Last distance race for this month - thank goodness, because this was a doozy of a race to get through. I'm going to need some time to recover - it was a sufferfest! The Gorge Distance Race was another race down on the Columbia River - starting line located in Stevenson, WA - a 2-lap course for a total of approximately 10 miles. Last month, we were further out west at Rooster Rock for our last distance race which I thoroughly enjoyed. But, compared to this race, those conditions were downright placid and tame.
For this race, we faced wind gusts up to 35+ mph and swells at about 3 feet....these swells were spaced so close and just constantly pounded us as we battled upwind. I swear, no matter how hard we dug in to grab water and pull, we felt like we were going nowhere (if, not backwards!). Downwind wasn't much better - we had to keep up the pace in order to try and not only catch a wave, but to keep us moving through those lulls in between waves so we weren't dead in the water. Yeah, it was rough and one of the most grueling things (physically and mentally) I've ever done - both upwind and the downwind.
Sabine, as always, did an excellent job steering and keeping our boat in line preventing us from a huli (flipping over and capsizing). We had a lot of close calls though - I admit my strokes on my right were very tentative as I kept my eye on the ama. When it would catch air, I would shift my weight to my left cheek to help keep the ama down but at the same time, reach out on my right side to maintain my stroke. I tried to make up on my left side where I was leaning into the ama side. We saw 3 hulies and I'm sure there were more. Other boats were constantly bailing b/c their spray skirt wasn't keeping out all the water. Crazy, insane conditions!! On top of that, there was a sailing regatta to contend with, along with the wind and kitesurfers. We collided with one of the sailboats (dumb-ass didn't see us until it was too late), and had quite a few close calls with the wind and kite surfers. I tried not to pay attention to it, but there were a lot of distractions during the race, for sure.
So, we survived....and, yes, it's a race I want to do again! We finished in the middle (6 out of 13) with the top 3 teams from Jericho and False Creek, BC - some of the top teams out there! So, overall, we were pleased - we finished, we didn't huli, and we gave it our all. Our final time was 2:06 - the winning boat came in at 1:51. We ate and drank well after the race!!Our men's boat didn't fare as well and DNF due to a huli after the first turn. They paddled right after us and the conditions were howling. I felt so bad for Rob, Mike, and Paul and the disappointment on their faces were obvious. But, most important, everyone is safe and they sacrified enough items to keep the river goddess at bay (sunglasses, gel seat, wood paddle, and a couple of pairs of slippers). Thanks to the 2 guys from Canada for filling in the last seats of the men's boat.
Time for a rest - but, looking forward to some leisurely paddles this week, though, I have a feeling that Sabine is going to want us to start practicing change-outs. Well, at least the weather outlook is HOT so it will be nice to jump into the water. Imua Seattle Outrigger!
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