NSPN Blackburn Particpants

[Gcosloy]

Congratulations to Leon, Lisa, Tom, Les and the Tyson/Emilie team for their Blackburn Challenge 2009 feats today. If I forgot anyone else please post as well. I'm in awe. Please let us slowpokes know how you did. Was fog an issue today?

[tyson]

Emilie and I came in last, exceeding our wildest expectations with a finish in under 4 hrs and earning a 2nd place medal in the process. We were in a class of two boats. ;-)

It was interesting getting swallowed up by the faster surf skis on the river. They started 5 minutes after our group. A little later we were swallowed up by a large group of slower surf skis. ...then we hit the open water which we considered to be flat but a significant group of surf skis was suddenly doing a lot more bracing than they had on the river.

It was foggy from shortly after the start until we were past Milk Island. Though the front runners ran straight across Sandy Bay to Straightsmouth, everyone that was within sight or ear shot (we could hear further than see, by far) followed the coast line adding some distance to their day. Emilie and I are quite comfortable with instrument navigation (GPS, map, compass. No problem completing the crossing by compass even if the GPS quits) so we were able to make up some ground there. We got to Straightsmouth in about 1:50 and ahead of a group of faster surf skis that had followed the shore.

We fished a surf ski guy out of the water a bit past Pebble Beach. ...then fished him out again less than a minute later. ...a bit later we watched one of the official boats fish him out a third time a few miles further.

We rounded the jetty into Gloucester Harbor feeling a bit tired. However, with about a mile and a half to go, we dug deep and started pushing faster. I had been watching a fixed seat rowing rig (not too skinny) and noticed that though he had been quite a ways ahead of us, we were closing on him reasonably fast. This motivated us to push even harder starting about a mile out from the finish. The last half mile we managed to do at a (for us) full sprint of nearly 6mph.

We didn't catch the rowing machine (missed by about 30 seconds?) but we did managed to get it done in 3:58. This exceeded our best hopes.

We crossed the line strong and then died. We slowly coasted and lightly paddled our way to the shore. We were very hot from the sprint and I wondered if we could roll our boat in our tired state. So, we tipped the boat over, and failed at our first attempt. We followed our agreed on protocol to go to the other side when a roll fails and succeeded.

Among the surf skis, I was a bit shocked at the lack of skill and preparation for an open water paddle. Except that there were lots of people around to haul their buts out of the water if they got into real trouble, they had no business being out in open water. They had no paddle float and often took several tries to get back in the boat. ...if they could get back in at all. If the weather and winds had been as forecast in the morning, a number of them couldn't possibly have finished. The water was IMHO flat by open water standard. There was virtually no wind and the seas were no more than a foot or so at the worst. I'm not going to claim that I'm any better in a surf ski than these guys. ...but I also would have never done this event in a surf ski without better skills. Emilie and I put quite a bit of effort into making sure that we were ready for conditions that we were likely to encounter before doing this race. We improved our ability in our tandem by huge leaps and bounds over the past month or so just so that we would be safe out there. Some of these guys did not.

Regardless, we had a blast! That was the fastest we've ever paddled and over a distance. We're already talking about doing it again next year.

Oh, and for those of you that think you can't do it, you just might be surprised. You should try. I would expect that most NSPN'ers are better prepared than some of the people we saw complete today.

Pictures are posted here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tyson.sawyer/2...feat=directlink

Cheers!

Ty

[lhunt]

It was definitely foggy. The crossing of Sandy Bay took us well out of sight of land. But surprisingly, considering the forecast last night at bedtime (5' wave height at the tip of Cape Ann and 15 kt beam winds), it was a flat and easy paddle. The water was calm, and the gentle winds were going our way most of the time. Times were fast across the board. And the sun came out for the party, so what more can you ask?

I still don't know how I placed, really, but it was pretty low. Meaning I placed 3rd in the Fast Sea Kayak women class, but there were only 4 women registered, and I don't know how many paddled. Got to get some more women in this race! They said they will post the times tomorrow, so we'll know more then. I did about 3:42, which is better than I've ever done before, and I'm really happy with it. Of course, Leon was there calmly waiting for me when I got there, to take a picture at the finish line.

Lisa

Oh, and about surf skis - I saw one go down off of Halibut Point, but he was back in his boat before anyone else could get there. So it can be done...

[PeterB]

Emilie and I came in last, exceeding our wildest expectations with a finish in under 4 hrs and earning a 2nd place medal in the process. We were in a class of two boats. ;-)

It was interesting getting swallowed up by the faster surf skis on the river. They started 5 minutes after our group. A little later we were swallowed up by a large group of slower surf skis. ...then we hit the open water which we considered to be flat but a significant group of surf skis was suddenly doing a lot more bracing than they had on the river.

It was foggy from shortly after the start until we were past Milk Island. Though the front runners ran straight across Sandy Bay to Straightsmouth, everyone that was within sight or ear shot (we could hear further than see, by far) followed the coast line adding some distance to their day. Emilie and I are quite comfortable with instrument navigation (GPS, map, compass. No problem completing the crossing by compass even if the GPS quits) so we were able to make up some ground there. We got to Straightsmouth in about 1:50 and ahead of a group of faster surf skis that had followed the shore.

We fished a surf ski guy out of the water a bit past Pebble Beach. ...then fished him out again less than a minute later. ...a bit later we watched one of the official boats fish him out a third time a few miles further.

We rounded the jetty into Gloucester Harbor feeling a bit tired. However, with about a mile and a half to go, we dug deep and started pushing faster. I had been watching a fixed seat rowing rig (not too skinny) and noticed that though he had been quite a ways ahead of us, we were closing on him reasonably fast. This motivated us to push even harder starting about a mile out from the finish. The last half mile we managed to do at a (for us) full sprint of nearly 6mph.

We didn't catch the rowing machine (missed by about 30 seconds?) but we did managed to get it done in 3:58. This exceeded our best hopes.

We crossed the line strong and then died. We slowly coasted and lightly paddled our way to the shore. We were very hot from the sprint and I wondered if we could roll our boat in our tired state. So, we tipped the boat over, and failed at our first attempt. We followed our agreed on protocol to go to the other side when a roll fails and succeeded.

Among the surf skis, I was a bit shocked at the lack of skill and preparation for an open water paddle. Except that there were lots of people around to haul their buts out of the water if they got into real trouble, they had no business being out in open water. They had no paddle float and often took several tries to get back in the boat. ...if they could get back in at all. If the weather and winds had been as forecast in the morning, a number of them couldn't possibly have finished. The water was IMHO flat by open water standard. There was virtually no wind and the seas were no more than a foot or so at the worst. I'm not going to claim that I'm any better in a surf ski than these guys. ...but I also would have never done this event in a surf ski without better skills. Emilie and I put quite a bit of effort into making sure that we were ready for conditions that we were likely to encounter before doing this race. We improved our ability in our tandem by huge leaps and bounds over the past month or so just so that we would be safe out there. Some of these guys did not.

Regardless, we had a blast! That was the fastest we've ever paddled and over a distance. We're already talking about doing it again next year.

Oh, and for those of you that think you can't do it, you just might be surprised. You should try. I would expect that most NSPN'ers are better prepared than some of the people we saw complete today.

Pictures are posted here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tyson.sawyer/2...feat=directlink

Cheers!

Ty

Thanks for the trip report; I enjoyed reading it. And congratulations for doing the Blackburn!

[lhunt]

Ty, were you guys taking pictures during the race? And still broke 4:00? Hah!

Anyway, thanks for the excellent pix.

[tyson]

Ty, were you guys taking pictures during the race? And still broke 4:00? Hah!

Anyway, thanks for the excellent pix.

...and fished that guy out of the water twice!

[Doug]

Nice pictures Ty.....

[Doug]

Congrats to all of you that paddled today. It was exciting as a spectator watching from the lighthouse breaker at the entrance of Gloucester Harbor. I took pictures from 10:30AM to 12:50PM. If you passed me between those times you will most likely see yourself on the last leg of the race before turning into the harbor. I will try to post pictures by Monday or Tuesday after editing.

[nancysan]

Nice Pics. Thanks and congrats!

[Bill Lord]

Truly great photos!

Thanks

Bill

[gwlesher]

I can add two more NSPN'ers to the list of Blackburn participants. I paddled my ivory/ivory Gulfstream and Mary Beth her yellow/white Capella (our boats make a background cameo in Ty's before-race pictures - photo #7). This was our 6th and 5th Blackburns, respectively.

As Lisa said, it was a fast day - favorable weather and tide conditions (except for the final slog across Gloucester Harbor against the ebb tide - I'm impressed by that 6 mph finish by Ty and Emilie). The fog was definitely an issue for some of the boats - there were quite a range of lines taken on the more open water legs. Didn't see any surf skis in peril. I did, however, find myself worrying about the mental health of those guys on paddleboards.

I had a good day, finishing at 3:27 - 3 or 4 minutes behind the winner of the Sea Kayak (SK) category (Tucker Lindquist, in a green/white Surge) and just a minute or two ahead of the woman SK winner (Sarah Evertson, in a matching green/white Surge). Mary Beth clocked in at 4:45, which just about gave me enough time to get my breath back to cheer her across the line.

As always, the Blackburn was a great experience. We're still recovering from this year's race, but already looking forward to the next.

Greg

[ayong]

I'm still, more than 24 hours later, enjoying the endorphins; it was a delightful day, even more so after the nail biting caused by the ominous weather forecast. Conditions were mellow and there was very little boat traffic in the harbor. My effort was sponsored: supportive friends pledged over $800 for a cancer research foundation. I finished in 3:44, two minutes better than my last attempt.

Tyson and Emilie--thanks for the pics.

I agree that there are quite a few of you who could do it. See you next year!

Tom

[tyson]

As always, the Blackburn was a great experience. We're still recovering from this year's race, but already looking forward to the next.

I'm still, more than 24 hours later, enjoying the endorphins;

...Emilie seems to be addicted and ready to do it again tomorrow! I'm going to have to get her out on some NSPN strips with you guys.

Cheers!

Ty

[lhunt]

Results are in - here

[lhunt]

I'm going to have to get her out on some NSPN strips with you guys.

Cheers!

Ty

Uh, I'm hoping that's a typo, Ty.

[tyson]

Uh, I'm hoping that's a typo, Ty.

Uhhh... Yeah... That was a typo!

[binks]

Doug - I run a local surfski website (nesurfski.net) and wondered if I could use this picture (and/or others). Can you contact me at nesurfski@maine.rr.com? I'll give full credit on the site.

Many thanks, Andrew Binks (NSPNer of many moons ago).

[leong]

Congratulations to Leon, Lisa, Tom, Les and the Tyson/Emilie team for their Blackburn Challenge 2009 feats today. If I forgot anyone else please post as well. I'm in awe. Please let us slowpokes know how you did. Was fog an issue today?

Gene, beside Greg and Mary Beth, you forgot Nick Shade who came in first (3:04:26) in the high performance double category. Nick and his paddling partner passed me like a speeding truck.

I can't complain: although I was shooting for a sub 3:30, I came in at 3:37:38 in the fast sea kayak category. Not too bad for someone eligible (for four years) to collect full retirement age social security (it’s true for Tom as well).

However, here's something interesting to note. The Blackburn Challenge race now uses the Sound Rowers boat classification rules. Kayaks are classified into one of three categories "based on waterline length to width ratio. Those boats with a L:W ratio less than 9.25:1 are in the Sea Kayak class (SK); between 9.25:1 to 10.99:1 are in the Fast Sea Kayak class (FSK); greater than 10.99:1 are in the High Performance Kayak class (HPK)â€.

I came in 12’th. But 9 of the boats that came in ahead of me are not in the FSK category (per the Sound Rowers rules) because they have length to width ratios much greater than 11.0 (mostly Epic 18Xs and amazingly one Epic surf ski). So, if these 9 boats were entered in the HPK class (where they belong), I would have come in 3'rd. I have no reason to complain though ... it's just a fun race. Also, five of the paddlers that I know who came in ahead of me would have beaten me anyway in a true FSK boat (but just by a smaller margin).

This is Lisa’s first year in a sea kayak and in the sport of kayak racing. Her results are outstanding. The few women who beat her are near professional-level kayak racers. She beat 20 men racers in the SK and FSK classes. Go gal!

One final comment: Greg can really move that Gulfstream. It took me two years of heavy workouts until I broke 3:30 in the Blackburn using my Gulfstream (3:29, about two minutes longer than Greg’s time). But that time Bob Burnett had to practically carry me onto the beach after I crossed the finish line. Greg looked pretty rested to me. It’ll be interesting to see how fast he’ll be next year in the QCC700.

[Doug]

Doug - I run a local surfski website (nesurfski.net) and wondered if I could use this picture (and/or others). Can you contact me at nesurfski@maine.rr.com? I'll give full credit on the site.

Many thanks, Andrew Binks (NSPNer of many moons ago).

Hi Andrew, I'll be posting my pics tomorrow (Tuesday). I'll create a new General Message when it's done. Doug

[Josh]

Leong,

I know you're not complaining, but I want to point something out. The Blackburn site specifically points out that Epic 18's are in the FSK class. Also, the Sound Rowers club's web page lists the L:W ratio for this boat as 10.5:1 - within the FSK class

Josh

"However, here's something interesting to note. The Blackburn Challenge race now uses the Sound Rowers boat classification rules. Kayaks are classified into one of three categories "based on waterline length to width ratio. Those boats with a L:W ratio less than 9.25:1 are in the Sea Kayak class (SK); between 9.25:1 to 10.99:1 are in the Fast Sea Kayak class (FSK); greater than 10.99:1 are in the High Performance Kayak class (HPK)â€.

I came in 12’th. But 9 of the boats that came in ahead of me are not in the FSK category (per the Sound Rowers rules) because they have length to width ratios much greater than 11.0 (mostly Epic 18Xs and amazingly one Epic surf ski). So, if these 9 boats were entered in the HPK class (where they belong), I would have come in 3'rd. I have no reason to complain though ... it's just a fun race. Also, five of the paddlers that I know who came in ahead of me would have beaten me anyway in a true FSK boat (but just by a smaller margin)."

[leong]

Leong,

I know you're not complaining, but I want to point something out. The Blackburn site specifically points out that Epic 18's are in the FSK class. Also, the Sound Rowers club's web page lists the L:W ratio for this boat as 10.5:1 - within the FSK class

Josh

"However, here's something interesting to note. The Blackburn Challenge race now uses the Sound Rowers boat classification rules. Kayaks are classified into one of three categories "based on waterline length to width ratio. Those boats with a L:W ratio less than 9.25:1 are in the Sea Kayak class (SK); between 9.25:1 to 10.99:1 are in the Fast Sea Kayak class (FSK); greater than 10.99:1 are in the High Performance Kayak class (HPK)â€.

I came in 12’th. But 9 of the boats that came in ahead of me are not in the FSK category (per the Sound Rowers rules) because they have length to width ratios much greater than 11.0 (mostly Epic 18Xs and amazingly one Epic surf ski). So, if these 9 boats were entered in the HPK class (where they belong), I would have come in 3'rd. I have no reason to complain though ... it's just a fun race. Also, five of the paddlers that I know who came in ahead of me would have beaten me anyway in a true FSK boat (but just by a smaller margin)."

Josh, I'm still not complaining. However, you have two boats mixed up. The Epic Endurance 18 indeed has a length to width ratio of about 10.5; it's specifically mentioned as an FSK in the Blackburn rules and I agree. However, I'm not referring to the Epic Endurance 18. I'm referring to the Epic 18X, which has superceded the Epic Endurance 18. The 18X model has a length to width ratio of way over 11 (about 11.6 as measured by the Blackburn people). The Sound Rowers data doesn't include the Epic 18X. The Epic Endurance 18 is no longer in production.