Pacific Paddler magazine - August 2011 - (Page 29)

Round Bowen Island Cheryl Skribe After an endless spring of cold and rain, the skies finally opened up to a spectacular day. It is truly amazing how even one day of sun amongst so many gray days can lift the spirits and get the masses out to enjoy a sparkling ocean. The Round Bowen Island Challenge offered the opportunity to celebrate this beautiful day on the 26th of June. Bowen Island is a gorgeous mountainous island a short ferry ride away from Vancouver. The 32km circumference of the island provides the race course. Originally spawned 12 years ago by Martin of Bowen Island Kayaks for a large ocean kayak community, it was quickly embraced by the surf ski paddlers, and three years ago picked up by Open Ocean Outriggers for us outrigger paddlers. You have the choice of completing the whole 32km (20 miles) on your own or in a two person relay, with the relay being the popular choice for most outrigger paddlers. The islands surrounding Vancouver are known for their crazy tides and currents, and this year’s race served up some of the best. The first leg was a grueling against-the-wind, against-the-tide horse race, where the best line meant a very intimate paddle against the rocks and cliffs of the island. Half way through the first leg, there looked to be a clear leader in the men’s relay, but tricky tide conditions allowed for Graham Smith to get reeled in by Don Irvine and Laci Bujos making for an exciting hand off. On the women’s side, there was no contest with Kamini Jain smashing the field in the first leg by several minutes. In the mixed class, Adam Vasilevish made a final stage push to catch leader Mike Bernemann just before the exchange. The second leg saw everyone scatter, making calls on where they thought the best line and water was going to be. It made for an exciting final few kilometers into the finish line as everyone started to converge onto the same line. The bet of the day, however, was whether anyone was going to catch Ryan Pogue who was the only outrigger paddler to complete the entire 32km course on his own. As a solo paddler, you do not have to make the pilgrimage into a large bay for the hand off, thus eliminating the extra distance the relay teams need to cover. It took until the final 500m to see Rob Magus overtake Ryan with just a 10 second differential at the finish line. The winners of the divisions were: Men’s open, Graham Smith/Rob Magus in 2:53.33, followed closely by solo winner Ryan Pogue in 2:53.43. The mixed winners were Kimberley Amudsen /Mike Brenemann in 3:13.49 and the women’s victory was taken handily by Kamini Jain/ Leanne Zrum in 3:09.20. The day ended perfectly as everyone swapped stories and basked in the sun enjoying dinner and drinks on the deck with one of the best views on the island. For more information on the event, check out the website at www.roundbowenchallenge. com. pacificpaddler.com august 2011 29 http://www.roundbowenchallenge http://www.xylpbladz.com http://www.pacificpaddler.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Paddler magazine - August 2011

Contents
Walter J. MacFarlane Regatta
Waikiki beach Boys Regatta
Liberty World Outrigger Challenge
OHCRA regattas
The 2nd Event of the Triple Crown
Hui He’e Nalu
Jimmy Austin
Gold Coast Cup
VOS' Chasedown in Vancouver
Round Bowen Island
SCORA score
Na Wahine O Ke Kai schedule
Andrea Moller
Hine Moana blog
Fiji Outrigger International
Kris Kjeldsen 1943 – 2011
Hui Waa Champs
OHCRA Champs
Calendar

Pacific Paddler magazine - August 2011