And they're off!
Looks like JollyRoger is peddling in the lead for the OFC, and paddlers SeaDawg and DeepMinnow for the shorter OFUM have a slight edge in their race. According to CleanSlate's post looks like they are fighting some wind, but sailors should have some fun shortly!
Funny how much more of a race this seems from my armchair than when I'm in it.
Armchair OF
(47 posts) (17 voices)-
BeastOarman
MemberPosted 6 years ago # -
BeastOarman
MemberCOjones & Puma may have an issue, looks like they have pulled into a dock.
Jolly Roger in the lead with Lammeri not far behind and Private Ham & Swamp Thing trailing them.
Good day to be a sailor.
For the kayaks looks like Konkerer has a small lead, turned on the Southward leg.Posted 6 years ago # -
BeastOarman
MemberCleanSlate's post from mid-race reveals COjones & Puma had filter challenges that delayed them. But they seem to be well underway now.
Jolly Roger is well into his clockwise circumnavigation of Wye Island, my guess a bit after 1:30 for hitting the checkpoint.
Looks like Lammeri and PHST are 2 and 3' within eyesight.
Physics God and his Sunfish have not advanced on the tracker since reaching the North point of Kent Island around 9 this morning. Since that was up front in the pack against the wind, I'm guessing it is a SPOT issue.
Meanwhile BlueJay has tacked laboriously to that point, and is about to hit some welcome sailing.Posted 6 years ago # -
BeastOarman
MemberOFUM leaders are less than an hour out! The Lammeri have gone hard all day and should be pulling into the finish at twilight. Awesome job.
Everyone is doing very well. Jolly Roger is in the OFC lead by a big margin, looks like he will keep going a while longer.
Many others are in close proximity between Shaw Bay and Eastern Bay, likely deciding how much further to push tonight. Hard to keep going if others begin to stop.
And congrats to BlueJay, who has started his circumnavigation of Wye Island. Stick with it!Posted 6 years ago # -
MisterMoon
MemberCojones and Puma's Hot Canary has a elegant tablernacle to facilitate quickly lowering the mast to get under bridges. But if I recall correctly the tabernacle is also pretty tall, something like 36" above the cabin top. I'm guessing they had to remove the tabernacle to get enough clearance to get under the bridge.
Posted 6 years ago # -
BeastOarman
MemberLooks like some have stopped for the night, and perhaps four teams are still moving.
It looks like BlueJay of the OFC has pulled into some sort of yacht club to ready himself before starting his Wye Island circumnavigation, perhaps in the morning.
At the SW end of Wye Island we have OFUM racers Yoyo and ShartBait, apparently stopped.
On Tilghman Point we see OFC racers DancesWithWaves, CleanSlate and HeavilyLaden and OFUM racers DeepMinnow and SeaBag. SeaDawg crossed to the South end of Kent before stopping, poised for a quick run North to the OFUM finish in the morning.JollyRoger has just finished a long crossing and seems to be going strong, making the most of his lead and the favorable wind direction.
Following him, PHST continue to move, but their pace is a bit slower - they have to hope that with a crew they can endure without sleep longer than Roger.
Not far behind them comes COjones and Puma, although they may have holed up for a while. Maybe just a dinner break and a change into night gear.
OFUM team Badger and Corsair are losing in on the finish, a father-son team I believe, and looks like they will be there by midnight.
Fellow racer HighNDry made a wrong turn, but now continues his trip around Wye - tough twisty route in the dark, from the looks of it.The mystery tonight is KonkererOfTheUseless, who's track in the middle of a bay has not moved since before 7 this evening. Maybe he is with the group on Tilghman Point.
Posted 6 years ago # -
BeastOarman
MemberWow. JollyRoger kept going all night and has almost reached the Southern checkpoint, to begin the turn. We'll over 100 miles in 24 hours.
And in a tricky maneuver, COjones & Puma pulled over early last night, but got started back up when PHST pulled up for the night, passing them silently to move into second place.
Many other OF Challengers are now on the move again in the early morning. Konkerer's track thankfully reappeared, near the others at Tilghman Point.The Lammeri, Badger & Corsair, and SeaDawg all finished the OFUM last night, apparently in that order, all first in their classes.
There is a heated sprint(?) for the finish coming up as Deep Minnow, Yoyo, SeaBag and ShartBait all stream towards the turn at the Southern end of Kent Island, within a few miles of each other.
HighNDry got an early start to finish his circumnavigation of Wye in the daylight, and is approaching the checkpoint. He has missed the 11 PM Sunday deadline, but I suspect he is in it to finish and will get his award one way or another. He still has a shot at the 3PM deadline for the Finish.Posted 6 years ago # -
BeastOarman
MemberCleanSlate, not quite the rear - DancesWithWaves is coming up on your 12 o'clock!
Konkerer and HeavilyLaden took the inside route on the other side of Tilghman Island, and although ahead of CS now they are making way at a slower pace.
AEgir may have SPOT issues, no tracks since last night but at that time he seemed right near all the others.
Puma is moving pretty fast, if JollyRoger ever stops he could have his hands full - but I suspect he knows that.
PHST are still in third, making good time.
No SPOT signal from BlueJay, and past the CP1 deadline - he may have dropped out?
DeepMinnow and SeaBag should be finishing the OFUM in an hour or two, and it is too close to call!
Tool is about to head North towards the OFUM finish, and ShartBait is on his heels.
HighNDry continues to take a somewhat less direct scenic route, and will likely log 15 more miles than any other OFUM racer, but he is persistent. Should introduce him to SavannahDan and Paddlemaker ; )Posted 6 years ago # -
BeastOarman
MemberWhat a finish underway in the OFUM!
After almost 30 hours of hard racing, DeepMinnow took 4th only eleven minutes ahead of SeaBag! Yolo came in soon after that and ShartBait looks to be there any minute.
HighNDry presses on, rounding the South end of Kent Island for his final onslaught.Excellent racing!
Posted 6 years ago # -
BeastOarman
MemberIn the OFC, looks like AEgir is calling it short, heading for home via the OFUM route.
JollyRoger is headed North, passing PHST on their way South maybe 2 hours from reaching the checkpoint - both boats are staying inside, so maybe there are lots of trees floating outside, CleanSlate!
Puma and COjones are at CP2, Janes Island,, apparently taking a break before heading West towards the turn.
CleanSlate still leads DancesWithWaves on the outside and continues to stay in formation, with Konkerer and HeavilyLaden still inside and slightly ahead as they all migrate Southward. None seem likely to arrive at CP2 before midnight, but all should be there a full day ahead of the Wednesday deadline I'm guessing.Posted 6 years ago # -
BeastOarman
MemberOFUM is a wrap, and looks like HighNDry has credit for Finishing. Great job everyone!
In the OFC, JollyRoger is weeeellll in the lead, more than 1/3 of the way on the Northbound final stretch, and moving fast. Clearly intent on setting the bar high for this brand new race!
Closest competitors COjones & Puma have been joined at CP2 by PHST - getting rested and readied for their second half.Konkerer and HeavilyLaden look like they've pulled over for the night (or portion thereof).
CleanSlate is still moving at over 4 knots towards them, and might slip by in the falling darkness.
DancesWithWaves appears to have pulled over for the night a bit further North, more distance to go towards his CP2.Posted 6 years ago # -
BeastOarman
MemberThe race continues.
PHST got an early start, were well underway by the time I finally got on the water myself at 5:30 AM. Thus they effectively passed COjones & Puma, who slept in after spending all yesterday afternoon lollygagging about at CP2.
Or maybe, just maybe, they were waiting for the wind. They are now gaining fast on PHST, with Puma averaging 6 knots vs 3 or so for PHST.
And the wind seems to be helping CleanSlate as well, with better speeds today than yesterday, although Konkerer and HeavilyLaden stretched their lead a bit with an earlier start this morning - I would guess they launched around 4:30 Am? Those two are trying to stay inside sheltered from the wind a bit while CS seems right in at as much as he can.
DancesWithWaves is maintaining his position behind CleanSlate, like a lion stalking prey.
I expect the Northward run home will heighten the competition amongst these four who so far have been happy to travel in formation or near each other for days.
Winds are expected to die down soon then shift out of the South this afternoon, so should be helpful to those who have been able to make CP2 before then. T-Storms tomorrow evening might make things dicey!Posted 6 years ago # -
Thanks for the play by play.
Back at the Showroom today loading up kayaks to deliver and the Post Marathon review from Beastoarman Eye in the Sky is a great procrastination to work.
Thanks again. Your comment was spot on, it was a hard paddle from Kent Point back to Matapeake.
I'll get photos up in the next day or two of what I was able to shoot between paddlestrokes
See you on the water,
SeaDawg (aka Marshall Seddon)
The River Connection, Inc
Posted 6 years ago # -
Badger
MemberGreat commentary, Beast! I posted a few pics on the Watertribe FB site, but am not great putting them up here.
Our race started with a slow launch... getting the rollers under the bow and getting the boat to move the first three inches took several attempts. After that, things went quickly and smoothly. We had a close call with bridge clearance at the Bay Bridge, having not judged heights well, but a tack further out prevented damage. Tacks up Kent Island were uneventful, but occasionally ungainly. We saw the Sunfish of PhysicsGod at a private dock, venture out again, and then return to shore. Hoped for the best... but he was not able to continue.
Crossing the Chester entrance to Kent Narrows was a fast reach, and we powered past SeaBag, who was using his Greenland paddle to handle the crosswind beautifully. At the Eastern Neck bridge, we slipped past HotCanary as Puma and COJones contemplated their plan for getting under this very low filter... last year we barely slipped under with the upper mast segment supported fore and aft by lower mast and bimini frame, this year we took it all down and used our hands to push our way past.
A summer's cruise down the Chester River brought us to Kent Narrows, which was a quick tidal current sleigh ride. After we set up the mast and headed dead downwind we caught up with HeavilyLaden and KonkerOfTheUseless, and we steadily progressed to the Wye River.
Last year we rowed all the way from the tip of Kent Island almost to the Wye River, but this year we enjoyed great winds, so by this point we were four hours ahead of our old time. Lovin' it!
The Wye River last year was technically undemanding: row, row, row your boat. This year, constantly shifting winds as it rolled over the trees and down and across the river channel created a busy crew. Weight up, weight down, sails in and out, tack and jybe. Fun, but required constant attention. Didn't get to enjoy the sights as much as last year. The bridge ducking was our best, and kept us in touch with the paddlers... we had picked up CleanSlate as well by this point, and envied his easy transition from sail to peddle power assist. Nevertheless, we reached CP1 just after the trio of smaller boats, and did lazy circles chatting with the other WT'ers until the SPOT told us we could go.
Strangely, the SPOT signal didn't transmit, and so we were initally awarded a 1hour penalty for not stopping at the checkpoint that would have been costly.
Leaving CP1 was a slow search for wind, but soon enough we were moving along steadily, and we passed the private lighthouse that marks the entrance to the Wye at 6pm: last year we entered the Wye at 5pm, so this was great!
The fetch across to Tilghman Point was the scariest leg of the trip. I felt overpowered and wished I had a reef in, but felt it best to continue... We paced SwampThing and PrivateHam in their yellow Hobie TI, and neither of us had anything on the other. I respect their skills: that must have been a wild crossing from their perspective. Once we bore away from Tilghman, we had a fantastic broad reach to the southern tip of Kent Island as the sun went down. We noted a thick column of smoke in the NW, and postulated there was a big fire somewhereup Kent Island.
We took this opportunity to put in a reef and don warm clothes for the 8 miles to the finish upwind. When we came out from behind the lee of Kent Island, headed for Bloody Point Light, we had sloppy rollers of three to four feet in steady succession, and the wind kicked it up a notch. Fortunately, the reef in the main and the working jib tacked at the bow were balanced, and I had my tacks down by this point. My butt hurt despite sailing shorts and gel rowing pad, but other than that we were warm and psyched for our first nighttime sail. Entertained by the "party" on the Bay Bridge (Corsair's term for the light display that was the aftermath of a tanker truck fire) we steadily port tacked our way up the coast, with occasional 1/2 mile jogs on starboard. Funny how those docks don't make noise at night!
Corsair says he saw food in the waves: waffles, eggs and hot chocolate, so we checked off "hallucinations" on his bucket list, but I think he was just sick of nut bars and energy chomps.
When we rounded, the GPS initially calculated our speed based on our reaching leg... so we were only two hours to the finish. Later, when we checked our progress, it had adapted to upwind speeds and informed us... two hours yet to go. As the wind died, I reluctantly informed Corsair that we had... two hours to the finish. A courts-martial was instantly convened, evidence noted, and the captain was summarily demoted and put in time-out.
Eventually the Matapeake jetty was fetched, and we were about ready to turn the corner to the beach when we had to crash tack to avoid a fishing line that was leading at least a hundred yards out past the boat launch basin! Recalling Chief's admonition not to upset ANYONE, we hailed the fisherman (who was a wee bit suprised to see a sailboat crossing his line) that we kind of needed to get past his obstruction, and soon flipped back onto port and made for the spotlight of BayRaider, Chief and a few other gracious welcoming folks.
Thanks to Chief and BayRaider for an excellent race, to John Harris for a great event and race support, and the other Watertribers for making it memorable. And kudos to Corsair who stayed up late, was unendingly insightful, entertaining and enthusiastic, and NEVER complained. Except about my time estimates.
-Badger
Finishing time: 16hrs 34 minutes, second place, first in class 4
Posted 6 years ago # -
BeastOarman
MemberThank you to all the racers for entertaining us, and Badger thanks for bringing us inside the race with your account!
At this time, PHST is headed North and staying ahead of COjones & Puma, but not by a huge margin. I'm sure both boats are having fun! Will Puma's strategy of getting a more complete rest pay off and allow them to push further tonight than PrivateHam & SwampThing?
Konkerer and HeavilyLaden left CP2 a half hour ago and and CleanSlate appears to be arriving now. I expect that gap will close over the afternoon if the wind does come around, will be exciting to watch.
DancesWithWaves is still North of CP2, averaging almost 4 knots as he heads Southeast, so I'm guessing arrival there around 6 PM. Wonder if he will make it an early stop for the night and make use of the great looking facilities, or look to make time?
Sorry to sound like a budget adventure prequel, too much sugar at lunch ; )
Posted 6 years ago #
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