Nick’s Fishmarket Makena Championship Race

March 29, 2008

I think the most asked question at the short course start may have been: “what time is it?” Much like the infamous “are we there yet?”,  I had to ask over and over again. Derek could have answered: “time for you to buy a watch”. But paddlers are so nice he just told me the time with a smile. I was anxious to get in the water, and time was moving too slow waiting for the 2:30 start. Actually, it was a nice day for socializing and trying to talk the wind into doing its thing. Rick, Noa, and I sat under a palm tree and discussed the time, and food, as we were all so hungry! Noa and I are in agreement that doughnuts are perfect pre-race food.. yet we didn’t have any before the race!

The funniest question came from my OC-6 teammate Roberto who showed up for the short course at 2:20 p.m. and asked: ”where do I register”.

The second most asked question (with much alarm) was: ”Is Wendell racing short course?” Seriously, Wendell’s canoe at the start of short course? Is the world upside-down? The answer was actually: “No”, Wendell loaned one of his trademark dragon 555 canoes to his cousin, Henry.  Mystery solved.

But why did Mael finish the race with a kayak paddle?  We found out later he broke his paddle and team Wally & Geoff on the 2 man surfski gave Mael one of their paddles.  Those guys rock!!  The Kayak paddle didn’t appear to affect Mael in any manner, but then he could probably do the same with just a kiawe branch if the opportunity presented itself!  Congratulations again Mael for a stellar performance.

Cory hulied at the finish to re-enact his start, and still took home a medal. He said it was a rough race. Many people thought it was tough, hot, choppy, and long. I was with the other camp who enjoyed themselves. I had fun racing along with my friend Tom, trying to catch any swell going my way. Not that I wasn’t so excited to hear Kaimana’s drumming signaling the finish (yay!!), but I needed 2 or 3 more miles to try and catch my competition (grrr!!).

Rick raced with his ten year old son Noah in the OC-2, and they won gold! Props to Noa who completed his first 9 mile race.

Chris Swinford won his first medal racing Men’s novice B. He is 60+. He looked so unbelievably happy to have a medal around his neck. It made me remember to be extra grateful for my silver medal. Amazing how it can get disappointing because I want first, but a medal is a wonderful thing not to be taken for granted. Thanks for your gratitude Chris, it was infectious.

And thanks to Donny, Aaron, Patricia, and the folks from Nick’s Fishmarket for sponsoring this race and providing us with tacos and beer to celebrate the end of the official season. The party couldn’t have been any nicer on the edge of the pacific on a summery afternoon. Thanks to Kaimana and Kira for bringing us home to the sound of Tahitian drums. Thanks to Rob, Patty, Faith, Franny, Mary, the water officials, the board members, and everyone else who makes this season possible. And thanks for reading, I have enjoyed writing about the races this year!

See you in 3 weeks at Maliko! Please do your wind dances in preparation for a downhill day.

Brandis L. Sarich, V.P.