So Many Races in August!! Nahant Race, One of Many and a local Favorite!

Today, here in New England there were three races within New England. The 3rd Nahant Race was in Swampscott, Massachusetts right outside of Boston of which there were 15 paddlers. There was the New England Flatwater Championships in New Hampshire and the Milford, CT OC race. So the field of all the races was diluted some, but needless to say it was a great weekend for paddling for all of us on the water today. Most of the New England surfski paddlers participated in the Nahant race which is a 9 mile race hosted by the family of Mike, Carol, and Kate McDonough.

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The course was extended by roughly a mile because of the very flat conditions making it a 9 mile race vice the usual 8. We had Francisco Urena paddling in his first surfski race. Francisco is new to surfskis but with youth on his side(age 29), power(6ft 2in, 215) and fortitude(8 years in the Marines), we know that with more bucket time, Francisco will be leading the pack in years to come. Ben Lawry, kayak coach extraordinaire, was in town doing some clinics, so he was excited to get on the water with us. Most of us have taken a forward stroke or two from Ben over the years and some of us have been fortunate enough to have him coach us. Watching Ben pass us in the 1st mile with a fluid and effortless stroke as you will ever see, was almost worth the trip up.

Tim, Graham, Ben, and myself were out of the gate fast with Ben taking the lead and holding it easily to win in over a minute though the margin would have been greater is Ben had known the course and wanted to get his heart rate over 145. So the race was from my perspective was broken down into two groups, Tim and Graham who paddled within a boat length for the whole race until Tim decided at mile 7 to shake things up after pulling most of the race. Tim edged out Graham by 10 seconds losing a few seconds on the run up to the beach trying to get out of his boat. Tim and I unlike the Beverly Boys are not used to the Lemans style starts and finishes.

The second pack today was made up of Mike Tracy, Kirk Olsen, Jay Appleton, and myself. After I got dropped early on by Tim and Graham, I quickly seized onto the stern wash of Jay at mile 2 and like a dog with a bone, I would not let go. Having been under the weather for a few weeks now, I was glad to hitch a ride with Jay. I told Jay I would have pulled if I could, but it was not going to be today since I was redlining it just to stay with him. I suggested that I would make it up to him in another race. He said he would hold me to it. Meanwhile we were just trying to hold on while Mike Tracy and Kirk Olsen who were slightly behind marking their time until they both made their moves. Mike passed Jay and I at mile 6.5 and maintained a 15 second lead for the next mile or so until he slowly increased it to around 45 seconds by the end. Kirk caught Jay and I just before the last turn buoy so we all three were lined up one behind the other as we headed home for the last mile stretch. Kirk, I noticed had a different hydro pack today since the one last week he was wearing like a hula hoop around his back. We all finished within seconds of each other negotiating the Lemans finish.

Shortly afterwards the remainder of the field came in. It was great to see Bill Stafford on the water after being out a year having 2 shoulder surgeries. The locals Bill Kuklinski, Jim Gilligan, and Mike Chamness enjoyed themselves. Bill is having a very good season in his new ski, while Mike was pleased with his time as I talked to him afterwards. Timmy Shields, another ex-Marine, with a great sense of humor, who seems always to be enjoying himself, was glad to be part of the race today. Leon Granowitz(age 66) was no worse for the wear in his sea kayak, clocking an excellent time. The McLain Family is truly a paddling family with Alex paddling today with her Mother Roberta watching from the sidelines wishing she could be paddling today. A few states south, Rod(father) and son were clocking excellent times in the OC Race today in Milford, CT.

Thanks to Mike, Carol, and Kate(daughter) for hosting another great race. Kate’s artwork awards were a nice touch that we all enjoyed. Also thanks to Barbara Stafford(time keeping)(Bill’s wife) and Bill Bauman(chase boat) for making the race go off and end without a hitch. Hope to see everyone at the Counter Revolution Race in Jamestown, RI on August 28th which will be the last of the August Races but an exceptional one! ~ Wesley