My wife and I raced in the yearly Tybee Island, GA USA kayak race which benefits the local marine science center. We entered in the tandem division with the understanding that we would cheat by using our new Pacific Action sail rig on whichever leg of the race had a favorable wind position. We rapidly paddled into second to last while traveling to the upwind leg through the marshes of Little Tybee Island. A serious of turns later through ancient slave dug canals and it was time for a fun surf break out sprinkled with some wrap around sneak up on your behind swells. I had a blast but the wife did not seem to enjoy being skidded around by tail swells that seemed to appear without reason. I quietly asked her to remove the starch from her spine as the boat didn't seem to appreciate her acting as a counter weight in the surf. She relaxed which helped immensely. We were treated to dolphins feeding heavily in the surf zone throwing foot long fish into the air and snapping them in two on the catch. We annoyed a boat load of shark fisherman as we brought up the rear of all but one of the kayaks in the race while exiting the surf zone. The fishermen were using what seemed like hundreds of gallons of chum which made the scene smell like a stockyard. Due to the fishing boat's position in the relatively small creek mouth we had no choice but to be about the fiftieth kayak to paddle through their set of baits suspended with bright red balloons. They sullenly eyed us as we meandered through the balloon field. Turning left after breaking free of the danger zone we were now in position to cheat! I told my wife in my best officer voice to unleash the sail. Since I don't sail I cant tell you what the correct command should have been. She let the PA sail fly, broke down her paddle, shoved it under the bungies and proceeded to lounge. A small beam swell knocked half of the paddle into the water and she turned around and lunged for it. Well, the tandem was pretty much in the mood to heel over as we were sailing. A petite blonde power lunging for paddle parts was not an expected part of the mix. I quickly found myself bracing up to my eyeballs to keep us upright. I managed to pretty much sound like a five year old girl as I screamed, "Don't do that!" In pure panic mode she quickly turned back around and sat straight up like she was in church. I managed to right us with a quick scull and even recover the paddle half. Shortly after this she returned to slouch mode in compliance to our pre-race agreement. We managed to make up some time due to several factors. The sail helped nicely. Local knowledge of where the helpful coastal eddies were located which counteract the outgoing tide we had to battle gave me the occasional breather from paddling. Finally some really fun surfing of a friendly following sea while under sail gave us a much needed nudge. I bet we had the most pictures taken at the finish. The woman who set up the race congratulated us on our innovative method of cheating. We finished third in class out of five and fifth from last overall. I like to spin that by telling non paddlers that we finished third. Jim et al *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Well, as cheating goes, it's not as bad as taking a taxi during a marathon! Sounds like a fun time. Mark Sanders -----Original Message----- I bet we had the most pictures taken at the finish. The woman who set up the race congratulated us on our innovative method of cheating. We finished third in class out of five and fifth from last overall. I like to spin that by telling non paddlers that we finished third. Jim et al *************************************************************************** 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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