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Round Lummi record stands….
Larry Goolsby
07/14/11 #11027
This morning, despite the rain and frigid conditions (wore a jacket and had the car heater workin'), DJ and I made an attempt at breaking the round Lummi record.
DJ, Shaun, and I set this record (2 hours 35 minutes) two years ago under primo conditions: NW wind 20-25 knts, high volume ebb followed by an equallly strong flood, and sunshine. We paddled a Mako XT tandem counterclockwise, sufed down the backside, took a 20 minute interlude at Lummi Rocks, and finished it off doing 10-11 mph up Hales's Pass against two foot waves.
DJ and I used a Fenn Elite tandem and left Gooseberry near the end of the ebb tide. We paddled counter clockwise to take advantage of the out going tide. Our speed around the top was 8-9 mph and we were hoping for 9+ once we made it to Legoe Bay. Didn't happen. Between the southerly wind and some miscalculation on the Washburn tables, we watched our speed slowly digress the further south we went.
Instead of taking a break at Lummi Rocks, we continued toward Carter Point just to get the slog over with. Speeds to Carter were in the 6's. Once around Carter, we saw instant improvement and were traveling between 8 and 9 mph. A short pee break at the DNR (highly needed by yours truly) was our only stop. Moving up Hale's, we watched our speed climb up to as high as 11.6 mph. However, this was not enough, because we came into Gooseberry at 2 hours 36 minutes and 56 seconds.Two minutes short of the record.
It appears that the record that Shaun and I set was pure luck. If you look at the Washburn tables, it is really difficult to time a paddle to ride down one side and up the other. The problem is that most of the time, the current travels the same direction on both sides of the island. We think that if the wind conditions are there, and we can get the timing just right, we can attain a record time of 2 hours 10 minutes or less. Still, this was a good challenge and a great workout.
LG
