David Hooper Jun 11 #31774

Congrats to Wilson and Aaron for a strong race! And to Imua and Wave Forager. Anyone know what happened to Convergence Zone? I see that they're stuck at Pt No Pt.

paul clement Jun 11 #31775

Unfortunately, Convergence Zone suffered a disqualification.

Props to Aaron and Wilson. They were crushing it out there!

Wave Forager is a beast! Onus skipped a checkpoint, so hopefully justice will prevail in Foragers favor.

Az Jun 11 #31776

Hi David, tracker was wonky, they made it in after the 2 rowing shells

Az Jun 11 #31777

The trio was first forward facing over the line, but due to some unplanned additional mileage they were DQ’d. Awesome job, Convergence Zone!

Sounds like double shell could be DQ’d for skipping a bouy, Go Ken Deem!

And I think Wilson & Aaron just won a lot of dough!! These four boats killed it!

Kevin Olney Jun 11 #31778

I’m usually pretty good at navigation but somehow paddling 50 miles in 7 hours got me spaced out and I steered us through the shipping lane north of Point No Point. Automatic DQ. We did correct our course (painfully) and managed to cross the line, so it was a moral victory.

Lots of stories! I'll share some after nap time

KO

David Hooper Jun 11 #31779

Sorry to hear it, Paul! Sounds like a story or two in there, anyway. Way to give it!

Toby Cooper Jun 11 #31780

We (Amber and I) were texting rapid-fire all night. When Convergence started diverging north, at first we thought they were searching for current relief because they seemed to gain a knot in speed. But it was too much extra distance. “This is nuts,” I texted rhetorically to Amber. “Just cover the double. You’re not going to catch the shells.”

But, KO, you kept going. Then we said, “Is he going east of the island??? They can’t do that, there’s a checkpoint at the bridge.” Being bleary-eyed explains it, and we did not know it was a shipping lane.

Still unexplained that I know of, is why, at the time Convergence realized their mistake and turned back toward the canal, Wilson and Aaron got going almost south and stopped. We thought they had either broken a paddle or one of them cramped up. Then they got back on track.

Congratulations to all for an amazing effort. It was a pleasure to witness in real time, or any time.

Paul Reavley Jun 11 #31781

Wilson or Aaron can supply more detail when/if they feel up to it (Aaron is already back in a kayak with Jonas at Ted Houk)

They had problems with several GPS devices but fortunately figured out that they didn't really want to go to Port Ludlow.

David Hooper Jun 11 #31783

Sorry to hear about the DQ, Kevin. Yeah, navigating in the dark after jamming hard for 7 hours. Hard to imagine NOT getting off course a bit. I'm glad you all at least got to paddle to the finish, even with the technical DQ. Better than equipment failure.

Looking forward to hearing stories when you've recovered!

Dave H.

Kevin Olney Jun 12 #31784

The Seventy48 started at 7:00 pm Friday in the Thea Foss waterway in Tacoma. It was an exciting start line, with 120 boats crammed into a 50’ wide channel. When the horn blew, Team Imua (Mass 2x) took off at sprint speed followed closely by Team Boat (Wilson & Aaron). We were on the opposite side of the waterway and pulled up behind a media boat that was cruising at 10 mph and throwing a huge wake. We surfed behind them into Commencement Bay before peeling off to chase Imua, about 100’ behind them. They continued their fast pace along the Tacoma waterfront and opened their lead to about 1/4 mile as we approached the Owen Beach checkpoint. Team Wave Forager (Ken Deem, 1x) and Boat were about even a couple hundred feet behind us.

I love the 7048 but I’ve always had an issue with the Owen Beach “checkpoint”. The race rules state: “Race participants must go through the waypoints off Owen Beach and Port Townsend Canal.” The canal is pretty clear; there is a bridge and you pass under it. The Owen Beach is a bit more ambiguous. They want to verify that your gps tracker is working, so you are supposed to go by a boat anchored just off shore and get the thumbs up.

How close you pass is open to interpretation. Apparently Imua’s tracker was working so they headed straight for Colvos, missing the checkpoint by at least a 1/4 mile. We went all the way to the boat and learned our tracker wasn’t working so we paddled to shore and reset it, giving up two places in the process, to Wave Forager and Boat (who both went right by the checkpoint). I feel like there should be a buoy or mark that every boat should have to round before continuing (like in every other race ever). Ok, rant over, back to the race.

Our advantage, gained by the fortunate draft at the start, was gone and we were trailing 2nd and 3rd place by nearly one minute when we left Owen Beach. 1st place was probably 2 minutes ahead of them. Still 60+ miles to go and plenty of adversity in store for everyone…

To be continued…

Carter Johnson Jun 12 #31785

Second your thought on that First Check point….. I have learned there is always more behind the scenes than the racers are purvey to, so possibly there are reasons this may not work, but just going inside the Check point boat seems it may solve this. It was an actual 1/4 mile off (no idea how far it really was) That is a blatant / deliberate / intentional skip as there is no way to communicate between Racer and checkpoint visually or verbally to if the tracker was working or not at that distance.

Regarding pulling off when they told you the tracker the provided was not working… You need to work on your over the Air negation skills :)

Looking forward to Part 2.

Toby Cooper Jun 12 #31786

The rant over the race infrastructure and rules is well-placed.

The 70/48, the Y2AK, and the WA 360 represent a rapid migration of PacNW mass-recreation paddle and sail sports into the rarified universe of ultra-adventure contests. The rise of these races has fostered a growing fan-base of “family and friends,” yes, but also thousands of would-be spectators who join as participants only in their dreams. So it is imperative, in my view, that race admin establishes modern, sensible, accessible, user-friendly, smoothly-functioning systems for spectators – who are otherwise completely excluded from a remote, dark, utterly inaccessible race course.

The 70/48, in particular, kind of bridges the gap between the truly mass-participation Ski to Sea and the truly unthinkable (to the average Joe) 750-mile Y2AK. Why can’t we get this right? There is no excuse for controversial check point procedures. The on-line tracker system, variously described as wonky, quirky, intermittent, and frustrating, needs overhaul. I welcome this dialogue because I believe in our sport and want to write about it for wider audiences.

Reivers Dustin Jun 12 #31787

Basically, any cheating (intentional or not) discredits the event. Is this a problem? Even if there is no money on the line, it burns trust. So, speaking for myself: I do not believe this finish placement. Or, as Peter Pan and Hook would agree: “Bad Form”.

Kevin Olney Jun 13 #31790

Part 2

There was a light S breeze all through Colvos Passage. Team Wave Forager (Ken Deem) and Team Boat (Wilson & Aaron) had about a minute lead on us, so we had to pick up our pace to make up for our delay at Owen Beach. We watched Ken expertly navigate the currents from point to point and followed his lines. We got into a groove and closed the gap somewhere near Ollala. We rode the wash of the the boys in the Boat for a while, then pulled the rest of the way to catch up to Ken.

As darkness descended, all three boats were about even when we hit the roughest water of the whole race. Some tide rips combined with the building S wind created a couple miles of turbulence between Blake Island and the south end of Bainbridge. Nothing crazy but enough to break up the rhythm of the paddle and eliminate any chance of drafting. Wilson and Aaron capitalized on the opportunity and broke away as we approached Blakey Rocks. We moved past Ken as the waves became more organized and we could sort of link them together. It was tough in the triple because the waves were short and the boat isn’t that responsive to quick adjustments. Still, we enjoyed favorable downwind conditions all the way along Bainbridge Island.

As we passed Pt Jefferson and approached Kingston we could see the light of Team Boat ahead, so we knew they hadn’t stretched the lead too far. At the same time Wave Forager was pulling up behind us, refusing to be dropped. We couldn’t see them at the time but Imua was only a few minutes ahead. That’s when the aliens appeared. Actually it was a drone taking footage for the race, but it was trippy AF seeing the weird green light hovering in the sky above us.

I don’t know if we caught some weeds, got into a bad eddy, or ran out of gas, but our pace slowed for the last few miles before Point No Point. We were struggling to keep our boat speed up as Ken methodically rowed away from us. I think the stretch from Kingston to Pt No Pt is the worst of the whole course. You can see the lighthouse from 10 miles away and it never seems to get any closer.

We were all fatigued and hurting when we finally arrived at Point No Point, our only planned stop on the course. Imua was still well ahead of us and Wave Forager had gained at least 2 minutes on us. However, Team Boat had pulled to shore about 3 miles earlier, so we were solidly in 3rd place, first in our division (forward facing). Some random wave sets made landing on the beach somewhat challenging but we managed to get ashore. I didn’t realize what shape I was in until I set the boat down. Shivering and dizzy, I stumbled around trying to get things sorted for the rest of the paddle but failing miserably. I finally realized how cold I was and put on my extra jacket and beanie. After some food and extra hydration I got it together enough to get back in the boat. Around 2:30 AM we launched to complete the final 20 miles of the race.

Coming soon: Part 3 (The difference between going the wrong way the wrong way and going the wrong way the right way)

paul clement Jun 13 #31797

I'll add to part 2 that my leftside footbrace pin popped out about halfway up Colvos Passage. I paddled with it that way, with the left side sliding forward and aft for the next four hours or so, until we got to Pt No Pt. Not a comfortable thing, but not worth pulling over when in the heat of the race.

pc

Kevin Olney Jun 13 #31801

Part 3

Our break at Point No Point boosted our energy and morale. We were stopped much longer than planned, nearly 15 minutes, but Paul was able to fix his footplate, Jeff joked with the small crowd of spectators, and I went fetal position and gummed some Cliff Blocks. Once we got back on the water I was charged with renewed energy. The rowers hadn’t gone to shore so our chances of catching them were slim, as they had at least a 20 minute lead. We were still ahead of Team Boat and in line for 1st in the “Forward Facing” division. The waters off PNP are often turbulent but, at the time, they were almost lake-like flat. We cruised towards Foulweather Bluff with confidence…

This was the 6th time I’ve paddled this section of the course (4 of the previous times at night). Route finding had never been a problem before and I guess I just went autopilot mode, assuming I’d instinctively know where to go. Well, I went the wrong way. Instead of the Foulweather Bluff buoy, I aimed at yellow marker, slightly north, designating the middle of the shipping lanes. Due to fog, darkness, and some state of exhaustion, I didn’t even question the different colored light as we passed by.

Technically, our race ended as we approached the buoy. There aren’t many rules to the Seventy48, but entering the shipping lanes is a big fat automatic disqualification. I totally understand and support the rule. The Coast Guard permit is issued with the provision that no boats cross the shipping lanes, and the reason is valid: it’s dangerous to be a small human-powered vessel in the path of a 1000’ long ship. Of course, at the time we were blissfully unaware of our position and our boat speed was way up. We were flying high!

It was when we passed the cruise ships that we started to realize something was wrong. Our first reaction was “I don’t remember those houses with all the bright lights”, followed shortly by “that’s not a house, that’s a ship!” and then “I don’t think those came through the PT canal, where the hell are we??”

Full stop. Map check. Situation confirmed: we’re screwed. Once the third ship passed by and finished honking at us, we corrected course and headed for Marrowstone Island. It was a total slog. The current was against us and we had blown our lead, and to add injury to insult, we had added even more miles to the paddle. The crew stayed strong. We just put our heads down and settled in for the grind to the finish. We arrived in Port Townsend around 5:45 am and we’re greeted by cheers, hollering and horns. We were a little over an hour behind the leaders and the third boat over the line.

Apparently, Wilson and Aaron had their own navigational troubles and headed towards Port Ludlow after Foulweather Bluff. They proved to have gone the wrong way the right way and soon got back on track, finishing a little after 6:00 am, but still in contention for the rewards.

I am so impressed by the strength, skill and fortitude displayed by all the teams that raced. Team Imua took 1st overall, setting a new course record at 9 hours 35 minutes. Wave Forager was unreal, claiming 2nd overall and 1st single, only 4 minutes back!! Team Boat was the 1st forward facing and 3rd overall. Karl Krueger was the 1st stand up, and 19th overall.

Beyond the prize winners, there were so many inspiring stories of perseverance and achievement throughout the weekend. It is awesome to see people test themselves against the elements and the clock and enjoy the true spirit of adventure racing. Though we didn’t have an official finish, I’m grateful for an exciting and challenging race. Paul and Jeff are amazing paddle partners. Thank you guys!

KO

-If you want to hear more detail about alien encounters and surfing cruise ship wakes, let’s chat at Brandon’s potluck this weekend-