Capital Waterways Challenge

Saturday I raced in the Mitch Madruga Memorial Capital Waterways Challenge put on by the Washington Canoe Club. Turns out challenge was the right word.

Unlike last year the weather was great with cold drizzle replaced by dazzling sunshine and light breezes. Well at least that was what it was according to one forecast. Problem was there were three or four different wind forecasts for the day ranging from light and variable to 20 knots. The 20 knots was probably the most accurate.

This race was more or less on my home waters and I didn’t think twice about which boat to bring. I loaded the T-bolt up onto Dave’s car next to his Outer Island. Dave was going to be my shuttle bunny – dropping me at Bladensburg before going back to Jack’s to practice his Greenland rolls and wait to take pictures of the race’s final 100 yards. We swung by Jack’s in the morning looking for Todd who we thought might need a ride. We didn’t find him but did run into Stephen and shuttled him over to Bladensburg while his boat got a ride on the WCC trailer.

We got to Bladensburg and I started to get the T-bolt race ready. For me this means putting in the float bags, taping down my seat, fixing the GPS. While I was getting ready, David Shames was there checking out the T-bolt right down to getting out his tape measure and digital camera. He’s been playing with the outfitting on his wave excel and had some great ideas about thigh braces … boy was I wishing I had those a little bit later in the race.

Following the racers meeting, we all took off in one mass start. That meant about 20 canoes, 7 kayaks, and a couple of sprint boats. The canoes really throw a lot of wake and created some chop but nothing that gave me any worries and I soon settled down into my pace. But there was something amiss. My pace was only about 5.4 mph. It should have been much closer to or over 6 mph at that point. Headwinds from mile one. Great! Being a light paddler in a light boat in a headwind is no fun at all. I felt like I was being blown backward as fast as I could paddle forward. Pretty soon the main pack was receding into the distance and, as usual, I was paddling alone.

With each mile the river got wider and the winds grew in strength. I just kept hoping that they would lighten up or at least that I would turn a corner and have a brief respite with a tail wind. You know the saying, be careful what you wish for …

By the time I neared the mouth of the Anacostia the winds were really blowing, flags fully extended from the masts and waves building. I concentrated on the task at hand. There is a marina at the point of the Washington Channel and someone was on the pier signaling that people were taking out. Well, since it was so windy I couldn’t hear most of what he said. So I yelled back “why?” and the response I got was they were open canoes and taking on water.

I was in a kayak, albeit a racing one with an 18” beam, with a sprayskirt and in waters I had paddled countless times. Smart or not, I never considered taking out. I just kept going. As I crossed the channel I saw a kayaker in a gorgeous wood boat. I knew he wasn’t racing. I would have remembered the boat so I yelled across asking “is the Potomac this bad” his response was that it was “worse”. I quickly downgraded my race goals to staying upright and never looked at the GPS again.

As I got nearer Haines Point (or Heinous point as everyone calls it now) the WCC skiff came by. They said it was rough out there, to stay away from the wall (can you say clapotis), and that they would make sure I made it around OK. I was grateful for that. I asked if they could see any kayakers behind me but they said there were none. Too bad I would have stopped to wait for company if I had the option. But with no help in sight I just kept paddling.

I rounded the point and finally, for the first time all day, had a tailwind. Of course it was accompanied by 2+ foot waves coming mostly from the stern but switching around a bit also. I started to miss my headwind and was seriously wondering why I wasn’t in my Silhouette as these were the types of conditions I go out looking for in that boat. I slowly braced/paddled/back-paddled my way forward. The t-bolt was a little squirrelly and I kept repeating the mantra “loose hips save ships” and thinking about those thigh braces David S. had talked about earlier. The boat actually preformed very well and wanted to surf down the waves. Too bad I wasn’t relaxed enough to let it!

After making my way about one third of the way up to the 14^th street bridge I could see an outrigger canoe helping a tandem sprint boat. Turns out the K2 paddlers didn’t have sprayskirts on and took on a lot of water coming down a wave. They swamped and soon were swimming. It was quite a sight to see them climbing up the vertical wall of Haines Point and pulling the K2 up behind them! I reached them just as they finished and asked the outrigger guy if he was going on. He said yes so I suggested we stick together.

His name was Eric and he is from Philly where he coaches a youth Dragon Boat team. Eric is a very good sport. I proceeded to give him the grand tour of DC. “On your left is the Pentagon and that spire thing is the new airforce memorial, on your right is the tidal basin, Lincoln Memorial etc. I just kept talking because it made me forget the waves. Now Eric probably knew all the DC monuments already but he humored me and just let me talk. I happily imparted my local knowledge i.e. after the 14^th Street Bridge it should calm down a little and once we hit Memorial we are home free!

True to form the river lay down after Memorial and as we turned the corner for the final leg to the WCC that headwind struck again. I was glad to have it back. I saw Dave waiting on the dock’s at Jack’s with camera in hand. As he snapped pictures and cheered, I didn’t even try to sprint. It didn’t mater. I had stayed upright and that was the goal.

I crossed the finish line at the WCC and then turned back to Jack’s to take out. Dave said I was the first kayak he had seen come in but that didn’t seem right to me. Stephen at the very least was ahead of me. Well turns out that was not the case and so this may very well be the first, and last race in which I can truthfully say I was the first kayak across the line. Not the first woman, not the first touring boat, not the first in my age group. Nope just the first kayak. Crazy!

We all came home with a few stories to share. Stephen's and Chris B’s are particularly good.

Changing Seasons ...

The mornings are getting chilly and I saw my first yellowing Maple along the Potomac Saturday. Fall is in the air. For Dave and I that means our teaching seasons are winding down. But hardly does that mean putting up the boats for the winter. On the contrary our paddling season is just beginning – at least the part where we paddle for fun and not profit!

To celebrate, Dave and I went paddling on Sunday. Marshall suggested a trip out to Thomas Point Light and that sounded grand to us. We arrived at Gallesville to find almost every parking spot filled with kayakers. Woody and Anne had already launched for their own trip. Todd, Kingsley, and Page were there and loading gear into their boats. Frank arrived shortly after us. Marshall unfortunately ended up having other plans that morning but promised to hail us on our VHFs when he got arrived around noon.

As we got ready to launch, the piles of gear beside the boats grew. Since paddling to Thomas Point Light requires several miles of open water more gear got stuffed into the boats than usual. Pumps, floats, tow belts, radios, spare clothes, extra paddles, snacks, water, charts, compasses, cameras – at least no one could say we weren’t prepared!

We got on the water around 10:00 am and it was glorious. A perfect day on the bay – as long as you are not looking for surf! Clear, sunny, light winds and near flat conditions. We paddled out from the marina selecting our favorite sail boats along the way. There were some beauties out. We stayed to the left of the channel and paddled near the shore up as far as the South River, from there we made a bee-line out to the light. Once in the deeper water, the swells began to pick up a little and the occasional power boat generated some bigger waves for variety.

With the wind behind us and the tide rising we made good time out to the light. As we approached the light classical music filled the air and we saw several people standing around the railing. We snapped pictures of them and the lighthouse while they snapped pictures of us. They evidently had stayed there for a day or so doing repairs and cleaning on the structure and were now waiting to be picked up. One of the guys had us all group up and took a photo. He promised to send it via email so check back for the pic.

We’d now been on the water for over 2 hours and lunch started to sound appealing so we headed back to a beach we passed a bit earlier. About half way across the South River we heard Marshall calling on his VHF, we called back with our location and info, and after several tries we finally made contact. He caught up with us on the beach while we ate lunch, basked in the sun and generally enjoyed the day.

After lunch we waffled on whether to extend our paddle up into the Rhode River but with sore muscles and a pile of laundry to get done at home we all turned in. No worries though, I've got many more fun paddles planned in the coming weeks. I love October!