Awesome job
I just finished watching it.
And congratulations on the wind and battling that strong quartering wind on day three in Middle and Lower Saranac Lakes.
You C-1 guys have always been my heros!
Jack L
Saw it on Facebook
Great video. Congratulations on your win. See ya next year?
Kudos to you
for getting back in a canoe on Monday. We will get out for a couple of hours of paddling practice today. Spent the past three cleaning the camper, doing the laundry, canning the tomatoes and apples that were ripe and awaiting our return. Seems as though the work is never done. Vacation ends on Monday.
Next year?
I can’t stop thinking about it.
We bought the CD. Listen to it every day.
90 miles of hard work, 90 miles of water, 90 miles of family and friends…
I have done a lot of endurance events, many in a canoe, many on a bicycle and some on foot. My wife has been very supportive and has been my “pit crew” on most of my adventures. I caught one of her FB posts and she said this was one of the most fun times she has had doing this. That is saying a lot, considering all the places I have drug her.
So it sounds like I’ll have a pit crew, so I don’t see any reason not to return to get my second year pin.
You’re hooked
– Last Updated: Sep-13-13 9:09 AM EST –
Next thing you know, you will be longing to do the Yukon races. Paddling the 90 for several years got me started on multiple Yukon 440 and 1000 milers (twice each so far, with more to come), and I couldn't do any of them without my wife as pit crew, or as some will say, "bank staff". Until then, take a look at several of the other shorter races in the northeast throughout the season. They are a lot of fun too, and you will soon find many friends in the community.
Yep
Next on my list is the Clinton.
I paddled the entire Susquehanna in 2001 and it’s been on my “Bucket List” since. Got tied up with mountainbike racing for a bunch of years with not much paddling. Then got hardcore into WW paddling. This year I got back to my roots with river tripping.
It’s all good! And you just never know where life’s journey will take you. Yukon… who knows.
You ought to head down to …
the Suwannee river next month and do the 52 mile challenge.
The first twenty miles is so pristine and beautiful that you’ll have a hard job not wanting to pull over and camp on one of the zillion white sandy banks that are on every turn.
Jack L
Congratulations!
Well done. Sweet looking canoe you have.
Your wife is a talented gal. No wonder you did so well with such strong support.
I’m glad you both had fun.
That looks cool
But it’s a long way from Pa. I think if I went to Florida to paddle I’d rather do it in January when it’s ugly around here.
Thanks
nice!
Just watched the video, great pics. wondered about life jackets? Some wore them, others did not. Guess it wasn’t required. I’m supposed to go up there next weekend for a Placidboat gathering. Wish I could put together 30 miles in 3 days, need to work on my strokes. I would love to just enter the race and finish it. I need to get a few injuries fixed and maybe I can join in on the fun. Thanks for sharing.
PFDs
You will find the majority of paddlers do not wear PFDs, but all are required to have them readily handy and not tied in the boat. Interestingly, a high percentage of the non-competetive open touring class with a correspondingly higher percentage of inexperienced paddlers, actually do wear their PFDs.
With so many boats in the water, chances are any capsize would be tended to quickly by either a safety watcher, or by another racer (which is required). If weather conditions warrant, race officials will make wearing PFDs mandatory. This happens frequently, but was not done in 2013.
Wearing of PFDs is always mandatory during the Yukon River races, but not routinely in any NY races that I am aware of.
POFD wearing varies
It is up to the discretion of the race director.
Last year with the winds whipping at 20MPH on Long Lake it was mandatory.
I raced yeaterday here in the south and it was left up to each racer.
Almost everyone who can swim will chose not to wear one, since the heat stroke factor comes into play when it is a hot day.
Jack L
PFD
I have always worn my PFD 100% of the time. And it never bothered me in the least. When I started getting ready for the 90, some of my paddle days were in the mid 90’s, so I left my PFD sit behind me. I couldn’t get over how free I felt and how much cooler I was.
This past Saturday I did the Can You Canoe Cayuga Lake challenge, and they required everyone to wear one. No big deal, and it was pretty choppy out there so I probably would have worn it anyhow. But I missed the freedom and sweat evaporation of not having a PFD on.
Lots of Placid boats in the Solo Rec class. Some of them guys are FAST!
Hey Brent
When are you going to fix it so we can edit our title if we make a mistake?
Jack L
Rain?
Just curious, if the weather turns bad and it starts to rain, not to heavy but continues through out the race do you use a bailer at times or you bail it out when you have to portage? just thinking thanks.
I was also thinking about the times and if you did the race in around 16 hours then you are moving a little over 5 mph over 30 miles…that’s fast. Do you know what time you have to finish in the first 30 miles so your allowed to continue the next day? I thought I heard there was a time limit.
Cut Off times
Each day has cut off times at different points on the course. If you don’t make the cut off time to the checkpoint you are pulled out at that point and taken to the finish line. You can start the next day in Open
Touring. The times are very generous and are set so that everyone finishes before dark. If you don’t make the cut offs you are going so slow you don’t stand a chance of making the finish before dark. The times are in the paddlers guide and are announced each morning at the paddlers meeting.
You can look at the results on the Adirondack Watershed Alliance website and see in Open Touring some of the slowest times and the DNF’s for those that did not make the cut-offs. You can also see the new course record which is close to 11 hours for the 90 miles.
Bill
fog delay
There are two potential problems with the cutoff times.
First, there is there is no provision to advance the cutoff time to compensate for frequent fog delays at the start. If the delay is as much as an hour (rarely that long, but it happens), some paddlers could be hard pressed to make the cutoff. Fortunately, for this reason and others, open touring with the majority of slower paddlers starts in the first wave.
If you happen to be in later waves, up to wave 10, you might not be leaving the start line until up to two hours after the first wave. If you put yourself in a competitive class that happens to start that late, and you probably should have been in open touring, you could have trouble making the cutoff.
Water
While we didn’t have any rain to speak of, I carry a sponge. I set it in front of me and it catches all the water from paddle drips on their way to the center. Every once in awhile I fling it out. I like to keep a dry boat. This works well in a light rain also. I had a bailer along in the gear bag, if there would have been a strong chance of rain I would have taken it in the boat.
I was worried about the cut offs too. I actually considered moving from the C1 Stock class which started in the 7th wave to open touring to make sure I could make the cut. We started about and hour and 10 minutes after the first wave. I think with a reasonable amount of preparation it shouldn’t be a problem.
I noticed that people paddle the 90 for many different reasons. It was very cool to watch the record breaking C4 go screaming by, and just as cool to see the older paddlers just out enjoying the day. One thing common among all the paddlers, they are all more than happy to strike up a conversation.
Good times!
Last year we got caught …
in the heaviest rain that I have ever paddled in when we were in the Raquette river. We had a Susquehanna with a bailer, and even with it open, I had to keep sponging while the bow paddler, (my wife) paddled.
This year we were in a Jensen 17 that I carried and there was only a few cup fulls of water just from my hutting, and each time I picked the boat over my head for the carries, it would dump out.
Don’t worry about the cut off times, unless you are a real slow paddler in which case you should enter the “open touring class” which starts in the first three waves.
Jack L