Weekend Winter Blast, 2014 North Shore Cup, Summerton, South Carolina

While I had planned on driving down to Summerton, South Carolina for the North Shore Cup Race sponsored by Elite Ocean Sports with Chris Chappell and our wives earlier this fall, we decided that drive was too long! So I put going to the race behind me until the Wednesday night before the race. I was a little bored and thought maybe I should fly down. I needed one more race to cap of the racing season before March of 2015 when our New England racing season gets going again with the Snow Row. I did a quick two minute search for flights and map quested the driving distance from Columbia to Summerton or Charleston to Summerton. Flying into Columbia seemed a bit shorter with less hassle. I then emailed Mark and Mark of Elite Ocean Sports to make sure they had room for me along with ski and paddle to use since I wanted to travel light.

Looking out the window as the plane landed in Columbia reminded me of Mississippi, my home state. That is the same Mississippi as in Mississippi State Bulldogs, #1 ranked team in the nation at least until Alabama rolled over them. Driving from the airport to Summerton on route 301 could have easily been a road in Mississippi: cotton fields, a country store that needed a rehab, a 1950’s rusted car suspended on a car ramp twenty yards into the air, a chicken farm sandwiched in between cotton and peanut fields. I even saw a three legged dog! Good stuff. Reminded me of home. Mark/Nicci Smith and Mark/Shannon Mckenzie and their families made me feel right at home with the same Southern hospitality Mississippi is known for.

Mark Smith and his daughter Taylor

As I crossed over the Santee Bridge on I-95 bridge, I could then see the expansiveness of the the water I would be racing on the next day. I also would be paddling under this very same bridge as it marked the 8.5 mile marker of the 11.5 mile course. Lake Marion, a massive lake, that could be mistaken for a small bay if you did not know any better. It is the largest lake in South Carolina referred to as South Carolina’s inland sea. It has a 315-mile (507 km) shoreline and covers nearly 110,000 acres, 173.7 square miles(copied from Wikipedia). I would be staying at the North Shore Condos as guest of Mark and Mark. The condo set up was perfect: 50 yards from the beach, spacious bedrooms, and a huge open floor plan to entertain, and the food was superlative. My favorite was the grilled porkloin by grill master Mark Smith and the Starbucks coffee.

Bridge in background for 8 mile mark

I arrived around 3pm, greeted by both Marks. I quickly stored my gear, changed to my mid winter paddling gear since a winter cold front was keeping the temps 28-40 degrees vice the normal fall temps of South Carolina. So I felt right at home again since I paddle year around in Rhode Island in these temps.With the boats were lined up outside the condo ready for action, Mark pointed out Vadim’s Uno Max for me and off we went. A few paddlers were already on the water:Vadim, Jesse, Holm, Pam, Ted Burnell and others making sure their skis were set up for tomorrow’s race. I ended up paddling four miles easy on Friday.

Nice Selection of boats.

Jesse and Mark McKenzie catching a ride Friday evening.

After a short four mile paddle, I was ready to try the Ion Ultimate since I recently did a review of the Ion Elite and will be adding my thoughts on the Ion Ultimate. So I hopped in it for a few minutes and yes, a few pounds makes a difference in a ski especially for flat water paddling. Mark M. was not going to race since he and Mark S. had too much to do, organizing the event and making sure everyone was taken care of. It is very tough to organize an event and race it. So Mark M. offered up his new Ion Ultimate if I wanted to race it. This is one of the reasons I was so looking forward to this weekend: I would have the opportunity to paddle the new Ion, possibly even race my new Evo II Ultimate that was sitting on a trailer in the condo parking lot. I would also be able to hang out a few days with both Marks and I knew Vadim(photographer/paddler/father), Jesse(top paddler/son), and Holm(paddler/coach) were coming. Years ago, Mark Ceconi, Tim Dwyer, and I, benefited from a two day training session with Holm. It happened that Reid and Jason Q. were also there as Holm was coaching them for USA team trials. Jessie must have been about twelve at that time. My time flies. Later that night KAS transport driver Albert dropped by to pick up my Evo II to take back to Rhode Island so Mark invited him in for nourishment for the long drive back east.

Mark S, Albert(KAS Transport), Mark M.

Jesse and Holm pre race.

Along with Jesse, a top K1 paddler from New Jersey, Chris Hipgrave, Eric Mims, and Andy McMarlin,all top regional paddlers, had also signed up for race with overall prizes of : 1st- $500, 2nd- $300, 3rd- $200, 4th- $100, 5th- $50. Reid Hyle(FL) make the trek up hoping to win top honors and the Think Hot Spot. Additionally the first place woman takes home $200. Think sponsored hotspot sprint at the 4 mile mark worth $300 while Elite Ocean Sports provided the prize money. There was also a 4 mile race for those wanting to race a shorter distance. Multi talented paddler, Pam Boetler from Washington DC, also made the trip down getting more surfski experience at every race. Pam completed the Na Wahine O Ke Kaia, 41 mile,outrigger canoe ocean race(OC6) from Hale O Lono, Molokai, Hawaii, across the Kaiwi Channel, this summer with her teammates. This race is the most prestigious long distance open water outrigger canoe race for women in the world.

Pam and Vadim day of race

So the top end of the field was set. The second pack which I hoped to been in, was a mystery to me except Holm. Not having raced against any of the local paddlers, I was not sure how I would fare. My goal was to first have a great time, and second, do as well as I could having only a one day taper from my training schedule. The course was laid out perfectly for me by Mark S. in essence a triangle with a 4 mile leg, a long leg across Lake Marion toward one end of the Santee Bridge and then you pick you way through an opening between the bridge pilings of the current bridge and the obsolete bridge. The bridge leg to my surprise was shallow with only two feet of water for a mile, then we turned for the home stretch in more shallow water close to the shore. While the course was easy to contend with, the weather for some was not. I was delighted it was cold (30 degrees at start). I am no stranger to cold weather in Newport, Rhode Island. We are in our drysuits from November until April complete with pogies, hats, and mukluks and more stable skis. I suited up with my Vaikobi pants and thermal top with my light weight winter gloves. Others were not so sure what to wear and some unfortunately took a swim or two and were freezing!

Vadim taking pictures with some heavy duty gear.

The first pack of Reid, Jesse, Chris, Eric and Andy took off like fast paddlers they are. Reid nipped Jesse by less than a half of boat length to take the Think Hot Spot. Reid went on to win the race while Jesse placed second on a fast closing Chris. A beaming Eric with a new 6 month old, told me training has taken a back seat to the new family demands. I am on the on the opposite end of the spectrum with a 26 year old son. When my son Tyler was about the same age, I remember my wife Betsy telling me my exercise schedule was going to be paired down as well. Welcome to parenthood!

The second pack consisted of Holm, Justin, Laurens and myself trying to figure out group dynamics. After a couple of miles, we dropped Justin, and Holm and I were taking turns pulling. Laurens was riding wash looking too smooth. Holm to his credit was paddling at a conservative pace making sure he would not blow up in the 11.54 mile race. While the distance was no problem for me, I was wondering at what pace I could hold. My heart rate was where I wanted it to be. With Holm settling in at mile 3, he looked back and decided we needed to drop Laurens if he was not going to pull. So Holm put in short interval with me on his side wash. I was thankful that Holm paused for a stroke to insure I was able to stay with him. Thank you very much. We put a couple of boat lengths on Laurens as we approached the 4 mile buoy turn. The wind lined up perfectly for this long leg. I was delighted to have some tiny bumps to catch and this broke up the race nicely. Holm and I took an outside line while Laurens took a more conservative line. Holm at this point, increased his lead on me. Every time I would look over at Holm, he was looking ultra smooth like a metronome. I kept saying to myself “why can’t my stroke look like that”? We both put more of a gap on Laurens in the downwind section. I followed Holm’s line through the bridges and lost contact with Laurens. I mentioned the shallow water earlier because this is where I slowed and Holm got faster. The last mile Holm increased his margin while Laurens was closing fast. He said later, he was gaining on me every time I looked over my shoulder. It was not until the last 50 yards when I heard Mark M. shouting, that I realize Laurens was only seconds behind me as we crossed the finish line.

My GPS Data:

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/634843725

Laurens(8th), Holm(6th), Wesley(7th) at finish.

After everyone finished up, we gathered in the Club house for the awards ceremony and to eat. The awards were presented by Chris Williams, the founder of the North Shore Cup Race. Later that afternoon, we helped load boats, and then settled in to watch some MSU/Alabama football. The next morning I took an early flight back and was home watching 1pm Sunday NFL football reflecting back on what a great weekend I had. Mark and Mark with help from Shannon and Nikki, put on a great race. The venue was great with the condos and the club house only 50 yards away. The food that Friday night was awesome with grilled chicken and pork tenderloin. Mark Smith can add grill master to his impressive resume of pharmacist, cotton farmer, pilot, weightlifter(former), paddler, and race director. I also found out the Shannon McKenzie is from Harlan County,Kentucky which is where the FX television series Justified based on Elmore Leonard‘s Raylan Givens novels is set. Shannon assured me that many of the stories are based on real characters within Harlan County. The only thing I will change for next year is that I will fly into Charleston and spend a few days there since I heard so many wonderful things about it. Winter’s Blast or Summer Blast, it is all good in Summerton, South Carolina on Lake Marion! See you next year!

Results: click on North Shore Cup with Calendar for results and race info.

https://surfskiracing.org/surfskiamerica/

More Pictures.

https://plus.google.com/photos/111670948231605580163/albums/6082360714399588657