Kayak Canoe Florida

Lake Alfred

2007-02-18T13:25:00.000-05:00

February 18, 2007

2/18 - 3 miles - 31:10 - splits: 11:07, 10:10, 9:52 - 25 mph winds, 52 degrees

Weeki Wachee River Race

2007-02-17T21:12:00.000-05:00

February 17, 2007

Linda and I drove over to Weeki Wachee by way of Lakeland and Dade City this morning. It was about an 80 mile drive, taking 1:45. It was cool early, but by race time at 10:30 AM, the sun warmed up to 55 degrees. The 11-mile race started upriver on a very narrow stretch with probably 60 boats. There were way too many boats, so the start was very chaotic, with several flipping over right away. Among other groups, the Georgia Tech college team, Slovak Olympic team and some high schoolers all showed up in their K-1's. The river had a stiff current with some very tight turns, so there were plenty of mishaps on the way upriver.

The last mile upriver was wider and allowed you to get into a better rhythm without traffic and the tight turns. Once we made the turn at the 5.5 mile mark, the downriver segment was much more fun. The current helped me stay in the high 6's and low 7's mph and the turns were not as tough to negotiate heading down. Towards the end, I missed a turn and had to turn around for a short distance. Fortunately, the two guys closest behind me closed, but did not pass me, as I got back on course and up to speed. It was a difficult but fun course.

My time was 2:04:26 for the 11.21 mile course. Splits were: 12:17, 13:37, 12:47, 13:34, 13:14, 10:43, 9:24, 9:46, 9:09, 8:41, 9:15 and 1:52 for the last 0.21. The overall pace was 11:05 at 5.4 mph.

Afterwards, we had lunch at a restaurant across the river from the start line overlooking the water, where we also had the awards ceremony.

Lake Alfred

2007-02-15T20:44:00.000-05:00

February 11-16, 2007

2/11 - 10 miles - 1:38:18 - splits: 9:52, 9:59, 9:37, 9:38, 9:58, 9:52, 9:35, 10:01, 10:03, 9:39
2/12 - 3 miles - 28:33 - splits: 9:12, 9:48, 9:33
2/13 - 3 miles - 28:36 - splits: 9:38, 9:24, 9:34
2/14 - 3 miles - 28:52 - splits: 10:00, 9:32, 9:19
2/15 - 3 miles - 27:57 - splits: 9:28, 9:17, 9:12

Hillsborough River - Trout Creek

2007-02-11T20:54:00.000-05:00

February 11, 2007

Linda and I drove over to 1-75 north to the Fowler St exit, then left to the entrance to Trout Creek County Park. This a pretty spot for a picnic, which we took advantage of after getting off of the water. There is also plenty of trails for mountain biking or hiking around the area.

We put in around 11:00 AM on a beautiful, calm, 65 degree sunny morning. We turned up the Hillsborough and almost immediately found the mouth of Trout Creek on the left. It was a narrow passage with little current and tucked in under a full canopy of Cypress and Palm trees. In only 100 meters we came upon our first large gator, about 10 feet, sunning on the bank. There were not too many shore birds as the creek was very narrow. About another half mile in, we came across another big one, probably 12 feet this time, who reluctantly thrashed into the water as we passed by. We traveled in about 1.3 miles before we came to a blockage and the creek narrowed to about the length of our tandem kayak. After exiting Trout Creek, we turned up Hillsborough again and with a much wider river, began to see an abundance of shore birds. The highlight was following a group of four Roseate Spoonbills into a shallow spot, where Linda was able to get some good pictures. She also clicked on Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, White Ibis, Limpkins, Vultures, Anhingas, Cormorants and a couple more gators out sunning as well. It was a great paddle, one we will take visitors on when anyone comes down that wants to get out into a beautiful habitat.

Lake Alfred

2007-02-10T20:33:00.000-05:00

February 4-10, 2007

2/4 - 3 miles - 31:40 - splits: 10:27, 11:19, 9:52
2/5 - 3 miles - 28:41 - splits: 9:35, 9:41, 9:23
2/6 - 3 miles - 28:08 - splits: 9:12, 9:30, 9:26
2/7 - 3 miles - 28:23 - splits: 9:38, 9:28, 9:17
2/9 - 3 miles - 27:53 - splits: 9:15, 9:17, 9:21
2/10 - 6 miles - 57:38 - splits: 9:35, 9:29, 9:29, 9:48, 9:50, 9:25

Lake Alfred

2007-02-02T21:36:00.000-05:00

January 29 - February 2, 2007

1/30 - 3 miles - 27:55 - splits: 9:22, 9:14, 9:18
1/31 - 3 miles - 28:08 - splits: 9:12, 9:28, 9:28
2/1 - 3 miles - 29:29 - splits: 9:29, 9:36, 10:24

Lake Alfred

2007-01-27T17:50:00.000-05:00

January 21-27, 2007

1/21 - 6 miles - 58:41 splits: 9:30, 9:44, 9:52, 9:44, 9:49, 9:59
1/22 - 3 miles - 29:16 splits: 10:04, 9:19, 9:53
1/23 - 3 miles - 28:26 splits: 9:25, 9:39, 9:15
1/24 - 3 miles - 28:53 splits: 9:36, 9:50, 9:24
1/25 - 3 miles - 28:24 splits: 9:40, 9:29, 9:15

Lake Alfred

2007-01-20T12:12:00.000-05:00

January 14-20, 2007

1/14 - 6 miles - 58:59 - splits: 9:38, 9:51, 9:47, 9:45, 10:09, 9:47
1/15 - 3 miles - 28:30 - watch stopped
1/16 - 3 miles - 28:19 - splits: 9:22, 9:28, 9:28
1/17 - 3 miles - 30:17 - splits: 10:18, 10:34, 9:24 very windy
1/18 - 3 miles - 28:28 - splits: 9:43, 9:30, 9:15
1/20 - 10 miles - 1:36:55 - splits: 9:38, 9:39, 9:34, 9:27, 9:57, 9:42, 9:32, 10:02, 9:57, 9:23

Lake Alfred

2007-01-13T12:22:00.000-05:00

January 7-13, 2007

1/7 - 10 miles - 1:36:56 - splits: 9:35, 9:33, 9:45, 9:40, 9:37, 9:54, 9:44, 9:38, 9:47, 9:39
1/8 - 3 miles - 28:34 - splits: 9:42, 9:32, 9:19
1/11 - 3 miles - 28:49 - splits: 9:20, 10:00, 9:27
1/12 - 3 miles - 28:11 - splits: 9:09, 9:40, 9:21
1/13 - 6 miles - 57:18 - splits: 9:28, 9:32, 9:31, 9:25, 9:48, 9:31

Lake Alfred

2007-01-06T12:33:00.000-05:00

January 3-6, 2007

1/3 - 3 miles - 28:06 - splits: 9:22, 9:29, 9:14
1/4 - 3 miles - 27:43 - splits: 9:07, 9:16, 9:19
1/6 - 6 miles - 57:40 - splits: 9:29, 9:27, 9:50, 9:40, 9:34, 9:37

Lake Alfred

2006-12-30T18:43:00.000-05:00

December 24-30, 2006

12/24 - 3 miles - 28:15 - splits: 9:25, 9:17, 9:33 pace: 6.4 mph
12/25 - 3 miles - 29:18 - splits: 9:17, 9:41, 10:20 pace: 6.1 mph
12/26 - 3 miles - 29:00 pace: 6.2 mph
12/28 - 3 miles - 28:16 - splits: 9:16, 9:42, 9:18 pace: 6.4 mph
12/29 - 6 miles - 56:29 - splits: 9:24, 9:28, 9:22, 9:31, 9:30, 9:14 pace: 6.4 mph
12/30 - 6 miles - 57:12 - splits: 9:20, 9:37, 9:28, 9:20, 9:49, 9:38 pace: 6.3 mph

Lake Alfred

2006-12-30T12:37:00.000-05:00

December 24-30, 2006

12/24 - 3 miles - 28:15 - splits: 9:25, 9:17, 9:33
12/25 - 3 miles - 29:20 - splits: 9:17, 9:41, 10:20
12/26 - 3 miles - 29:00 watch stopped
12/28 - 3 miles - 28:17 - splits: 9:16, 9:42, 9:18
12/29 - 6 miles - 56:31 - splits: 9:24, 9:28, 9:22, 9:31, 9:30, 9:14
12/30 - 6 miles - 57:13 - splits: 9:20, 9:37, 9:28, 9:20, 9:49, 9:38

Lake Alfred

2006-12-23T19:44:00.000-05:00

December 17-23, 2006

12/19 - 3 miles - 28:07 - splits: 9:10, 9:37, 9:20 pace: 6.4 mph
12/20 - 3 miles - 28:13 - splits: 9:10, 9:40, 9:23 pace: 6.4 mph
12/21 - 3 miles - 28:18 - splits: 9:19, 9:40, 9:20 pace: 6.4 mph
12/22 - 2.85 miles - 40:48 - my first try at paddling my new Ruahine F1
12/23 - 3.12 miles - 40:26 - more practice in the F1

Lake Alfred, FL

2006-12-15T19:08:00.000-05:00

December 10-15, 2006

12/10 - 3 miles - 29:05 - splits: 9:36, 9:59, 9:29 pace: 6.2 mph
12/11 - 3 miles - 29:11 - splits: 9:20, 10:17, 9:34 pace: 6.2 mph
12/13 - 3 miles - 27:35 - splits: 9:14, 9:12, 9:09 pace: 6.5 mph
12/14 - 3 miles - 28:28 - splits: 9:46, 9:33, 9:09 pace: 6.3 mph
12/15 - 3 miles - 28:28 - splits: 9:28, 9:43, 9:17 pace: 6.3 mph

Silver River Race

2006-12-09T20:12:00.000-05:00

Silver Springs, FL
December 9, 2006

Last night was supposed to get pretty cold, but the temperature never got down as projected. As I drove up to Ocala this morning, the temperature was in the upper forties and by race time it was sunny and in the sixties.

There were probably 30-40 boats of all types, shapes and sizes, with a variety of competitors as well. There was even a contingent from the Slovakian Olympic kayak team, who brought along their identical Vajda kayaks. The start was interesting, as we tried to organize the faster boats to the front, to get them out of the way before converging on the visible bottleneck only 30 meters ahead. The start was smoother than I thought it would be, with no casualties or flippers.

After paddling down a narrow side channel for 300 meters, we turned upriver into about a 1.5 mph current. Most competitors stayed out of the main current as we snaked our way around the many twists and turns of the narrow channel. The water was extremely clear, with a blue-green tint offering a quite beautiful setting.

There were numerous shore birds of the typical species found in Florida, along with a few monkeys hanging around in the trees. I did not spend any time looking up, so I did not see any, but a few of the others toward the back of the pack, said they saw some. We will definately have to go back for a leisurely paddle to take a longer look at all of the flora and fauna to be found along this striking river.

As for the race, on the way up, I mainly tried to draft off of others, occasionally braving the current to pass and fight my way up to the next racer and settle in for another draft. On the return, Carl in his K1, took a wrong turn ahead of me and upon getting turned around and back ahead of me, gave me a great target to try and stay with while we raced back with the current. I was able to hang with him, while we caught Larry in his C1.

Once out of the channel and on the homestretch, it was a mad dash for the three of us, as I just beat out Larry while not being able to overtake Carl. My overall time was 1:28:55 over the 9.6 mile course. I will post more complete results when I receive them. By the way, one of the Slovak men was the overall winner.

Lake Alfred

2006-12-07T19:46:00.000-05:00

December 3-8, 2006

12/3 - 6 miles - 57:23 - splits: 9:36, 9:38, 9:28, 9:26, 9:41, 9:32 pace: 6.3 mph
12/4 - 3 miles - no time - watch stopped
12/5 - 3 miles - 28:42 - splits: 9:27, 9:55, 9:18 pace: 6.3 mph
12/6 - 3 miles - 27:47 - splits: 9:12, 9:20, 9:15 pace: 6.5 mph
12/7 - 3 miles - 29:04 - splits: 10:04, 9:53, 9:07 pace: 6.2 mph

Lake Alfred

2006-12-02T09:32:00.000-05:00

November 26- December 2, 2006

11/26 - 3 miles - 29:46 - splits: 9:48, 10:21, 9:35 pace: 6.0 mph
11/27 - 6 miles - 58:53 - splits: 9:52, 9:59, 9:29, 9:57, 10:01, 9:31 pace: 6.1 mph
11/29 - 3 miles - 28:20 - splits: 9:11, 9:46, 9:23 pace: 6.3 mph
12/1 - 3 miles - 28:09 - splits: 9:33, 9:17, 9:18 pace: 6.4 mph
12/2 - 6 miles - 56:43 - splits: 9:31, 9:26, 9:28, 9:24, 9:25, 9:26 pace: 6.3 mph

Lake Alfred

2006-11-25T11:18:00.000-05:00

November 19-25, 2006

11/19 - 6 miles - 57:31 - splits: 9:46, 9:39, 9:17, 9:53, 9:38, 9:15 pace: 6.3 mph
11/20 - 3 miles - 29:28 - splits: 10:28, 9:51, 9:08 pace: 6.1 mph
11/21 - 3 miles - 28:11 - splits: 9:35, 9:28, 9:06 pace: 6.4 mph
11/22 - 3 miles - 29:11 - splits: 10:28, 9:37, 9:04 pace: 6.2 mph
11/23 - 6 miles - 57:43 - splits: 9:39, 9:33, 9:26, 10:08, 9:43, 9:11 pace: 6.2 mph
11/24 - 6 miles - 56:33 - splits: 9:33, 9:26, 9:15, 9:27, 9:30, 9:18 pace: 6.4 mph
11/25 - 6 miles - 6-man outrigger canoe workout on Tampa Bay

Lake Alfred

2006-11-18T08:27:00.000-05:00

November 12 - 18, 2006

11/12 - 3 miles - 27:56 - splits were 9:24, 9:15, 9:17 overall pace was 6.4 mph
11/13 - 3 miles - 28:03 - splits were 9:25, 9:22, 9:16 overall pace was 6.4 mph
11/14 - 3 miles - 27:32 - splits were 9:06, 9:11, 9:15 overall pace was 6.5 mph
11/15 - 3 miles - 27:56 - splits were 9:16, 9:20, 9:20 overall pace was 6.4 mph
11/17 - 3 miles - 28:29 - splits were 9:53, 9:29, 9:07 overall pace was 6.3 mph
11/18 - 6 miles - 57:21 - splits were 9:42, 9:39, 9:23, 9:42, 9:41, 9:11 overall pace was 6.3 mph

Alafia Challenge

2006-11-11T17:55:00.000-05:00

Lithia, FL
Saturday, November 11, 2006

On a beautiful, cool and sunny morning, 204 boats with 316 participants started paddling from the Lithia Springs county park and continued 9.1 miles downriver to the Riverview Civic Center. The first three canoes started at 9:11 AM, followed every minute by another group of three boats. A total of 84 canoes and 120 kayaks took their turn in threes at the starting line beginning their journey down the narrow, shallow Alafia River.

Within the first mile, we came across several sets of rapids over rock formations right at the surface. Fortunately, we did not have to get out and portage, as we slid over and down the rapids. It did not take long before I started passing most of the boats in my category and many in the categories starting ahead of me. We paddled around many sharp tight turns, sometimes around downed trees, trying to stay in the current, to help propel us downriver most efficiently.

On the last three to four miles, the river widened out, so it was even more important to find the fastest current, not necessarily the shortest tangent. Finally, the finish chute came into view where we tried to put on a spirited sprint. The water shallowed out considerably, so it was like paddling in molasses.

The race was extremely well run with an abundance of volunteers helping racers with their boats at the start and finish areas. The food was great, with a live band playing and they even had very nice, one-of-a-kind awards. A dragon boat club showed up and did demonstrations and let racers and spectators join them for a taste of what it is like to paddle a dragon boat. Linda decided she wanted to try it, so we jumped in along with 20 others, about half members and half newbies. I thought it was great, but Linda will probably not want to join in and go to workouts, etc.

As for finish times and awards, I ended up 8th overall out of 204 and third out of 22 in my race category, which was masters men rec single kayaks. The two boats which beat me were kevlar Epics, which should have been in the elite category, so I felt pretty good, feeling I really finished first in a true rec boat. Next year, if the water is up some, I may try the elite boat category and see how it goes.

Lake Alfred

2006-11-09T18:27:00.000-05:00

November 5, 7, 8, 9

11/5 - 10 miles - 1:38:20 - splits were 9:35, 9:48, 9:37, 9:46, 10:04, 9:49, 9:49, 10:23, 9:54, 9:29 overall pace was 6.1 mph
11/7 - 6 miles - 56:28 - splits were 9:18, 9:27, 9:32, 9:19, 9:26, 9:24 overall pace was 6.4 mph
11/8 - 3 miles - 29:00 - splits were 10:13, 9:22, 9:24 overall pace was 6.2 mph
11/9 - 3 miles - 27:59 - splits were 9:25, 9:15, 9:18 overall pace was 6.4 mph

Lake Alfred

2006-11-04T22:20:00.000-05:00

November 1, 2 & 4

I had three workout paddles this week as follows:

11/1 - 3 miles - 28:46 - mile splits were 9:31, 9:50, 9:22 overall pace was 6.3 mph
11/2 - 3 miles - 28:02 - mile splits were 9:14, 9:28, 9:18 overall pace was 6.4 mph
11/4 - 6 miles - 58:38 - mile splits were 9:41, 9:56, 9:33, 9:47, 10:04, 9:34, overall pace was 6.1 mph

Lake Alfred

2006-10-17T21:24:00.000-04:00

October 16, 17, 2006

My two workout paddles this week were both three miles each, which is exactly one loop around the perimeter of the lake. My times were as follows:

10/16 - 29:13 - mile splits were 9:27, 10:08, 9:37 overall pace was 6.2 mph
10/17 - 28:22 - mile splits were 9:25, 9:26, 9:30 overall pace was 6.3 mph

Suwannee River Marathon

2006-10-17T15:34:00.000-04:00

Saturday, October 14, 2006

I hope to get back to some semi-regular blogging again, starting with this Suwannee race. Linda and I drove up to White Springs, FL Friday afternoon, the day before the race, to avoid an early morning trip. We arrived at the Telford Hotel around 4:00 PM. It is an interesting brick and river rock 3-story hotel built in 1903. This was back in the days when White Springs was a popular tourist stopover for Northeasterners traveling by train, on their way further south into Florida.

The hotel was newly renovated, adding a sprinkler system, etc., but not adding much to the rooms, which had high ceilings, wood floors, chipped paint and period decorated with handmade quilts and antique furniture. We ate in the downstairs dining area, which had a nice buffet and menu.

We woke up to a partly cloudy, cool morning in the upper 40's, just perfect for a hard and long paddle. The starting line was just east out of town at the Hwy 41 bridge. The 25 participant 44-mile Challenge event racers started off in waves at 7:30 AM, while the 23-mile Marathon racers started in waves at 9:00 AM. There were 13 boats in the Marathon that took off in two waves, four minutes apart. The slower boats started first, while six of us took off at 9:04 AM.

Right off the bat, we found the water to be very shallow, as we slid over some sandbars and gravel spots. I took the lead right away and never looked back. It didn't take long and I started to overtake the group which started four minutes ahead of us. At about the two mile mark, I had overtaken all but one of the early starters, as we passed underneath the bridge coming into the west end of town, by the Telford and the Stephen Foster State Park. After that, there were very few signs of humanity, other than an occasional fish camp up on the ridge.

With so little water running down the river, we had little current to help push us along. In fact, I ended up having to quickly jump out of my kayak, start running and dragging it over sandbars and jumping back in, to continue paddling. I repeated this sequence about fifteen times. This added alot of time and severely reduced my pace in the early going. Some of my mile splits were over 13 minutes, such that I could not keep up a 5 mph pace through five miles. I finally was able to gain a little more speed and began to average over 5 mph at about the ten mile mark.

There were many twists and turns through the very interesting hole-pocked rock wall canyon. Occasionally, I would get to slide down a mild rapid. I paddled along with an otter playing out in front of one of the rapids for a few strokes. There were also all of the typical shore birds, including White Ibis, Great Blue Heron, Cormorant, Anhinga and Great White Egret. As I rounded a corner, a Cormorant was standing along the bank holding a fish almost as large as he was. He took off with the fish in his beak, trying to gain altitude, but had to drop it back into the river to maintain his flight.

In the second half of the race, I came across several groups of people camping and canoeing, as well as a group on horseback high up on the ridge. There were a couple of larger camps or parks with walkways down to the water, although all of their piers were high above the very low water level.

At about the 20 mile mark, I caught up with one of the racers from the Challenge race, who wasn't going to make the time deadline to continue, and would have to get out where our finish line was. I picked up the pace over the last three miles and was very happy to finally turn the last corner, to see the finish line at the Spirit of the Suwannee Park. As it turned out, I finished in 4:24, about 45 minutes ahead of 2nd place, with 3rd place another 20 minutes behind. The rest of my group trickled in over the next 2-3 hours.

I was not ready to be competitive over the longer course, but it would have been more fun to have a little competition, rather than just racing against the clock. The weather couldn't have been any better, as the afternoon was sunny and warm. I was even lucky enough to get a nice massage after finishing, which was greatly appreciated.

After hanging out in the sun for a few hours, we drove back to the hotel and waited for the others to come back, so we could have the awards ceremony and drink a few beers while relaxing our sore muscles and discussing the day's race.

Lake Alfred

2006-10-12T21:43:00.000-04:00

October 8, 9, 11, 12

My four workout paddles this week were ten miles on 10/8 and three miles on the other days with times as follows:

10/8 - 1:36:01, splits were 9:39, 9:31, 9:34, 9:38, 9:35, 9:27, 9:40, 9:49, 9:26, 9:20 overall pace 6.2 mph
10/9 - 28:18, splits were 9:32, 9:33, 9:13 overall pace 6.4 mph
10/11 - 28:10, splits were 9:20, 9:20, 9:21 overall pace 6.4 mph
10/12 - 27:41, splits were 9:17, 9:16, 9:07 overall pace 6.5 mph