Re: [Paddlewise] Eddy currents and down river racing

   I like the kayak non-races, sometimes called tours. In slowness there is
tranquility, beauty, and inner peace. Let us go slower, not faster, and have
a good paddle.

Brad Snailman Crain

Quoting Craig Jungers <crjungers_at_gmail.com>:

> On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 5:32 AM, rebyl_kayak <
> rebyl_kayak_at_energysustained.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Matt the down river race is invariably run on a night when the currents are
>> favourable at the start of the race, which means that really fast racing
>> classes can stay in sync with the current for long periods.
>>
>
> Interesting that this is also what they do at the "Deception Pass Dash" held
> north of Seattle in December (late fall with often winter-like weather). The
> surf-ski paddlers finish much faster than the rest because they can go fast
> enough to (barely) stay in sync with the favorable tides. Everyone else has
> to deal with the adverse currents shortly after the start. Last December
> this led to some serious nastiness on the return leg with many capsizes
> caused by the big ebb against a strong wind. The jet ski safety riders were
> very much in demand and the kayak safety paddlers who were unlucky enough to
> be stationed in the places with the worst conditions saw a lot of action.
>
> Not being much of a racer myself I wonder what it is the race promoters are
> trying to do arranging things in this way. Maybe Matt Broze or PeterO or
> some of the other active racers have some insight.
>
>
> Craig Jungers
> Moses Lake, WA
> www.nwkayaking.net
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