OMG, let me just start this post saying I had a fantastically great time paddling to Catalina and the gals I paddled with were awesome, but after a series of events, lets just say we did not finish off so awesome, see why below.
- We had a horrible, no good start to the race (let's just say we were not near the start line when the race started.), ugh!
- First change our boat and the chase boat had a near collision and our extra paddle and a life jacket were tossed into the ocean.
- Three changes were missed (as in we had an extra paddler in the water and an empty seat on the boat)
- I changed from seat 5 to seat 6 missed the seat hit my back and really hurt it (like hurt it so bad, I wanted to cry).
- During the change from 5 to 6 somehow the steering blade went overboard and I had nothing to steer with, so I had to use seat 5's paddle (not a steering blade) to steer, seat 5 took seat 4's paddle and seat 4 bailed water out of the boat.
-Steering blade was recovered and back in the boat, now everyone had a paddle and we could move forward.
- We paddle along, make a few changes, life is good!
- Then at some point we make a change and seat 1 or 2, not sure who, lost their paddle in the water! Yay, for seat 4 for paying attention and grabbing it! OMG!
-At one point Sheila was laughing at something so hard she could not paddle, my back hurt so bad and all I wanted to do is get out to the finish line, so I YELLED at Sheila to put her paddle in the water and just paddle, not one of my better moments.
- Timing was off a lot, but at this point who f-ing cares, let's just get to the finish line.
- We see lots of dolphin's, whales and a "SHARK" (aka a sun fish).
-We finish in 6 hours and 15 mins. and I want to die!
- We make it to the bar and life is good!
All in all it was great, everyone paddled their hardest and we finished something that not that many people will ever do in their lifetime. Thank you Jill, Ricki, Wennie, Jane, Margaret, Suzanne (from Oceanside) Karen and Sheila for the fun trip and I truly cannot wait to do it again next year.
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| Race Day in Newport Beach! |
Bumpy video, it was hard to keep steady!
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| Is that land we see? |
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| Night boats! |
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| Sitting eating breakfast watching the Men take the boats down to the water. |
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| Good Morning Catalina! |
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| After burning a ton of calories, I decided to have ice cream for breakfast! |
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| Don't know who the dude is, but can you say "tourist"? |
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| The lone boat, sad day for boat #13, left there all by herself. |
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| FREE drinks, thanks Offshore! |
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| Me, Jill & Margaret |
Great blog post about your first Catalina crossing! It sounds like you faced a lot of challenges, but you all persevered and did it! You made it to Catalina with your own power, no motors, and that is a huge accomplishment. I have been DFL in the Catalina race, and I have also medaled Catalina three times now. Everything that happened in your first crossing is part of the learning process and will make all of you stronger and better paddlers in the future. Congratulations on your first crossing!
ReplyDeleteJackie
Thanks, we had a blast!
DeleteHilarious story Erin! Loved it! And the funnest part is you will back to do it again next year. We are sick!
ReplyDeletejc
I cannot wait!
DeleteWhat an experience!! And to think, because I know you are, you're already planning on what to pack on the chase boat next year?? See you on the water soon!
ReplyDeleteblue
Yep, I am already thinking how I will do thinks different next year, looking forward to going to practice real soon. :)
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