Kai Poha Iron

We took second!

Kamehameha Masters Crew: John, Rob, Rudy, Phil, MC (Lance P missing)

And the wahine open took third, out of fifteen canoes!

That was unexpected, at least on my part. I was in four, which is a seat I normally like. It's easier to apply power, and you don't have the stress of being in 1 or 2.

The vog was pretty bad in town, and downright oppressive as we climbed over the plateau and into the North Shore. It seemed a bit clearer out on the water. Our crew had a decent enough start, but halfway to Waimea we lost a bit of energy and the crews we were battling with pulled ahead. We had a great burst of energy when we finally turned at the Waimea buoy. Half way home, though, we seemed to run out of steam. We were running so fast, and were stroking in unison ... all the good things ... and yet the other crews were pulling away. I know I felt myself start to drag.

They haven't posted the times yet, so I don't know how full the masters division was. There were still a lot of canoes ahead of us, but they must have all been youngsters. I was surprised when we got our ribbons.

So it feels good, and it was a nice way to wrap up the season. Regatta season kicks off this coming weekend - which means 8 weeks of (more or less) behaving on the weekends.

final shot: Coach Roz before the women's race.