Delusions of grandeur + Much spillage = Fun Canoe Trip!
Sore.
I knew I'd be sore. *arms falling off*
Took my little boat trip yesterday with Gene, Nick and Charlie. Nick and I were in one canoe (one of the only male/female teams that I noticed) and Charlie and Gene in the other. We've been talking big all week about how we're going to win the whole thing. (Or at least how we planned on crushing each other.) I must say that my delusions actually held out for longer than they should have.
First, we took a ride to the finish line to make sure I knew where to pick up my car. Then I drove to the launch site and met up with my fellow teammates. (Dad took my car and left it at the finish for me.) We kind of just walked around purposeless for about an hour until the Guy In Charge blew his whistle to signal that we were about to start. (I kept asking Nick about that required safety course that we were supposed to take. He just laughed. I thought he was trying to indicate that he had been joking about the safety course, but found out later that he really just didn't know what was going on either.)
So Heat 1 (us) headed down to the river and Guy In Charge finally gave us our safety lesson:
Guy In Charge: The conditions for today's race are just about perfect. There are a few points I'd like to make regarding safety before you launch.
Boaters: Okay
GIC: If you get wet and think you might be getting hypothermia, make your way to the nearest bridge and someone there will help you.
Boaters: Erm...okay.
GIC: Anyone here never been in a canoe before?
( A few nervous people raise their hands including Charlie.)
GIC: (smiles and nods at them) Well, good luck to you! Thirty seconds to launch!
Me: (snickering) Great safety lesson!
At this point, I'm still laughing at all the newbies, thinking that Nick and I are going to win. We've both canoed quite a bit in our lives. (I've never done so on a river, but Nick has, so we'll be great, right?) The starter's whistle goes off, and we launch. Right away Nick and I are out in front. (And going pretty fast -- at the time not realizing just how long 8 miles actually is. I had this idea that the river's current would be doing most of the work for us anyway, so I'm feeling pretty good right about now.)
Charlie and Gene come along beside us. ("Darn them," I thought, "No way are they passing us out!") Charlie remarks about how in horse races the ones that start off strong fall behind by the end. Then they go past us.
So, about 200 yards into the race that I planned on winning, things go downhill. Charlie's and Gene's canoe gets caught in the current and their bow hits shore, turning them sideways in front of us. We hit them immediately and as we try to turn I feel the boat tilt under me.
The next thing I know, I'm under water.
I don't remember registering whether or not the water was cold, although a few moments later that certainly hit me! I just remember thinking: Hey! I'm actually in the water! Can't be! I'm supposed to win this thing!
So my head finally breaks the surface and I couldn't see a thing. I'm actually surprised that I didn't lose my sunglasses, although we did lose our camera. (Along with my delusions of grandeur, it was the lone casualty of our trip.) I'm also surprised that I didn't get whacked in the head by one of the other canoes that I was so happy to have had behind me 30 seconds ago! Nick and I struggled to get the boat upright and get to the side of the river -- not an easy task since the current was a lot stronger than it looked! Then we had the fun job of trying to get all the water out of the canoe. Easier in a lake, since you can get underneath and lift it over your head to flip it, harder in a river when the water is only shin-deep and you have to just pick the canoe up, water and all. Very heavy!
We finally got the canoe righted and were on our way again, last place this time. And throughout the rest of the race, we kept getting turned around. (At one point, Nick got so frustrated that our canoe kept wanting to go backwards, he suggested that we just turn our bodies around instead of the canoe. Several "helpful" people on the shore thought they would enlighten us by calling out that we were facing the wrong way. Thanks.)
We finally got a rhythm, and we didn't fall over again (though we came close). We even managed to pass several people, taking advantage of the fact that they had tipped their canoes as well. This included Charlie and Gene. I didn't feel too badly about that. We had already paid our dues after all. I think we were the sixth boat to cross the finish line. So overall, we didn't do too badly. Not what I had had in mind, but we bounced back. And we did beat Charlie and Gene. (Probably all I could realistically hope for.)
I gotta say that when GIC said that if you got into trouble to just head for the nearest bridge, um, there were no bridges near were we got into trouble! Not for at least several minutes. And most of the ones we saw along the route were deserted railroad bridges with no spectators. I don't know who would be around to help somebody there if they needed it!
It was lots of fun, though. I may not have gotten a trophy, but I won't be wearing skirts for a while due to the "badges of honor" that I received on my legs from falling out of the canoe! Waterlogged or not, I ended up having a blast! (And I think our inital spill was the slap of reality that I needed.) I'd certainly do it again!
Some of the kids insisted that they were going to come watch. I didn't think they would, (perish the thought of 10:00 on a Saturday morning!), but it's too bad they didn't. That picture of me groping my way out of the river was probably priceless.
And we did lose our own camera.
I knew I'd be sore. *arms falling off*
Took my little boat trip yesterday with Gene, Nick and Charlie. Nick and I were in one canoe (one of the only male/female teams that I noticed) and Charlie and Gene in the other. We've been talking big all week about how we're going to win the whole thing. (Or at least how we planned on crushing each other.) I must say that my delusions actually held out for longer than they should have.
First, we took a ride to the finish line to make sure I knew where to pick up my car. Then I drove to the launch site and met up with my fellow teammates. (Dad took my car and left it at the finish for me.) We kind of just walked around purposeless for about an hour until the Guy In Charge blew his whistle to signal that we were about to start. (I kept asking Nick about that required safety course that we were supposed to take. He just laughed. I thought he was trying to indicate that he had been joking about the safety course, but found out later that he really just didn't know what was going on either.)
So Heat 1 (us) headed down to the river and Guy In Charge finally gave us our safety lesson:
Guy In Charge: The conditions for today's race are just about perfect. There are a few points I'd like to make regarding safety before you launch.
Boaters: Okay
GIC: If you get wet and think you might be getting hypothermia, make your way to the nearest bridge and someone there will help you.
Boaters: Erm...okay.
GIC: Anyone here never been in a canoe before?
( A few nervous people raise their hands including Charlie.)
GIC: (smiles and nods at them) Well, good luck to you! Thirty seconds to launch!
Me: (snickering) Great safety lesson!
At this point, I'm still laughing at all the newbies, thinking that Nick and I are going to win. We've both canoed quite a bit in our lives. (I've never done so on a river, but Nick has, so we'll be great, right?) The starter's whistle goes off, and we launch. Right away Nick and I are out in front. (And going pretty fast -- at the time not realizing just how long 8 miles actually is. I had this idea that the river's current would be doing most of the work for us anyway, so I'm feeling pretty good right about now.)
Charlie and Gene come along beside us. ("Darn them," I thought, "No way are they passing us out!") Charlie remarks about how in horse races the ones that start off strong fall behind by the end. Then they go past us.
So, about 200 yards into the race that I planned on winning, things go downhill. Charlie's and Gene's canoe gets caught in the current and their bow hits shore, turning them sideways in front of us. We hit them immediately and as we try to turn I feel the boat tilt under me.
The next thing I know, I'm under water.
I don't remember registering whether or not the water was cold, although a few moments later that certainly hit me! I just remember thinking: Hey! I'm actually in the water! Can't be! I'm supposed to win this thing!
So my head finally breaks the surface and I couldn't see a thing. I'm actually surprised that I didn't lose my sunglasses, although we did lose our camera. (Along with my delusions of grandeur, it was the lone casualty of our trip.) I'm also surprised that I didn't get whacked in the head by one of the other canoes that I was so happy to have had behind me 30 seconds ago! Nick and I struggled to get the boat upright and get to the side of the river -- not an easy task since the current was a lot stronger than it looked! Then we had the fun job of trying to get all the water out of the canoe. Easier in a lake, since you can get underneath and lift it over your head to flip it, harder in a river when the water is only shin-deep and you have to just pick the canoe up, water and all. Very heavy!
We finally got the canoe righted and were on our way again, last place this time. And throughout the rest of the race, we kept getting turned around. (At one point, Nick got so frustrated that our canoe kept wanting to go backwards, he suggested that we just turn our bodies around instead of the canoe. Several "helpful" people on the shore thought they would enlighten us by calling out that we were facing the wrong way. Thanks.)
We finally got a rhythm, and we didn't fall over again (though we came close). We even managed to pass several people, taking advantage of the fact that they had tipped their canoes as well. This included Charlie and Gene. I didn't feel too badly about that. We had already paid our dues after all. I think we were the sixth boat to cross the finish line. So overall, we didn't do too badly. Not what I had had in mind, but we bounced back. And we did beat Charlie and Gene. (Probably all I could realistically hope for.)
I gotta say that when GIC said that if you got into trouble to just head for the nearest bridge, um, there were no bridges near were we got into trouble! Not for at least several minutes. And most of the ones we saw along the route were deserted railroad bridges with no spectators. I don't know who would be around to help somebody there if they needed it!
It was lots of fun, though. I may not have gotten a trophy, but I won't be wearing skirts for a while due to the "badges of honor" that I received on my legs from falling out of the canoe! Waterlogged or not, I ended up having a blast! (And I think our inital spill was the slap of reality that I needed.) I'd certainly do it again!
Some of the kids insisted that they were going to come watch. I didn't think they would, (perish the thought of 10:00 on a Saturday morning!), but it's too bad they didn't. That picture of me groping my way out of the river was probably priceless.
And we did lose our own camera.