For his first time running a race, Kyle Willis did a really good job – and had quite a turnout as well! Must have been the hankerin’ for everyone to get back on the water, as 17 paddlers showed up to test their meddle against 13 miles of beautiful river and very stout headwinds, on a rather nice and comfortable day (rains cleared up a little before the race started). We had a good selection of “classic paddlers”, some super stars, some new paddlers/racers, and a solid selection of regulars. Surprisingly, the normal aluminum dynamic duo of George Tinsley (who formerly hosted the race) and Hilman Culp Jr didn’t show. Apparently they aren’t racing as a team anymore, and George couldn’t yet dig out his C1. But we did have Betsy Arnold grace us with her participation – on her birthday, and her 20th anniversary of racing! Back pain or not, she wasn’t going to miss this one. Lori Schaffer was back, and brought her husband Craig to join in the fun as well (Craig is a long time canoe paddler, but newer to racing). Craig Lee – who’s apparently here in the USA from England or Australia (I failed to get that info) and married to a gal from Indy – brought his classic Epic 18 Endurance/Touring for his first race. And he did quite well, pulling ahead of Matt Conrad in K1 Sea Kayak Man for the win! But as an ultra-marathon runner and rock climber, I guess that should be expected.
There was an almost even split between canoes and kayaks for this race, with two of our fastest races (Matt Meersman and Pieter Visser) duking it out in one of each (Matt prevailed). Two of us paddled River Hawk Outrigger canoes. Christopher DeVries came down from Michigan with a very pretty Stars and Stripes River Hawk that he just recently purchased, and I showed up with mine. The difference was Chris is quite fast in his, while I made sure to remain closer to the back of the pack. Bill Kanost was back after taking off most of last year due to rotator cuff surgery. It must have been effective, as Bill was fifth overall and 2nd after Matt Meersman in C1 man. Skeet Craig was also back, and cranked out a hard third place in C1, edging out Ted Beatty and Jeff Poland.
Jon Henderson has been working hard on improving his speed in K1 Unlimited, and it showed, coming in 4th place overall. Also quite exciting was seeing 4 women competing. Betsy, in her downriver kayak, Lori Schaffer and Vicki Tillotson in their Sea Kayaks (very close race there!), and Nancy Doucette, who with her husband Keith paddled recreational kayaks.
Ironically, the only two paddlers to swim (as far as I know) were the two of us paddling “stable” OC1’s. Chris fell out of his River Hawk just before the start of the race, and I took a swim about 2/3’s of the way thru the race, trying to avoid a log. I will say that it was quite “refreshing and invigorating”, and a great way to ice my shoulder. I also feel you don’t get the full river race experience without sampling the waters at least once… My sunglasses departed me for a better place during that biathlon event, and I had to remount my boat, paddle to the side, then spend some time emptying water, but it was a fulfilling experience. Just not good for my (already pathetic) time.
It was a beautiful day on the river, even if that 13 miles does seem to grow longer each year. Following the race, Craig & Lori Shaffer, Kyle, Vicki, and I headed to a nearby restaurant for some great food. Outside of the fender bender experienced by one of our shuttle cars on the way back, it was a super event. Many thanks for Kyle to taking over the Hoosier Regatta! Race results are below.
Steve
