The annual Vernon Fresh Water Challenge race was again held on the August 1 holiday long weekend. Sunday saw the women's, the mixed and the short iron course begin early in the morning. Normally in this race the temperature can be close to 40o Celsius. The daily wind cycle from the sun heating the surrounding land causes strong southerly afternoon winds to affect the men's race. This year was different however.
A change in weather conditions saw the temperature down in the mid 20oC range and a very strong wind in the morning over 20 knots at times. This presented a strong headwind for 2/3 of the 45 km race, leaving 1/3 of the race for some downwind surfing.
The 2020 Western Canada Marathon Canoe and Kayak Championships will be held Saturday, July 24th and Sunday, July 25th on the South Thompson River at Kamloops. There are fun events as well as grit your teeth racing and there is fun promised for all. Saturday's races are open to Marathon, C1, K1,K2, Sea Kayaks (singles or doubles), surfskis, OC1 & OC2 and there is even room for paddle boards. Sunday's races are open to Marathon and C2 and are up and down stream races.
Wow, what a difference a year makes! The VI Va'a women have something to be proud of. Dedication to training, working as a crew on technique and blend has paid off in spades. Last year the women's team was was placing a substantial distance behind the top False Creek women's team...more than 8 minutes! This year, under cloudy skies and only a hope of summer on the horizon, we were about a minute and a half off the top team and were in a true race to the finish line with the other team hedging out a mere 10 seconds ahead of us. This was the first race where I felt as though we truly "raced" the whole race.
VI Va'a is headed back to Catalina for the 2009 US Championships. This time we are fielding a men's crew and a women's crew. Everyone is excited to go, travel is booked, folks are talking about little else and we are practicing our asses off. (Mine is a small skinny one, so this phrase is quite literal).









