Trip Report: Lighthouse Trails Legacy Weekend Port Aransas, Texas Saturday and Sunday, October 19 and 20 was the second annual Lighthouse Trails kayaking event sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife, Austin Outdoor Gear and Guidance, and SouthWest PaddleSports at The Woodlands. The event began at 9:00am Saturday with a 15.5 mile kayak Port-to-Port race from Rockport public beach to the Lighthouse Trails at the causeway between Aransas Pass and Port Aransas. There were free kayak tours of the Lighthouse Trails at 10am and 2pm Saturday and Sunday with 40 kayaks provided by the two kayak sponsors. There were also kayak manufacturer reps on hand to demo the latest kayaks from Dagger, Wilderness Systems, and Mayan Seas. Because of small craft warnings due to the weather forecast of heavy wind and seas (15 to 25 mph from the S/SE), the launch of the race was moved from Rockport Beach to the public boat launch at The Cove, a more protected launch site about three miles south. The race finally got started about 10am, with additional miles added at the end of the race to maintain the 15.5 mile course length. There were outrigger canoes, tandem kayaks, and single kayak categories. Of the single kayak entries (9), the first two solo sea kayaks across the finish line were both Performas, with finish times as follows: David Bartell in a surf ski 2hrs 39min 44 sec 5.81 miles per hour average speed Erin McGes in a racing kayak 2hrs 48min 26sec 5.50 mph Juan Luis Del Valle in a Performa 2hrs 50min 30 sec 5.45 mph Ken Johnson in a Performa II 3hrs 7min 34sec 4.96mph Paul Penning 3hrs 22min 50sec 4.58mph Scott Cartier in a Nighthawk 3hrs 33min 22sec 4.36mph Donna Kowe 3hrs 38min 39sec 4.26mph Mark Arnold in an Elan 3hrs 43min 2sec 4.17mph Jim Polenchak in a Dagger 3hrs 47min 26sec 4.09mph John Gruber in a Quest 3hrs 52min 20sec 4.00mph Although the free kayak tour reservations for the Lighthouse Trails had been filled well prior to the event, the stormy weather kept many people away and it was sad to see so many kayaks available to the public from the two kayak shops, with so few people taking advantage of the opportunity. For those attending, the weather was not that bad (winds 10-15mph), and it looked like everyone enjoyed the tours and demo opportunities. For pictures of the race and demo day, see the album "Port to Port Race", second page, at http://community.webshots.com/user/johnsonkw1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Choose an Internet access plan right for you -- try MSN! Click Here *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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