Post
by PaulG » September 21st, 2014, 8:54 pm
Following the cold spring of 2014 I hadn’t participate in many open water races this spring and summer. I missed the Essex River Race in May because I had not been out on the water yet and did not want my first row of the year to be a race. But now that it is September, the open water race season is gearing up and I participated today for the first time in the Minot’s Light Roundabout in Cohasset MA, put on by the Cohasset Maritime Institute.
Last night in the lower Merrimack River Valley there was torrential rain and thunderstorms so when I woke up I thought the Roundabout might be cancelled. But the weather was better on the South Shore so down we headed to Cohasset. The conditions were beautiful on the starting location at Sandy Beach. Offshore we could see historic Minot’s light. Quoting from Wikipedia:
“In 1843, lighthouse inspector compiled a report on Minots Ledge, showing that over 40 vessels had been lost due to the ledge from 1832 to 1841, with serious loss of life and damage to property. The most dramatic incident was the sinking of a ship with ninety-nine Irish immigrants, who all drowned within sight of their new homeland.”
I believe Thoreau wrote about this tragedy and there is a Celtic cross erected in nearby Scituate MA to their memory. Although the weather was not nearly that bad on Sandy Beach, the wind was rising ominously as we all paddled out to the start line. We started out in a moderate cross chop and I assumed a good position in the lead group as we rounded the first mark and headed for Minot’s light. The course went between a red nun and a race mark and I drifted a little too far to the south. Do you know how many red nuns are off Sandy Beach? Apparently one too many and I picked the wrong one and had to make a major course correction that took me out of contention for the lead.
As we rounded the second mark and headed for the Light, the waves rose and I had trouble keeping a rhythm. Actually I had trouble keeping the oar handles in my hands and the blades in the water as several times waves from starboard knocked the oar out of my hand. Forget all that stuff about holding onto the oars lightly; I needed a death grip to make any forward progress. I noticed that several boats seemed to have already made it to the turnaround and were headed back in. Well, good luck to them, I was going to finish my race. It really wasn’t much fun as I struggled with the cross chop and clawed my way back to the lead group. However I was consoled by the assumption that my Echo could take any wave conditions and no way would it tip over. I tested that assumption later.
We reached the turnaround buoys near Minot’s Light Ledge and I started back in trying to surf the confused seas. Confused? These waves had full blown identity crises as you could not tell where they came from but they all seemed to want to end up in my boat. There seemed to be 5 foot waves rising out of nowhere as the tide, wind, and ledges conspired to make unpredictable conditions. Then as I surfed down another unpredictable wave, the predictable happened. My port oar caught a crab and I could not get it out of the water and away from my chest. Actually I think I caught a crab, lobster, and a halibut as I turned to port into the trough. With my weight in the bow I buried it, and fell elegantly into the wave. Yes, you can flip an Echo.
I’ve always said that swimming in New England in September is great fun and I had a chance to experience it again as I climbed back into my boat. I took a deep breath, told the crash boat that I was OK, and started again slowly. After a few strokes I put my feet back into the straps and the self –bailer started to empty the boat. The conditions weren’t much better and with 5 minutes I did the same thing again. The port oar was buried, the handle was in my chest, and I turned to port and flipped. Over the years I’ve learned a few things about falling, primarily through skiing. Don’t fight it. Go with it, pick yourself up and start again. With my recently gained experience I was back in the boat quickly and rowing again, this time with the crash boat suspiciously following me.
From here on in it was no fun. I just wanted to finish and ignored the other racers with the exception of a fellow rower who also went over. The crash boat was there in seconds and she was all right. As we neared shore the waves and wind abated and I was able to pick up speed and passed a few people. Another navigation error near the finish line delayed me but I finished and I was glad it was over.
On the beach we all shared stories about the unpredictable waves and a shark sighting. I attended the awards ceremony out of politeness for my fellow rowers and was shocked to be awarded second place in the ocean scull division. Remember all those people I thought had already rounded the turnaround mark? They were the smart ones because they turned early and abandoned the race!
You're a wonderful photographer, and we're lucky you're willing to share with us (and go to the trouble to do so!).
