(My Original Blog Post:
http://ping.fm/BOfmU)
Sunday was the final event in the Hood River Big Winds SUP racing series, and a fine windup it was. We had a grueling Thursday evening race, and I'll cover that first.
Nick Stuart has been laying out the courses for the series as well as acting as the starter and paddling in the races, and he's done a great job at it. Virtually every race presented new challenges and required different skills and SUP racing knowledge. The early races offered variations on a straight race from the Hook with varying amounts of upwind effort required. Then he added in paddling upwind around Wells Island and a longer downwind section. Most recently we did a straight downwind run from the hatchery to the event center--a run of about 2.5 miles in high winds and fine swells. Then this Thursday he got out the big hammer.
I guess part of the reason we did this course was the trailer that usually carries a bunch of the SUP rentals up to the hook wasn't available, so Nick figured we needed to start and finish at the event center. The course he laid out was a run slightly upwind, and then straight out into the river, going around the big sandbar that the kiteboarders launch from (the satellite photo in the map shown below is a bit old, the sandbar is a lot bigger now). Then along the back of the sandbar and up the Hood River, against the current up to the footbridge. A quick 180 turn and back down the river to the base of the sandbar WHERE YOU PICK YOUR BOARD UP AND RUN ACROSS to the channel that runs into the old boat launch channel next to the event center.
Okay, well that sucks. Especially since the only suitable board I had on the truck was my 17'6" F18. But I would give it my best.
A substantial women's group (eight paddlers) lined up before the men. Ten minutes later the eleven men lined up and we were off. The big SIC F18 handled the crosswind nicely, and stayed up with the leaders as the group spread out, dashing for the end of the sandbar about mid-river. As I paddled I realized how shallow the water was and angled out a little to make sure my rudder didn't strike. The sandbar fell away as we neared the end, so I angled a bit downriver and caught a few little swells. The wind was about 20 knots. As I turned to cut across the end of the sandbar my paddle hit bottom at the start of a stroke just as a swell hit my board. I tettered, and fell, hopping straight into the water feet first. Big mistake--I felt the old skateboard injury in my right ankle flare with pain, but I hopped back on the board and started paddling hard. I lost some ground and fell back into third. Rounding the east end of the sandbar I ran into some shallow water and had to jump off and run the board out to the deeper channel. But still by the time we were approaching the mouth of Hood River I was close on the heels of second and third place--even briefly passed Rod Parmenter and got into third, but I went the wrong way while passing one to the woman paddlers and ran out of water again.
The slog up the river was hard, both because of the current and the necessity of reading the water to avoid rocks and shallows. Dan Gavere was hundreds of yards ahead, paddling in his backyard. At the turnaround I was in forth with no one behind me for a long way. Rod and Craig Bishop were right ahead, still in reach. We paddled hard down the river together. When we reached the closest spot to pull out and start the run I followed Rod and Craig up onto the beach. I briefly considered paddling down the shore much further, but I thought running would be faster.
Big Mistake.
I got the board on my back and started running. Rod and Craig sprinted away. The wind was pushing my board all over, and my run was more of a stagger. Nick Stuart passed me, Doug Hopkins passed me, Nick Leonard passed me. I staggered into the water and tossed my board down. Too shallow. I picked up the tail and started running (sort of) up the channel to the deeper water. "Here's where my heart seizes up and I pitch on my face" I thought. No such luck. Travis Ronk passed me. I got on my board and paddled hard to the finish. When I crossed the line I tossed myself into the water and floated. Damn.
Ninth place, my worst finish of the series. But I definitely won the "didn't die" award. And Diane said I was a stud. We went to the Pourhouse and had a nice dinner. Sometime around midnight I finally caught my breath. Got to work on that running part.
Anyway, on to the last race. Rod Parmenter asked to borrow my Point so he could have a shot at beating Dan Gavere. I said "sure" and brought it along for him. The race meeting was at Ten AM which left time to go to Bette's for breakfast. Anyone who has been to Hood River knows what that means--good food and too much of it. Diane and I both had crab omelets . The perfect training food.
The wind was howling so Nick called for a downwinder from the hatchery. Perfect. Nick wanted to add the extra challenge of swinging to the south side behind Wells Island, but we talked him out of it because the wind had a bit too much south in it. Besides, the swells up by the hatchery were pretty good sized--fun riding them. A substantially smaller group of four women paddlers took off and were soon remote specks. Ten minutes later we started, and I got into some nice runs right away.
My plan was to angle across the river gradually, and hit the slower current close to the shor just after passing Wells Island. The swells usually get a lot smaller upriver from the Hatch, and I thought that might be the fastest track. I was solidly in third, with Dan Gavere and Rod Parmenter sprinting away. I thought they would burn each other out, but they never slowed down. In the meantime I was getting some great rides on my F18 and conserving energy, trying to stay ahead of Craig Bishop who was already hugging the south shore. As the rides atarted to peter out, Craig started to pull past me, paddling hard in the slower current close to shore. The swells looked wimpy in there, so I figured my F18 was better off a bit offshore. Then I fell. Can't even say why--I just did. It's a bit of a bitch getting back on the F18 because it floats so high. While I struggled onto my board Nick Stuart passed me and pulled out a lead. "Damn, that's not happening" I thought, not after he passed me in the sand on that grim run Thursday night. I paddled hard to catch him--and fell again!
By now Nick had a good lead, and someone else was pulling up close on my port side. I concentrated on catching swells and getting the most out of every ride, and I slowly closed on Nick. I pulled up directly behind him, robbing some of his wind, and then pulled around and passed. "Will you get that damned big thing out of here" he said as I pulled past. "My board or my butt" I said, and then added "Okay" and I did.
Up ahead Dan and Rod crossed the narrow neck to the finish line nearly side-by-side but I could see Dan had him by a few feet. Craig Bishop was well ahead of me--out of range for any final dash notions I might have. I paddled hard to the end and as I cross the shallow neck into the boat channel my board hit sand. I jumped off and pushed through the shallows then hopped back on to finish a few feet ahead of Nick. Good enough, a solid fourth. I felt redeemed after Thursdays dismal showing.
The top four overall finishers in both groups got some nice swag--paddles for first and second, Da Kine bags, shirts and such. The three finishers also get invited to San Diego for the series final. I finished fifth overall for the series. Missing one race and scoring low on two had moved me out of the hunt. But I had a great time, met some truly fine people, and was motivated to train hard for weeks.
Doing your own race seriesI think the Big Winds race series points out very clearly that you can do a successful SUP race series anywhere. You don't need an ocean, don't need waves. You can deal with any kind of wind or current. All you need to do is be as clever as Nick Stuart was in choosing the courses to fit conditions. The course don't need to be super long, and you don't need a huge number of participants for it to be fun. The participants will improve over the course of the series so you can make it progressively tougher. If Nick had sent us upwind around Wells Island the first night probably half the paddlers would have quit before the turn, but by the third event they were ready for it and all made it.
It doesn't take much money--numbered jerseys are about all you need. Your race buoys can be milk jugs with an anchor. It doesn't take a huge amount of organization--someone to write the numbers down as people cross the line.
Basically you just have to do it.
Results:
Scoring is 1st = 10 points; 2nd = 8; 3rd = 7; 4th = 6; 5th = 5; 6th = 4; 7th = 3; 8th = 2; 9th+ = 1
Women’s Division
| Paddler | 18-Jun | 25-Jun | 2-Jul | 9-Jul | 16-Jul | 23-Jul | 30-Jul | 2-Aug | Total | Standing |
|---|
| Karen Wrenn | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 70 | 1 |
| Skye Robbins | 1 | 1 | | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | | 53 | 2 |
| Victoria Hopkins | | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 49 | 3 |
| Emma Rose Rossoff | 4 | 4 | 6 | | 6 | | 4 | 3 | 33 | 4 |
| Amanda Borel | 8 | | 5 | 6 | 9 | | 6 | 4 | 18 | 5 |
| Cynthia Brown | 3 | | 1 | | | | | | 17 | 6 |
| Elizabeth Whelan | 5 | | 4 | | | | 5 | | 16 | 7 |
| Tami Starczak | | | | 5 | 4 | | | | 11 | 8 |
| Nikki Gregg | | | | 1 | | | | | 10 | 9 |
| Lindsay Claus | | | 6 | 7 | 8 | | dq | | 9 | 10 |
| Katie Crafts | | 5 | | | | | | | 5 | 11 |
| Meg Chun | | | | | 5 | | | | 5 | 11 |
| Amy Combs | 6 | | | | | | | | 4 | 13 |
| Erin Gates | | | 7 | | | | | | 3 | 14 |
| Mariva England | 7 | | | | | | | | 3 | 14 |
| Carol Shick | | | | | 7 | | | | 3 | 14 |
| Cat Kutz | | | 8 | | | | | | 2 | 17 |
| Charlotte Bell | 9 | | 11 | | | | | | 2 | 17 |
| MJ Reeves | 8 | | | | | | | | 2 | 17 |
| Alyson Fromm | | | 9 | | | | | | 1 | 20 |
| Beatriz Acosta | dq | | | | | | | | 1 | 20 |
| Sarah Lyon | | | 10 | | | | | | 1 | 20 |
| Susan Rourst | | | | | | | dq | | 0 | 23 |
Men’s Division
| Paddler | 18-Jun | 25-Jun | 2-Jul | 9-Jul | 16-Jul | 23-Jul | 30-Jul | 2-Aug | Total | Standing |
|---|
| Dan Gavere | | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 58 | 1 |
| Rod Parmenter | 5 | 1 | | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 52 | 2 |
| Craig Bishop | | | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 48 | 3 |
| Nick Stuart | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 46 | 4 |
| Bill Babcock | 3 | 4 | | 5 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 32 | 5 |
| Doug Hopkins | | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 30 | 6 |
| Mike Haase | 4 | 5 | 4 | 7 | | | 6 | | 24 | 7 |
| Travis Ronk | 6 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 8 |
| Dave Kalama | 1 | 8 | | | | | | | 12 | 9 |
| Owen Macdonald | 5 | 3 | | | | | | | 12 | 9 |
| John Davies | 1 | | | | | | | | 10 | 11 |
| David Ambrose | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 10 | | | | 10 | 11 |
| Kent Forrest | 6 | | 5 | | | | | | 9 | 13 |
| Michi Schweiger | 2 | | | | | | | | 8 | 14 |
| Steve Gates | 2 | | | | | | | | 8 | 14 |
| Lee Murray | 8 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 10 | | | 8 | 14 |
| Robby Naish | 3 | | | | | | | | 7 | 17 |
| Mark Ribcoff | | | 13 | 10 | 8 | 7 | | | 7 | 17 |
| Alex Stankie | 10 | 13 | 27 | 16 | 14 | | 11 | | 6 | 19 |
| Nick Leonard | | | | | | | 7 | 8 | 5 | 20 |
| Bob Rueter | 11 | 12 | 16 | 14 | | | | | 4 | 21 |
| John Wren | | | | 13 | | 9 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 21 |
| Dan Schwaz | 19 | 11 | 13 | | | | | | 3 | 23 |
| Ashlee Bridgewater | 17 | 16 | 18 | | | | | | 3 | 23 |
| Mark Wiltz | 7 | | | | | | | | 3 | 23 |
| Maui Meyer | | 14 | 20 | | 13 | | | | 3 | 23 |
| TJ Gulizia | | | | | 7 | | | | 3 | 23 |
| Matt Willett | | | 18 | 12 | | | | | 2 | 28 |
| Greg Starczak | | | | 15 | 12 | | | | 2 | 28 |
| Raimund Pichler | | | 10 | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Jeff Pritcher | | | 11 | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| John Rurenn | | | 14 | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Tripp Frey | | | 16 | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Johnny Simms | | | 20 | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Kyle Simms | | | 21 | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Ben Groener | | | 22 | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Stuart Shankland | | | 23 | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Adam Shankland | | | 24 | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Mike Groedner | | | 25 | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Derek Fromm | | | 26 | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Aaron Paz | | 15 | | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Bob Anaceron | 18 | | | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Brad Gordan | 16 | | | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Chris Boston | 12 | | | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| John Ritter | 13 | | | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Jon Sassonne | 9 | | | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Mark Ames | 14 | | | | | | | | 1 | 30 |
| Trevor Gregson | | | | | | | | 9 | 1 | 30 |
