Well while Toby and Robin were getting ready for their practice runs in the new boat. I was walking down to the put in of the Green. All the way down to the water I was thinking to myself, "I hope this boat doesn't suck", "I hope I don't smack myself on a rock today", "I wonder if 23 1/2" is really wide enough to be stable", "I hope the bow is as up as I think its going to be", "I hope its fast", "I wonder if I am going to be able to make the turn". I mean cause when it really gets down to it I haven't designed a boat even close to this length. The longest thing I have done or helped with was the Remix or Whip-It and Whiplash in whitewater. So really as I was walking down I was just hoping that my educated guesses were going to be close. It really isn't until you float it out on the water and feel the balance yourself, well at least for me, that you really know what you have. So it was with great relief that I slid in from shore and felt the stability and then the glide while cruising down through the warm up water that I was relieved of most of my questions and worries.
Then I got to Frankenstein and proceeded to run the race line and go straight into the rock instead of missing it to the river left side. No damage to boat or body but it was a friendly reminder that the boat I was paddling was not the Remix 79 or Jefe Grande. Just a little bit longer.
My second run through Franks was much better as you can see I actually have a little angle going the right way.
Adriene and Billy styled Go Left like champs while I whimpered down the sneek the first day.
Adriene fired up the Flying Squirrel line on the approach to Gorilla. She proceeded to go direct and ace the whole thing. I on the other hand wasn't so sure and my doubts made me pull hard on a boof stroke so I ended up in the eddie.
Billy airing out the Flying Squirrel line.
Me being happy I made the eddie.
But then once I did get turned around and lined up it was a beautiful thing to come flying off the pad with that much speed and I skipped right through the speed trap. I hope I can do that on Saturday.
Billy running the Groove Tube.
Adriene out on the dry line at Groove Tube.
Thanks to Polk for taking the photos.
By the time I got off the river the folks up in Kentucky were probably in the midst of the race. I waited for several hours for the team to get out in the world where cell phone coverage exists. They gave a call and let me know that both Toby and Robin had managed to maintain their titles as Lords of the Fork. So that was awesome and I hadn't even swum once during my run on the Green. All in all it couldn't have gotten any better. Nice day.
Later
Shane
