Comox Valley
Defending Champions
Defending Champions
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Another fantastic race in the books. The Comox Valley fielded 5 teams in total counting mixed and only finished second to the young guns from Victoria (Fairway Gorge) in overall time but winning every division entered. We borrowed a trailer from Nanaimo and took our two Mirages down to the Hub City in order to compete with some of the best the Island has to offer. Some of our newest paddlers got a chance to race with some of our veterans giving them a really positive 1st outrigger racing experience. I wish that I had taken a photo of the huge smiles as the women's crews were coming back to the dock. The conditions had some surprises as the day wore on. In the mixed event it seemed that the wind was blowing directly in our face for all 8 directions. In the last 100 meters as we were coming into the finish line I remember thinking,,, we must be going the wrong way,,, the wind isn't in our face.
Here are the results: https://www.canadianoutrigger.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Crazy8-2015-Race-Results.pdf  Our Victoria friends at Fairway Gorge pulled out all the stops again this year and put on the Wet Dashe relay race in the Gorge. This race is to raise awareness and funds for the prevention of prostate cancer. Susan, Heather, Koya, Michele, Lisa, Annie, Lyse, Laurel, Janine, Dean, Stan, Don, Peter, Rupert and Steve all got involved from our club and we all had a great time while contributing to a fantastic cause. Contrary to the forecast the sun came out and made for a very pleasant day. The race was a blast! The dry dock changes very chaotic with sometimes three boats at a time performing changes. With the 1 minute delay starts there was almost always someone to chase and someone chasing you over the 8 legs of the relay. Kudos to our club as we somehow managed to pull off the fast time of the day over the 24 km course. Last count the fundraising efforts managed to pull in over $6000.00 for the prevention of prostate cancer. Congratulations to all involved! Rigging today. Not allowed out of the harbour. Yesterday 2 boats had trouble due to high waves. Jim Foti did an end over with Lanikai & a Tahitian crew broke their Iano and split their ama in two. Forecast for race day favorable but challenging conditions. Wish you were here. Peter 
Three of our local club paddlers went to the dragon boat club worlds in Ravenna Italy in September as members of the False Creek Canoe Racing Club. Out of 120 clubs, 29 countries and 5400 paddlers False Creek came out as the world champions. Our paddlers, Rani Johns with 4 golds, women's 200, 500, and 2000 metres and mixed 2000. Dean Doherty with Gold mixed 2000, silver open 2000 and bronze in the 500, Brian Johns silver 2000 open and bronze 500 open, all competed in the senior C (over 60). Canada dominated once again. It is not unusual for Canada to take the top 3 spots.
Brian Johns On behalf of the CVCRC I would like to congratulate Dean, Rani, Brian and all of the False Creek Creek Canoe Racing Club. It is fantastic to see our local paddlers so dominant on the world scale. One more reason to be proud Canadians. Steve Here's a couple of shots of the load that Don and I picked up in Stevenson. It included our new Club Tempest as well as 11 other boats. This load attracted a lot of attention. We even ran into a guy in the ferry lineup who runs escort boats for races in Hawaii. Below are some shots of Johnny's new unlimited 6 man. Top left shows the Vortex on the trailer in the background. 
Rio has been a real whirlwind of busy days. The local organizers have needed lots of help and we have both jumped in and helped Lynda out. It is so much fun meeting both locals and people from the paddling committee. Canada well represented by the 8 of us here. Alex will probably when a gold in the Golden Masters 500. Doug Terry and I did more than ok in both the Senior Masters and Golden Masters 500. None of finished first some seconds and a few thirds. Four races back to back yesterday. John arrived one practice as a team for races we won the V12 with help from paddlers from France Italy USA Hawaii and Rapanui great fun. We held are own today in 500 Senior Masters 500 second in heat and going on to the finals. We know we can improve on this race. The 1000 Senior Masters was perfect everyone in tune and we won our heat and go right to the finals. We should take all the big medals in the Golden Masters on Sat.
Having lots of fun exploring the food and sites. It is giving us a taste for Italy. I hope you two are well. See you soon after Argentina New York Rome Bologna and two extra days in Ravenna. Cheers Dean Two Golds for Team Canada Congratulations Dean and the rest of the crew! Rankings for Golden Master Men - V6 1000RankTeamClubRaceRoundTime 1 Golden Master Men V6 1000 Canada 213St. Final 5:23.86 2 Kihei 1 Hawai'i 213St.Final 5:51.75 3 Kihei 2 Hawai'i 213St.Final 6:12.82 Rankings for Golden Master Men - V6 500RankTeamClubRaceRoundTime 1 Golden Master Men V6 500 Canada 179 St.Final 2:14.11 2 Kihei 1Hawai'i179St.Final2:19.82 3 Kihei 2 Hawai'i 179 A bunch of folks from the Comox Valley headed to the beloved Columbia River Gorge for some racing and a whole lot of fun and frolic in the big waves, sun and great food that that area has become famous for. There were a few glitches and bumps along the way this year as someone forgot their passport, nearly lost a wheel on the (I5) and spent a little too much time under a flipped over 6 man during the race. For a while there it didn't look like Peter was going to get into the country as the border guards tore apart his Westfalia looking for his stash. Much to her dismay, Jackie was unable to attend this year and she was sorely missed by all, especially the Gargoyle. Lyse went a little too deep on her Tribal Journey in the weeks leading into the Gorge and came up with a bout of Bronchitis that limited her paddling late in the trip and made for a pretty uncomfortable trip home. Having said all that the Gorge didn't let us down. We only got skunked one day without wind and one day of light wind. We spent that day on a road trip up to the Mount Hood Lodge which was a spectacle and very much worth the trip.
Rupert took a bunch of photos during some of the fun and frolic on the gorge and you can check them out here or copy and paste this address into your browser: https://www.adoberevel.com/shares/d3dc8d586182413ab971e397eeaa37ad/albums/98c08201c0ca48c7a515f8b8c1ae839f The Comox Valley fielded a Women's Masters team and a Men's Senior Masters team in this 18km race. This race was filled with drama for the Comox Valley as the trucks carrying the boat and ama, iakos etc. got caught in traffic following an accident considerably shortening the prep time prior to race start. In all the hustle and bustle the iakos ended up reversed and the women raced 18km with the ama plowing water the whole way. They persevered anyway and still came in an impressive 4th overall and somehow managed to laugh it off with style and dignity. The men were up against a somewhat diminished field as False Creek didn't have many of their top guys and Fairway Gorge were missing their top gun due to sickness so they breezed through to a top finish in their category and overall as well. It was a fantastic day with great weather and minimal current for Victoria waters. The Ocean River gang put on a great race with an amazing meal following the race and we all had a great time with all of our competitive friends from as far away as Calgary.  L-R Stan Hanson, Steve Butcher, Bill Brett, Rupert Wong, Don Irvine, Peter Forand Our Tuesday evening Small Boat event is taking on an exciting new direction. In the spirit of growing and promoting paddling in the Comox Valley the Compass Adventure crew, in conjunction with the Comox By the Sea downtown business group have launched this new event. Last night was a great success with 30 paddlers in total. It was a beautiful night to kick things off with a 6.29 km long course. We all completed our chosen course and followed it up with burgers and a bevie at the Compass Adventures Compound. This weeks BBQ was hosted by Wills Marine Supply.
To check out the results go to http://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=22728 |
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