The Mitch Madruga Memorial Capital Waterways Challenge was held today
and where do I start...

The weather as you know turned sharply cooler the last few days and
the forecast for the winds were all over the place. I'd seen 10 to 20
mph as the range earlier in the week, by Friday the forecast had
dropped this a little and this morning at 7:00 a.m there was bearly a
wisp of moving air. At the Washington Canoe Club location on the
Potomac, everyone seemed happy that wind was not going to be a problem.

The WCC folks loaded a big trailer with 15 plus boats headed for the
race start in Bladensburg, my Mini-Mystery was strapped down tight.
CPA Cyndi and Dave were driving over to the start and generously gave
me a ride to Bladensburg, my boat showed up minutes later. Within 15
minutes the race briefing was called, maps of both the "short" 12 mile
all water route and the full 20 mile route with portages were reviewed
and a prompt 10:00 a.m. mass start was announced.

Ten plus double canoes quickly churned a calm Anacostia river into
eddies and stern and bow wake mayhem. When am I going to learn to get
clear water from the start? After a few minutes the race fell into a
pattern, a UCF K-1 and ski were disappearing into the distance, a C-1
kneeling paddler looking very fast, five or six C-2's and an outrigger
were ahead of me. There were not that many boats behind.

Eventually I reeled in the outrigger and we both commented how the
unpredicted headwind was getting stronger and making time was getting
tougher, my 6.2 average quickly dropped to 6.0 and then down through
the fives. At each bend of the Anacostia the river got a little wider
and the wind got a little stronger with the increased exposure.

Just after the Navy Yard about six miles in, the wind was kicking 10
to 15. The chop was building. I had a double canoe in my sights and
was slowly closing a hundred yard gap that they had established
earlier on. To my surprise they pulled up to a boat dock and got out.
About fifty feet further I started spotting more and more of the
canoes abandoning. Then the clapotis kicked in with a vengence. The
water was totally confused and two foot mounds of water started to
develop very five feet or so. The water had no direction and a mighty
headwind made it difficult to make any progress between brace strokes.

These are not conditions I am at all comfortable in with the Mini-Mystery.

Knowing I was very close to swimming and without anyone to follow, I
decided that the smart thing to do was "abandon" with them. They'd get
the trailer and we'd all get a ride back to WCC on the Potomac. Right?

These canoeists are not quitters!

They had portage on their brains and decided we'd portage across the
neighbourhoods of South West DC, drop our boats in the Washington
Channel, maybe cut across the Tidal Basin and find calmer water on the
Potomac to put back in and continue to the finish. There was a little
disagreement about how far this might be, but hadn't we planned to
spend a few hours on a Water Challenge? We might as well make it there
by an alternate route, right?

Now the Mini-Mystery is light by kayak standards, boat weighing in at
27 #'s, add another 10 #'s for all the water and other gear I'd
brought along. But she is also 18' long and not designed to be carried
long distances, there's nowhere to put a paddle and no handles or
straps at the ends.

The doubles took off through the kind of deserted neighbourhoods you
warn your kids and people you love to be careful in. Me and a guy with
a C-1 tried solo carries, then we stacked my kayak in his canoe and
did a double carry. A few of DC's residents were amused by this wet
procession of boats.

Eventually we got to the Washington Channel, we got a marina to give
us access to the water and paddled across to the far side and on up to
the Tidal Basin. No way through, so we got out the boats and portaged
along side a multi lane highway for another half mile until we got
back to the Potomac. I was glad to see water again!

The water was still pretty rough and those crazy canoers started
walking up the Potomac River footpath looking for the water to calm
down. After another half mile I decided the pain of carrying the kayak
was enough to let me think less about getting back in the water. I
parted ways with the canoes as they still felt the water was too
rough. (Two of them had swum earlier and were not looking to repeat.)

Although there was a good foot tall wind chop it had direction. Sore
and aching from carrying by boat on my head for a couple of miles, I'd
quit racing. Just slow, easy, deliberate strokes for the last two to
three miles to Georgetown and WCC.

My official time was 3 hours 27 minutes for the 12 mile course. That's
a new record! Should be easy to beat next year too.

My hat comes off to Cyndi who paddled her Thunderbolt around Haines
Point, through all the wild water and on to the finish without
swimming. She finished in about 2 hours and 25. She said she was
scared but had hooked up with the outrigger and had company and
distracted herself by giving the out-of-towner a tour of the
Washington Landmarks. Todd from CPA in his first race also paddled the
whole course, way to go.

The K-2 that was ahead earlier on, rounded the point but capsized a
ways off shore and had a 15 minute swim getting their boat to shore.

No one even thought about doing the 20 miler.

Back at WCC the wind had dropped a little, the sun was strong, I was
weak, a cold beer sitting at WCC's hundred year old facility went down
perfectly and all was right with the world again.

Stephen