Three paddlers and twenty one rowers converged on the Narragansett Boat House in Providence, Rhode Island for the 6th running of the Row De Prichett.   Dan Gorriaran and Bill Prichett, two expert/super fast rowers, coordinate this 21 mile trek to Bill’s house located in Jamestown, RI.  This is my 3rd time to do this paddle along with Tim Dwyer.  Mike Tracy joined us and paddled the Stellar SE2 with Tim while I paddled a single. Rich Klajnscek, another expert/super fast rower joined the group also.  Rich is the race director of the Blackburn Challenge and Dan is the race director for the Jamestown Counter Revolution which will host the East Coast Surfski Championships.

The paddle/row starts on the flat Seekonk River and after a few miles leads to Narragansett Bay.  We all stopped about half way for the group to rejoin on Patience Island and then it is race on for the next 10 miles to the phenomenal house of Jenny and Bill Prichett that sits on the East passage of Narragansett Bay in Jamestown with stunning views of the bay.  After a pre row/paddle meeting  Tim/Mike and I start out making a few adjustments on the water for the SE2 to get the the footplate adjusted appropiately.  After this, I rode their wash for 9 miles headed to Patience.  We were flying!!!   They were at a moderate pace letting me tag along. My heart rate was easy 20-25 beats over theirs while they settled into the their first shake down cruise in the double.  Mike and Tim will be using the SE2 for the Blackburn.  After 9 miles I dropped back off their wash but was only a few boat lengths behind though keeping a race pace effort. I kept telling myself, this is the best training for the upcoming Blackburn; race pace, wash riding, quarter beam seas, maximum concentration, and soaring heart rate.  What more could you ask for?  Well a break would be nice.

We arrived at Patience Island and waited for 40 minutes until everyone showed.  Getting warmed up again on the water felt great.  Mike and Tim eased back into their pace with me in tow, at least for two more miles.  Dan was quickly a mile ahead of everyone getting his 2 hour 35 minute Blackburn pace revved up.  With 8 miles to go, Mike and Tim let out the reins on the SE2 and were quickly doing 45-60 seconds per mile faster then my pace and were only a faded orange PFD on the horizon.  This is what happens with two excellent paddlers and a lightweight/fast double join up. Rich caught me and passed me with about 3 miles to go though I had a head start.   Everyone reached Bill’s house in various times, looking forward to the excellent spread of food that Jenny/Bill provided, warm clothes, and the views of the bay we had just labored on for three hours.  Thanks to Dan, Bill and Jenny for making this happen!!  It is a wonderful way to spend the day with the rowers while getting in some superb training for the Blackburn!!  Pictures:    https://picasaweb.google.com/Surfski14/ProvidenceRow