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A Random Thought Upon Approaching 50
Jul. 24th, 2008 10:38 amWhen out and about, I admire the gorgeous young men (and there are a lot of gorgeous young men--and women--in this part of the world), but I *check out* the dudes with gray in their hair.
Jul. 24th, 2008
36 seconds of canoe racing
Jul. 24th, 2008 09:19 pmMy first YouTube entry. I apologize in advance for the grainy video quality; it's not that good.
First, some background. At regatta, races run a 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, 1 mile, or 1 1/2 miles (this last Senior Men and Senior Women only, the top crews). There is a start/finish line marked with different colored flags to mark lanes, and then a second set of colored flags at one quarter mile, and a third set of colored flags at half mile.
A quarter mile race starts at the quarter mile flags and runs one way back to the start/finish line, with no turn. The half mile race starts at the start/finish, runs to the quarter mile flag, turns, and returns to the finish. One mile to the half mile flag, turn, and return. The one and a half mile does a one mile followed by a half mile, so it contains three turns.
As you might imagine, turns are very very important. I've seen crews make up time with a great turn, or lose time with a sloppy one.
The regatta in question, Hui Wa'a Championships on July 19, we ran a Novice A crew with two Novice As and four Novice Bs. Everything I'm about to tell you is based on what people told me afterward; when paddling in a race, I keep my gaze fixed on the paddler two seats in front of me because the most important thing is Timing--that the blades go in and out of the water together so we're all pulling together. I had no idea what was going on or where we were in relation to other boats.
We evidently had a strong quarter mile and reached the flag in good position toward the front of the pack. We had a sloppy turn and came out of the turn in last place.
We're in lane 1, the closest to shore, in a canoe that is white in front and orange in back. As the video starts, you see one boat way out ahead (Waikiki Beach Boys, whose win is signaled by the blowing of a horn late in the clip), and a pack kind of together, and the nose of our canoe because we're trailing behind.
Now watch what happens. If you listen closely, you can hear people yelling, "Go, Manu!" or maybe it's "Yeah, Manu! Yeah!"
First, some background. At regatta, races run a 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, 1 mile, or 1 1/2 miles (this last Senior Men and Senior Women only, the top crews). There is a start/finish line marked with different colored flags to mark lanes, and then a second set of colored flags at one quarter mile, and a third set of colored flags at half mile.
A quarter mile race starts at the quarter mile flags and runs one way back to the start/finish line, with no turn. The half mile race starts at the start/finish, runs to the quarter mile flag, turns, and returns to the finish. One mile to the half mile flag, turn, and return. The one and a half mile does a one mile followed by a half mile, so it contains three turns.
As you might imagine, turns are very very important. I've seen crews make up time with a great turn, or lose time with a sloppy one.
The regatta in question, Hui Wa'a Championships on July 19, we ran a Novice A crew with two Novice As and four Novice Bs. Everything I'm about to tell you is based on what people told me afterward; when paddling in a race, I keep my gaze fixed on the paddler two seats in front of me because the most important thing is Timing--that the blades go in and out of the water together so we're all pulling together. I had no idea what was going on or where we were in relation to other boats.
We evidently had a strong quarter mile and reached the flag in good position toward the front of the pack. We had a sloppy turn and came out of the turn in last place.
We're in lane 1, the closest to shore, in a canoe that is white in front and orange in back. As the video starts, you see one boat way out ahead (Waikiki Beach Boys, whose win is signaled by the blowing of a horn late in the clip), and a pack kind of together, and the nose of our canoe because we're trailing behind.
Now watch what happens. If you listen closely, you can hear people yelling, "Go, Manu!" or maybe it's "Yeah, Manu! Yeah!"