Manchester Race 2007

This year's race was wet, very wet. The light drizzle before the race continued into the start and on into Rich Passage as we headed to Blake Island. It finally let up on the east side of Blake and for our return to the start. At least there was very little wind, and the water was about as flat as a pancake over the entire course - except for the ferry wakes, of course.



I chose to use an outrigger equipped Cadence pedal boat for this event. It was joined by two other guys with Cadence pedal boats. Both were owned by Todd, who lent the second boat to a friend.



We decided that it would be more fun to take our time and stick together going around the course, especially since Todd's boats were missing their weed cutters. This race was notorious for areas of floating vegetation dug up by the ferries. As it turned out we needed to stop a couple of times to clear their propellers. While the boats were still able to move quite well with green stuff on the propellers, it did require more energy. By the end of the race both Todd and his friend were pretty tired, so we tried to make the most of their energy.


Most of the other racers took a clockwise course around the island. We decided to go the other way, mainly so I could take photos of the other racers. This worked out quite well, though the camera lens persisted in collecting rain water or streaking, and the cleaning cloth I brought along was quickly soaked and nearly useless. Oh, well.





Todd's friend was getting pretty tired by the time we reached Tillicum Village on the northeast corner of the island. I stayed back with him and tried to give him encouragement. Todd went ahead for a while and looped back a few times. After we reached the red buoy in the middle of Rich Passage, on which a pair of large sea lions had been resting, Todd continued onward to the finish.

I pedaled around in a zig-zag fashion having fun with the outriggers and their wakes. It also helped to raise my heart rate to 120 or so to warm me up a bit. Todd's friend just kept plugging along, and eventually we neared the finish.



A hundred yards or so from the finish I steered close to the stern of the other boat and began pushing it with my hand. This increased our speed and helped Todd's friend cross the finish in style, in second place.



We beached and brought the boats back up to the lawn. There were a couple of large kettles of soups awaiting us, along with an assortment of other goodies. Yum!

Thank you, race director Vadim, for running an excellent event.