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Wildside first report
Reivers Dustin
07/30/11 #11082

It was the grand spectacle in all kayaking glory. In spite of early rumors the wind was excellent. River currents were a little higher. Attendance included heavy hitters from all over the West Coast. B.C. was well represented as well as California. Two husband/wife teams (Nelsons & Arthurs) one father/son team. JD worked us all over really hard during pre-race mtg. He inspected most leash systems and required several re-builds.

Sure enough the story of the day is a “leash event”. Another premature velcro seperation happening. The wierd part is the OC paddler that snagged the boat as it cigarette rolled upriver and the kite boarder that snatched up the paddler and dropped him off at his wayward surfski. According to the victim “the kite boarder dropped me back in my seat in perfect paddling position”. But we rather doubt that last part. The rest is true and JD made it a pointed lesson at the post race ceremony. For myself I'm going through an agonizing re-appraisal of my leash strategy.

The Barton/Kiesling team were edged out today by the C. Johnson/Jensen team (huh?!) But my personal favorite is about the LG/RD team getting the best of Shawn S/LB team. This put each of the pairs of close friends (also close in ability) in direct skull-bashing matchup. It was the battle of the century and I'll run out of laptop battery soon so buy me a beer sometime. Notable is MG & Duncan hammering with Pete Wells & Pete Wiley. The Pete's were hot, but MG won the BRAND NEW PADDLE!

JD did some new tricks at the hand-offs that helped slow the chaos. There's such a mass of B'hamsters at our campground that some beer inspired wit suggested we put up a sign: “The Other Bellingham”. And if someone tells you that I thought of it while drinking that bourbon, its a big lie.

Oh, and the ride behind the sternwheeler. Bill playing with a gill-net, David Sch. discovering the S1-R. DJ & Brandon burning up the course the day before. Lots of stories.
rd

dnjacobson79
07/31/11 #11083

Big thanks to JD for organizing and running a great event! Whatcom paddlers represented around half the field and continue to bring the heat on the water and at the after race party (we heard LG was falling over boats, drinking from the nipple bottle, & talking of after life…). I just scanned the Blackburn race write-up and decided paddling flatwater in 105 degrees heat sounds like no fun, conversely we had plenty of ear-ear grins as we dropped into the next wave…..

There has been talk of making this an official international race leading up to US Champs for next year now that Mayors Cup in done, more info to come….

Got to surf, great racing yesterday.
DJ

Jeff Hegedus <jhegedus@…>
07/31/11 #11084

And kudos to everyone who did this race for the first time, in significant conditions, and did it safely. Nice job! And speaking of safety, congrats everyone for a very impressive zero injury rate at the after race party blowing bourbon into the bonfire… but I guess that's another story :)

Larry Goolsby
08/01/11 #11086

Jeff…These were not ear to ear grins, they were Viagra grins. First leg of the race was some of the best surfing this side of the equator. Third leg started out slow, but got exceptionally wild in the last mile. Kudos to Kristen Jacobson for becoming a hardcore big water paddler. The duo from WWU (Medler and Ryb#@$K) gained more skill in three days than I did in three years. Got a great video of Peter M. trying to take revenge behind the stern wheeler. He was notably angry because yours truly got ahead of him during the first leg, so he intentionally T-boned me on the last day of our trip. Luckily, I had my GoPro camera on him and recorded this crime. The video will be up within 24 hours and our lawyers will get aquainted. Bill Bounds was also a quick learner and appears to have future Wildsides marked in his calendar. Also want to nominate Deb Arthur for paddler of the year; nothing scares this woman. What I need to convey the most was that a weekend like this would have been on my bucket list, IF I knew it was possible to have such an awesome weekend.

LG

(Afterparty in Bellingham?)

Big bondfire at Hilde's and RD's
duncanhowat
08/01/11 #11093

Hilde, I sorry I can't make to to your wonderful home wed nite, but I'm forced to return to the Gorge for the next seven days to practice, perhaps 2 @days in that darn 80-85 degree weather with those just awful 20k west winds. Gail, Kim,Gwyn,Edo,Veronica, Dan, Char,Bob Mc, Morris, Debbie, Mike, Amy and perhaps the Guy that had a small Island named after him several weeks ago, and then went out and bought a new boat, just so he wouldn't suffer, (go figure) will be there making sure I do those laps,and don't just lay around,like like most of the Beehams did on sun and didn't show up for work at Drano Lake as they were supposed to. And then of all things, after a week of that, they are making me fly right down to SF to do some downwinder. It's gonna be a hard two weeks, but some times when the going gets tough the tough get donuts. I hope the dinner goes well and some truthful stories get told of WildSide,2011. Duncan

babyrebozo
08/02/11 #11097

The Guy with a capital G? That is more respect than I thought I would get a few weeks ago from any fellow paddler. But upper or lower case…..that is not the case that concerned me after the Wildside…..I wandered up and down the Gorge from Bingen to Stevenson looking for all this free beer I was supposed to have won……16 ounces total for a commanding victory like that? That's about an ounce a mile…..and there isn't a boat made that I won't suffer in…..I don't care how new it is. And this business about the island really bothers me. The first thing I did when I got back from the Gorge was take a drive up to the ski area. I renamed one of the chairlifts……the “Duncan is a big, fat dope” chairlift. I know this is not too clever or subtle, but I wanted to make sure they knew who and what I was talking about. As far as making it back down to the Gorge this week…..I wish I could…..I know from experience that hanging out a week with the Howat family is about as much fun as you can have. So paddle safe, and make sure you get back on your boats!
Bubbles, the swimmer