Happy as a Clam (or Oyster) at the 2010 L2L – by Mark Ceconi

‘With one deft stroke, the blade’s leading edge cleft a half moon shaped fissure along the slate gray trough; the smell of salt sea acrid in our nostrils, a trail of racers strung stern to bow in a ragtag line, breathing heavily, eyes focused hungrily on the prize…And this my friends, was merely the scene at the raw bar…’

September 18, 2010, Westport, CT…the umpteenth running of the Lighthouse to Lighthouse Race, or ‘L2L’ to those savvy to the lingo, renowned not only for its scenic 14 or 7 mile courses (Feels like Maine!) past the Norwalk Islands and three (Count ‘em, three!) lighthouses, but as much for the infamous Lysobey corn seafood chowder and beach barbeque, replete with the aforementioned raw bar… All profits benefit Soundkeeper, a 501c3 non-profit group whose mission is to protect the ecology of the Long Island Sound community, and promote the Sound as a viable recreation area. (http://soundkeeper.org/). The man himself, Wayne (I paddle backwards.) Lysobey, along with Ms. Kayak-adventure.com, Michele Sorenson, Gary (Senor Team Achilles) Williams and a host of other friendly, smiling volunteers once again conjured up one of the ‘bestest’ races on the East coast. The competition was there, the weather forecast promised a cloudy start breaking to afternoon sun to follow, and the stage was set.

To mix things up a bit, the NOAA Marine forecast, predicting benign conditions of ‘seas 1 ft. or less’ was thrown a curve ball. The remnants of tropical storm Igor delivered beam rollers down the coast, making conditions a bit intent for flatwater types, or those anticipating a Saturday walk in the park. On the trip out, parallel wavesets made for some sweet surfing runs, and on the way back…well, let’s just say some folks went for a few unexpected dips in the still warm waters of Long Island Sound.

Some heavy hitters lined up from the northeast coast surfski/kayak racing world: Joe ‘Glicker’ Glickman, the other fast ‘Joe,’ Joe Shaw, Craig ‘The Hammer’ Impens, battling back from injury, Holm ‘I will break you,’ Schmidt, member of the 1988 East German Olympic team and wife, Melissa. Rounding out this field fresh off his San Francisco Surfski Champs run was Timo Dwyer, Mike ‘The Rougher the Better’ Tracy, Rowan ‘Walks Softly But Carries a Big Stick’ Sampson, Wesley ‘Mr. Surfskiracing.com’ Echols, and a host of other strong runners. My buds Jim ‘Look How Large and Graceful I Am’ Hoffman, Stevie ‘No Pain Threshold’ Delgaudio, Tom’ The Statistician’ Kerr, and Sean ‘It Was Good While It Lasted, But I’m Flying Solo Now, Mark’ Milano, and Chris ‘Chappy’ Chappell were all in attendance. One friendly face after another-Bob’ the Capster’ Capellini, Cliff ‘V Bar’ Roach, ‘Jersey’ Joe Irvin, Ray ‘Planet Z’ Zukowski, Dave ‘The Hat’ Grainger… it was a beach version of friends of Facebook, or maybe a grade b Mafia flick, replete with goofy nicknames. Team Achilles was in attendance-with Joe Traum and dad, Dick, piloting a tandem, Phil Warner and Ricardo, Robin Francis and Gary… the list stretched on. I was looking forward to doing the 14 with another pal, Mike ‘Okay, I May Be Bruce Willis’ Parkinson, in the infamous Fenn Mako XT double (aka’ The Watermelon’). Snapping photos was Vadim Lischuk, a man who may own more boats than Wesley himself.

Rowan Sampson – 1st Place Surfski
Photo by Vadim Lishchuk

At race start, bad luck abounded. Glicker sheared his rudder off on the rocky outcropping of the sea wall literally a minute before the start and was forced to scratch. Mike and I also felt the heavy hand of disappointment, and made it as far as Cockenoe Island before turning back… Thankfully, Mike had the foresight to throw his V10 Sport up on his roof rack that morning, and I was able to leap in without adjusting anything and chase the 7 mile race leaders, who had started 6 minutes before me, battling back to a second place after Jesse ‘Boy Wonder’ Lischuk. Treating the distance like an extended (painful) sprint, I was having fun, cheering for all I was able to pass. At one point, I was reeling in a sea kayak at a measured stroke rate, agonizingly slowly. In a sudden fit of brain dead clarity, I suddenly realized; ‘You idiot, you’re in a surfski!’ With this dawning epiphany, with a few sudden bursts, I jumped on three quick runs, closing the gap and shooting by. After that, it was run after run to the big orange turn buoy. Approaching an SUP competitor showing the waves what for, he shouted out, laughingly: “Hey man! Don’t be sneaking up on me like that!” I’d spot him again after my spin around the buoy, into the wind with swell from the starboard side for the return leg: “Hey bro’! Enjoy those runs while you can, ‘cause it ain’t THAT much fun this direction!”

Craig Impens – 2nd Place Surfski
Photo by Vadim Lishchuk

In the meantime, in the 14 miler, a dogfight ensued… The front runners chose their lines, some gambling a course farther out to sea to pick up runs to be had against the strong hand of a tighter line into the islands to avoid the current. Small rides out, but beam swell back, upset the rhythm of many competitors. I happened upon two paddlers in the water on the return leg, being aided by other competitors. Stopping to make sure all was copacetic, I continued on, only after spying a chase boat speeding to their assistance. The last bit between the lighthouse and Cockenoe added in some confused chop, and the final thrust to the finish buoys off Compo Beach required attention. It was just jobbly enough to make things interesting.

Tim Dwyer – 3rd Place Surfski
Photo by Vadim Lishchuk

In the surfski division, Rowan brought home the hardware with a solid race, milking every little runner for its worth. Breathing down his neck was Craig Impens, and rounding out the top three podium was Timo Dwyer. Others aforementioned had good races as well, notably Hoff, who ran with the big dogs for much of the race. Full results can be found at: http://kayak-adventure.net/L2L_Race_Results.htm

Joe Shaw – 4th, Mike Tracy – 5th, Wesley Echols – 6th, Surfski
Photo by Vadim Lishchuk

The barbeque, as promised, was a tremendous hit. The burgers and dogs were sizzlin’ on the grill, and cups o’ ‘chowdahs’ were generously ladled. The raw bar never dwindled, resembling a Grand Slam Jackpot Powerball line at a Quickee Mart. Fast Eddie the clam and oyster guy’s mitts were a calloused blur as mollusk after mollusk was manhandled. Heaven does exist, and it comes on the half shell, served with a squeeze of lemon and dollop of horseradish. Beverages flowed freely and the masses were happy indeed, satiated at long last and basking like lizards in the promised sunshine. Wayne awarded the medals and Wesley leapt up to announce the surfskiracing.com points series winner, Tim Dwyer, bestowing upon him a shiny new wing paddle donated by Stellar Kayaks. This Lysobey guy puts on a good race. Danke, Wayne, for hosting, and a hearty thank you as well to all the volunteers who assisted. Happy as a clam, I cannot wait for next year.

~Mark