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Mayor's Cup Aborted
Reivers Dustin
10/19/08 #5191
Some of you have been following the race on Surfski.info and watching
the GPS live track of racers. So you already know that the race was
aborted one hour in. They have some good video on Surfski.info It
seems some boats were swept under a barge near the start along with
many more having trouble with the choppy conditions.
Larry B. just called to talk about it. The only english that I could
pick out was, “CHRIST!” It seems the lead pack was near the turn
around into the good conditions. The ride back to start was not so
bad. But the start was nasty. You are immediately in “wall”
conditions and most racers didn't focus on the barge they were
getting swept into by the current. No one was hurt and most gear has
been recovered. The boats that were sucked under the barge have some
damage.
The Aussies and South Africans can hardly believe it. But everyone
is off the water under orders from the N.Y. authorities. LB and Mike
G. are swapping lies as I write this, so we'll probably never know
the whole truth. At least until we get them drunk. Maybe Bob P. or
Ian or one of the Eric's will come forward.
This is 'news of the day' for the paddle racing crowd.
RD
Re: Mayor's Cup Aborted
Michael Gregory
10/19/08 #5192
More like Mayors Cup Abortion. They pulled the plug! The band was rockin', at least what was left of them. Those that did not get knocked off the stage by the crowd of New Yorkers gawking at us like we were freaks.
Just because the tide was carrying us north at about 5 kts and the wind was snortin' out of the north about 15-20kts, no big deal. They did not get it - the “man” was there at the George Washington Bridge - - we were busted. To many complaints; too rowdy, to much swearing, too much for NYPD and USCG. We cursed and carried on, the authorities struck back - pulling dozens off the river into little barbed wire enclosures. Then we rebelled - back into the water and off again. To a chorus of “we're not gonna take it, never did and never will”! Back to Battery Park cove and damage control. Just when this gig was circling the drain - it got worse!
No Beer!!! What else can be said? One look into the eyes of the Saffas and it all became crystal clear - What happened to the $20,000 prize money??? Baby, it was a sign of the times, all bang and no bucks.
Gotta keep pressing on . . .pressin' on. Don't lose faith, find strength in our mission. Big Apple, all the way. Maybe next year.
Keep on Rockin', Mike
Re: Mayor's Cup Aborted
flypaddle
10/20/08 #5193
Um… thanks for the commentary Mike.
Am I the only one that doesn't speak Mikeese? If someone would like
to offer a translation, that might be helpful.
Joost
Re: Mayor's Cup Aborted
Susan <ladyjustice@…>
10/20/08 #5194
This might help a little?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/nyregion/20kayak.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Susan
Re: Mayor's Cup Aborted
Erik Borgnes
10/20/08 #5195
Glickman will have a full report on surfski.info later today from what my sources (Glickman) say.
To sum it up, though, it was pretty rough out there. The wind was steady at about 20 knots or so, waves in the middle of the Hudson, where many of us were, were 3-5' with lots of foamies. I caught several breaking waves in the face, and that sort of occurrence causing fuzzy vision for a few seconds could easily have caused a capsize. I don't think that many of us were wearing leashes, either, because noone suspected water that rough. I would have rather been closer to the shore, but the speed by gps showed the consistently faster water was out deep. I was seeing 8-9.5 in the middle of the Hudson (300 m from shore) while punching through the big waves, and only about 7.5 mph about 100 m from shore. While I think the top 10/15 of the elite/open start were doing fine in those conditions, I'll bet that most others were struggling a bit. Of course, anyone struggling could have easily gone over closer to shore, but that's hard to do in a race, right? There were two top K1 paddlers in Nelo Sea Vanquish's and a couple of Mohicans - you couldn't have paid me enough to have been in one of those out there in those waves. I think most any cockpit kayak would have been a liability out there and the sea kayakers that capsized all needed help getting back in and going again. Had I come out of my mako 6, it might have been a bit of a struggle to get back in - though the water was pretty warm - felt about 65 F.
Did they make the right call, yes and no - they just kind of screwed it up. For some, the conditions were tough and for some, they should not have been way out in the middle of the Hudson. But, the sucky part was that they called off the race at the 1-1.5 hr mark when most paddlers had already completed the rougher part of the day - the lower Hudson. The Harlem, Hell gate, and the east river should have been much easier. The thought is that the fiasco with the barge at the start (but an hour earlier) freaked the water safety people out a bit. Plus, there is rumor that people on shore were calling 911 with reports of kayaks capsized, etc, but for all we know, it could have been 20 phone calls about 1 kayaker in the water. I think that this was a situation that the organizers hadn't run into. They'll have it figured out for next year.
Just as depressing was the trip back to the start which took 2 full hours because it was against the current. During that time, many of us were starting to get cold (because we had dressed to race, not tour), and the USCG was giving all of us returning paddlers different info. They were telling some of us we HAD to get off the water way upstream, but then allowing masses of paddlers to keep on going back to the start only 10 min later.
But, the spread of food at the end was great.
Erik
Re: Mayor's Cup Aborted
Daryl Remmler <darylremmler@…>
10/20/08 #5198
Hi all,
I think the incident at the start of the Elite Open Class sparked a case of nerves that the USCG could not ignore. Watching four skis get sucked under the barge less than 30 seconds from the start has to be very stressful when safety is your job. That combined with a few swimmers from the Fast Touring Class just minutes before certainly would have had them on high alert.
While many of the less than elite paddlers found the conditions challenging, most were managing. Surprisingly, there were too many paddlers quite unaware of the current, and the danger of paddling too closely in front of fixed objects (barges for example!). I did see other swimmers along the course, and the following remounts (some with help). I'm sure there were others I did not see. From my perspective, the dissapointment was in that the call came so late, as many paddlers were within a few miles of the Harlem River.
All that said, great course, great event, and I'll be back next year. My only suggestion to the course would be a different start location, that does not have so many negatives (no place to warm up, narrow entry to the river, and an immediate strong cross current). Thanks to Ray for doing such a great job!
Also, as an aside, a couple of the young sprinters (Dion and Wes) were doing really well. Both were in the top ten when the race was called I think, and felt confident about re-joining the lead group on the flats of the Harlem. They were both totally stoked on the sport and paddling in those conditions. I think we'll see more from them in the future.
Daryl
Re: Mayor's Cup Aborted
waterbornewarrior
10/20/08 #5199
Anybody else note this nonsense?
“…many racing sleek, lightweight kayaks known as surf skis. The
narrow vessels are designed to travel extremely fast atop flat water.
They are popular in areas with warm water, like California and
Hawaii.”
This might help a little?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/nyregion/20kayak.html?
Best story I've read about the Mayor's Cup……..
Larry Goolsby
10/21/08 #5206
I found this article on the Yahoo Surfski site written by a guy from
the East coast named Cliff Roach. It's worth a few minutes of your
time…..
[surfski] Mayors Cup and testosterone poisoningTuesday, October 21,
2008 6:35 PM
From: “Cliff Roach” <flyingriverdog@…>Add sender to
Contacts To: surfski@… am a new surfskier with a
fairly steep learning curve currently.
Last year I did Mayors Cup in a V10 Sport, and though I never swam, I
called out secretly for my mommy from Hells Gate to the finish line.
I was hooked though. I bought a V10 within weeks, and a S1X this
summer in a “how can you say no” deal. Being two hours from the
ocean, it was not convenient, but I managed to get a half dozen long
open water paddles in, including the Mayors cup course itself. So
when I arrived at Mayors Cup last Sunday, I felt infinately more
confident despite paddling a more tippy boat (S1X). That is, until I
saw the hudson. I do remember looking out there and seeing something
new, but felt I had lots of outs, including a dynamite remount (Lots
of real world training there). In addition, I looked around and saw
some 40 other skis, many of which were a lot more to handle than the
S1X, and the pack mentality gel packed in my brain, “if they all can
do it, so can I” (testosterone poisoning). That optimism was
shattered when we lined up for departure. I saw a sight that stopped
me dead. There was Oscar Chalupski right in front of me. When I saw
that the great and mighty “O” was wearing a PFD, bubbles arose from
the bucket beneath me. Here I am, a newby from landlocked
Philadelphia strutting proudly with my pfd duct taped to the stern.
It was like the click of the safety rail on a giant rollercoast
sounding off. And then the countdown started. Oh crap, here we go!
Out of the gate in the middle of the pack, the bottleneck was
impressive. I remember someone closing in on my left and even hitting
my paddle. The boat in my front right was tracking left in front of
me. I remember thinking, “if he would just track a little right,
there would be plenty of room”. Now, I understand, he probably was
aware of the barge, that so many discounted as a nuisance. I just
backed off, and patiently waited for room to pass on the right, which
I eventually did. I remember being aware of people swimming somewhere
in that mayham, but never gave a second thought about their safety:
just remount, or swim back to the dock. Right? I actually thought it
was kinda funny, and something I am all too familiar with this
summer. Only upon return did I find out how not funny that was.
Within 100 feet of the placid cove now, I caught my first of many wet
washes in the face. And, the taste of salt confirmed the tide status.
Turning upriver, I got my first full contact wave break to the
shoulders within 500 feet. The race was on. Yes it was rough, but the
waves were straight on. A routine of cresting and crashing insued.
After a few minutes, I was deleriously happy as I began to realize
that all that practice was paying off, and I felt stable. I decided
to wear a polypropelene shirt with long wet pants. Many of us labored
over what to wear, and agreed that any thermal comfort going up the
hudson would be cursed once inside the sheltered Harlem. I was just
right, and feeling good. At one point the nose was airborn up to my
butt, when a gust caught the nose from the side and turned me quite
authoritatively setting me up to crash into the next wave at an
angle. To my astonishment, I survived. Hmmm, “Never done that
before”. The waves seemed to be in series with occasional lulls where
I could dig in. But many times all forward motion would was lost as
you slapped off a crest and pitched squarely into the heart of the
next wave. The entire paddling field would appear and disapear in
front of you with the whims of the waves. The entire paddle up to the
GW bridge, I did not look at my GPS, or take a single sip from my
tube for fear of swimming. I could not afford anything less than 100%
attention, but it was working, and I was moving. I waited for the
longest time to find a lull long enough to even pull my drinking tube
which had worked its way under my leg. I think I was about mid pack,
in the thick of the channel, and nearing the GW bridge when I saw the
first skis coming downstream. They were thoughtful enough to just
paddle right by without a word. I assumed the two had some kind of
damage, or issue that made them give up. Then there were more, and
some of them were stopping to talk to other paddlers, who then
stopped too. When I got the news I was stunned. After training for
two months, it was all over in the blink of an eye. I had a hard time
understanding why we were turned back into the open rage of the
Hudson, when the tranquil Harlem was within view. I thought of
continuing anyway, but found out that the police boats blocked the
entrance. I was again stunned to find that they stopped the elites
too. I invested in a two hour drive to get there, but imagined what
it would be like to invest in a 16 hour flight from South Africa to
be turned back for conditions that you find “fun”. Oh well, should
be able to scream down these faces on the way back. I turned tail and
caught my first good run, and the nose parked itself into the back of
the proceding wave. The paddling stopped, the sound and feel of spray
began and steadily increased. I was on it and flying. When I looked
down at the GPS I was in disbelief, only 5 to 6 mph. Wow, the current
was really ripping against us on the return. Downwind runs are still
challenging for this newby, and on my second swim a police boat swung
by to ask if I was alright. With a thumbs up, I remounted and headed
off again leaving them looking confused. Within moments, I came upon
a senior paddler in a sea kayak that was waving his hands to another
police boat in surrender. He looked exhausted and possibly in medical
trouble. As the boat manuevered, and grabbed for his bow, the
unthinkable happened, he capsized. He did not roll. He did not wet
exit. He did not appear to even be struggling as the seconds ticked
louder. I remember the policeman on the boat with his blue jumpsuit,
boots, radio and gun, as he uncontrollably murmered “oh no” out loud.
We were both equal distance to the paddler, but I knew it would make
more sense for the “already wet and crazy guy” to get him. They were
stamering to decide their next move when I jumped in, leaving my ski
and paddle bouncing in the soup. I reached under and grabbed his head
and held it above the water, and swam him to the boat. He was
understandably shaken, but fine, and I looked for the “OK” to jump
back in and rescue my gear. But, the police asked where my PFD was. I
pointed to the boat, and he scratched his head with NYPD
discust. “How will you get to it” he asked? This truly confused me.
With a shrug of the shoulders I simply said “swim”. He struggled to
beleve that I was of sound mind and body, as we talked of kayak and
paddle prices, swimming abilities, hyperthermia and other fun topics.
Eventually we came to terms. I smiled and he shook his head to hide
his and tried to hide his “I know I am going to pay for this” grin.
Then I made a beatiful swan dive into the Hudson off the back of a
police boat. Looking back, he probably never saw anyone intentionally
dive into the Hudson. God knows I havn't. Kudos to Ray and all the
support staff. I know at least one kayaker that should be happy that
police boats were there. I can't explain it, but I was suddenly aware
that this day was going to be so much more memorable than if it was
completed. Paddling back leisurely, taking in the sights, chatting
with other paddlers, and all this as the water seemed to suddenly
calm. The Gas was all out of the water by the time we returned to the
cove, and it would best be described as typical harbor slop as I slid
in. Gps showed 19.2 miles, and the rest of the day was spent hearing
all the different angles of the events. It was a great day, and I
hope we can do it all again next year.
Re: Mayor's Cup Aborted
Larry Bussinger <lbussing@…>
10/21/08 #5207
I finally found a computer. I found Mike G on the way back, on shore
after the CG ordered us off the water. Later we finished paddling
back. Erik had the 1-1/2 kt current, 20 mph opposing wind, and 3-5'
right, but failed to mention “WASHING MACHINE”! I have yet to learn
how to paddle in that stuff. After deciding to start last to miss the
pack (a good decision), I still managed to miss the pile-up by only 4
ft. 10 minutes into the race I was pivoting on top of a wave, got hit
by a 25mph gust and broached. I spent another 5 minutes trying to get
turned back into the wind. Half way across the river to New Jersy, I
threw my legs over trying to get the boat to turn. In a uniform set,
when I put my legs in, the feet wouldn't go under the foot straps.
Finally had to do it by hand. The really bad stuff was over after 1/2
hour, but by then, I had spent too much energy and was getting tired.
After 1-1/2 hour of paddling by myself, I was running into people
going the other way, which was really confusing.
I wonder when the United States can put on a surfski race in waves?
Some would think that a surfski race has to be in a washing machine in
order to be called tough. Perhaps it could also be fun. I mean how
do you practice for this stuff in the NW where you risk 50F water and
hypothermia. I might stick to Hawaii.
Re: Mayor's Cup Aborted
Erik Borgnes
10/22/08 #5210
It's really too bad about the strong wind on race day. From any direction other than from the north, the water would have been much flatter and far easier to deal with. The waves made that barge a problem because when you turned out of the cove, you were visually presented with flat water in line with the barge or going immediately wide into the high waves. Unlucky this year. Next year will be better - weather couldn't have been worse for safety reasons, really.
It was good to see young paddlers out there. Morgan House, Brady Bragg, Dion Maxwell, Wes Hammer, Jade Bezidenhout -18, Katelyn McElroy, and I'm sure there were others, too. For some, it was their first big openwater race so it's a shame that the race was called off. I hope that they captured the energy of competing alongside legends like Barton, Chalupsky, McGregor and will start doing more openwater racing.
I believe it was Katelyn McElroy who was in the blue Mohican. When I saw the waves building I could only cringe thinking about what a handful that boat would have been with its flat C1-ish bottom. I believe it's her that we see capsizing on the start line once she hit the current in one of the Blip videos. Tough way to start out.
Great that Daryl and Think Kayaks sponsored some younger paddlers in the race. It's highly commendable to focus on the younger paddlers - us older folks have jobs and can provide for ourselves. The younger paddlers will get enthused about the sport and they'll bring in their friends to the sport. So, thank you Think Kayaks!
I downloaded the championchip race data from clicking on the link in the article on surfski.info. Great way to understand how the race was unfolding and where the current was. Surprisingly, there was a big difference in current between 100 m from shore and 300 m from shore and the faster guys were going way out deep. I noticed this during the race as I kept wanting to come in closer to shore for safety and shelter from the wind, but then would go back out again when I saw how much speed dropped. I spent an hour going up the Hudson 50 m behind Hemmens / Maxwell, and Hammer / Fifils and wasn't gaining any ground on either pair. We were all too far back from the lead group to catch them, but I think the 5 of us (7th - 11th place) would have had a good run on the Harlem and East rivers. Ian would have caught us if he'd been aware of the faster current out deep, though.
Erik
Re: Mayor's Cup Aborted
mike Gregory <falloff999@…>
10/22/08 #5211
Random Notes:
-To paraphrase M. Shea; never miss the opportunity to paddle ACROSS (at an angle to) big choppy conditions.
-USCG and the paddling community might do well to get to know each other better. Likewise, we paddlers would be well served by managing participation of varying skill levels in our events. Both parties would benefit from ongoing dialog, particularly in settings similar to the recent Mayors Cup event. Despite challenging conditions last Sunday on the Hudson most of the field was managing reasonably well out there. Apparently, the authorities, on the day, perceived differently. Surfski/High Performance Kayak racing is here to stay.
-BTW, the presence of the now infamous barge at the race start may be seen as emblematic of how seeming benign settings can go badly wrong. Thankfully, there were no casualties in NY and we can come away from the event feeling as though we got some good lessons that are eminently germane to the future of our racing.
Best Regards To All, Mike
Re: Mayor's Cup Aborted
Michael Gregory
10/22/08 #5212
The sense of it is that Surfski/High Performance Kayak Racing is such an obscure and little understood sport. Though press like this may seem comic at best, the tragic part is that what we need as racers is not yet fully realized by promoters or the authorities who police our courses. Might be good for racers to consult closely with both parties from here on out. No one else knows what goes out out there in the wind and waves like we do. MG.
Re: Mayor's Cup Aborted
kathleen petereit
10/22/08 #5213
I read that and was appalled ! What I like about the USSSC is that
last year I was told the safety crew consisted of experienced surfski
paddlers and they knew what to look for if a paddler was in trouble.
They just need education about the sport. I am sure it was a learning
experience for all and next year will be much better.
Kathleen
Re: Mayor's Cup Aborted
Jeff Hegedus <jhegedus@…>
10/22/08 #5214
Actually, Joe Glickman reports that it was the NY Harbor police, not the USCG, who shut it
down.
