In April 2004 I got a call from someone I didn’t know in Bellingham asking if I wanted to do Ski to Sea. I had heard about it, but wasn’t sure it fit into my plans. The fellow ended up convincing me to paddle the anchor kayak leg and ring the finish line bell for a sponsored women’s team: Boundary Bay Brewery. It was a success, all of the women won their respective legs and our team was first in the women’s category. yay. I paddled with them again the next year and then started to do more school and less paddling.
Now it is 10 years later and I am gearing up to do ski to sea again, this time as a canoer on the marathon canoe leg. I don’t have a very strong ‘athletic CV’ as of late, so I am paddling on a non-sponsored team for the experience and to post a time in the hopes of getting sponsorship next year. Â Good thing I am employed this time, because getting the boat there, flying to Vancouver, and renting a car to drive down to Bellingham will be a bit pricey.
The Nooksack is fast and cold and can be pushy, it will be a challenge but not as much as it would have been 10 years ago; paddling lots of kilometers in these boats on the North Saskatchewan and Qu’appelle rivers will be a big help. I also have a great partner: light and stern-with-finesse Edith, who was also my XC coach this winter. Â Here are some videos that show what it is like:
Good luck! Although I had to laugh when I read the “I don’t have a very strong athletic CV’ as of late” – you are still a top athlete compared to 99.9% of the population. My guess – top 3!