Two backpacks, dad and his son, friends, waves, and a week on the North Shore.
Poke me after I leave in five hours.
No Clothes Just Waves
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One-Minute Vacation_Seal Fight
New year, new paint, and a winter that looks more like summer — time to roll out the outrigger to a front row seat at the seal-fights.
Cheers,
Happy Holidays from Far and A Wey
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Outrigger Winter Series: Race #2
DNR (did not race).
But wait[!], I have a pretty good excuse; I was getting a sexy new paint scheme applied to the outrigger and, well, art takes time (read: even after five nights of rubbing on it, spraying all kinds of crazy beautiful paint on it, the boat still wasn’t done). Was it worth all the work, was it worth the late hours with good friends who pitched in and made the project happen, was it worth missing one cold and rainy race? Yes, absolutely, no question. I am humbled by the professionals that I call friends, whose job it is to build boats and make them beautifully distinctive. Their insight, knowledge, and generosity was at the heart of this project…and, the proof is in the results, as they say…
Reflection in final coat of clear. Mirror.
“Silver” turned out to be more of a champagne. Beautiful against the blue on black.
Cockpit turned out like Darth Vader.
Ama is the minnie-me of the Huki. Stunning.
What struck me after a long weekend of prep, and even longer nights (4) of shooting paint, was just how much planning and timing (read: waiting) goes into even a small job, like painting an outrigger. I seriously can’t imagine doing a 200′ yacht. The number of problems that can beset a job of that magnitude is staggering, and one truly needs to have the patience of a monk and the vision of mystic to pull it off. Here are a few photos of the work. The final results I’ll save for another post.
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- Boat arrives at Finco
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- Prep: lots and lots of sanding after hours
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- More sanding
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- Prep team: an army of one
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- Sanded and ready for masking
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- Day 3: masking
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- Masked and ready for bottom paint
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- Alex of Alexseal comes with the good stuff
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- Represent
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- Day 3; Night 1: 7 p.m. and we’re just getting started
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- Don’t be fooled, the chemicals get you anyway
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- Alex working his magic in the booth
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- Three coats of ‘silver’ and into Day 4
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- No luxury booth for painting the topsides
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- Despite wind and cold, Alex pulls off more paint voodoo
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- Alexseal “Ship Blue”
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- Day 5: Tape, tape, and more tape
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- Day 6: Gloss black pin and racing stripe add the bling
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- Detail on black on blue scheme
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- I’m horrified when Alex tells me we have to sand the entire boat down…AGAIN
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- Day 7: We get the booth back for final coats of clear
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- Alex pondering every move (9:00 p.m)
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- An artist in repose
Outrigger Winter Series: Race #1
The first race of the So Cal Winter Outrigger Series kicked off in La Jolla this weekend, hosted by the San Diego Outrigger Canoe Club, and it was one heck of an event. This was my first race on the gifted Huki V1-X (which I won earlier in the year) and I was stoked to get out there and do a bit of racing on a perfect day – 75 degrees in the middle of November. What’s not to like?
First: a few quick reflections on the outrigger set. 1.) they certainly like their gear; no, seriously, they are the triathlon guys of the water – lots of colorful paint schemes, carbon fiber up the wazoo, and trick little setups for everything; 2.) tribal tattoos are not just for SUP guys after all; 3.) don’t take for granted the husky girl in the sun-bleached rash guard because she’s going to go by you like you’re standing still, and then she’s going to talk to you like she’s shopping at the supermarket and, all the while, you’re about to puke. Not that happened to me, but, well, that totally happened to me.
Pete B opted for the short course (4 miles) on his beautiful new OC-1, which might have been the smart option; however, I figured suffering through the long course (8.5 miles) would be perfect for a knuckle-dragging paddleboarder. Here’s another insight into the race: outrigger math is seriously whacked, because at 9.5 miles I could only just see the finish buoys and people floating next to their boats. In the end, the race was more like 10 miles, but I just couldn’t bring myself to complain – it was just too pretty a day. Oh, sure, I sniveled the first 4 miles when ‘husky’ went by and I noticed everyone was pushing BIG blades compared to my own; but, after the turn on the downwind run, I caught a few folks (no, not ‘husky’) and finished up in 1:31. Not great, but not bad either.
Next OC-1 race: Dec. 7th. Looking forward to showing up with a new ‘sponsor’ and maybe even a new low-rider paint scheme…it’s so on.
11/11/13 — Perfect
Just another day in the middle of November, but this…
“Dad, every son should have a day like this on the water with his dad.”
…and it was perfect. Thank you, Robert Semour Thurmond, for many, many days on the water like this day.
Island 2 Island Waterman Relay (Race Recap)
1st Place, Unlimited. Done. Thank you.
Kidding. This year’s I2I Waterman Challenge was picture perfect — teammates, race support, hospitality, weather…all of it, perfect. We pushed hard, getting faster over the roughly six and a half hours on the water, and saw breakout performances from both Pete and Bernie (the latter who got sick at least two times right before jumping into the water for her next leg).
I had several epic 20-minute sections, wind at my back, blue water, racing down the face of waves and laughing the entire time. Of course, the best part of the race was the finish, which was handled with aplomb by Bernie. Taking the final leg to the finish, Bernie chose an inside ‘local’ line and hammered past a strong SUP team who was surprised to see us come out of nowhere (at one point we were almost 1.5 miles behind them).
In true I2I fashion, we celebrated late into the evening, rose early, and played the rest of the day with fellow paddlers and our Two Harbors friends.
Next year…well, next year we’ll find a way to do it again as it has become one of my favorite races.
A special thanks to Mark Urkov, at Urkov Charters, for his expertise as a captain, his motivation, and his skills around a video camera. Always above and beyond the call, Mark; your video recap of the race is perfect.
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- Santa Barbara Island
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- Pre-dawn Departure
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- West End
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- Bay Watch Greeting
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- Foote Putting the Hammer Down
Ghoulish Night
Race Updates on Twitter
Insightpr.WordPress.com
I2I Waterman Relay
Island to Island Waterman Relay race time! I’ve got an amazing and eclectic paddling team assembled (dubbed Team Bern-Out), calling in good weather for this painful 32-mile relay, and ready to get my luau on with friends and family. Santa Barbara Island to Catalina Isthmus…let’s do this. Race prep and photos to follow.
Edit: two quick details, because ‘inquiring minds want to know.’ The team name, “Team Bern-Out” showcases Bernadette Foote, who, being our youngest paddler, is going to carry us old guys through the rough moments (and sections) of the race. As for the discrepancy in mileage on the image, ‘dirt creatures’ should know that it is actually 28 nautical miles, which translates into roughly 32 miles of deep, blue water. Critter-country here we come!
2farandaway 