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Lake Whatcom Classic RESULTS & THANK YOU!!!
Brandon Nelson
05/07/16 #19165
A HUGE THANK YOU to all our volunteers, safety boaters, amazing cooks, chefs, bakers, couriers, gear-loaners, motor-boat-bringers, race fans, families of racers, kids and parents of racers……..and……..RACERS!!!!!!!!
What a beautiful day to be on the water among friends. Just glorious!!!
Results are posted here: http://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=68919
Apologies for any discrepancies… please help us get it right if your name/result is out of order or your time doesn't appear correct.
Finally, thanks to everyone who supported the Bellingham Youth Paddlesports program by munching their tasty desserts!
We are so blessed to have racers out there from 8 to 80!!!!
Cheers!
Brandon, Heather, Hayden & Jazzy
allipp01
05/07/16 #19168
Here's Dave Anderson at the finish……unless he failed to cross between the green buoy and the shore I'd have to say he finished a couple seconds behind Peter M, Thom P and Brad.
Brandon Nelson
05/07/16 #19169
Thank you Alan! Sorry Dave. We'll have HQ add you to the results!
Nice racing!
Brandon
allipp01
05/07/16 #19170
Oops, make that Thom P and Chris….I went to school with a guy named Brad Cupp, so I have that name imprinted in my mind.
Michael Lampi
05/08/16 #19181
Thank you for an excellent race, Brandon!
It looks like Kate and Aria are not listed in the results. Could you add them, please?
Best regards,
Michael Lampi
Brandon Nelson
05/09/16 #19193
Hi Michael,
Aria shows up on this one:
https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=68919&did=75872&cid=403296
and Kate shows up on this one:
https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=68919&did=75872&cid=403294
Are there further edits? Thanks!!!!
Brandon
Lake Whatcom Race- Races within Races…..Intervals at Padden
Pmarcus
05/08/16 #19175
Its always fun to listen to everyones take of the races within the races…
Of course you have the super speedsters up front with the four person rowing shell and double men and mixed HPK's and One Olympic Champ moving along at 9 and 10 mph even at the end, then another small pack of double HPK and another fast single HPK…
Then not to far, just a few seconds and tantalizing close but can't quite catch up most of the race, like for ten plus miles, until a “paddle blow out” (Mike Lee has been hitting the weights), the OC 4 (as Brian B. said, now paddling as “3 1/2” Men…) and two HPK's then followed by twenty seconds or so a super fast OC 2, Thom P and Chris Cupp… (averaging 7.4 + for the first seven miles or so, I should know, I shamelessly drafted until Mile Eleven-ish…) and two more HPK's, one in a Epic GT Sport (yes, I said Sport….that guy was strong!) I haven't raced that long in a single for a bit and my hips still are dis-owning me….
Anyway, Cheers to all the racers in front and behind and all the volunteers!!!
Intervals at Padden tomorrow unless too windy then go surfing….0515 paddle splashes!
Reivers Dustin
05/08/16 #19182
Greg B did a great write up on his version of Lk Whatcom race. Its on facebook and I can't seem to get a link to work. Worth a look, especially for those who think drafting has no place in racing.
rd
Kevin Olney
05/08/16 #19185
It was a pleasure to race against one of the all-time greats. The combination of race strategy and the physical ability to execute amazes me.
Copied from Greg's FB page:
“Wake Jumping
One km into today’s Lake Whatcom Classic, I found myself on the stern wake of Brandon & Heather Nelson in a double ski, who were on the stern wake of a 4+ rowing shell. Off to our left was DJ Jacobson & Kevin Olney drafting a 4x scull.
About 4 km into the race, the 4+ shell starting making a right turn, indicating they were doing the short course while the rest of us were doing the long course. That left the Nelsons and me without our “ride”. By that point, the 4x scull had pulled 60-80m ahead of us.
This brings up a major decision in a distance race – do I attempt to catch the lead pack, team up with the Nelson double ski, or paddle solo? If you are capable of staying with a faster boat or pack, it will give you a noticeably faster time for the race – provided you don’t tire yourself out so much that you completely die off towards the end. Even then, it may be worth it if you can stay with the faster boat for a significant time before falling off.
I opted to chase down the lead pack. There are 2 ways to go about this – 1) Climb up and over a series of wakes from directly behind the leader(s), or move out to the side into clear water and angle up to them just outside of the wakes. Since I was already within the vee of the lead wake at the point, I opted to paddle up the center. Even 80 meters back, there are still wakes – especially if they are from teamboats (which are heavier) or multiple craft.
The strategy is to surf the small wake for a period of time, then put in a hard sprint to move up and over the next wake. Rest for a short period, then sprint again to move another wake closer. The timing and effort is important. You need to sprint hard enough to climb over the next wake in 15-20 seconds. If instead you push forward with a steady grind, you’ll likely tire out before gaining enough speed to jump the wake. Then you need to chose your rest period – not enough rest before jumping the next wave and you’ll be too tired to make it. But resting too long decreases your chance of ever catching the leaders – especially if they are moving faster than you can paddle on your own. A series of sprints and high intensity paddling can only be maintained for a certain period of time. More than 5-10 minutes and you will likely tire before catching the pack.
My sequence was to jump a wake, recover for 30-60 seconds until I felt capable of going again and sprinting over the next wake. This was not a full recovery – I was still tired from the previous sprint before going again. But I knew I had to catch them before my limited energy reserves would be completely depleted. The good news is that each progressive wake becomes slightly larger and an easier ride, until you finally reach the stern wake of the last boat on the pack.
I was dead tired when finally catching up, but then tried to paddle as conservatively as possible while maintaining a position on the stern wake of the double ski. I kept this position until about 1.5 km from the finish. First I moved up to the side wake of the double ski, rested briefly and then pulled up alongside the 4x scull to challenge for the lead – eventually pulling ahead.
Jacobson & Olney followed me up on my side wake. Then they took the lead for a period while I rode their side wake. I managed to pull ahead for a final time and held them off in a sprint to the finish.
It was an exciting race. Experience definitely pays off. The more times you put yourself in these situations and try different strategies, the more you’ll learn what does and doesn’t work for you!”
Here’s the results.
http://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=68919&did=75871
Nicholas Cryder
05/08/16 #19186
I had just been gapped off behind Greg and Brandon's boat when that went down - I goofed up the wash ride trying to go from their right side to left anticipating that we would need / want to try to close on the other boats a few hundred feet to our left (its amazing how much better the side was is than the tail wash btw). So when Greg sprinted off of the Nelson's wash, I was just a few boat lengths back and loosing ground at 8.4mph… so it was a very impressive move and a big gamble to see him go, but definitely the critical moment of the race and Greg didn't hesitate…. and it just goes to show how much game Greg has.
At that point, I was in no-man's land without any wash to ride and started to loose ground on everyone fairly quickly even though my pace was still pretty high with the building tailwind (8.2ish). Clement / Whitlock made contact with me right as Mooney was fading a bit, and we traded pulls together until the last mile or so of the race when I got a long pull and got a small gap into the finish. As we all know, the wind built quite a bit as the day progressed and wow those last few miles hurt.
For a little perspective; last year's race was mostly single skis with fairly similar conditions, and this year's race was just way different with crazy fast double's and the rowers mass starting together. Even though I won last year's race as a single, and was second this year - I was almost 4 minutes faster than last year's time (consolation prize for a botched race).
-Nicholas
Steve Scoggins
05/08/16 #19187
It all sounds very exciting.
Steve
Nicholas Cryder
05/08/16 #19189
Beats parkour write-ups.
