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Date: Sep 27, 04
From: Dave Del Rizzo
Club: Penticton Racing Canoe Club
Title: Length of the Lake Race Report
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And so it came to pass that on the 25th day of September in 2004, the
clouds did part, and the Sunny Okanagan Valley was yet agian
re-acquainted with the Sun after suffering
through weeks of overcast and rain. All the participants of the 5th
annual Length of the Lake saw that the sunshine was good, and they
were glad to make the best of it.
Four CORA clubs from the interior of British Columbia and Alberta were
well represented, along with stragglers from as far as Rossland BC and
San Diego California were on hand to challenge this, the longest CORA
outrigger canoe race in Canada. They brought their Mirages, Clipper
Advantages and Hawai'ian Class Racers, some even brought their tandem
OC-2 canoes. The entire length of mighty Okanagan Lake would once
again be conquered.
The race was designed with five seperate legs in mind. Each with its
own unique characteristics, all featuring different winds, conditions
and geography, each leg its own veritable iron race distance. But
when the lead boat - Vernon's "Northern Express" pulled into the first
aid station, all looked across the lake to see Penticton's "Three
Legged Race" scoffing at the idea of stopping at Fintry aid station,
and heading straight for Bear Creek, almost a further 25 km to the
south. With vigour, the second Vernon crew took to their paddlecraft
in hot pursuit, not allowing this strategic subterfuge to sway their
strokes.
At the second stop, the Penticton strategy seemed to have forsaken its
crew, who despite giving it their all, arrived 20 minutes behind the
lead boat. Nervous chatter and unsure looks were exchanged amongst
the fresh Penticton paddlers as they awaited the arrival of their
trusty Lokahi; they were preparing to embark on the next stage of
their three leg race in taking their boat from Bear Creek directly to
Summerland, a self-imposed leg of merely 45+ kilometres.
While this battle of the big outrigger brains was brewing, the "Fat
Bastards" from Kelowna RCC were steadily churning up fresh lake water
in their Stingray OC2, and the 2 Calgary tandem crews were steadily
trading places - one can only imagine what was being said across the
water as one crew passed the other on each of the first 3 legs.
All became clear in Summerland, the 4th stop of the race, as crews
arriving by car from the 3rd stop were all abuzz over reports of the
Penticton boat not more than 4 boat lengths behind the second place
Calgary crew. Many proceeded to pass out on the beautiful Crescent
Beach grass in the sunshine upon hearing the news, likely more due to
the fact that priority was being placed on enjoying the beautiful
weather and conditions, than in reaction to the update on the status
of the race.
We would later discover that skipping the 3rd stop in the race shaved
8 minutes from Penticton's deficit. The crew for the last leg was
unable to make up the remaining 4 minutes gap over the 13 km from
Summerland to Penticton, and Penticton finished 3rd to take home the
bronze medal. The Northern Express from Vernon took the trophy and
gold medal, and for the second year in a row, VRCC captured the title
of Length of the Lake Champion. Calgary CC finished second,
highlighted exclusively by Karen's sprint to the peach, and going
above and beyond the call of duty by planting a big kiss on the famous
Penticton landmark.
The Fat Bastards from Kelowna shaved a mere 20 minutes off their time
from 2003, coming in at 8:54:36, and in the process setting a new
Men's OC-2 record for the event - have a great Moloka'i Hoe boys!
While we're talking about records falling, Calgary's Hoe Loa mixed
OC-2 crew set a new record for that class as well, finishing in
9:07:23!
The spirit of Mahalo was all around as all participants gladly hung
around to welcome the Penticton/Vernon/Rossland/San Diego stew crew in
at the 9:49:13 mark. Seeing Trish sprint up to touch the Peach after
nearly 10 hours of paddling was truly inspiring!
All participants (and some hangers-on) then converged on a local beach
house restaurant for an exquisite buffet and beverages. Not to
mention the handing out of awards which was preceeded by the dispersal
of the largest pile of door prizes in the recent history of the race,
and possibly the world. Empty-handed paddlers were few and far
between on the walk back to the hotel that night, with the only
disappointment to be heard being that no crews had spotted the elusive
Ogopogo lake-monster for the 5th consecutive year!
The long and the short of it is that despite a decline in numbers this
year, those who did particpate experienced one of the best organized
and most fun race events in recent memory. We would like to urge all
clubs within shouting distance of this outrigger email forum (and we
understand that you can hear us all over North America and to the far
corners of the globe!) to join us next year for Length of the Lake.
It's truly an awesome racing experience!
Regards to all!
Dave Del Rizzo
Penticton Racing Canoe Club
www.prcc.bc.ca
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