It was a dark and stormy . . . race. The strong N winds whipped, the rain dashed and the currents streamed but the boats just crawled along at just over 6 kts over this twisty, semi-flatwater race of 10 miles. Tom Kerr, Wesley Echols, Chris Chappell and Ken Cooper were in surfskis, Corey Lancaster, Tim Dwyer were in ICF K-1’s and Mark Ceconi was in his EFT fast sea kayak. Razz Bregenhoj, a professional sailor, grew up paddling in Denmark and is on his way to renewing his speed and power in his Nelo Razor.
Corey took an early lead and led most of the way about 2 minutes ahead. The 1st pack, pulled by Wesley, was followed by Ken, Chris, Tom and Tim, who were sticking together like taffy. When Papa Duck Wesley slowed, we all slowed, when he turned, we all turned, and when he stopped to scratch his nose . . . well we all just slowed down. Even in these tough economic times nobody wanted the job of pulling. Given the choppy conditions Wesley had wisely switched out of his ICF Tor to his ski at the last minute and was able to hammer on mile after mile. I trailed at the end of this drafting train trying various wash riding attempts and never quite finding a groove in the erratic chop. I felt like a piglet trying to find an available teat while the rest were feeding mightily on Wesley’s pulling. I was ultimately dropped at mile 5 and labored on my own trying to claw my back into the action. Hearing my kids yelling, “Go, Daddy!” at mile 7 gave a boost to that effort.
With about 3 miles to go, Corey was still in the lead but the pack had splintered, with none other than Wesley pulling a tenacious Ken, with Chris and Tom having fallen back a bit. Corey passed the daymarker turn, perhaps to check out the mighty storm waves at the mouth of the Narrow River, allowing Wesley to round the turn in the lead. In the dash for the finish all had taken various lines, some staying in deeper water, some in shallow water but opting for the shorter distance, all having to ‘choose their poison’ into a stiff headwind and shallow suckwater for the last mile. Wesley still held the lead while being furiously chased by Ken, Tom, Chris, and Tim for a dramatic five way cluster finish. With a supreme effort, Wesley managed to come out on top! He’s off to a great start this season! Mark, a paddler to be reckoned with, had a back injury which limited his participation.
Most improved paddler awards go to Tom Kerr and Chris Chappell who gave impressive efforts and were in the hunt right to the end. ~Tim
