You talkin' about rain? Why, I recollect one time during the Wye Island Regatta when some hurricane snuck up on us and half-filled our boat in 20 minutes. Lucky we had plenty of beer in the cooler to keep up our spirits!
Dan, I recollect Hurricane Charley (2004) as well. A fond recollection.
We had done the Wye Island Race for a half dozen years. For a couple years my son and I took either first or second in Mens Double Kayak, paddling the 1971 Old Town Sockeye. OK, there were not many Mens double kayaks entered, and the year we took first the other two Mens 2X DNFed due to wind and wave. And at least one big ship boat wake on the outside leg, which we saw roll across the bay and take out one of the other doubles.
My niece and college roommate took first in womens double in the Sockeye, and she & her boyfriend took first in mixed double the next year. The Sockeye might be the Winabago of double kayaks, but it was ideal for those conditions.
We began racing the
Bloody Mary, a Clipper Mariner, with a mixed 8 person crew for four years, usually taking first, with one second place finish. That second was in a year where there was actually another 8-man canoe entered. Still 2:17:46 was respectable for 12+ miles while drinking beer.
2004 was a cluster$#%&. The race was nearly cancelled, and should have been. The organizers, against all meteorological advice, opted to shortened the race to a simple out and back, avoiding the portion exposed to the open Chesapeake.
On the way out to the turn there were capsized boats everywhere, including price carbon skis and pricier rowing shells, with swimmers galore. One shapely young lass, draped over her capsized single scull in a skin-tight wet suit, held our attention for quite a while.
The DRN and safety boats had their hands full, hauling swimmers to shore saying
Stay here, we will come back for you.
By the time the DNR had caught up with us we were rounding the come-back buoy and I swear they tried to sink us. They came zooming up a full speed, killed the throttle and threw a 4 foot wake at us. When we had finished bobbing around from their plow-stopped wake and resumed paddling our Captain shouted something like
Is that the best you got? and we completed the back leg home.
I recollect that a total of 8 boats finished that year. The Clipper Mariner was also a wonderful boat for those conditions.
Thanks Dan. I am smiling at many Wye race memories.
The year we our usual bow paddler could not make it and we coerced Chip to join us, paddling in the lot-of-work bow seat, promising that we would stop for a refreshing muckle up leg stretcher on some sandy beach part way around.
Chip did a great job in the bow, but became increasingly suspicious as we passed sandy beach after sandy beach, telling him
No, there a better one up ahead. We never did stop.
We sprinted the last mile, with the encouragement of a race official on the finish line boat, shouting
Come on, pour it on! and
Keep going, almost there! Best finish time ever. Chip was ready to kill us.
The year we ran it backwards. When we started they began yelling
Stop, you are going the wrong way! to no avail. They should have been suspicious about the amount of gear we loaded.
We found a nice sandy beach a couple miles up from the finish line and set out a table, snacks, chairs and a couple of coolers. And three Burma Shave style signs, spaced around the corner, reading:
FREE
RACE
BEER
Several friends stopped by, and we nearly sunk an 8-man shell. Around the corner from the signs one of the rowers looked longing at the coolers and beers we were proffering and missed a stroke. There was a clattering of oars and a near capsize. They did not stop. The cox looked pissed.
Several other folks did stop, and at one point we had a good crowd gathered on the beach, including a gentleman who quite enjoyed himself. He stayed until the last of the racers were well passed, and then slowly paddled back with us.
By the time we dawdled our way back every other racer, car, truck and trailer was gone. Even the race tents were gone, as were all of the race officials except one.
He had stayed to give our new friend his medal for
First Place Mens 50+ Solo Canoe. IIRC his finish time was close to 7 hours, and was recorded as such in the next years program.
He was proud of his medal, but prouder of the BEER sign he took home to show the wife when she asked
How was the race?
https://flic.kr/p/25G3SBW bhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/133956285@N05/, 
