Category: Kayaking

What have I been up to recently?

Since the Tupper Lake race, I’ve only paddled the ski. I need to get used to paddling in waves, with the Rochester Open Water Challenge less than two weeks away. Tonight, for instance, Paul D and I did some surfing, but we also spent some time paddling up and down the shore – our theory was that we would experience waves from the side, which is the hardest to handle, but we were in shallow water so if we dumped (and I dumped a few times) it was no trouble to get back in the boat. I haven’t been paddling with my GPS much, so I don’t know what has happened to my training volume other than the feeling that it’s way down. Paddling out in the surf requires different muscles and it’s not particularly fast, so an hour or an hour and a half is about all I can stand, and I probably make less than 3 or 4 miles in that time.

I’ve also settled on a name for the ski. In the past, I named my Skerray “Mary Ellen Carter”, after the song by Stan Rogers, because it enabled me to “rise again”, and the Looksha was “Gideon Brown” after the song by Great Big Sea, because she can “punch ahead in any gale”. I called the Thunderbold “Anne-Marie” after the boat in Stan Rogers’ song “Acadian Saturday Night” because it has “wings on the water”. And so now I’m naming the ski Old Polina because I “fly a long like a song” in it. Or at least I hope to.

I had a great visit with my dad, step mother and kids this weekend. It’s great to see them, especially my daughters. They’re both maturing so well. I still worry about them, but I suppose that’s my job.

In other news, I’m still trying to finish setting up the replacement hardware. I’m experimenting with using LVM snapshots to be able to backup the domU partitions while they’re active – I think what I’ll do is make snapshots, rsync them over to the new server’s partitions, then delete them, and then shut down the domUs and rsync them again while they’re shut down, and then start up the new guys. By rsyncing once with snapshots, that should make the amount of time between shutting down the partitions and bringing up the new ones much faster. I’m also going to look into replacing my current rsync backup scripts to ones that use snapshots as well, because that way I never have to worry about inconsistencies in the file system, especially in the database engines.

Tupper Lake 9 Miler 2010


Saturday was the Tupper Lake 9 Miler race. I’ve been looking forward to this race for months because last year it was the first real race I did and I was looking forward to seeing my progress. I’m in a faster boat, I’m fitter, my technique is better and I’m more used to racing. Unfortunately they announced that due to construction at “the crusher”, the normal start of the race, this year it would be a semi-loop course up and down river instead of all down river, so it won’t be directly comparable.

The weather was pretty good – a bit cool, very little wind, and it only started raining after we got in the boats to warm up. There was a huge crowd of ICF sprint kayaks, and so we would have actually preferred a bit of waves to give us an advantage over them. It turned out that most of them were in sprint boats because that’s the standard thing in Canada, rather than because they were shit hot paddlers. There were a few shit hot paddlers in sprint boats including Jim Mallory and Ken O-J and a lot of people I had no idea about.

At the start, we lined up between two buoys. There were two markers we had to round that were about 30 degrees to the right of perpendicular to the line between the buoys, so most people lined up at kind of an angle to the line. Jim and a few others actually lined up to the right of the rightmost buoy, giving themselves a shorter line to the marker, but considering how my boat turns and the traffic, I was content to be a little further to the left to approach the markers on a more obtuse angle. Except at the gun the guy beside me to my right sprints out perpendicular to the start line, cutting off me and Doug and Mike and a few others taking a more direct line to the markers. And then when I passed on the inside of him, he suddenly veered about 60 degrees to the right and slammed into me.

We reached the first marker in pretty good condition. I was on Mike Littlejohn’s side wake, Doug was on his tail, we were catching Bill, and there were only a few kayaks ahead of us, including Jim and one of the Canadians who were pulling ahead. We passed Bill before the channel.

Entering the channel, we had a bit of following seas, but with little wind it could very well be of our own making. Doug says there was a strong current coming out, but I didn’t notice it – although my GPS does record a drop in speed to under 6mph briefly. We quickly turned up river, but there didn’t seem like much percentage in skulking up the bank the way Jim was doing because there was little current and lots of weeds in close. An old guy in an old fashioned sprint boat came chugging by with excellent and effortless looking technique, and Doug was on his wake like a limpet. Mike Littlejohn got on Doug’s wake, and I was still on his side wake. I tried to pull up to Doug’s side wake, but I just couldn’t get over the one wave on to the next. The river turned, and Doug veered towards my side, and suddenly I was on his stern wake and Mike Littlejohn was trying unsuccessfully to stay on my side wake. After a while the old guy got a gap on us, and Mike dropped behind, and it pretty much stayed like that until the oxbow loop that was the turn. Doug managed to gap me once or twice but I struggled back on.

In the oxbow, it wasn’t quite as shallow as I’d feared. Kent O-J finally caught us (he’d had some trouble with the waves in the lake in his new sprint boat), and when he went by Doug put on a burst of speed to stay with him. It wasn’t successful for very long, but it was enough for him to open an insurmountable gap over me. I tried like hell to use every trick to bridge the gap, but I never got any closer.

It was along the final stretch of river that we encountered a guide boat that had been in on a dock and suddenly decided to blunder out into out path. Doug yelled at them and they slowed, but I still had to swing out around them.

We started passing the c-2s who had started in an earlier wave, and it was nice – you could pull in to thier stern wake, recover a bit, lower your heart rate and breathing, get a drink, then sprint like hell for the next one or one a few canoes up. I did most of the sixth and seventh miles like that. Doug wasn’t doing that, so he was pulling away even more. Doug was closing on three boats just tantalizingly out of reach – the old guy in the 1985 sprint boat, Kent O-J, and a guy in a light yellow Kayak Pro boat. The top two, Jim Mallory and that French Canadian guy, had finished before I was in site of the line.

I was exhausted at the end. I’d gone out a lot faster than I had at Round The Mountain, and I had nothing in the tank at the end. I ended up being third in under 50, behind the Canadian guy who’d outsprinted Jim and Doug. Jim won over 50. Mike Finear was about a minute behind me and won Touring class. Mike Littlejohn is evidently calling his boat Unlimited class now, and he finished somewhere between me and Mike F. Bill was not too far behind Mike, doing well in spite of the fact that he doesn’t paddle as much as the rest of us.

Compared to last year, this year I did 6.75 miles in 1:02, for an average speed of 6.5 mph. Last year, in a slower boat with less conditioning, I did 7.21 miles in 1:07, for an average speed of …. 6.5 mph. Hmmm. The only thing I can say in my favour is that this year, the first three miles were upstream and the last 3.75 miles were downstream, and last year the whole distance was downstream.

Update: Official results are up. Evidently as well as the three guys Doug was closing in on, there was another guy in a Marauder and a Canadian woman (so probably in a sprint boat) about a minute ahead of them. So while I was third in Men’s Under 50 Unlimited, I was actually about 9th fastest kayak. Sigh.

Second time in the ski, not as much of a success

Jim, Stephen and I met at Seabreeze to paddle on the bay. In early afternoon, on a hot sunny day in a holiday weekend. To nobody’s great surprise, every boat in the entire universe was cruising up and down the bay, making waves. Waves were hitting us from every direction at once. I was having real problems doing anything but bracing most of the time – yeah, the boat is fine if you put it over on its side, but you’ve got to keep your body and head upright, or you’re going to go over.

I ended up into a place that has been a problem in every boat I’ve been in. There is a long stretch of break-wall with some docks and boat lifts, and the break walls act as perfect reflectors, making sure that you’re getting every boat wake at least twice with very little attenuation. I dumped of course. No worries, Stephen had already dumped several times, and he gets back into his boat in no time at all. But I’ve only remounted twice, and those were in calm conditions where I could touch the ground if I needed to. So it took me a few attempts, and a little help from Jim, but I got back in. And paddled a few metres until I got hit by another nasty set of wakes and dumped again.

This time, as I was kicking to get in, one of my knees went pop. This is a particular type of pop I’m all too familiar with. It means that the normal level of pain in my knees, which is bad enough, is about to get 100 times worse, and it’s going to be sensitive to kicking and pushing and weight bearing. I got in, but I immediately dumped again at least partly because I couldn’t push easily with that leg, and this time I didn’t want to get back in. Instead, I climbed out on one of the docks and crashed a pool party next door to borrow a phone to call Vicki.

I feel bad about quitting for the second time in two days. And I worry about whether I’ve got what it takes to paddle in the surf. But I had problems last year in a much more stable boat and got better with it, so I’m hoping I’ll get used to the ski as well.

First time in the waves with the ski, a mixed success

This morning I met up with Mike, Paul D and Frank for a paddle. I had my “new” ski, an Epic V10 Sport that used to belong to Dennis Mike, and which was Baycreek’s demo boat before that. Everybody else had V10 Sports as well.

First thing we did, at my request, was to practice some remounts. As Mike had suggested ahead of time, I found the “side saddle” method much easier than the “straddle” method (see this link for demonstrations of the two methods) because of the way my weight is distributed. The only problem is that I forgot to buy a leash, so after mounting I had to hand-paddle over to my paddle. Obviously not a good idea in real waves and winds, where I’d probably need the paddle to brace while bringing in my legs.

When we started off towards the far jetty, it was almost dead calm – the only swell was inches high and barely registered. But the further we went, the stronger the wind was blowing in our face and the higher the waves were getting. A few times we had to circle back to make sure we didn’t get too far separated, and I found it a bit difficult when cross ways to the waves, especially when turning from downwind to upwind because you couldn’t see the waves coming. I was definitely a bit nervous and highly concentrated, but I never actually felt scared. Quite a change from last week, and I primarily attribute that to my feeling that I might be able to remount before I froze to death. We kept getting slower and slower, and Mike kept saying it would be so great when we headed back.

When we turned, it got a bit worse. The surf was angling towards Durand-Eastman beach, but we wanted to go back to Irondequoit outlet where we’d started, which was about 30 degrees to the left of that. I kept trying to kept pointed at the outlet, but the waves were pushing me towards the beach. The heavy surf was filling the boat right up to the top, and the next wave would come in and fill it back up again before I could get going fast enough for the venturi to work. With it full of water, it was wallowing and hard to accelerate. And because I was new in the boat, I was finding it hard to judge the proper way to time the acceleration to catch a wave like I can do in the Thunderbolt or Looksha. I was finding it very tiring, even though I was still not scared. I was also well ahead of everybody and I couldn’t relax my cooperation enough to look around. So I said “to hell with it” and surfed with the waves into shore. I jumped out of the boat to look around and I could see Mike and Frank about a quarter mile behind me, also on the beach. Paul D was about half way between us, but struggling in the surf zone.

I decided to paddle straight into the wind to get back out of the surf zone and see what was going on. Paul yelled to me that Frank was having trouble and was going to get out and wait for the guys to come back and pick him up in the car. That sounded like a great idea to me, and I decided I could quit now while I was still in control, and wait it out with Frank, or I could struggle on and get more and more tired and more and more out of control. So I landed again, and walked up to where Frank was waiting. We had a nice long stand around and chat for the time it took Paul to get back to the finish and come pick us up. It worked out nicely, and I got home just in time for the party Vicki and I went to this afternoon.

So I think it worked out very nicely. I wish I could have finished the whole distance, but I think I quit at a good point. I like the ski, and it’s going to get better, especially when the water is warmer. When you’re as heavy as me, you’re never dry in a ski. I definitely need a leash, and I want to work out a GPS mount like Mike and Frank have.

Lessons Learned, Mistakes Made, Where To Next?

After a day to think about what happened, and to talk to Mike F, I realize that didn’t have the full picture. That isn’t so surprising, because my ability to look around isn’t all that great at the best of times and when I’m scared shitless I can’t even turn my head to one side or the other for fear of it changing my balance. It turns out that Dan and the rest of the team wasn’t far behind me, and were looking out for me even if I couldn’t see them. Apparently Paul D had dumped in his ski and was having problems getting back in, and Frank was having some sort of difficulty as well. Even Dennis had dumped at some point. So I guess it wasn’t just me, the conditions really were semi hard.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s report, I think the root of my problems started with the dump right at the beginning. While I was near shore so I could get out of the water and dump the water out of the boat, and I dried off pretty quickly in the warm air, I also knew I wasn’t dressed for an extended swim. And dumping out in the distance we were away from shore during the paddle would have meant an extended swim. I also know I can’t get back in that boat in water. Without any bulkheads, the boat fills up with water and even if I could get back in the boat would be too unstable to stay upright.

So what should I have done differently? Obviously I knew I was nervous after the initial dump and felt even worse when Dan said to set course for the light house 5 miles away and almost directly across the swells. But should I have stopped then? I didn’t think so at the time, and I still don’t think it would have been the right decision. Dan has dragged me out of my comfort zone on several occasions, and I’ve learned a lot from it. I can attribute much of my improvement in paddling from some of those sessions. Yesterday, I persevered as best I could, but I just never relaxed. We passed a beach on the way up, and I was honestly thinking of going in there and hitch hiking back to my car. Maybe what I should have done was gone there and just practiced paddling up and down the swells for a while until I felt comfortable enough to try going across them again? Maybe in retrospect I should have stayed back at the original beach doing that. But I didn’t, and it’s too late to change it.

So what should I do differently in the future? First thing first, I need a new paddle shaft. I don’t know how long that’s going to take – that probably depends on whether Lars, the guy who used to be the Brasca rep in the US has any left over inventory. So before that, I need to find a paddle I can borrow without tearing my elbows apart. Secondly, I want to get a surf ski. I was the only guy out there yesterday who wasn’t in one, and Paul D’s troubles notwithstanding, it’s a lot easier to remount a ski than a Thunderbolt – and as Mike pointed out, sometimes just the confidence in your ability to remount it is enough to get you to relax and enjoy the conditions. Baycreek has Dennis’s old V10Sport for sale nice and cheap, but I really think I’m good enough to learn how to paddle a regular V10 (which is skinnier and faster), or at the very least the Ultra layup of the V10Sport (which is lighter than the Value). I actually went for a short paddle in a V10Sport today, and it didn’t feel any less stable than the Thunderbolt. Another thing I need to do is start carrying my paddle float and pump when I’m in the Thunderbolt on the lake. Maybe they won’t help, but they might make me feel more comfortable. I probably should dress warmer in cold water, although I hate being over warm when I’m paddling. I’m not sure what’s the correct clothing option for hot air and cold water, but I need to find something – possibly my Hydroskin shirt, with a pre-emptive dunk in the water before I start so I’m not overheating. Another thing I think I need to invest in is one of those rear-view mirrors you can attach to your hat brim that cyclists use. Being able to see what was going on behind me out of sight might have been a comfort to me when I was freaking out. Another thing is practice, practice, practice. I felt pretty uncomfortable out on the lake in the Looksha in the past, but with practice it got easier and easier. I know that I’m going to get there with the Thunderbolt, and the sooner I can get back out there practicing, the sooner it will come. And the most important thing, though, is to have more confidence in the people around me. I know Dan can get distracted when he’s busy with the other guys, but I should have known that Dan and Mike and the other guys weren’t too far away and would have come quickly if they’d seen me dump. I was pretty hard on Dan yesterday, and now that I’ve had some time to calm down, reflect, and talk to others, I feel bad about that. So Dan, I know you read my blog, and I just want to say I’m sorry for saying you abandoned me.