Discussion: Drama indeed. And now a cl...
in: coach ld; coach ld > 2019-08-24
Aug 26, 2019 7:10 AM
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Bash:
Oh, that final hour before the race start! Even without being there, my stomach is in knots just reading about it. So many issues pop up and they all have to be resolved in seconds. Great job with a very busy volunteer role all weekend. Thank you for helping the racers have a terrific experience!
Aug 27, 2019 5:26 AM
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Great write-up. Sounds a bit frustrating watching completely unprepared teams portage. I cringe reading about them dropping the rental boats, and dragging them loaded. Thank you for lending ours to carefully selected canoe guides!
Aug 28, 2019 1:19 AM
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Those ladies were great. They were so happy to have a boat without a broken seat, and then when they found it was yours they were a bit worried. One actually said "That's a lot of pressure" but then she said "But we know Barb, and we're experienced trippers and guides, so we will take very good care of it. Plus Barb always supports the all-female teams so she'll be happy it's us borrowing it."
Bob initially asked FB because he knows you guys. He said "No way! That's too much responsibility". So he got a snubby tubby ABS boat instead. But he threw his back out in the first hours and couldn't do the race anyway so it was good a nice boat wasn't wasted on him:). Hopefully the ABS canoe wasn't the reason his back went out.
Bob initially asked FB because he knows you guys. He said "No way! That's too much responsibility". So he got a snubby tubby ABS boat instead. But he threw his back out in the first hours and couldn't do the race anyway so it was good a nice boat wasn't wasted on him:). Hopefully the ABS canoe wasn't the reason his back went out.
Aug 28, 2019 7:46 AM
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Bash:
FB said he injured his back “on the start” so I don’t think the ABS canoe is responsible- phew!
The canoe actually belongs to ‘Bent’s Mom (hence his siblings technically have an interest) and is almost never paddled by others unless ‘Bent is directly supervising. It’s 35 years old and fragile but it’s a fast, light boat that we’ve used in paddle races. Swift has moved toward slower, more stable boat models to support the rental business so there is no modern equivalent with the same hull shape. When it needs to be replaced some day, we’ll need to do research and spend $$$$ to get something with similar characteristics. If someone else broke it, we could never ask them to pay for that. Hence our nervousness until we knew it came back safely. But we know you honestly didn’t have any other choice in that situation! That’s why in the past, we’ve only ever lent our whitewater canoe to WT volunteers. Anything can happen. WTF are some of the most experienced canoeists in the race so if ‘Bent’s Mom’s canoe *had* to do WT, they were an excellent choice to take it since they understand how to avoid damaging a canoe. Sorry you guys didn’t get to use it on all those portages though!
The canoe actually belongs to ‘Bent’s Mom (hence his siblings technically have an interest) and is almost never paddled by others unless ‘Bent is directly supervising. It’s 35 years old and fragile but it’s a fast, light boat that we’ve used in paddle races. Swift has moved toward slower, more stable boat models to support the rental business so there is no modern equivalent with the same hull shape. When it needs to be replaced some day, we’ll need to do research and spend $$$$ to get something with similar characteristics. If someone else broke it, we could never ask them to pay for that. Hence our nervousness until we knew it came back safely. But we know you honestly didn’t have any other choice in that situation! That’s why in the past, we’ve only ever lent our whitewater canoe to WT volunteers. Anything can happen. WTF are some of the most experienced canoeists in the race so if ‘Bent’s Mom’s canoe *had* to do WT, they were an excellent choice to take it since they understand how to avoid damaging a canoe. Sorry you guys didn’t get to use it on all those portages though!
Aug 28, 2019 11:23 PM
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I witnessed the running, the yelling, the obliviousness of bob and the throw ( nice shot, btw) as I’m sure a number of people do, from the bridge where I watched the start. I have video.
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