Saturday’s Three Rivers Festival races didn’t feature much in the way of danger or drama on the high seas, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t have some entertaining competition and a few challenges. The race was well attended, with 17 paddlers, 15 boats, and two racers who just stopped by for a visit (Guy and Sonja were in the area for a funeral, and felt attending while covered in river slime wouldn’t be a good look…) One very exciting fact was that we had 3 recreational paddlers (1 in a K1 and two in a K2) who seemed very interested in moving into “pro” racing. A less exciting fact was the heat and humidity; I really didn’t notice it that much on the course, but before and after I sure felt it, and I wasn’t the only one. Water levels were a little higher than usual due to the recent rains, but there was very little current, so it was pretty much dependent on paddler ability all the way (I did find a little extra returning downstream, but the difference wasn’t dramatic).
Starting under the Grabill Road bridge, things got hairy kind of quickly for those of us further back in the pack as the race started. 15 boats running close together near the shore generates quite the washing machine chop. No one fell in, but it definitely slowed some of the competitors. From there we fell into a line as paddlers settled into their positions. A pontoon boat came running down the river towards us at a pretty good pace, then moved aside and stopped, just watching the parade of kayaks go by. And it was essentially a parade of kayaks; Dwight Walker and Dan Bidwell, paddling C2, were the only canoe on the course.
As might be expected, Ted Beatty and Bill Kanost battled it out for the top spot, trading positions and waking each other along the way. Bill’s Falcon runs a fast pace, but Ted can pull off a powerful sprint in his very light downriver kayak, and that proved to be the deciding factor. Apparently he was on Bill’s wake until close to the end, when he pulled around and out-sprinted Bill to the finish. That must have been exciting to witness!
Paul Kane held off Jon Henderson for 3rd and 4th positions, followed by Larry Swift in his wooden sea kayak (who also took 1st in Sea Kayak) and just behind him the C2 of Dwight and Dan. John Christensen followed, with another strong performance in Sea Kayak, followed by Brent Ernsberger. Brent has really picked up his performance in these last few races, running the Nelo Razor he bought from the Kanost’s. They may regret that, as Deb and Brent were running close for a while, but Brent eventually pulled away and came in 3 minutes ahead of Deb. As a side note, Brent was also using the new Epic Twist paddle that Lori Shaffer began using recently. I tried it a week or two ago and really liked it; it may be a game changer for some of us as it seems to lock in well while reducing the load on the shoulder.
Matt Conrad was originally up ahead of Brent and Deb, but apparently the heat got to him and he fell back. Matt tagged onto my wake as I caught and passed him, holding on until the bridge turn, where I dropped him. I had fallen back a ways behind Deb, but started pulling it together after the bridge turn and come close to catching her. Having a “rabbit” to pursue definitely is motivational! Matt came in a few minutes after me, followed by Lori Shaffer, our 3 recreational paddles, and then Roger Crisp. Roger was thrilled that he broke 2 hrs this year, and he definitely dominated the over-80 class!
Many thanks to Julie Birge and to my wife (Julie) for timing the races and helping in so many ways. They really made it all work! After the races a number of us retreated to Bagger Daves for some great post-race vittles and stories. And air conditioning!
Steve
Race start aerial photo by Steve Horney. Race photos below by Julie Horney.
Results
K1 Open
Ted Beatty 1st 1:12:38
Bill Kanost 2nd 1:12:44
Paul Kane 3rd 1:14:58
Jon Henderson 4th 1:16:24
Brent Ernsberger 5th 1:20:40
Steven Horney 6th 1:24:21
Sea Kayak Man
Larry Swift 1st 1:17:32
John Christensen 2nd 1:20:02
Matt Conrad 3rd 1:28:42
Roger Crisp 4th 1:57:29
Sea Kayak Woman
Deb Kanost 1st 1:23:53
Lori Shaffer 2nd 1:35:50
C2
Dwight Walker / Dan Bidwell 1st 1:17:55
K1 Recreational
Mike Wellman 1st 1:34:21
K2 Recreational
Mark Nielson / Jeff Nielson 1st 1:49:23
