Fickleness seems to be a trademark of the Wabash River; sometimes it’s running fast and high, sometimes low and a little slower. Usually there are low points that need to be negotiated to avoid grounding out, or at least to avoid suck water. Just a few years ago we were walking out to the middle of the river channel trying to find enough running water to have a race. Not an issue this year – the Wabash was at flood stage and running fast, complete with all the eddies, boils, and currents one could wish! With the upstream bridge under construction and passage narrowed to one segment of the span, water velocities were such that getting through the channel was questionable at best. Terry wisely opted to change the course and send everyone downstream from the start at Mascouten Park. Morning paddlers were treated to a round-trip course, heading downstream to the island at Shamrock Park and returning after looping the island. The course was relatively short at roughly 4 miles, but all the reports say it was brutal; while downriver speeds were awe-inspiring, the return trip found paddlers fighting to control their boats in the aforementioned eddies, boils, and currents with marginal success. Paddles diving into eddies sometimes felt like they just went into thin air; Brent Ernsberger reportedly found his downriver kayak swept across several segments of one bridge before he could get the upper hand and get through the bridge. Boats were kicked around enough that stability was the name of the game. And the water kept rising…
The morning’s 10.5’ level turned into 13.8’ for the afternoon races. At this point Terry made a strategic move and decided to change the afternoon races to a straight down-river run of about 6 miles ending at the Fort. Other than the slight hassle of a car shuttle, this change of course made for a sweet race in the afternoon. My average speed was darn close to 10 mph – and that with a sore shoulder! Speaking of which, it’s funny how things sometimes happen… Having spent weeks in physical therapy getting my shoulder back in shape, I was feeling really good for the race. Until I tried to lift my boat out of the garage at an awkward angle, maneuvering around some other boats. I could feel that this was not going to be good. My hope was that the pain was in a non-kayaking direction, but alas this was not to be. On the plus side, neither Bill Kanost or Ted Beatty opted to paddle K1 Unlimited against me in the afternoon, so I could modulate my power output with the hopes of avoiding having an arm falling off at an inopportune time. Which come to think of it, would be about any time…
As we headed out to warm up for the afternoon races, two rec paddlers (a man and a woman) dropped their craft into the swollen Wabash, intending to head to the same place as the racers. In fact, they even joined us in the shuttle. But things got a bit hairy almost immediately, as the gal turned over within about 50 – 100 ft. of the launch. Thankfully George and Hilman had just launched, and these two heroes headed straight over to the hapless paddlers and helped get the gal to shore and get these two rec paddlers squared up and off to a better start. Meanwhile, the other 4 of us managed to get our craft into some semblance of a lineup floating rapidly downstream. Terry launched us as we floated and told us to call George and Hilman to join us as we passed them by.
Matt Conrad was in powerful form; he took off so hard we wondered if he had an Evinrude on the back of his boat! Water was flying all around Matt as he charged out to an early lead. Gradually the laws of physics took over and I could hear Matt trying to work my wake as I passed him, but eventually he fell back. But not very far; Matt came in just a few minutes behind me. He really knows how to make that sea kayak move! Lori meanwhile was chasing Matt down the river. She would gradually close some distance, but then Matt would power up again. I think they played that game all the way to the end, and Lori was just a short distance behind Matt at the finish. For as little practice time as she’s had this year Lori did quite a remarkable job. She’s fast! Following in 4th place overall was Roger Crisp in his beautiful strip-wood kayak. As he landed Roger commented “I’m not yet competitive, but I sure do look good!” J Looking good he did; but he’s also getting quite competitive again, coming in just a little behind Lori. A few more sessions on the water and Roger will be a force to be reckoned with! George and Hilman, hampered at the start by their rescue efforts, came in last, but they came in with style. You could see their skill in that aluminum canoe as they elegantly maneuvered their boat through the fast current and into a graceful drifting turn right into the channel at the finish.
George and Hilman relaxed after the races by pulling out some rubber band aircraft and conducting flight testing sessions at the park. They might as well have been the pied piper, the way they drew kids from all around. Despite George’s protests that he’s not a fan of kids, they sure did a great job of relating to the kids at the park. See attached photo. On an unrelated note, George and Hilman are noted for a measure of thrift in their paddling gear. It turns out they have a sense of humor as well. Why use an ordinary red flag, when you can use a red bikini bottom on your boat and be certain to get the attention of drivers all around you?!? Hilman claims it keeps the truckers occupied. We just wonder about the poor gal who came out to her clothesline only to find her two-piece suit had suddenly become a 1-piece…
Many thanks to Terry for another fantastic race! Results are listed below.
Steve
2017 WABASH RIVER CANOE & KAYAK RACE RESULTSMORNING RACESC-1 MAN 1st Bill Kanost 47:482nd Skeet Craig 53:513rd Terry Pontius 1:04:10C-2 MIXED 1st Sonja Gilman 52:08Guy GilmanC-2 ALUMINUM 1st George Tinsley 1:15:12Hilman CulpK-1 DOWNRIVER 1st Brent Ernsberger 1:07:58AFTERNOON RACESK-1 OPEN Steve Horney 1st 36:50Roger Crisp 2nd 41:21K-1 MAN SEA KAYAK 1st Matt Conrad 39:12K-1 WOMAN SEA KAYAK 1st Lori Blaylock 39:53C-2 ALUMINUM 1st George Tinsley 48:32Hilman Culp
