Surfski Knowledge Base

(This message was posted between various messages concerning the upcoming 1st Think International Surfski Challenge - 2 race, point total competition between local and Vancouver area (and environs) paddlers)

Re: Look Ahead…….Secret weapon
Larry Goolsby
04/23/08 #4283

Recently we had a paddler move here from North Carolina. As soon as the moss started growing on his back, he ordered up a Huki S1-X Special (lime green) and found a wing paddle in someone's garbage can. His name is DJ (no vowels)and he has been paddling a ski for almost a month now. He was interested in this upcoming Lake Whatcom Classic, so I decided to show him the course. The wind was rockin' the lake with 25 knt winds, so DJ stuck his 4“ credit card rudder on his Special and took a couple of swigs from a Mason Jar (a clear flammable liquid) and said “I'm ready to go”.

As we headed down the lake, I was amazed at his stability. We were getting hit with a NE wind and the expected whitecaps were almost perpendicular to our beam and he was in total control. I asked him if the Special felt stable. His reply was “Like a barge on a dry lake bed”. As we headed for the island, I filled him in on the upcoming Think Evo Challenge and how the Americans were going head to head against the Canadians.

“Whats a Canadian?”
“It's an American without a gun.”
“Why do they want to race us?”
“Because we are their only neighbors.”
“They don't have other neighbors?”
“We are the only ones that would live next to them.”
“OK, that makes sense.”

So we paddled to the island and I showed DJ that it was important that if he did the Classic, that it would be wise to turn north once you reached the south tip of the island (he's from the south so I drew him a picture). As we headed upwind, DJ suddenly started pulling away from me. I was already making two strokes for each one that he made. I ran my pulse up to 180 just to get on his draft and I hung there long enough to ask him “what's the hurry?”

“An American without a gun? That just ain't right.”
“That's why we call them Canadians.”
“It still ain't right.”

At the end of that phrase, DJ kicked it into 4th gear and away he went. I tried to keep up but it only took 10 minutes before he became a spot on the horizon. He has only been paddling a ski for a month and I predict that in another couple of weeks, he is going to start lapping us on our Wednesday night races. Look out Canada.
LG