I’ve got three boats:
- Epic V10 Sport surf ski. Under-stern rudder, good on bigger waves, a bit slow.
- West Side Boat Shop Thunderbolt. Regular (non-surf ski) kayak. Over-stern rudder, not so good in the waves, turns like a barge, faster than the V10 Sport.
- Think Legend surf ski. Fast, but tippy as hell. Not sure I can handle any sort of waves, not even boat wakes with it. I still have problems getting it around 180 degree turns without slowing right down.
I’ve also got three races coming up:
- Baycreek Kayak and SUP Cup, Sat Sept 14 on Irondequoit Bay
- Long Lake Longboat Regatta, Sat Sept 21 on Long Lake in the Adirondacks
- Erie Canal Regatta, Sunday Sept 29th at Fairport
I’ve pretty much decided that for the third race I’m going to paddle the Legend. There aren’t going to be any wind driven waves and probably not many boat wakes to deal with, plus it will be the third race in three weekends so if I DNF I won’t care that much. That leaves the other two.
Today I was paddling on the Bay in my V10 Sport, and nearly died after my rudder snagged some weeds and I was trying to keep up with Paul D. I ended up having to stop and back up to clear the rudder, and I eventually caught Paul but as soon as I did I got another weed. I had been leaning towards using the V10 Sport but if weeds are a problem, the Thunderbolt might be a better choice for the Baycreek race.
I had also been leaning towards the Thunderbolt for Long Lake. The only downside is that if the wind is really whipping up the lake, I might wish I’d brought the V10 Sport. Weeds aren’t likely to be a problem there, but waves might. I don’t have room on my roof rack to bring both and decide on the day. The other factor is that all during my recovery, my one shining goal on the horizon was to do Long Lake again. I’ve always enjoyed that race and I’ve had some good results. I don’t want to fuck it up by bringing the wrong boat. On the other hand, in 2010 I had a great result because I was better in the waves in my Thunderbolt than others were in their boats. So I’m still leaning towards the Thunderbolt.