Category: Kayaking

A long one

In a probably futile attempt to get ready for the Long Lake kayak race, today I decided to duck out of work early and do a longer paddle. I wanted something not as fraught with power boats and wakes as Irondequoit Bay, and not as shallow and draggy as Irondequoit Creek. And the solution I came up with was the Genesee River.

I started at the Genesee Waterways Center, which is a boat house for rowing crews as well as a boat launch, and headed upstream. I don’t know why, but I started pooping out really early, but by alternating paddling and resting and paddling again, I managed to do 6 miles in 1:27. In spite of the fact that I was going upstream and into the wind, it actually took me 44 minutes to go up, and 43 minutes to come back. On the way up, first a single rower passed me by and continued upstream, but on the way back the river was full of 8s, coxed 4s, dual sculls, and motor boats with coaches. It’s too bad I was so bagged, I would have liked to hold my own in the level of effort if not the speed with all those boats.

Committed

As in, “I should be”, I think.

I’ve been kicking around the idea of participating in the Long Lake Long Boat Regatta kayak race. It’s a 10 miler (Dan says it’s closer to 9 miles, but I’m not sure I believe him). I was doubtful about doing such a long race, but he said that if I tried 3 times a week between now and then, I could do it. I was torn between trying it this year, or waiting for a year and giving myself time to get used to such a long distance. And there was a Hugger’s Ski Club clambake that same day – Vicki and I were doing that sort of “well, if you want to do A, I don’t mind skipping B” dance, and again I was thinking the clambake would be a good excuse to miss the race this year.

But at the same time, Vicki and I have talked about taking a couple of weekends away at a nice hotel or B&B. And then I discovered that the start line for the regatta is on the beach in front of the “turn of the century” Adirondak Hotel. Suddenly it seemed like things were swinging the way of doing the race – Vicki and I can have a nice weekend away at a nice hotel, and I can have my race, and Sunday Vicki and I can go for a nice leisurely paddle together. And they have a vacancy with the room with the queen sized bed and the private bathroom. SOLD! I just hope they have a hot tub to recover.

I wonder if Frank will let me borrow the Looksha?

Long Slow Distance training

Today was quite a departure for me. Normally I avoid paddling on the bay like the plague, both because of the waves and because of the power boaters. But there is a race coming up in a few weeks that’s the culmination of the kayak racing season, and it’s nearly 10 miles up and down “Long Lake”. So I figured I needed to do more distance, and I also needed some experience on lakes. I thought I’d try paddling up to the Bay Bridge and back, since Dan says that’s 5 miles. (It turns out that Google Maps Pedometer shows it being more like 5.3 miles.)
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Kayak Construction: Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck

Today I did the part I’ve been dreading, glassing the inside of the hull. And for all the dread and worry, it ended up being about 18 times worse than my worst fears. The glass ended up bumpy and full of bubbles. It also went majorly wrong in the ends, where the glass cloth ended up bunched up and impossible to epoxy down. Fortunately the end parts are going to be filled with epoxy, so that’s not so bad. And most of the big bubbles are going to be in parts of the boat that nobody will see, but some of them are in the cockpit where I’ll see it every time I sit down.

I’m hoping and praying that I’ll be able to cut down and fill some of the worst of the bubbles.