Budd Inlet Race 2007

The forecast for the day was for light winds, overcast skies and temperatures in the low 60's. Waves were supposed to be in the 0 to 1 foot range.


Upon arriving in Olympia, WA, at the Swantown Marina I found the conditions to be exactly as predicted. Not only that, but for the first time in recent years the tide was also at its maximum level. This meant that the typically exposed muddy bottom at the southernmost reach of Puget Sound was submerged, covered with more water than I think I've ever seen in that location. What a difference it makes!

Quite a few rowers from the Vancouver Lake Crew (Vancouver, WA) and the local rowing club (Olympia Area Rowing - OAR) were present for the race. There were a couple of OC-2's, some surf skis and a few single and double kayaks as well, and a lone pedal boat.

Oh, well. All I had to do was finish and I'd be assured of a blue ribbon!

After registering and bringing my boat to the staging area I attended the pre-race meeting. It was held on the concrete apron in front of OAR's nice, new boat house located right beside the boat launch.


The course was described as a rather flattened triangle. It starts from the end of the dock at the north end of the marina, heads north-northwesterly towards a large channel marker with a checkerboard patterned sign, turns northeasterly towards a boat moored on the east side of the Inlet, and returns to the start. The total distance is 7 nautical miles, or approximately 8 statute miles.

The record for pedal boats for this event was set in 2004 with a time of 1:08:36. This was done by yours truly in a Cadence, when I was definitely younger and perhaps in better shape than I was today.

The pre-race meeting ended about 30 minutes before the scheduled start of the race. Wow - there was no need to rush as there was for the Bainbridge Island Marathon! I could actually launch the boat, stow the dolly back at the staging area, warm up and take photos of the other racers and not have to worry about starting on time!


In addition, the water at the boat launch was nearly mirror flat - except for the ripples caused by boats being put in the water. There were absolutely no waves, weeds, rocks or worries at the start of this event.

I managed to get my boat in the water well before most of the other participants, and pedaled around warming up and taking photos.


There were several 4 person shells and 8 person shells in this race. The 4's and 8's were supposed to start somewhat later than the rest of the racers. This allowed them to come up and pass everyone, and give them the satisfaction of the chase. This also gave the other racers the incentive to not be passed by the faster boats, or to at least try to keep up with them once caught.


At the 5 minute signal we began to form a line for the start. At the 1 minute signal I found myself near a couple of OC-2's and a surf ski. That seemed to be a good position, more or less in the middle of the pack. The GPS reported that I had been pedaling some 1.5 miles so far, with a maximum warmup speed of about 7.4 mph.


The starting signal was given and we were off!

Right at the start the guy in the surf ski splashed me with the first stroke of his paddle. I was not too pleased about this as I then had to check to see if the camera's lens port was hit. Luckily it wasn't, and I was able to continue pedaling and snapping photos.


It seemed to me that we were having a rather fast start. The GPS was reporting speeds in the 7 to 8 mph range, and there were folks who seemed to jump ahead and keep on going at still higher speeds. On the other hand, my legs felt fairly strong and my breathing was still aerobic. Perhaps some unknown force was pulling us northward, a force that wasn't discernable at the starting line.


I turned to the side and was surprised by the number of rowers that seemed to be pacing me. What was going on here? Were these guys just pacing themselves or, more likely, was I putting out too much energy early in the race?


I took some shots aimed behind me. With these shots I have absolutely no idea if they turn out or not until I see them back home. Sometimes they do and sometimes (most of the time) they don't. When they do, however, the results can be wonderful. Perhaps some day I'll be able to take such shots and use them during a race to tactical advantage.


The field of boats ahead was slowly moving away. They were definitely going too fast for me to try to catch. Meanwhile, I noticed a few surf skis and kayaks slowly catching up and passing on the port side. I guess I had better pedal a bit harder or perhaps take fewer photos!


Up ahead I noticed an OC-2 paddled by Vern Heikkila and another guy. When Vern paddles with his wife they are typically a little slower than me. When he paddles with a guy he is typically faster. I decided to try to catch them, figuring I could then take a break following in their wake.


The GPS was still reporting speeds in the 7 to 8 mph range, but closer to 8. My breathing was getting close to my aerobic limits, but I was gaining on the OC-2. I still took a few photos of the racers nearby, each of which tended to reduce my pedaling effort somewhat in an effort to hold the camera steady, but after a couple of minutes I caught up. Whew!


My legs were still feeling quite strong. In fact, they felt like they would rather have continued pedaling at the higher effort than take a bit of a break as I pedaled in the wake of the OC-2.

Considering how close to the beginning of the race we still were, I decided that it would be better to try to pace myself a bit more and stick to the OC-2. It would not be good to burn out before the first turn!


Stick to them I did, though it seemed that I dropped back 10 or 15 feet every time I took pictures of the racers on either side. My legs were complaining a little about the variation in effort it took to maintain the distance between the bow of the Cadence and the stern of the OC-2. It seemed that a continuous effort suited the muscles better.

On the other hand, it was definitely easier to follow in the wake and to catch up when I dropped behind. Just mark me down as an opportunistic lazy bum!


We hit the first turn at the same time as several single rowing shells. We took the inside of the turn and they took the outside. There was a bit of confusion as to who was going exactly where, but it all got sorted out in short order.


En route to the second turn on the east side of the Inlet we were slowly passed by a single shell and a four person shell. Our speed had dropped slightly and was now in the 6.5 to 7.5 mph range.

A few small pieces of wood could be seen were floating in the water along with some five inch diameter jellyfish here and there, but otherwise the water was quite clear of debris and weeds. Yay!


There was a photographer in the boat at the second turn. It looked like he tried to snap my photo as I approached, but I think I was too close and too fast. As there were a bunch of other boats also trying to make the turn he had to make quick choices as to what he could do.

The OC-2 nearly got away, but I managed to catch it with a few seconds of hurried pedaling.

The GPS was showing our speed as 6 to 6.5 mph. Hmm, perhaps there was an outgoing tide slowing us down.

The first 8 person shell caught us shortly after the second turn. Their cox apparently had troubles seeing obstacles directly in their path as they ran into a small buoy even with the warning shouts from several of the rowers in the boats nearby. From the way their approach sounded I had been concerned that they might have been heading into me!

No damage was done, except to their time.

They decided to row a bit further from shore after that.


Our group seemed to stay pretty close together. We had three rowing shells, a surf ski, the OC-2 and my pedal boat. From time to time a shell would cross our path and be closer to shore, or go the other way and be further in the channel. Still, we were all going about the same speed and from time to time yelled some observation to each other.

It would be interesting to see how it played out at the finish!

From the rear I could hear the sound from the cox of another 8 person shell as they slowly approached. This gave me a smart idea: if I could catch their tail I would be able to draft them all the way to the finish. This would put me ahead of all these other guys.


I turned slightly away from the OC-2, heading out towards where I could eventually meet the shell.


Unfortunately, the 8 person shell was going a little faster than I had originally calculated, and I didn't catch their draft. Rats!

I tried to go back to the OC-2, but my legs were showing the strain of the failed attempt to tail the 8. The OC-2 and the single rowers moved on without me.

In a desperate attempt to blame the problem on something fouling my propeller I reverse pedaled, coming to a stop, and pedaled forward again. This sort of action normally removes any accumulation of weeds and the boat goes faster than before. This time, however, there appeared to be no weeds slowing me down. I was just tired!

Another surf ski slowly caught up and passed as the finish line was approached. I tried sprinting a couple of times and almost overlapped his hull, but my legs were definitely running out of energy. Perhaps having a low carb dinner the night before was not such a good idea after all!


With a time of 1:08:56, just 20 seconds off the record, I crossed the finish line. If I had stayed with the OC-2 or if I had caught the 8, I would have set a new record. Oh, well.

My legs were not very happy with me. I had finished the main water bottle, but that wasn't enough fluid to keep the calf muscles from cramping for about 10 minutes. Pedaling slowly didn't help much, either.


Eventually they loosened up and, with the arrival of the penultimate paddlers, I pedaled to shore.


Back at the registration area the organizers had set up a luncheon buffet. On the menu were jambalaya, chili, rice, salad, bread and fruit. I took a plate and filled it with the tasty looking morsels. It definitely hit the spot!

There was a bit of a delay after lunch before the results were announced. Some folks packed up and went home, but most stayed around and conversed.


At the awards ceremony the results were given by class with ribbons awarded to the first three places in each class. There were a lot of blue ribbons distributed, especially to all the 8's: men's, women's, mixed, junior, etc. There were not very many second place finishers in those classes!

After my abbreviated race the previous weekend it felt good to be fully worn out. It felt better to have yet another race under my belt even it wasn't quite a record breaker!


The entire set of photos taken at the race can be found here.