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.

Great Cross Sound Race

As happened on a couple of previous occasions I didn't have a boat for this race until perhaps a day or two before the event. The yellow and white carbon boat I had used in the Shaw event was back at the shop for some cosmetic repairs in preparation for it to be sold to a customer. The demo burgundy boat was also in the shop for final assembly. Only the newly completed demo blue and white boat was ready to go though it, too, was incomplete as it was missing its outriggers.



At Alki Beach in West Seattle near the race HQ I found a parking spot on the street with a lengthy No Parking zone directly behind. What luck! There was plenty of room for me to unload the Cadence from the roof of my car with no help needed. It also helped that my car was fairly short and fit easily into the otherwise small spot.




There were quite a few boats resting on the grass or slings on either side of the bath house at Alki. These included quite a few double and single rowing shells, a couple of wherries, a few surf skis, several single and double sea kayaks, and a couple of sit on top kayaks. Mine was the first pedal/prop boat to arrive, but it was joined a few minutes later by Todd's Cadence. There was also a tandem Hobie with the Mirage pedal/fin drive entered in the race, but strangely enough the only time I saw it was on the beach.



After picking up the pre-registration packet and a T-shirt (only $12 for everything!) I walked about taking photos of the event.



Jeff Knakal held the pre-race meeting. He mentioned that they had fewer chase boats this year, so everyone was to be extra careful in watching out for each other. He pointed out the course, which was from a starting line across Elliott Bay heading westward to Blakely Rock (barely visible across Puget Sound near Bainbridge Island), south to the buoy at Decatur Reef and back to Alki, finishing between a temporary buoy and the registration tent on the shore.

Jeff also mentioned the fact that the course crosses two ferry routes and two shipping lanes, that there were semi submerged rocks around Blakely Rock, and that there were typically strong tidal currents right at the Decatur Reef buoy. He didn't bring up the floating weed mats, but did mention a few apocryphal sea denizens that might afflict the unwary racer.

With the overcast skies, no breeze to speak of and air temperatures in the upper 60's I decided it would be a good idea to take along a windbreaker just in case it was necessary. Otherwise, bicycling shorts and two layers of nylon and polyester shirts were the clothes I wore.



The tide was quite low as we brought our boats down to the water. I wore a pair of Shimano bicycling sandals and wicking athletic socks on my feet, but somehow those socks weren't quite up to wicking away the water absorbed by wading into the chilly waters of Puget Sound. Once I was in the boat pedaling away from shore the socks seemed to do their job as there was an awful lot of water on the floor of the cockpit!



The Cadence handled well as I circled about the other 64 boats going through their warm-up routines. When the warning signals were heard prior to the start of the race I found myself near the north end of the starting line, next to a woman wearing a bright orange top and rowing a pink Maas Aero.

With a loud blast of the horn we were off!


With the usual starting line mayhem people were trying to dodge around the widespread oars of the rowers and trying to not hit each other with paddles. I decided to follow the orange topped woman, at least for a while, as she seemed to be going a speed that I could just barely maintain while taking photos.

With the fairly flat water the GPS reported a speed of about 7 mph. The heart rate monitor was indicating about 155 beats per minute - not bad.


I was pedaling quite strongly, slowing down slightly every so often to take pictures and then speeding to catch up with the Aero. A couple of large swells that came out of nowhere made it a bit interesting, too.

After a while, as we reached the midpoint of the crossing I stopped taking photos and concentrated on pedaling. The woman in the Aero was starting to slow down a bit and was angling more to the north than I wanted. I figured that she was just following the crowd, most of whom seemed to be heading much further north than necessary. We went our separate ways, and she began dropping behind.

A few minutes later I encountered the first of several zones of floating weeds. These are areas through which the ferries pass. Their propellers tend to stir up the bottom a bit and chew through the eel grass growing there. The severed eel grass then floats to the surface and tends to form mats that are up to 20 or 30 feet wide and hundreds of feet long. This makes it slow going for all boats, and a real nuisance for pedal boats as we generally have to resort to using our spare paddles for propulsion.

This year there were no true weed mats; just areas with lots of weeds loosely floating about. I powered through them, with momentary stops on the far sides to clear any accumulations on the propeller.


The several stops enabled quite a few of the other boats to pass, including the Aero.


Eventually I reached Blakely Rock, following a couple of sea kayaks that took a route close to the rocks. It was adequately deep and no monster crabs jumped out of the water to swamp my boat.


I encountered a few more weedy areas as I headed south to Decatur Reef, slowing me further. My heart rate was now in the upper 140's from all the "resting" while clearing the prop.


About this time the digital camera decided to flake out, too. The LCD displayed "Err" after I snapped a photo. This means that in order to take any more photos the camera has to be reset. To do this one needs to remove the battery and reinstall it.

This would not be much of a problem, except that it also involved removing the camera from its waterproof case. Sigh...




There were a couple of seals poking their heads up in this area. One sea lion was nosing about the buoy, and tried to jump onto it several times as I headed towards it. My attempts at photographing the jumps only succeeded in getting a few of the splashes as the sea lion fell back in. Oh, well.


There was a light current at the buoy, but nowhere near as strong as it had been in previous years. I put the pedal to the metal as I saw a "target rich" field ahead of me. There were quite a few boats that I just might be able to catch - if the weed gods were willing.


My pulse increased to the low 160's, and the GPS was reporting speeds in the 6.5 to 7 mph range. I passed a rower that caught me after Blakely, and left him behind. A few minutes later a kayaker met the same fate.

Again, the field of boats ahead seemed to be confused as to the right direction in which to head. Most of the people were heading too far to the north, confused by the large tent on the shore that a nearby beach volleyball tournament had erected. I located the bath house at Alki and the nearly invisible registration tent next to it, and made a bee line towards it.


A few weed encounters caused me to lag far enough behind that I was only able to catch one more boat, a kayaker, a few hundred yards from the finish. With a time of 1:14:38, an average heart rate of 155 bpm and a distance of about 7.4 miles I crossed the finish line. Whew!



After a few moments of idle pedaling beyond the finish I headed back out to take photos or the remaining incoming racers. It was a lot of fun cheering them on, sprinting here and there for photo opportunities, and escorting them to the finish.

Todd appeared pedaling alongside a kayak and having a good time. He said that he decided to just take it easy and carry on a conversation with some of the other racers rather than beat his brains out. Besides, if he finished he was guaranteed to get a second place ribbon!


After returning to shore Todd and I hauled our boats out of the water with the beaching dollies and pushed them back to the grassy area. It was not long before Jeff started the awards ceremony.


This year, unfortunately, the person responsible for bringing the custom printed ribbons for all the races somehow managed to forget to bring the ribbons for this race. The only awards actually handed out were the Windermere Cups for the fastest man (Evan Jacobs 51:59) and fastest woman (Robin Clark 1:02:21).

Thank you Jeff, and all the volunteers, for putting on a great race!

All the photos from the race can be seen here.