Blog Off: April 2006

"Astonishing Tales of the Sea":
AROC Championships 2006 Race Report - Team Skink (138)

"The sea was angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to return soup at a deli" - George Kastanza

The funny thing about this race report is that the bulk of the adventure concluded before we reached the first TA!

After the battle for a good position at the start (which we lost), we headed out confidently albeit slowly toward CP1. We bagged CP1 reasonably well although surfing the waves was a little challenging.

We headed off to TA1 and we figured that we should attack the breakers head on. We didnt have any trouble over the waves (even the massive ones) but we simply could not turn that damn boat around! We even resorted to using the paddles on the right hand side only... it just would not turn! The decision was made to head out past the break, paddle north toward the TA then surf back in and duck around to the TA. We all know about a good plan though, dont we! I think we did remarkably well to get over the waves we did. I think we were right in the thick of it but we managed to get out the back and we made some progress to the TA. After that I dont know what happened... its all a blur but we turned in far too early (or something). We started surfing in and I think we caught one wave successfully. Somehow we eneded up sideways and a wave nailed us... game over. Chaos...

My first thought as I broke the surface and gasped for air was "where is everyone?". Once I saw that everyone was ok, I saw that the boat wasnt too far away. My memory is quite sketchy here. We somehow all got back to the boat and managed to gather all the paddles. We were being pounded by wave after wave. I felt completely powerless in the water; everything is so much harder, its hard to hear each other, hard to move with the pack, pfd and clothes let alone the massive sea battering you. I watched most of my food float away, as well as my glasses. Thats when I saw my team mate Lynn shaking. She was quite distressed, she grabbed on to my pfd and I assured her we would be ok. I just didnt know what to do I was pretty scared myself but I didnt want to let on. I have very little paddling experience and Im not fond of big surf either. I gave the paddles to her and Melissa and myself tried to right the boat. After a reasonable struggle we righted her but she was still facing sideways. Melissa ended up on the wrong side of the boat and she copped a wholopping in the head. Lynn attempted to get in but she was just too drained and fell back in the surf. Thats when I saw that melissa was in serious trouble. Her helmet had been ripped off her head by the surf and the strap was twisted and strangling her. She literally was gasping for air. I made my way to her end of the boat but it was incredibly difficult to remove the helmet with my waterlogged gloves still on. I managed to undo the buckle but I had to apply more pressure to her throat in order to do so and Im not sure who was panicing more. I cant really remember what happened after this... all I remember is that I had hold of the back of the boat and it was facing into shore. A big wave hit me and I lost my grip... the boat was gone... surfing on a wave into shore. A jet boater was buzzing around and I sent him over to where my team mates were to give them a hand. Apparently he asked them if they were ok... Lynn replied "No" and he just left! I think he may have gone to get the dingy but it didnt make us feel all that confident. A few tense minutes and one jet boat ride later, we were in the dingy and heading back for the start... We all exclained in unicen: "Hang on!!! We dont want to quit!!!". We convinced our saviours the we were OK to continue and we got a nice (but rough) lift to TA1. We staggered up the shore like we had just been in a shipwreck. I explained to the marshal that if we recieved a penalty for the boat ride that I was going to kill someone. I think she got the picture. :)

... aaaand breathe...

The trek to CP2 was fine but after leaving we had to make a pitstop on a conveniently dumped car to change a contact lense that had come away. The race proceeded rather smoothly for us from here and it seemed rather peaceful running along in the bush, compared to flailing in the wild sea.

The highlight (among many) for me was the coasteering to and from CP14. I actually had to stop at the rock with the foot holes in it and shout loudly, as the waves were crashing just a few meters from us: "How f-ing awesome is this!". CP14 was located in a cave in the cliff and it was quite surreal. Word travels fast in AR, we mentioned to one marshal (CP18 i think) that we had a shocking time in the boat. He replied that it could be worse: "Apparently there was this team that had to be rescued!".

All was well again until CP19. Our nav was fantastic and we managed to pass many teams, especially on the tricky CP17. This is where I must make a confession... I assume there wont be a protest at the level we finished at. We nav'ed into CP19 reasonably well and when I found the control I shouted to Melissa to get Lynn, jump on the bikes and start while I punched. I had been much faster on the bike so I had a quick wizz and ran out to the bike. I rode quite fast for a few minutes and there was no sign of them! Did they think that I meant to go back to the road? Crap. I rode all the way back to the road, swore loudly and then high-tailed it back again. They had simply ridden much faster than me and I quickly hid my anger and put my tail between my legs. Never lose sight of your team mates. They probably should make that a rule! ;-)

The last few legs were OK although the coasteering was frustratingly slow. The kayak seemed to go pretty straight so we blame the first boat entirely for all our dramas. We crossed the line at about 16:30 to that all familliar polite clap. This was an awesome race! I remember commenting in the first leg, as we hit the first few big waves: "So... they call this ADVENTURE racing do they?!". What an adventure it was. This race was superbly planned. It was "just right". I was challenged right up to and just beyond my limits. At times I felt scared but we had great support from the volunteer and rescue personell. The scenery was awesome and I think this was the most beautiful AR I have ever done. Thankyou Tom, Alina and everyone involved with this event. How long is it till the next one? :-)