The Downtown Boathouse in NYC held its 19th annual Harrison Street Regatta on Saturday on the Hudson River. It is a human-powered fun boat race that this year was "won" by a most interesting kayak setup. First a bit of history, the Regatta is a traditional race that started years ago when intrepid local paddlers started to re-claim the waters of the Hudson long before there was a Hudson River Park. They simply went around fences, over rotting piers, eluding security guards and dropped their boats in. The Regatta race is a fun race in that the winner is the second boat across the finish line. All kinds of shenanigans are pulled such as false finish lines and various tactics. The latter generally have involved a number of boats pulling up short of the finish line waiting for someone to give in and cross the line because they have to pee or can't resist the prospects of a beer at the celebration repast waiting on the pier. Then the remaining boaters race to come in right behind that boat to be second and official winner (the prize is an out-of-this world creation by Richard Nonas, a local sculptor and paddler of international reknown...the sculpting not the paddling). This year was the biggest year ever for the event, 31 boats. Almost all were kayaks except for a rowing shell and a two-person outrigger canoe. One of the kayakers in a Seda Impulse does what he always does when leisurely paddling these waters, bring his small dog along (I believe the guy is Australian which helps explain things). The dog stands on the back deck. Lest one think no big deal since they have seen small dogs on back and front decks (Jackie Fenton's sweet little ones do, Mollie, Hallie), the waters can be rough here because of winds and wakes. So the dog has gotten quite a good set of sea legs (I guess it helps to have four of them). Here is what happened. The race was approximately 2.5 miles or so in length. The 2-person outrigger crew didn't really care to "win" the race in the traditional way, i.e. go for second place. They went all out. I was finish line judge. (Not an honor, mind you. In past years the race has been hotly contested afterwards and the judges have found it necessary to do a disappearing act to escape angry contestants. When I was assigned the responsibility, I could not help but note the gleeful, diabolical look on the race organizer's face. :-)) Through my binoculars I could see the 2-person outrigger was in the lead but with a kayak just a short distance behind. When the outrigger came close I started shouting for them to hold up at the finish line, but the crew was having none of that and really wanted to win outright for outrigger-uber-alles boosting rights. Knowing what was just behind them, I could understand why they had an added incentive to go flat out and come across first. Hot on their tail was the Seda Impulse kayaking guy and dog! They (I am certain the dog was helping in some way, so I say "they") were just 20 seconds behind in crossing the finish line. Now what self-respecting outrigger two-person crew would want to be beaten by a man in kayak with a yapping dog standing on the back deck! No wonder the outrigger hustled across the line. A little later after the celebration was over I noticed that some of the more contentious paddlers were scurrying the neighborhood for stray dogs to adopt and train with for next year's race. :-) ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I would like to hear from anyone in the group list that has knowledge on how to go about filing a claim for an accident in British Columbia. I know we have a number of Canadian members on the list, and I'm hoping one of them may be able to point me in the right direction. Instead of kayaking this weekend, I went out for a 3 day 320 mile bike ride with a few friends. Unfortunately, I was involved in a collision with a pickup truck and boat trailer with a cabin cruiser on it, while riding back from Vancouver after RSVP (The RSVP plus, ride). My bicycle appears to be OK, but I did sustain a wee bit of damage to my own body - a broken shoulder blade amongst other things. I'm very happy to still be alive, but would like to determine the costs that I could expect the drivers insurance - i.e. the government owned insurance, to cover, as I don't feel that it would be very fair to pass those onto my own health insurance or my own pocket. I have no idea if it is feasible to pursue medical costs,lost time from work, equipment damage, or even losing the use of my Ride Across Washington ticket ( I have a one week long supported - (i.e. they carry your gear and provide meals ) that I had paid for, for next weeks vacation), as I won't be able to ride (or paddle)for a while. My understanding of the way traffic liability works up there is that, the police only report the accident, and then the BC Insurance commission determines who is at fault. I have a copy of the police report, but it simply lists the names of the parties and location of the accident, without any detailed description of the incident or indication of who was considered to be at fault. The incident occurred on Hwy 10, near Langley, about 10 miles north of the border. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks - Saul Saul Kinderis saul_at_isomedia,com My new web page is at: http://www.isomedia.com/homes/saul (425)402-3426 POB 2221, Bothell, WA, 98041 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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