided we’d go to the right of Hamber, despite there being a sand spit that would require a portage…then Gareth noticed that the tandem crew of Brian and Sasha with Bob and John in tow had rounded the lighthouse and were speeding up the channel bound for the cove…so Gareth took off after them. Me, Jim and Mike turned our boats around and took off after them too. A few paddlers decided to stay with the course they understood from the map and did the portage behind Hamber Island…adding a minute or more to their race times.
Gareth ended up regaining his lead, finishing alone clear of the second pack who finished in order of Jim, Jeff, Mike, Brian/Sasha, Bob and John, I think…could have been John then Bob.
So what to say about the course mix up. Well, it is important to point out that these TNRs, despite what some of us would like to believe, are not the Olympics…I know, it’s hard to believe but I’m afraid it’s true. With that said many of us who do these races enjoy the competition and enjoy pushing ourselves against our paddling mates in friendly but as best we can compete competition. So it can be frustrating to have one’s hard effort wiped out by a mix up like this…or by folks riding the safety boat’s wash which has caused anguish to some in past years of this race series.
After some thought I realized that being a race organizer is similar to being a referee…they only seem to get noticed when something goes ‘wrong’. If we think about it, the current staff that are running the TNRs have done a fantastic job so far this year…races have been started on time, the safety boat has been having minimal impact on the races, the registration process has been going very smoothly, the results have been fairly accurate…this group has things running as well as any have in the past, but without the usual learning curve required before they hit their stride. Rather than rag on them for tonight’s course mix up I think we should be thanking them for the great start they’ve made to the 2009 TNR season…Thank you for doing such a great job Deep Cove Kayak Centre TNR Team!!!
And to help you do an even better job, here’s what I understand caused the confusion so that you can devise a plan to avoid similar mixed up racers at future events. Apparently the map did have the course rounding Hamber Island, but it seems that shortly before the start it became clear that there would not be water between Hamber and the mainland, so to avoid a portage, the course map was altered such that the racers would only round the lighthouse at the south end of Hamber. Unfortunately many paddlers were already on the water when this change was made so were not aware. Prior to each race, the starter describes the course to the racers as they jockey for position on the line, so I expect the organizers thought this would be when everyone would become aware of the course change. Unfortunately the starter is likely not aware that 1) it is very difficult to hear what is being said over at the far side of the line and 2) some of us don’t listen to the course instructions since we already know it from having read the map…we just concentrate on hearing the 3-2-1-GO. Knowing this information perhaps the organizers will recognize that when a late course change is made that extra effort will be required to ensure all the racers are aware of the change. Basically something different from the normal race start procedure needs done…maybe a loud whistle before the instructions are given to get everyone’s attention…something to make it clear that this is different from the usual race start…which is the case when a course change has been made.
The current TNR race organizers seem to take pride in delivering great races for their customers, so I hope they will take this feedback as the constructive criticism it is meant to be…to help make the races as enjoyable as possible for all of us.
Here is some video recorded from the safety boat.
NEXT RACES:
April 30 Big Chop (Vancouver)
May 2 Lake Whatcom Classic (Bellingham)
May 5 TNR (Deep Cove)
May 9 Paddlers Classic (Fort Langley)
May 10 Tour de Indian Arm (Deep Cove)
