Surfski Knowledge Base

Larry Goolsby
06/06/10 #8615

A handful of us crossed into B.C. this weekend headed for that annual Challenge called the Round Bowen Race. In case you have never done it, it can be one of the most cruel races in North America: 21 miles of mixed conditions, ferry wakes, and unsettled weather. Today we got lucky with the weather and had mild temps and only a small amount of wind and rain. This meant that the southern shores of the island was not the washing machine that it can become when the winds are up. Before the race started, I counted 7 doubles, but saw less singles than any of the four previous Bowen races that I had entered. Attendence was down for both the Round Bowen Challenge and the Outrigger relay with no known reason. Still, there was enough paddlers to constitute a real race and Martin, the race director, dictated that we would be racing in a counter-clockwise direction. This was my first time in this direction, so maybe this was to be my lucky day. Most of my other Bowen races had ended in mediocre finishes except for one where me and my doubles partner had to abandon ship and swim for shore. This time I had my steadfast partner Shaun after spending several days trying to talk him into commiting to one more Bowen before he enrolls in a nursing home.

Of the 7 doubles, 6 of them were pretty evenly teamed up. There was Mark Whitlock and Larry B.(which shall be known as team 204 and 1/2), the Arthurs, Bob Putnam and a fast woman named Jodie, John George and Ben Fast, Jeff and Katja (Team Raymond), and then me and Shaun (Team Sullivan). Shaun and I have taken a beating over the last month with loses to Ben/John, Putnam and the Arthurs at Deep Cove. We were low on self-esteem and this large field was a bit intimidating. Most of the doubles had jockeyed over to the north side of the Snug Cove to take advantage of the distance to the first turn outside the harbor. When Martin yelled 'Go', the Raymonds sprinted out of the hole with Ben/John on their flank and team Sullivan right behind. By the time the dust settled, Jeff and Katja lead along with Ben/John on their side with the Arthurs and team Sullivan behind them, while surrounded by pesky singles like DJ, Gareth, Kirk, and some guy from S.A. Today's theme seemed to be 'Keep you friends close and your enemies closer'. I didn't know it then but Team 204 and 1/2 was right behind us and following closely.

This order of boats did not change for a full hour into the race and this was driving me nuts. My blade was constantly slamming into other paddles, people were splashing water into my eyes and I wasn't able to fully swing my blade out into the water. I tried talking Shaun into pulling us out of the pack but he thought that I was stupid for not wanting to take advantage of the ride. I started getting angry and we were almost at the point of standing in our seats and swinging our Epic paddles like swords. Finally at about a third the way around, Team Raymond made a move that upset the order of the pack and we got free enough for me to show Shaun that we could keep up and hold a lead without the benefit of the draft. The conditions had been pretty calm most of this time so the XT tandems didn't have the advantage. Around this time I heard Larry B.'s voice as Team 204 1/2 yelled at one another only because they are both deaf. At one point, there were 3 of our tandems leading the pack, all side by side and bows even: it was really pretty cool. Then briefly, Shaun and I took the lead and I realized that I had never been in a lead boat at Bowen before this moment (made me all fuzzy inside).

During the last third of the race, Ben/John fell back after some tricky water and weren't able to catch back up and the three tandems coming up to the final turn was Team Raymond, the Arthurs and Team Sullivan. The Arthurs fell back and Gareth took their place as we came into view of the finish line. A ferry wake arrived just as we were making the corner and our boat got squirrley as Team Raymond started their Sprint with Gareth doing a stronger sprint for the finish. We finished within seconds of each other with Gareth first overall, Team Raymond second, us third, followed by Team 204 and 1/2 and DJ in there somewhere. The Arthrs were the fourth tandem in followed by Ben/John and Kirk was also one of the singles around this time.

I think that Shaun would agree with me that this was our best race this year and that it was the best doubles race we have ever been involved in. It was great to see that many tandems show up and give it their all.

LG