A new boat, a race and the ocean!
Yes I know there are already quite a few trip reports out there from the Broadkill Race this year but we all paddle different races so I thought I’d add my version.
To begin we have to start a week earlier – August 19 and 20, 2006.
As anyone who reads this blog knows, I don’t like my surfski. I’ve been looking for a new boat and really wanted a Thunderbolt but just couldn’t justify the $3,000+. So I’ve been watching the classifieds for the past six months with no luck. When one finally came up I jumped on it. The boat was located in upstate NY about a nine hour drive from home and was in great shape.
To save a little driving time, I made arrangements to meet the seller at a race in Hudson, New York. Dave and I managed to get two days off and made a weekend of it, picking up the boat and exploring some of the Hudson River. After my first two days in the Tbolt I was pretty sure I was in love. My next two paddles, as I refined the outfitting, confirmed it. Love it was and I decided to race it at Broadkill.
To save a little driving time, I made arrangements to meet the seller at a race in Hudson, New York. Dave and I managed to get two days off and made a weekend of it, picking up the boat and exploring some of the Hudson River. After my first two days in the Tbolt I was pretty sure I was in love. My next two paddles, as I refined the outfitting, confirmed it. Love it was and I decided to race it at Broadkill.
The Broadkill River is in Delaware near the shore. My original plan was to camp with Dave at CBF on Friday and then drive out early Saturday for the race. Much better accommodations became available, however, when Chris B. and his wife Pam invited me to stay with them for the weekend in Rehoboth – about ten minutes from the race start location! I could sleep well on Friday night and then Chris and I would race on Saturday and paddle out at Cape Henlopen on Sunday looking for dolphins and big water. Sounded like a rather perfect weekend to me.
I have never paddled the Broadkill before. In fact I have never even seen it on a map. All of my competition had. Susan and Kathy had paddled the race at least a couple of times before and Susan and Susanita did a scouting paddle of the course last week. Friday night I peppered Chris with questions about the course while looking at the very small map in the race guide. His advice – get out early to avoid the bumper boats in the back, stay to the middle on the turns, keep right after the bridge and sprint when I saw the water treatment plant. What other information could I possibly need?
Race Day – August 26, 2006
When Chris and I arrived at Oyster Rocks there were lots of familiar faces. As expected Susan, Susan and Kathy were there. Along with Brian B., Cliff (on whom I blame my Tbolt purchase), Joe W., Jeff L. and the Todd family. In total the race had something like 127 boats. A mix of singles and doubles, canoes and kayaks, racing craft and Tupperware!
After getting organized I carried the Tbolt to the water and got in. Now the Tbolt is more stable than the ski, but to attach the leg straps and put the sprayskirt on I still need to hang on to someone. I glanced about the water for a familiar face but didn’t see anyone so I randomly paddled up to a plastic tub and asked if I could grab on. Of course he said yes and I got situated. That took about two minutes and in those two minutes the tide pushed us about 200 yards up the river! We were definitely going to get a ride on this one. With the start a few minutes off, I circled around and started to paddle back the other direction.
When I turned around I found myself at the back of the pack as it suddenly jumped! Yikes! In the back meant paddling through the chaos of recreational kayaks to get to the front. As I paddled like crazy I saw one of the Todd boys next to me. He shouted “did you hear the start?” and I shouted back “no!”. At least it was comforting to know I wasn’t the only one stuck back here. I paddled past Chris who asked something to the effect of “what are you doing back here?”. There goes my pre-race strategy.
Once through the mess I started to fly. I glanced down at the GPS – 8.3 MPH. Cool but sooo not sustainable! Oh well, I wanted to be in front and would do what it took to get there. Now I know this is all about friendly competition but it is still a race. I was looking for the other women in racing boats. I don’t remember what order it happened in but one by one I passed Susan, Susan and Kathy.
I fell into paddling with two guys – one in a surf ski and one paddling a racing canoe. Up ahead I could see about three other boats and guesstimated that we were probably the third pack. We chatted about boats and the course. It’s nice to be able to paddle and pace yourself with someone in a race but I so rarely get to do it! After about a mile it was clear that their pace was faster than mine so rather than kill myself I let them go.
The course was great. Every now and then we’d pass some people on shore who always cheered me along. Near the half way point I heard Roy Todd yelling “way to go Cyndi” so that was encouraging. About this time I also caught up with the Mako again and we decided to paddle together for company. His name is Brian and he turned out to be a local who knows the river well. He just let me follow him and said “go wide if I do” and “cut any corners I cut” that saved me from having to read about four miles of river!
After mile six our free ride stopped and we had to really paddle. Problem was it was so beautiful that I just kept looking around and checking out the scenery. I’d occasionally glance over my shoulder during a turn to make sure no one was sneaking up on me but with no one in sight, Brian and I had a great paddle. I think my heart rate actually dropped below 170 for the first time in the race. It felt good to back off a little. But it was a race and I started calling out times and miles to Brian as he gauged our progress by the local landmarks. He pointed out a little dock that marked about the two mile mark and told me to go for it but I know I cannot sprint for two miles! When he said one mile to go I turned it back on. The speed on the GPS jumped as I dug in. Around the next turn I saw the water plant that Chris had mentioned and then the finish line came into sight. I powered in with Brian right on my tail!
I paddled around a bit more to cool down and then went to find Joe, Cliff and Brian B. to see how they finished. Joe won the race with an amazing time of 1 hour 16 minutes. He is just so smoking fast. Cliff and Brian also did well finishing third and fourth respectively. We all cheered on everyone as the finished and it wasn’t long before Susan and Susan came racing for the line neck and neck. That was a race in itself!
Awards came next and I got a rather nice trophy plus some cash! With the weather and our energy levels deteriorating, we opted to skip the planned afternoon paddle and to head to the Irish Pub instead. I definitely worked hard during that race because after eating a sandwich and fries at 3pm I was more than ready to dig into Pam’s delicious baked ziti a few hours later!
After getting organized I carried the Tbolt to the water and got in. Now the Tbolt is more stable than the ski, but to attach the leg straps and put the sprayskirt on I still need to hang on to someone. I glanced about the water for a familiar face but didn’t see anyone so I randomly paddled up to a plastic tub and asked if I could grab on. Of course he said yes and I got situated. That took about two minutes and in those two minutes the tide pushed us about 200 yards up the river! We were definitely going to get a ride on this one. With the start a few minutes off, I circled around and started to paddle back the other direction.
When I turned around I found myself at the back of the pack as it suddenly jumped! Yikes! In the back meant paddling through the chaos of recreational kayaks to get to the front. As I paddled like crazy I saw one of the Todd boys next to me. He shouted “did you hear the start?” and I shouted back “no!”. At least it was comforting to know I wasn’t the only one stuck back here. I paddled past Chris who asked something to the effect of “what are you doing back here?”. There goes my pre-race strategy.
Once through the mess I started to fly. I glanced down at the GPS – 8.3 MPH. Cool but sooo not sustainable! Oh well, I wanted to be in front and would do what it took to get there. Now I know this is all about friendly competition but it is still a race. I was looking for the other women in racing boats. I don’t remember what order it happened in but one by one I passed Susan, Susan and Kathy.
I fell into paddling with two guys – one in a surf ski and one paddling a racing canoe. Up ahead I could see about three other boats and guesstimated that we were probably the third pack. We chatted about boats and the course. It’s nice to be able to paddle and pace yourself with someone in a race but I so rarely get to do it! After about a mile it was clear that their pace was faster than mine so rather than kill myself I let them go.
The course was great. Every now and then we’d pass some people on shore who always cheered me along. Near the half way point I heard Roy Todd yelling “way to go Cyndi” so that was encouraging. About this time I also caught up with the Mako again and we decided to paddle together for company. His name is Brian and he turned out to be a local who knows the river well. He just let me follow him and said “go wide if I do” and “cut any corners I cut” that saved me from having to read about four miles of river!
After mile six our free ride stopped and we had to really paddle. Problem was it was so beautiful that I just kept looking around and checking out the scenery. I’d occasionally glance over my shoulder during a turn to make sure no one was sneaking up on me but with no one in sight, Brian and I had a great paddle. I think my heart rate actually dropped below 170 for the first time in the race. It felt good to back off a little. But it was a race and I started calling out times and miles to Brian as he gauged our progress by the local landmarks. He pointed out a little dock that marked about the two mile mark and told me to go for it but I know I cannot sprint for two miles! When he said one mile to go I turned it back on. The speed on the GPS jumped as I dug in. Around the next turn I saw the water plant that Chris had mentioned and then the finish line came into sight. I powered in with Brian right on my tail!
I paddled around a bit more to cool down and then went to find Joe, Cliff and Brian B. to see how they finished. Joe won the race with an amazing time of 1 hour 16 minutes. He is just so smoking fast. Cliff and Brian also did well finishing third and fourth respectively. We all cheered on everyone as the finished and it wasn’t long before Susan and Susan came racing for the line neck and neck. That was a race in itself!
Awards came next and I got a rather nice trophy plus some cash! With the weather and our energy levels deteriorating, we opted to skip the planned afternoon paddle and to head to the Irish Pub instead. I definitely worked hard during that race because after eating a sandwich and fries at 3pm I was more than ready to dig into Pam’s delicious baked ziti a few hours later!
Play time and a lesson – August 27, 2006
Sunday morning I awoke, a little on the sore side. I can rotate better in the Tbolt than in the ski and I was feeling it this morning. While Chris was out grabbing some sinfully sweet pastries for breakfast I tried to stretch the kinks out of my body.
The forecast for the day was great – at least if what you want is water with “texture”. Small craft advisory, winds from the SW at 10-15 knots, chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
We launched from Cape Henlopen just before 9am. Our goal was dolphins. I learned the day before that August and September are dolphin “frisky time” and I was hoping to see some. It was a bit hard to tell what the sea state really was like from there as the area is protected by two long breakers and also a point that blocks most of the wind.
The forecast for the day was great – at least if what you want is water with “texture”. Small craft advisory, winds from the SW at 10-15 knots, chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
We launched from Cape Henlopen just before 9am. Our goal was dolphins. I learned the day before that August and September are dolphin “frisky time” and I was hoping to see some. It was a bit hard to tell what the sea state really was like from there as the area is protected by two long breakers and also a point that blocks most of the wind.
We paddled past the first lighthouse and out around the point. Pretty quickly we found ourselves in confused waters on the tip of the point. One to two foot waves bounced and broke around us as we continued to slog our way forward. In a few minutes the confused seas were replaced by regular swells of three to four feet – they were definitely over our heads height wise. I was so intent on enjoying the elevator rides that I didn't mind not seeing any dolphins! We paddled south down the beach scouting for fins but each peak in the water was just another wave. The tour boats in the distance weren't looking like they found anything either so we headed back in. We sat at the point for awhile where they like to play and still had no luck. Maybe the dolphins would be in the calmer water.
We could hear the waves crashing on the outer break and I wanted to see what that looked like so we headed back out to the second lighthouse. We stopped for a few pictures before turning around. On our way back Chris found a little green tug boat toy that he picked up and put on the deck. We had no idea at the time how appropriate this would be!
Seemed all day, no matter which way we turned, we were fighting a head wind. Paddling back past the fishing pier was another long slog. I had seen a couple of rec boats throughout the morning close to shore and that seemed like a good place for them. However as we passed the pier I noticed one kid in a blue Swifty who seemed fine but rather far out. I remarked to Chris, “Gosh, these kids this far out and with this wind make me nervous. We’re working hard to get in and I just don’t know if they could do it.”
We beached and decided to single carry our boats back to the cars (a good thing in retrospect). Leaving Chris’s boat at the beach, we carried mine up and dropped all the gear. We returned to the beach to get the second boat and started to dunk it when a couple of parents ran over to us and asked if we could paddle out to where their 5 kids had drifted on a raft and “tell them to come back”. We scanned the horizon and sure enough out there near the first jetty was a little yellow dot that did not seem to be getting closer. To make matters worse the sky to our north was darkening and the winds were increasing. It didn’t seem like telling them to come back was going to help at that point. I didn’t think they could paddle back.
Chris, being the super nice guy that he is, said that he would go get them. He ran back to the car, collected PFD, radio and towbelt, and downed a bottle of water. Remember we were already tired and had been out paddling for three plus hours! Off he went, the parents meanwhile had also alerted the park rangers who called the Lewes fire and rescue. Within minutes I heard the sirens. I watched Chris’s progress through the ranger’s binoculars. He was getting there. Finally he hooked in. It was slow going but bit by bit they were making headway back toward shore.
When Chris neared, I waded out to pull him in and unclip the tow line. Just then the fire boat can whizzing up and a Delaware helicopter buzzed over head. They were out in force but just a little slower the rescue kayaker! As the parents started grabbing the kids and the Park Police headed over Chris and I made a hasty retreat with his boat.
The take away points – the next time I say “gee, this makes me nervous” I think I’ll just go talk to those people and make sure they are OK. Things would have been much less work if Chris and I had both been in our boats and could have done a v-tow or an in-line tow. Point two – it sure is nice to have all our gear. Even though the likelihood of either Chris or I needing a tow was very low we had our belts. You just never know what situation will arise.
That tug boat was still sitting on Chris’s front deck when he got home. I think he earned a few extra karma points today!
We could hear the waves crashing on the outer break and I wanted to see what that looked like so we headed back out to the second lighthouse. We stopped for a few pictures before turning around. On our way back Chris found a little green tug boat toy that he picked up and put on the deck. We had no idea at the time how appropriate this would be!
Seemed all day, no matter which way we turned, we were fighting a head wind. Paddling back past the fishing pier was another long slog. I had seen a couple of rec boats throughout the morning close to shore and that seemed like a good place for them. However as we passed the pier I noticed one kid in a blue Swifty who seemed fine but rather far out. I remarked to Chris, “Gosh, these kids this far out and with this wind make me nervous. We’re working hard to get in and I just don’t know if they could do it.”
We beached and decided to single carry our boats back to the cars (a good thing in retrospect). Leaving Chris’s boat at the beach, we carried mine up and dropped all the gear. We returned to the beach to get the second boat and started to dunk it when a couple of parents ran over to us and asked if we could paddle out to where their 5 kids had drifted on a raft and “tell them to come back”. We scanned the horizon and sure enough out there near the first jetty was a little yellow dot that did not seem to be getting closer. To make matters worse the sky to our north was darkening and the winds were increasing. It didn’t seem like telling them to come back was going to help at that point. I didn’t think they could paddle back.
Chris, being the super nice guy that he is, said that he would go get them. He ran back to the car, collected PFD, radio and towbelt, and downed a bottle of water. Remember we were already tired and had been out paddling for three plus hours! Off he went, the parents meanwhile had also alerted the park rangers who called the Lewes fire and rescue. Within minutes I heard the sirens. I watched Chris’s progress through the ranger’s binoculars. He was getting there. Finally he hooked in. It was slow going but bit by bit they were making headway back toward shore.
When Chris neared, I waded out to pull him in and unclip the tow line. Just then the fire boat can whizzing up and a Delaware helicopter buzzed over head. They were out in force but just a little slower the rescue kayaker! As the parents started grabbing the kids and the Park Police headed over Chris and I made a hasty retreat with his boat.
The take away points – the next time I say “gee, this makes me nervous” I think I’ll just go talk to those people and make sure they are OK. Things would have been much less work if Chris and I had both been in our boats and could have done a v-tow or an in-line tow. Point two – it sure is nice to have all our gear. Even though the likelihood of either Chris or I needing a tow was very low we had our belts. You just never know what situation will arise.
That tug boat was still sitting on Chris’s front deck when he got home. I think he earned a few extra karma points today!
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