RePost of 2013 Ride the Bull, Summary and Pics, Super Fun!

This winter I thought there should be another race before the Blackburn Challenge and after the Sakonnet River Race since there was a seven week gap. So I came up with the Ride the Bull Race, conferred with Tim about the course off and on during our winter paddles. So today 17 paddlers got their first chance to Ride the Bull. Conditions were perfect with winds 10-13mph, incoming tide, some boat chop and a 9 mile course with slop and chop, tiny downwind bumps if you could grab them, some upwind/up current paddling thrown in for the grinders in the group. Tim set out the buoys this mornings, Mary Beth agreed to do the do registration, and my wife Betsy agreed to take the great shots perched from the cliffs on the course.

Lining up for the start

Start of Race, Greg,Eric,Wesley,Bory up top,

We had Lance Roozendal and his wife Tina from New Zealand drive up from Maryland to race their double before traveling to Portugal for the ICF Surfski World Championships in a few weeks. They are the New Zealand mix double champions. Borys and Beata are also going to Portugal for the race also. Billed as a rough water course, we still had a great turnout of 17 paddlers. The course logistics were laid out but had one hitch. The turning platform in Mackerel Cove that was there all winter and was there two days ago but was absent today. Oh No!! So the leaders turned on a buoy as Tim and I were yelling for them to turn. My apologies as it obviously caused some confusion. I think everyone enjoyed themselves today. Borys got another few interval sessions in having pulled into the finish line cove early, not realizing he needed to go another 2 miles. He spotted Greg about 2-3 minutes here. Borys also stopped to help Jan at Hull Cove. Nevertheless, he caught Greg just after House on the Rocks almost caught Lance and Tina again. Greg put in another great effort coming in second with Flavio returning to form coming in third. I am looking forward to Greg’s write up in a few days so stay tuned.

Lance and Tina

I was excited about the race since this is one of Tim and my regular training courses. Also both of us were in new boats,me in the new Stellar Elite Intermediate(SEI) and Tim in the new V10. I am reviewing the SEI so I wanted to see what kind of race speed I could generate. Normally I would be in my SEL Ultra or SES but today it was the SEI. I got out of the gate fast and was the 3rd single ski to the first turn buoy just behind Eric. I enjoyed all the rough parts of the course, so when I got into Mackerel Cove, a one mile flat water section, I knew I had to keep the power up with Tim on my heels and Ken Cooper not too far behind Tim. By the time I reached Short Point, Beata and Jan passed me, and I was opening the gap up on Tim. Jan capsized at Short Point, so I was left chasing Beata for the rest of the 5.5 miles. I did close the gap on the return to the Mackerel Cove buoy and then again on the another buoy. I thought I would make up some time on her in the rougher patches but she did not miss a stroke. With half mile to go she increased he lead on me to finish 53 seconds ahead.

1st buoy turn

Flavio, Francisco, Borys

Borys

Greg

Tim

Wesley in New SEI Excel

Results Overall

Lance/Tina Roosendaal, 1:18:09, Huki Double

1.Borys, 1:18:11, Stellar SES Ultra

2.Greg Lesher, 1:18:20, Huki S1R

3.Flavio, 1:19:36, Stellar SES Advantage

4. Eric McNett, 1:19:59, Epic V8 Ultra

5.Fransicso, 1:20:50, Stellar SE Excel

6.Beata, 1:22:00, Nelo Ocean

7. Wesley, 1:22:53, Stellar(SEI Excel)

8.Tim, 1:24:20, Epic V10

9.Ken Cooper, 1:24:56, Epic V8 ultra

10.Kirk, 1:30:38, Epic V12

11.Bill K, 1:31:16, Epic V8 Performance

12.Bob C, 1:31:59, Epic V8 Ultra, (stopped to help Jan)

13.Chris Chappell, Stellar SR Excel

14. Chris Sherwood, 1:37:49,Stellar SR advantage

15. Jan, DNF, Nelo Ocean

16. Murray Lord, DNF, Red 7

Lance,Tina,Greg,Flavio,BoryRide the Bull the fastest!

Lance,Tina,Greg,Flavio,Borys,Ride the Bull the fastest on their horses!

Tim and Beata

Jan,Beata,Flavio,Borys

I asked for a show of hands on who is doing the Blackburn and most everyone is doing it. Some are also doing the Casco Bay Challenge Race next weekend in Maine. Thanks again to Tim for all his work, Betsy for all the pics, and Mary Beth for the registration and timing. Great job everyone and thanks for coming! See everyone for the Blackburn Challenge. Register Now!!!!