To celebrate the end of a busy summer of racing, race organizing and adventuring

And, what a TREAT it was! Blue skies, 70F temps and perfect wave after wave!!! The Hoedown draws an assortment of paddlers from Stand-Up Paddle Boarders, to sea kayakers, to competition kayak surfers in tiny flat bottom boats that turn on a dime and zoom around on a wave with the agility of a quarterback and the gracefulness of a professional salsa dancer.

The common bond that brought everyone there and put a huge grin on everyone’s face was the fun crowd, good competition and great waves!

I decided to try my hand at Stand-Up Paddle Surfing for the first time. The waves were friendly, mostly in the 3 – 4 foot range with the occasional set of 5 – 6 footers. Being a beginner, my learning curve was through the roof! From my first time on the water, where I barely got out through the surf, to the end of the weekend where I was consistently catching rides, the sea was a giant classroom!

Saturday afternoon, after Brandon and I had each gotten a few good surf sessions in, I lined up on the starting line for the Sea Kayak and SUP Scramble. This is a 1.5-mile beach-start race. Racers place their boards or sea kayaks up at the waterline, then line-up about 100 yards up the beach on the starting line. With a wave of the flag and a ‘Go!’ from the race organizer, we sprint down the beach to our SUP’s and kayaks, drag them into the surf, hop on, break out through the surf zone, race around an island ¾ mile out, race back, then surf back in. Or so the theory is!

What many of us experienced as we launched into what everyone agreed was the biggest set of the day, was a healthy dose of crowd-pleasing carnage! Apparently, at least according to Brandon, my own display of carnage was a crowd favorite. I paddled off the beach and straight into the head-high waves as I tried to get past the impact zone, but got launched off my board as it shot straight up in the air like a rocket, then repeated the aerials about 4 more times until the set ended.

After all that, I climbed back on and finally headed out towards the turn-around. (Two of the sea kayakers got cart-wheeled back to the sand, and chose to heed the warning of the gods and call it a day right then and there, race over!)

As I paddled on and got closer to the jagged pile of rocks we were to circle, I found myself rising and falling with monstrous swells. These moving mountains of water would break onto the rock outcropping/turn-around with a huge crash, sending foam and froth high and wide.

I noticed the lead sea kayaker chose to brave the gauntlet and took a shortcut between the rocks. One of the monsters appeared just then, lifted his sea kayak like a toy, tumbled him through the center slot and spit him like a watermelon seed out the other side. He rolled up looking stunned, but no worse for the ride. The rest of us went wide – very, very wide — around all the rocks, before heading back to the finish beach.

As I raced back in, there was a posse of about 9 sea kayaks a few minutes ahead of me, then a few more kayaks and the only other brave sole to race a SUP a few minutes behind me.

As I paddled back, I planned my surf into the beach. I wanted to style it! On the approach I let 2 shoulder-high waves pass under me, then began to race in, catching a smaller ride as I did. I glided toward the beach just as gracefully as I had imagined, but then tripped as I hopped off my board. So much for grace!

Back on the sand and with paddle in hand I raced up the beach to the finish, getting high fives and hugs from racers as I crossed the finish line. As the last of the racers finished, we all stood around sharing stories of carnage and listening to the play-by-play from the spectators as they had seen it from the beach. Whether you kayaked, SUPed or watched… everyone loved it!!!

Sunday brought on the surf competition, and Brandon’s chance to compete. I will let him share that story in Hobuck Hoedown Part 2!…

Thank You Bill Walker and all the sponsors, racers, judges, volunteers and spectators. This is an awesome event… and one we already have down on the calendar for next year!

And, as always, thanks to Kialoa Paddles and KitePaddleSurf!

Happy Paddling!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

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I packed a fanny pack with about 72-ounces of fluid with a hose clipped to my shirt for easy hydration. I added a couple of Clif Shots to the easily accessible pockets of my fanny pack.

At promptly 9:00AM we were off. The start was a bit of mayhem, racers bouncing around and some even swimming in a side wind and chop.  I was once again racing the 12’6″ Starboard New from Kite Paddle Surf and had my Kialoa Pipes paddle, both of which were beginning to feel like old friends. The New handled the side-chop nicely and I quickly fell into a comfortable groove.

Racing for two, I started at a steady pace, one I knew I could maintan the entire 13-miles. I made it a priority to stay hydrated and fueled. Elite female Brandy Baksic, a firefighter from San Diego, had passed me around mile 5. She was tough, strong, experienced, and not pregnant. I watched her go and stuck to my race plan.

We faced a variety of wind directions and strengths as we rounded Mercer Island. Side wind, head wind, and finally at mile 10, a tail wind. 

At this point I was in a pack of about 10 guys, with no other women around since Brandi had passed me early on. I felt good, and I hoped some of the guys around me were tired. At the Paddle Grand Prix I learned that the Starboard New loves to pick up small winds waves, so I decided I could move up a few places by the time we reached the finish. I ate my second Clif Shot and turned on some horsepower I had been saving for the finish. Over the next 3 miles I passed about a half dozen of the pack I was in. I pulled into the finish in just over 2 1/2 hours, 2nd woman and somewhere around 15th overall.

Fellow Bellingham paddler Beau Whitehead had an awesome race and came in second overall. Also representing the Bellingham crew were Dale Plant, Allan Lipp and Kimo Jandoc.  Official results will be posted at www.roundtherock.com

A HUGE thanks to my dedicated shore crew… Brandon and Hayden!!!!

Next race on the calendar… Lake Samish Salmon Row on Sept 25th where Brandon, Hayden and I will team up in Double Joy for 6-mile family throw down!

See you on the water!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

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We arrived, completely stunned, to find a huge festival going on with no less than 150 racers! 81 of those racers were entered in the long course, another 70 in the 2.5 – mile short course.

The race was brutal. We found wind and waves at every bend and turn of the lap around Mercer Island. For one 3-mile stretch we were battered on our left hand sides from steep, wind-chopped waves, a gusty wind adding to the beating. Standing on our non-rudder control boards – the only thing we could do to keep moving forward was paddle on the right. And, that we did. Paddled on the right for THREE miles! BRUTAL!

But, if there is one thing I have lots of experience at, it is racing through a bit of suffering!

After 3 hours and 12 minutes I crossed the finished – completely hooked! Beau Whitehead, a friend from Bellingham, won the overall in 2:35. For another 3 hours racers continued to finish — many of them too exhausted to stand, paddling on their knees or butts, and grinning with pride at their accomplishments.

While I was racing, Brandon and Hayden spent the time hanging with Dave Chun, owner of Kialoa Paddles. This was the budding of a new relationship with Kialoa that continues to this day.

Today, we head back down to Round the Round. Me to race and Brandon and Hayden to staff the Kialoa Paddles booth. This year, the organizers have upped the stakes in the race and invited the who’s who of SUP racing. They have also gathered some prize money for these Elite Racers… which you can win “Sweep or Weep” Fashion.

There are three categories a racer can enter:. 12’6” (Stock) Division, 14’ Division, and Unlimited Class (which is anything over 14 feet). The unlimited class is the only division that can have rudder steering.

So, in “Sweep or Weep” if a woman enter the 12’6” division and wins, she gets prize money. If she also beats all the women who enter in the 14’ class, she sweeps their prize money too! AND, if she beats all the men in her division, she sweep THEIR money too!!! And, so on and so forth!

Very wicked, very fun!

I decided to join the fun and enter Elite, racing as a Team Kite Paddle Surf / Starboard rider.

I am also – time to let the word out –  about 4-months pregnant. So, I will be racing with a co-captain on board. Eating, drinking and paddling for two takes extra energy and thought. But, I did a lot of it through my pregnancy with Hayden, and at 2 ½ years-old, he is already showing signs of race addiction! So, we are taking the same approach with Baby #2! (or Baby Star as Hayden has named it)

Good Luck to all the racers coming out to Round the Rock this year!

See you on the water!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

Now, after only 2 sessions out on Padden, the shape is forming. And although the “race” component is definitely there, it’s really playing a supporting role to the larger, more heavily-attended “Family Fun Fest” that takes place mostly after the race is over.

Tonight, for example, it was kids, kids, and more kids on boards with mom and dad, standing up, laying down, sitting, kneeling, on their own going upwind, across and back down. It was moms and dads acting like kids, swapping this board for that, paddle for paddle, going out in groups, breaking off and trying their own thing. It was a beach scene with games of catch, waist-deep wading, ducks waddling by, all under the unbelievably warm and beautiful Bellingham summer (finally!) sunshine!!!

More than once I found myself talking to someone on the beach while we watched the scene thrive all around us, and we just kind of broke out giggling at the sheer awesomeness of the atmosphere. Beautiful, athletic, young and old, big and small smiling people having the kind of fun others travel across entire continents to experience, in our own backyard, for FREE.

We’ll look back on this time, this particular summer, and talk about the good ol’ days when it was all rootsy and had the kind of vibe you just can’t find anymore. It’s really, really NOT something you want to miss. Come down and check it out and paddle. Bring your kids, or a friend, or your dog. I promise, you will smile HUGE!

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See you on the water!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

Our first Tuesday night had SUP’ers paddling in from three different parking lots at Lake Padden. The exact details of where and when and what exactly we were doing were vague… but, people got the message and arrived one-by-one. In the end, at 6PM, we had a demo fleet of SUP’s from BellinghamSUP,  quiver of paddles from Kialoa, 6 racers on the starting line, and another dozen or so people there to demo gear, socialize and check it out.

3 of us raced the 4-mile long course, while a second 3 did the 2-mile short course. Alan Lipp took the long course on a board designed by local paddler and Necky designer Tom Swetish. BellinghamSUP’s Dave Comp took the short course paddling the Starboard Pin.  

When we all finished, no one left. We all continued to try each other’s boards and paddles, critique our strokes, talk about what board is good for this or that. One highlight was when Alan Lipp, after winning the 4-mile course, continued on to his car and returned to the beach with his laptop to show us his new SUP designs he has been working on.

 We will meet again next Tuesday at the Lake Padden swim area for more racing and good times. The race begins at 6PM.

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See you on the water!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

Remember, SUP is so new, everyone is a beginner! This is a great chance to get out, meet other SUP’ers, try some gear and train for the Paddle Grand Prix in September!

Tuesday, June 15th at 6 PM at the Lake Padden swim area. There will be a one-lap and two-lap option. Please check back through out the summer, because to keep it interesting, we may change locations! And, if you want to stay informed on local SUP happenings,  check out the local SUP chat group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/whatcomsup/ 

See you on the water!!!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

Yesterday, at the 4th annual Deception Pass Dash – the single largest muscle-powered boat race on PNW salt water – we had the latter. Over 170 racers arrived, all of whom had pre-registered, all of them early enough that the coin toss still could’ve gone either direction. And I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that MOST Dashers hope for – if not expect – some classic, mid-winter storm conditions on race day. It’s the spirit of the place – the Cape Horn of Puget Sound – especially this time of year. And it’s certainly become the spirit of the event, the only paddling and rowing race in the state where half (or more) of the field are in boats more appropriate to a circumnavigation of New Zealand’s South Island than time-trialing a 6-mile drag race.

I was in just that type of boat yesterday, Sterling Donalson’s new Grand Illusion. Sterling had asked me two or three weeks ago if I would field-test the new design for its “rapid transit” qualities. Its viability as a big boy’s rock garden-hopper, surf-lander, gear-hauler, and overall expedition survival pod are already accepted by the who’s who of PNW expedition paddlers – the Reg Lakes and George Gronseths of the world. (Heck, these guys were the boat’s test pilots and performance-tuners during the design phase). And now its rapid transit quality has indeed been established. Despite its ability to carve like a surfboard, the boat cruises easily enough to take the win in the Sea Kayak Class and finish 35th overall. With a little more time in the boat to get the outfitting and trim tuned to my weight and inseam, another minute or two could be shaved. Add in the 30-knot winds and head-high waves, and I think the Grand Illusion would’ve been laughably more competitive. (Case in point: Heather and I raced our 100-pound plywood tandem in last year’s rough-n-rowdy DPD conditions, and took 6th overall).

This year, though, Heather opted to join the inaugural and elite group of stand up paddle boarders. Seven of them took the challenge, along with two traditional (prone) paddle boarders, Don Kiesling – the original DPD course innovator – and Darrel Bednark. The Dash allowed safe passage of these challenging new classes. Darrel B. was first in, followed by Don K. then Bellingham local Beau Whitehead, the first SUP. Jeff Underwood – co-founder of the Round the Rock Mercer Island SUP race – took 2nd SUP, and Heather came in just behind him as first (and only) woman. This class is guaranteed to expand and get more and more competitive, as we’re seeing happen in every paddling center the world over.

Overall, Seattle local and Epic Kayaks and Paddles founder Greg Barton took the win, with Tyler Peterson in a rowing shell in 2nd, Wisconsin-resident Erik Borgnes taking a solid 3rd, and Bellingham locals Larry Goolsby and Shaun Sullivan finishing first tandem.

Hayden and Roberta stayed warm and toasty in the race rig…

No one’s going to look the gift-horse of a safe year and 100% finish rate in the mouth. But if you’re determined to catch the Deception Pass Dash in all its potential hurricane-like glory, keep your fingers crossed for the 2010 race and keep training! Sooner or later, it is guaranteed to be off the chain again on race day!