La Conner 2008

The weather preceding this race had been quite chilly, with lows in the low 30's and highs in the low 40's.

This year's La Nina had been depositing close to record breaking quantities of snow in the nearby mountains, and there had been several days of snow on the ground in the lowlands, too.

As luck would have it, however, the low temperature on the day of the race was in the mid 40's. It was still pretty gray and windy, mind you, with occasional showers, but at least it was relatively warm.





As has been sort of a custom for me over the past couple of years I had a brand new Cadence pedal boat for this race. It was a full carbon, green and black painted boat, with pin striping, and matching green carbon fiber outrigger floats. I just hoped that my body was up to the task of powering this boat as fast as its paint job!



Registration for this event was pretty easy. Since this was the first race of the year I had to fill out two forms. One form was for the annual Masters Rowing Association waiver that all club members have to fill out, and the other was the club waiver for the race. Non-members have to fill out both forms at each race and pay higher race fees. The cost for the race for members was a mere $8. It still amazes me that people attend other athletic events, paying $20, $50 or more for the privilege, and not frequently not getting the benefits of numerous awards, meals, race photos, etc., included in the price.



It started drizzling at the pre-race meeting. Greg Gilda, the race director, described the course, the hazards one was likely to encounter, and repeated the requirements for the race participants. Racers needed to have PFD's on board the boat, they needed to have noise making devices (whistles, etc.), they needed to stop to assist any other racers that were in trouble until those racers were truly out of trouble and back under way, and that everyone was supposed to have fun.



The Skagit Search & Rescue team also spoke for a few moments and identified the boats that were part of the team. These included several power boats and a pair of large jet skis.

After the meeting people returned to their cars and/or boats to prepare.



I wheeled the boat to the dock, intending to launch it from the end of the dock into the water. Unfortunately, however, the freshly and fully inflated wheels of the dolly refused to roll up over the steel plate at the landward end of the dock. Instead, they stayed in position and the boat slid.

Growling a little I then tried to lift the boat and dolly over the hump - and promptly managed to drop the boat approximately half a foot onto the edge of the steel plate. Ouch!

A brand new boat and the paint was already scratched by this misadventure. Sigh...

With the assistance of some of the other folks trying to use the dock I got the boat into the water and ready to go.

As I backed away from the dock I heard this crunching sound as the boat came to a sudden stop. Oh, no! Not another ding!

Sure enough, the stern had collided with one of the pilings, smearing creosote on one side. I guess the crunching sound was from the barnacles being crushed by the stern.

I hoped that this was not how the rest of the day would go!



After adjusting the position of the pedals to suit my leg length I began to do the warm up. I was wearing a polyester long sleeved t-shirt, a nylon shirt, a Kokotat PFD and a nylon windbreaker on top, bike shorts and Gore-tex (front half) biking tights, wicking athletic socks and bicycling sandals below.

Just standing around at the pre-race meeting I felt a little chilled in that combination, but on the water I had concerns that I might be over dressed during the race. Several other folks decided to leave their dry suits or other gear that they would normally wear in non-racing situations since they most likely would be rescued by others in short order if they ran into difficulty.

The boat was handling well. The stiffness of the drive train was readily apparent with every cycle of the cranks. The outriggers were working well, too, though it would be better if they were mounted perhaps an inch or so higher. This would have them skimming just above the surface of the water. As it was they extended about half an inch or so into the water, creating unnecessary drag.



I began taking photos of the other racers as they, too, warmed up. The vinyl waterproof bag in which the camera was contained was a little stiff from the cold, but the warmth of my hand in the bag's glove began to loosen it up over time.

The tide was slowly ebbing, but there wasn't much current in the Swinomish Channel. The GPS wasn't registering more than perhaps one mph in the southerly direction. With the wind from the south more or less counteracting the effects of the current this was probably as close to calm conditions as one could expect.



A long, light blue boat with white outriggers was being launched. This boat had very high sides to it and appeared to be a bit different from most other boats, so I went closer to take a look.

This boat was built to use the Hobie Mirage pedal powered flapping fin drive for propulsion. For going in the reverse direction the pilot used a paddle.



The boat seemed to be quite stable in the water. Given the long and narrow hull with the outrigger floats suspended slightly above the water this boat should give the Mirage drive an excellent chance to show its stuff!



Boats were beginning to congregate at the starting line, so I joined them. Signals were given for the 5 minute and 1 minute warnings, and then we were off!



The scene was pretty chaotic as paddlers and rowers tried to maneuver their craft down the narrow channel.



As usual, most of the rowing shells and a bunch of surf skis slowly pulled away from the pack. The surf skis tended to sort themselves into drafting groups while the rowers generally stayed more or less in the middle or towards the generally emptier right side of the channel. My speed was about 7 mph for the first 100 yards or so, then dropped to about 6.5 mph as I decided to pedal at a more reasonable pace.



A couple of outrigger canoes were keeping pace around me as we passed some yachts and fishing boats moored on the east side. Our speed seemed to have dropped to about 6 or 6.5 mph.

Just as we reached the end of the piers we encountered some logs and branches floating in the water. Ah, so this was the debris to which Greg referred!

Some of the smaller branches clunked against the hull - no problem.



As we continued down the channel the boats tended to stick closer to the east side of the channel. I'm not sure why, perhaps they thought we were fighting a current, or perhaps they felt they were being better sheltered from the light breeze. Personally, the breeze felt good as I unzipped my windbreaker in an effort to cool off.

The misty rain continued to be a problem for the camera. Prior to each shot I had to wipe off the optical port on the waterproof casing to remove the droplets that had accumulated in the short time since the last shot.

I could only hope that the shots would work out on this dark, wet day.



Eventually we reached the end of the channel, passing the navigational marker on the shore and turning westward towards Deception Pass.



The wind was a bit stronger here, and coming generally from the east-southeast. The breakwater kept the waves to a minimum, and most people were still moving at a moderate 6 to 6.5 mph pace.



My breathing was not especially hard at this time. I figured that with the drag of the outriggers preventing the boat from truly zipping along at planing speeds there was not much point.



Ahead and off to the right in the shallows I saw what looked to be a kayak with its paddler in the water.

Nobody else was over there, nor was anyone stopping to assist, so I headed over.

As I got closer the reason this guy was being "ignored" was that he was not a kayaker after all. He was a paddle board racer! We chatted for a few moments before I sped on ahead.

The tailwind kept blowing and the misty rain kept falling. A couple of boats were keeping pace with me as we approached the #5 green can buoy.



Meanwhile, the first of the racers on their way back from the turn buoy heading to the finish line were passing by. I did my best to keep out of their way and still take photos, though the camera was making the job difficult. It kept adjusting its aperture to the maximum open setting, and it took a second or two to readjust for proper exposure. During that second or two, of course, the mist would again coat the lens. Oh, well. Maybe it was time to bite the bullet and get a new camera after all - or perhaps not bother trying to shoot in the rain.

The incoming racers were scattered pretty widely across the width of the course. Some chose to stick close to the log booms, rocks and breakwaters on the south side of the channel. Others chose to head down the middle, fairly close to the stream of racers still heading out to the turn buoy. I was in the middle between them in order to take photos as close as possible, yet still trying to stay out of their way.



Through this leg of the race I was pedaling moderately hard, but not breathing especially hard. I was pretty toasty, with my nylon shirts and jacket soaked either by the mist or by my sweat. The two OC-1's that had been pacing me earlier were now ahead a bit, mainly because I slowed down a little for the photo ops. A couple of other boats were just ahead of me as we cleared the end of the log boom and entered a short stretch of water marked by one to two foot swells.

The turn buoy was now just ahead.



With the wind driven waves and the current it appeared to be a bit of a struggle for the other boats to make a straight line to the buoy. On the other hand, the outriggers on my boat and the propeller drive made it pretty easy for me to not only make a fairly straight line, but also let me concentrate on taking photos at the same time. Woo hoo!



After rounding the buoy we now found ourselves going almost directly into a stiff head wind. The mist was a bit lighter now, but with the wind it was actually a bit more difficult to keep it off the camera lens.

I decided it was time to concentrate more on racing than on photography.



The boats that were with me at the turn buoy were almost immediately dropped. I targeted the pair of OC-1's, and noticed that a safety jet ski was heading at high speed in their direction. Uh-oh - one of them had huli'd, i.e., he flipped over.

By the time the jet ski reached them the capsized boat had been flipped back over and the paddler was back on board. It had taken no more than a minute.




Traveling into the wind is one of those things where the Cadence really shines compared with just about every other human powered boat. Even with the extra drag caused by the outriggers I was able to shrink the quarter mile distance between my boat and the lead OC-1 quite rapidly, passing him at the east end of Goat Island. This was about the same place where a couple of the safety boats were stationed, so I took a few shots of them as I passed.



Along the shore on the north side I could see Traci paddling her surf ski. Ahh - perhaps I could catch her, too, though that would be a rather surprising feat with outriggers.

She continued along the shore as we neared the turn at Hole in the Wall where the Swinomish Channel met Skagit Bay - and then she disappeared. I swear, I looked away for a moment in order to snap a couple more photos and to check the progress of the last OC-1 I had passed, looked back and Traci was nowhere in sight.



Pedaling across to the north shore and heading around the turn I finally caught a glimpse of her. She was at least a quarter of a mile ahead of me, making her way up the channel. Rats! In the relatively sheltered waters of the Swinomish she was making excellent time. That meant that the OC-1 might also be able to catch me!

Desperate times call for desperate measures. In the calm water I had no real need for outriggers. If I could remove them while pedaling then I could go faster up the channel.




After a bit of effort, mainly due to my wet hands slipping on the carbon amas as I attempted to pull them out from their mounts, I was able to extract first one and then the other. With both amas laying across my lap and being held with one hand I was able to increase my speed up the channel by perhaps half a mile per hour.



That increase in speed was critical. The OC-1 had come within talking range shortly after the turn at Hole in the Wall, and it was highly likely he would have passed me by the finish. Instead, he was soundly left behind as I crossed the finish with a time of 1:13:01. He crossed with a time of 1:13:23. Woo hoo!

After a short recovery time I decided to try some speed tests without the outriggers. As there was still some tidal current I made two runs. The first run was north, up the channel and against the fairly feeble current.

The second run was south, with the current. According to the GPS there was not much difference between the two runs, possibly because I was running pretty low on energy. The highest speed reached was a little over 10 mph, not too bad considering this was the first time I was on the water since November.



With the assistance of some folks on shore I loaded my boat onto its dolly and more or less rolled it up the extremely rough concrete boat ramp. I washed off the boat, changed into some drier clothing and returned the boat to the top of the car. The damage caused by dropping the boat on the ramp prior to the race wasn't too bad. Some of the accent paint on the bottom was roughed up a bit, but there appeared to be nothing else amiss.




With the rest of the competitors I drove over to a nearby marina club house for the race-provided hot soups, fresh sourdough bread and desserts. Let me tell you, it was delicious!



Greg Gilda made the post race announcements and handed out the awards. The first boat over the finish line was a double rowing shell crewed by John Alberti and Tyler Peterson. They had a time of 52:15. The other pedal boat, piloted by Jamie Wells with the Mirage drive, finished with a time 1:29:13. The last boat across had a time of 2:22:30, and one of the two paddleboarders apparently did not finish. The one that did finish had a time of 1:34:23.

All in all it was a pretty fun race, even with the mist and wind.

My stats:




The entire set of photos can be found at the Sound Rowers site.

Cascade Distance Race

It was darn chilly on the morning of this race. At 8:30 AM the temperature was 38 degrees Fahrenheit at my house, and 35 degrees at the Renton Boat House at the mouth of the Cedar River on Lake Washington. Brrrr! The lake was pretty well socked in with fog, but the surrounding land was generally clear of all cloud cover.


There were about a dozen vehicles in the parking lot, all with one or more boats on their roofs. People were slowly moving about, bundled up with winter coats, hats and gloves. Gloves - those would feel pretty nice while handling nearly ice cold fiberglass. Why didn't I think to bring any?

As luck would have it, I remembered that I kept a nice pair of winter cycling gloves in the car for when I drove to my old job in Beaverton. They worked well in keeping the sun off my hands on that 3 hour southbound trip each week. It had been quite some time since I last used them, but they were still there.



Bundled up with a couple of layers of jackets, shirts and pants, hat and gloves, I unloaded the Cadence from my car, loaded it up with the outriggers, camera bag, cycling sandals and water for the race. I took a couple of short plastic Halloween statues, one of a pumpkin headed man and the other of Dracula, and duct taped them one per outrigger. I had forgotten to take the inflatable skeleton and his coffin. That was going to be placed on the rear deck of the boat. Oh, well - no skeleton crew for this race!



After dropping the Cadence off at the boat ramp I walked over to the Boat House and registered for the race. The cost was the standard Sound Rowers member rate of $8, which included the support boat, ribbons and lunch. It is such a good deal!

Returning to the boat I changed took off my outer garments, put on my PFD and cycling sandals, and launched. I wanted to get to the boat house in time for the pre-race meeting.



As luck would have it I had troubles finding the channel through the sediment at the mouth of the river. There were a few logs and branches that fooled me into thinking they were in the shallows rather than lining deeper water, and the angle of the light made it difficult to see how deep the water was until you right on top of it.

After a few tries I finally made it past the bar and pedaled over to the Boat House.



The pre-race meeting was over but Dan Henderson, the race director, said there were no changes from the previous year.

I returned to the boat and headed out to warm up and take photos.

The new production outriggers were not the only new thing I was testing today. The drive train was outfitted with a pair of chain tensioners. Their purpose was to even out the peak loads applied to the propeller during each complete turn of the cranks.

Whether you are pedaling a bicycle up a hill or turning a propeller through the water it is better to apply a constant force to the wheel or propeller, respectively. Over powering in the power portion of a stroke and under powering at the full leg extension or retraction causes losses. Tests done by an acquaintance of mine riding a specially modified bike in the hills around his home proved the concept for bicycles. This test would, hopefully, prove or disprove the concept for boating.

All I knew was that the modifications to the drive system made it a bit noisier and added a bit more friction to overcome.


The sun was now breaking through the fog that had been covering much of the lake, and the wind was starting to pick up. With the increased wind from the north the water was starting to get pretty bumpy, too. Maybe it would be a good day to have the outriggers after all!


It took a while, but eventually all the competitors made their way from the parking lot, down the river and to the starting line. After a bit of jostling by the wind and waves we managed to sort out positions along the line and waited for the starting signal.

We waited some more.

We waited some more.



Just before I was about to drift behind a massive hulk that had been moored at the south end of the lake for eons the air horn signaling the start of the race sounded. We were off!


The side wind made it a bit tough for many of the rowers as it tended to push other boats into the areas required for the oars of the rowers., or pushed the rowers into other boats that happened to be downwind. I had to be a bit more careful as well since the outriggers now made the boat much wider than I was accustomed. Still, it was very nice not having to concern myself with balance while I turned my body this way and that to take advantage of the photo opportunities.



A number of racers were having problems with the beam seas. Many of the rowers were moving a bit slower than normal, catching quite a few crabs on their way. Most of the surf ski and kayak paddlers seemed to be pretty much in their element, unaffected for the most part by the chop.

My boat was moving around 6 to 6.5 mph. This was not a bad speed but definitely slower than I normally race when not using outriggers. Also, I found that every so often a wave would hit the upwind outrigger just right, splashing me a bit in the process. The nylon jacket helped a bit in keeping the water off, but my bike shorts were starting to get wet. Oh, well. The effort pedaling was starting to heat me up; perhaps the cooling effects of the water would balance.


I was most of the way towards the Atlantic City turn buoy when I encountered the first of the short course racers on their way back to the finish. The wind and waves had diminished considerably by now, and the rowers were slowly regaining their normal places in the racing heirarchy. Still, there was a good chance that the first place finisher in this race just might be a surf skier.



I soon reached the first turn buoy. Most of the boats around me made their turn and headed back to the finish. It looked like most of the boats that were on the long course were far ahead.

My legs were telling me that they would be very happy if I, too, turned around and headed back to the finish. Unfortunately, however, I promised Todd, who was racing in his pedal boat in the short course, that I would be doing the long course. This would give each of us a first place ribbon and me some much needed exercise.

I'd just have to tough it out.


The drive system and outriggers were definitely slowing me down. I had a difficult time catching a guy in a kayak as we headed north towards Seward Park. The water was pretty calm here, and I toyed with the idea of removing the outriggers and stowing them. Nah! It would be better to test them further and perhaps on the return leg see what sort of speed could be attained with them removed at that time.


Upon reaching the second turn buoy just south of Seward Park I could see crowds of people at the finish line for the Pumpkin Push run/walk at the park. I could also see that I had nearly caught the kayaker who had been ahead of me for the past couple of miles. Go legs, go!


Try as I might, I wasn't able to catch that kayaker. Perhaps the air drag of the pumpkin headed creature on one outrigger and that of Dracula on the other outrigger was hindering my progress. Perhaps the drive train modifications had too much friction. Perhaps the outriggers just made my boat as slow as a kayak. Perhaps the combination of all three conspired to keep me behind as we headed around the north end of Seward Park where we encountered the first of the long racers as they headed back to the finish line.

This was interesting. The first boats heading back were surf skis, not rowing shells. Where were the rowers?


A few minutes later the first rowing shell, a double manned by Adrian and Rob, appeared and quickly passed on its way back to the finish.I wonder if they would be able to catch the pair of surf skis?


Quite a few more paddlers passed on their way back to the finish, and I was starting to gain on the boat directly ahead of me. Perhaps I could catch him after all!


Heading into the cove on the west side of the park I found half a dozen more boats beginning the second half of the race. I guess I wasn't all that far behind the other racers after all, but began to doubt that there was anyone left behind me!


The kayak ahead made his turn around the buoy and I finally recognized him. It was Tom, a regular racer whom I normally leave far behind.

That settled it. I was going to have to do something!


After rounding the 3rd buoy I was pleased to find there were several boats still behind. Yay! I wasn't the last boat after all!

I continued in pursuit of Tom.

It was time to try pedaling with a single outrigger.

While continuing to pedal I pressed the release button on the right outrigger support and tried to twist it out. It wouldn't budge as my sweaty hands slipped on the smooth carbon fiber tube.

Wiping off my hands I tried again, and it moved. Yay!

After pulling it out I rested the tube across the gunwales of the Cadence. This kept the float ever so slightly above the water.

Now, of course, the remaining outrigger was sinking a bit lower in the water as I leaned more to the port. Perhaps removing a single outrigger would not help as much as I thought.

I tried leaning more to the starboard. This was a bit better, and I started to pick up a little speed.

I had almost caught the kayak as we reached the second buoy.


It was at the second buoy that I decided to try removing the other outrigger, too. With a little effort I was able to release it, pull it out and balance the aka (the carbon fiber tube) across my waist on the gunwales, with one float on one side of the boat and the other float on the other side of the boat.

This generally seemed to work, so long as I held it with one hand and steered with the other hand. Once in a while, though, either the bow or the stern of one float or the other would dip into the water and act as a brake.

With my hands thus occupied, I couldn't take any photos. It didn't matter much, anyway, as the shots would have mostly been into the sun and would not have turned out. On the other hand, my speed increased by nearly a mile per hour and I quickly passed Tom and his dastardly kayak.

As I passed he said "I was wondering why you were taking so long to pass me". I told him about the outriggers and said "See you later!".

There was quite a distance between me and the next boat, but I kept on pedaling. My legs were very tired by this time, and all I had left to drink was another bottle of water.

I sure hoped there would be some food left at the finish!

The distance between my boat and the one ahead seemed to be shrinking, but there was no way that I'd catch him before the finish.

A couple of quick stops to remove weeds from the propeller didn't help, either.


With that being the case as I neared the mouth of the Cedar River I decided to reinstall the outriggers and take more photos.


With a time of 2:22:27 I finally crossed the finish line. Whew!

Thirteen seconds later Tom crossed the line. I guess I wasn't as far ahead as I thought!


I tied up at the dock by the boat house and made my way up the ramp and through the shop. The lunch was set up on tables lining the dock, with Dan Henderson manning the grill. That food looked and smelled good!


I grabbed a plate and filled it with a burger, salad and dessert. Yum!

The sun had warmed up the day considerably. The temperature had risen to the low 50's and the wind had mostly died. Still, it was a little chilly in the shade wearing wet clothing so I basked in the sun. It was a good thing I had on my sunscreen!


After a while the awards ceremony was held. Ribbons were handed out for winners in each of the classes for both the long and the short courses, though many of the short course winners had long since gone home. This year, due to the rough conditions at the start, there were several DNF's (did not finish). The conditions also enabled surf skis to be first overall in both races.


After the ceremony I returned to my boat and headed up the Cedar River to the ramp. A guy in a rather unsteady high kneel canoe accompanied me. We pulled our boats from the water and went our separate ways.

It was a good day for a race!

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For all the photos taken, head over here.