I Ain't Finished Yet!
After a few mediocre years (including some Nationals that I skipped because of distance (Montana) and one from and injury (see Minden, below), I returned to the Nantahala Outdoor Center for the Open Canoe Nationals in 2006. A new venue (Charlotte Whitewater Park) had fallen through at the last minute and NOC had come through for us. But, instead of the old course that ran through the Falls, the course was set in an easier section downstream, where the kayak and C1s trained. There was only one "big" move through a large wave. The rest was relatively easy water, but the gate placement made a clean run pretty difficult. There's something to be said for lots of experience in such a situation. Consequently, I finished 3rd in Masters 13' race class, in a pretty large field, by virtue of a pretty fast and clean run.
Wausau 2006
In 2007, the race was held once more in Wausau, WI. I made the drive but decided not to run: I had had a knee operation in February and a hernia operation in May. My practice run put enough strain on my "gut" that the risk of ripping something was too great. The doctor warned that a second hernia operation was going to be much more difficult than the first. No thanks. I put the boat back on the car and took video and photographs...
2008! On the Minden Wildwater Preserve (Gull River)Returning to Minden was a bold (or foolish) experiment. In 2001, I had to withdraw from the race because of a ripped elbow tendon - "Golfer's Elbow". I don't know whether the injury happened before practice or during it, but I found I had zero draw and Duffek strength. But, instead of a conservative approach (using my Reaktor), I decided to paddle my Cobra: A very fast boat, but squirrelly as heck. Fortunately, we had lots of water late in the season, so I was able to practice in the boat in actual whitewater for a couple of months, getting pretty comfortable. |
Conditions were not exactly conducive to a squirrelly boat. The water was unusually high, and the course wet. I also entered the Rec class in my Spark (see above), so I did all my practice runs in that. A righty course, fortunately, but quirky enough to make a completely good run a matter of some luck. On Saturday, my Rec runs in the Spark each had some major flaw, like a 50 second penalty for missing a gate, or getting a boatfull of water. I think I finished 6th in class.
On Sunday, I figured I had nothing to lose (except maybe the boat). I announced to my friends "I'm going to be today's entertainment.", figuring on a good possibilty of carnage. So, without any practice in the Cobra, I leaped directly into the fire. Damn! I was either very lucky or the Cobra really liked the course. I was carefull of course, but the boat seems to handle everything very well. Surprised the heck out of me and my rivals too. I ended up having the fastest run with three touches, putting me in second place to someone with only a two-touch run.
Finish: 2nd in Masters, 3rd in 13' Race Open (only 4 boats in that class...)
| More Photos of the Minden Race | My videos of the NESS Series and the 2008 Nationals on YouTube |