Lake Samish Salmon Roe 2005. The Other Story: The Dabblers. By Jeff Wong & Debbie Natelson
No one ever writes about the people who don't finish first. So we (Debbie Natelson and I) wrote about ourselves. We go to SR events. I've kayaked & Debbie has rowed for the last three years. But I've played in a rowing shell, and Debbie has gotten bitten by the kayak bug this summer. [Deb sez “learned to kayak”? --someone watching me paddle might dispute whether I’ve really learned to paddle. I still have a lot of improvement to make in my stroke.]
We dabble. (Some kayakers or rowers might call it "going to the dark side of the force")
I had a rowing lesson in 2003, and would rarely borrow a shell and row (badly, I'd find). Last year I thought, "Lake Samish? Great. I can row this little race." After touring the lake for 1.5 hours in a shell, I finished, long after everyone had gone home, showered, had dinner and lived out their lives. Unashamed, I took a rowing lesson from Steve Wells, read a rowing book and practiced rowing a little more.
Debbie has been learning, [or what she describes as trying to scale the steep learning curve of] the kayaking “forward stroke” from Steve Bennett, Dan Henderson, and his classes at Cascade. [Inspired by these new skills that she laments come and go like pocket change, she is nonetheless undaunted, and paddled the Elk River Challenge and the Great Cross Sound Race. Now addicted to this new form of human powered (and yes, forward facing) fun, this self proclaimed “two-timing boat hussy” is faced with the pre-race decision dilemma of “Do I row or paddle? What’s a Sound Rower to do?”]
This year I brought my kayak and Debbie brought her shell. I thought I had improved enough to row Lake Samish in Debbie's scull, but having tried it before race day found myself gently turning to starboard with each stroke. [Debbie wanted to kayak but was alarmed that even with my lack of rowing experience and my veering a bit off course, I rowed faster than she could paddle in the Epic, a Fast Sea Kayak.” Debbie describes me as a “speed force to be reckoned with.” Though worried that she wouldn't be able to beat me, she welcomed the challenge of at least trying to keep up with me. Debbie pleaded, if we do switch boats, please don’t beat me too badly in my own boat. Paul had done that at Elk River).”] Deb was happy to either row or kayak and put the decision back in my lap. I didn't think I could keep Debbie's rowing shell moving in a straight line, [but Deb reassured me that she has never rowed any race in a straight line anyway, so why should I do any different. Think more like a river than an irrigation channel; meandering is natural. Just concentrate on driving both legs evenly and you’ll do fine, she advised me.]
During the pre race briefing, Mickey Bevins described the course and stated the rules, including each rower/paddler's obligation to have fun. "Yeah, OK," I thought. Debbie and I discussed race strategy. We lined up for the race start, Debbie in her shell and I in my kayak. We saw rower Jeff Knakal in a very fast kayak. The horn blew and 75 boats took off. Debbie and I found ourselves in the middle of the pack. We stayed with a marathon canoe and a fast double sea kayak through the second turn about halfway through.
Then I began to scan the shoreline. I drew up to a floating dock, got out of my kayak and pulled it up onto the dock. Debbie, following, got to the dock in about 30 seconds. She got out of her shell and climbed into my kayak. I got into the shell but the oarlock gate flipped open and while wind waves jostled me, I screwed the gate closed and tried to push off, but a diving board on the dock interfered with an oar.
Debbie pushed off to finish the race. I got past the diving board, pushed off and began rowing to the finish. We had lost time getting to our rendezvous and switching, plus, it put us way off course, but we were having FUN!!!!
The race ended. [We had great fun watching the befuddled faces of fellow participants that distinctly remember nearly locking oars with Debbie at the cramped start, but suddenly she was there at the finish, paddling a kayak. How did she morph? Was the paddler or the rower her evil twin?]
Then, not yet having had a full dose of fun, Debbie went on to test-paddle Eric Wermur's Epic V-10 surfski (which she fears could become yet another new addiction.) I, wearing my cool, new race t-shirt, shoved a muffin into my face. I wondered if we had performed the first Sound Rowers midrace boat swap. If anyone knows of a precedent, we will happily concede the honors. Otherwise, we believe we have established a new racing class and would like to have our first place ribbons emailed ASAP [-- along with our DSQ notices? Dan Henderson already picked a title for us: Team We Go Both Ways.] :p
