SKYKOMISH DOWNRIVER RACE
Printed From: ProfessorPaddle.com
Category: General
Forum Name: Whitewater Forum
Forum Discription: Open Discussion Forum. Whitewater related subjects only
URL: http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8103
Printed Date: 06 May 2024 at 5:56pm
Topic: SKYKOMISH DOWNRIVER RACE
Posted By: ChristianKnight
Subject: SKYKOMISH DOWNRIVER RACE
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2009 at 12:30pm
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SKYKOMISH DOWNRIVER RACE
AUGUST 1 It happens every summer in the Northwest. Just when the weather gets reliably perfect—85 degrees and sunny—the water disappears. But this August 1, the Skykomish River will be the place of a one-day reprieve for all those kayakers thirsty for a little intensity and camaraderie. Paddler magazine is hosting the first Skykomish Downriver Race. THE EVENT: 1.) DOWNRIVER RACE (mass start, includes three divisions) a.) RELAY DIVISION—This is the main event. The course starts at the Confluence (or possibly the North Fork in Index) and ends at Big Eddy. It is divided into three legs, one for each skill level of the teams’ members. Leg 1.) Class III, from Confluence to Anderson Pool above Boulder Drop; Leg 2.) Class III+ — IV-, from Boulder Drop through Fisherman’s; Leg 3.) Class II+, from below Fisherman’s to Big Eddy. Length limit: 8-foot-8 and under. b.) IRONMAN DIVISION—Individuals start at Confluence and end at Big Eddy. Length limit 12-foot-9. c.) FUTURE DIVORCEES’ DIVISION—Couples must be romantic, as in willing to kiss on the lips. With tongues. Racers must compete in tandem kayaks, such as Jackson Kayak’s Dynamic Duo or the TopoDuo. Jackson Kayak will be providing five Dynamic Duos for use in the race. The first five couples to sign up for this division will get the boats. Course will either be full or it might eliminate Boulder Drop to accommodate the teams’ skill levels. (TBD). 2.) UPRIVER, EDDY-ATTAINMENT RACE—From the kayakers’ take-out at Split Rock to the bottom of Aquagasm. This is a climbing-style race, in which technique and stamina play a huge role. Length restrictions to be decided. 3.) BOULDER DROP SPRINT—This is a time-trial event. Each competitor gets two runs, but only his/her fastest time will count. The top four advance to a head-to-head, untimed final. Length limit: 8-foot-8 VOLUNTEERS: We need them. And the event can’t go on without them. Below is a list of the positions for which we must have commitments if this event is going to happen. Downriver Race: 7 Timers/scribes—One at the start line, two at the finish line and two at the beginnings of legs No. 2 and 3. They’ll need to write down leg times for relay racers. 2 communication coordinators—One at the top and one at the bottom. 1 race coordinator—At top of course to coordinate the start line, and signal the beginning of the race. Upriver, eddy-attainment race: 2 timers—One at start, one at finish. 1 race coordinator—At bottom to coordinate mass start Boulder Drop Sprint: 2 timers—One at top one at bottom 1 race coordinator—To coordinate final four racers in head-to-head finale. THE CAUSE: The community of Index, the Friends of Heybrook Ridge and a very generous anonymous donor managed to save the coniferous, eastern wall of the Index Valley by purchasing it from the logging company that planned to scalp it. But now, the community is hoping to enhance the Ridge’s eco-recreation, by building trails, etc. Proceeds will contribute to this effort. ------------- Catch your eddies, Christian |
Replies:
Posted By: Tobin
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2009 at 2:31pm
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Christian,
2 Volunteers here, Ambre & I. Put us where you need us. This is great, good job! ------------- Sure? |
Posted By: RemAcct2
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2009 at 3:19pm
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I know for a fact Tobin has completed a thorough underwater survey, and knows precisely from first hand experience where the best place to catch a throw bag is.
------------- |
Posted By: BRoss
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2009 at 3:32pm
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Very cool cause! This whole event sounds awesome (maybe I can get my girlfriend to agree to K2!) ------------- "That boated a lot better than it looked." "It always does until it doesn't." |
Posted By: Courtney
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2009 at 4:30pm
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Without Courtney's input (I may be in big trouble here) we would be willing to do the doubles. Do you get style points for how well you can swim Boulder Drop? Does screaming like a little girl earn extra style points? If Courtney disagrees can all electronic proof that I ever said we would do this be erased?
How about a tandem tongue kissing canoe race? We might have a chance at winnign that one, and I know there is a silent canoe crowd around Seattle.
The most important question: If we find ourselves sans boat and get really beat up do we get free beer at the takeout?
Jimmy
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Posted By: Tobin
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2009 at 4:44pm
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Leif, Every time I have swam on the Sky (and there have been quite a few) I have managed to get all my stuff to shore myself.
Now, Lewis. Should I bring up a story of someone we all know and love and his inability to keep his gear together? For that matter I have hours of vidoe footage. ------------- Sure? |
Posted By: STLboater
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2009 at 4:53pm
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"The first five couples to sign up for this division will get the boats." Get to keep em? SWEET! 
------------- Kayak Academy Whitewater Instructor |
Posted By: ChristianKnight
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2009 at 8:29pm
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No, no, no. You don't get to keep them. You just get to race them. Sorry about the misunderstanding. ------------- Catch your eddies, Christian |
Posted By: ChristianKnight
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2009 at 9:01pm
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By the way: I'm not saying this is the first downriver race ever to be held on the Sky. The name of the event is the Skykomish Downriver Race and this is the first of these events. For those who were wondering. ------------- Catch your eddies, Christian |
Posted By: Hunter
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2009 at 9:08pm
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This is a GREAT idea! Thanks for putting this together! Not sure if you know but this is the same date as the Index Arts Festival. Lots of great painting, poetry and music. My band, Spare Rib and the Bluegrass Sauce, will be performing in "downtown" Index that evening 7 or 8ish.
http://www.indexartsgroup.org/events.html http://www.myspace.bbqgrass |
Posted By: Jeff
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2009 at 9:53pm
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What time is the race starting? I already got tickets for a concert that day but am wondering if the race starts early enough and I paddle (swim???) fast enough if there is time to do both! And everyone should go see Spare Rib and the Bluegrass Sauce - they kick A$$! (saw them at the Conor Byrne a few weeks ago - good times!) ------------- "What could possibly go wrong?" www.flickr.com/photos/jeffdwyer/ |
Posted By: water wacko
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2009 at 8:46am
Jeff, I like your catch-phrase at the bottom of your post. Is the second line the "answer" to the question in the first line?  ------------- "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~Howard Thurman |
Posted By: ChristianKnight
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2009 at 10:07am
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Here's some answers:
We're still pulling all the details together. But the first race of the day—most likely the downriver race—will begin no later than 10 a.m. On-site registration and check-in will begin between 7:30 and 8:30 and the racers' meeting will be at 9:15 or so. All of these times are tentative. Check www.paddlermagazine.com periodically to download a pdf of the registration form and for event updates. We should have the registration pdf up there by the end of this week. To Jimmy and Courtney: I'm going to sign you up for the Dynamic Duo event. Which leaves us with two promised Dynamic Duos left to loan for the race. To brdkayaker: If you want one of the remaining Dynamic Duos, you'd better commit soon. To Hunter: YES! One of the advantages of the August 1 date is that it'll coincide with the Index Arts Festival. ------------- Catch your eddies, Christian |
Posted By: LisaF
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2009 at 12:45pm
| Will there be different divisions in the relay event for men, women and/or mixed teams? |
Posted By: ThrowYaMittsUp
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2009 at 2:44pm
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This is an awesome idea, and I really like that you have included an attainment race. I think 8'8'' is a little short for a race in the sky in August though. IMO It's like wearing slippers in a track meet just because they are more comfortable. I would like to suggest an unlimited class for at least for the sprint and attainment race. Even 12'9'' is a little short for the Ironman. Wildwater boats, the standerd for downriver racing, are over 14ft, and I know there are some boaters in this comunity who wouldn't be afraid to race there touring boats through BD. I also have a few longboats that I would be more than happy to let people race in. Its just more fun to race in a fast boat! |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2009 at 2:52pm
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The dynamic duo/topoduo class should be expanded so that siblings or parents/children can race. ------------- |
Posted By: ThrowYaMittsUp
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2009 at 2:53pm
| Do they have to kiss too? |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2009 at 3:06pm
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Well I certainly hope not... ------------- |
Posted By: Liz
Date Posted: 30 Apr 2009 at 9:01am
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My sister and brother-in-law said they would come and be volunteers on the condition that they will be positioned in a place where they can see me race (loyal fan club).
This means that I need to race... and get on part of a team.
Like Lisa, I'm also curious about the divisions: men/women/mixed? ------------- |
Posted By: Tobin
Date Posted: 30 Apr 2009 at 9:44am
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Sweet!!
Liz and Lisa will kiss and be in a tandem! Win Win for all! OK, I am really not that sexist or whatever, but it seemed like a good opportunity to flaunt the manness! ------------- Sure? |
Posted By: Liz
Date Posted: 30 Apr 2009 at 9:53am
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Woah, Tobin. I'm not sure how I win in that situation?
Or you, for that matter?
But the tandem does look like fun. And kissing (men) usually makes me paddle faster  ------------- |
Posted By: LisaF
Date Posted: 05 May 2009 at 4:37pm
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Okay, Christian,
After discussing this with some of my friends, we've come up with a couple of improvements to the race: 1) Definitely include a women's division (we're putting a team together now) 2) think about starting the race at Cable Drop (or even the pool below Sunset Falls; I know someone who owns property there who might host it). The N. Fork would be too hard on boats the first of August. 3) the boulder drop sprint should be 2 or 3 runs INCLUDING the time in between each run -- now, that's the test of a true all-around paddler, isn't it? |
Posted By: James
Date Posted: 05 May 2009 at 4:39pm
| what about rafts? |
Posted By: Gabe
Date Posted: 05 May 2009 at 10:06pm
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I like suggestion #3 above, sort of making the BD laps like a cyclocross race for boats. Don't think I'd want to carry a raft back out though.
------------- Pura Vida! |
Posted By: jP
Date Posted: 05 May 2009 at 10:17pm
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Stickin with that 8'8" length restriction huh? I guess you don't want me there. I can take a hint I know when I'm not wanted. Guess I'll be up in B.C. that weekend. Look, it's a downriver race. If the fastest boat people have is a silly, slow creeker, why do they deserve to downgrade and devolve the entire race? Slippers at a track meet? How silly is that? These length restrictions are inappropriate. Like racing full suspension mountain bikes with knobby tires in the Tour De France. It's easier for people to find competitive, used , cheap longboats than it is for me to find a used, affordable GreenBoat. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have one. I'm still a little bummed that I had to race my 9' boat against 12' boats at the E. Frk Lewis Race. Talk about being put in the wrong class. How will people ever learn to break out of the NARROW MINDEDNESS of a two boat paradigm, if an ENTIRE industry perpetuates it? There's so much more to the river than the creekboat/playboat aspects of the sport, and I think this race should open paddlers up to it. People should be encouraged to race non-creekboats down river. It should be open class. Offer NO PRISES, and let the fastest times tell their tales. There's no way I'll race a creekboat down ANY part of the sky. It's a FLAT river. If I race it's as much for the experience and FEELING of how my boat moves through the water as much as it is to be competitive. I feel as if an entire generation of paddlers just don't get it on this one. Most have never paddled a long, fast boat of any sort, and most people are influenced more by FASHION DESIGNS stamped into their tupperware. Moving fast on the river feels good. I said my peice. Christian- You know I have a ton of respect for you, and love paddling with you when I get the chance. But with these length restrictions, I can't race. Unless maybe you can dig up a Greenboat for me to race against YOU in. I'm not going to be Odd man out again. If I'm gonna be Odd man out, I may as well already plan a trip to B.C. for that weekend, and use my creekboat for what it was designed for. ------------- 🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋 |
Posted By: Liz
Date Posted: 06 May 2009 at 5:58am
| I'd prefer a longer boat restriction as well (9'). Mainly so I don't have to go try and find and prep a new boat for the race. That might be more effort that it's worth and knock me out of the roster. |
Posted By: water wacko
Date Posted: 06 May 2009 at 7:41am
I love how JP's posts turn into a soapbox referendum. Hugo who? Keep it up, JP. I like it.  ------------- "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~Howard Thurman |
Posted By: 14kayaking2
Date Posted: 06 May 2009 at 10:05am
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There should be a play boat class too. Unless someone wants me to borrow there long boat to go kill it....
------------- "We are only boaters between swims" Matty |
Posted By: 14kayaking2
Date Posted: 06 May 2009 at 10:06am
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ahem.... Their even....
------------- "We are only boaters between swims" Matty |
Posted By: ThrowYaMittsUp
Date Posted: 06 May 2009 at 10:29am
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I propose that the race be Anything that floats with a column on the time sheet for what craft you were in. This is how a lot of classic DR races are run(cheat, gauley, upper yough, green). If people want to split hairs at the end of the day, it'll make great fuel for another pissing match here on the website. I don't care about prizes or what place I finish. Racing is about going fast, and I want to paddle the fastest boat I have. I'm with JP. If I'm gonna paddle my creek boat in Aug it will most likely be in BC and not on the sky. |
Posted By: JoesKayak
Date Posted: 06 May 2009 at 11:52am
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Originally posted by James what about rafts? And IKs!  |
Posted By: jP
Date Posted: 06 May 2009 at 12:28pm
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Anything that floats, and the time sheet should list the racers name, the boat's make and model, and length, followed by the time. That's hopefuly the last comment I'll make. Cross your fingers, everyone. ------------- 🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋 |
Posted By: Fish
Date Posted: 06 May 2009 at 1:44pm
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It would be sweet to have a Hooligans style race like they have at Fibark! Something like that thru boulder drop would be awesome, just imagine all the house rock high sides we would see! http://worldkayakblogs.com/throwdown/wp-content/blogs.dir/639/files/gallery/fibark3/20080614-460 - http://worldkayakblogs.com/throwdown/wp-content/blogs.dir/639/files/gallery/fibark3/20080614-460
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Posted By: Fish
Date Posted: 06 May 2009 at 1:51pm
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Posted By: ThrowYaMittsUp
Date Posted: 06 May 2009 at 1:56pm
| DEMSHITZ!! |
Posted By: Fish
Date Posted: 06 May 2009 at 2:05pm
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