Catalina Crossing
Goals. Good to have them. Good to set them. Good to prioritize them. I wouldn't say I've always had the most vocal, take-no-prisoners, succeed-or-die goals but they're out there, beckoning in the distance, sort of morphing from one minute to the next. You know - be happy, finish faster than the last time, write more, eat less, pass that guy in front of me, learn about (insert anything here) - motorcycle repair, guitar playing, cooking.
And so, in our last big outrigger race of the season, on a calm, sunny, liquid blue Sunday morning, my coed crew and I left Catalina bound for Newport Beach with 3 goals in mind:
Why not finish first as the primary goal? Because it seemed more fun to go after beating our rivals across the bay. Snag some good-natured bragging rights. And because it seemed the most attainable. Of the 4 crews who lined up that morning for masters coed, one of them finished 2nd overall in the open coed division the day before (28 boats total) and was described as "forgetaboutit." That left Tam, us and the other boat. Hence goal #2 - the pipe dream. Goal # 3 - the Hail Mary.
I'll spare you the flowery details of a battle well-fought, victory slipping through our paddles, when the going got tough we got going. We took 3rd. Not a hard fought third, not a photo-finish third, just third. A perfectly satisfying, podium-placing, high-fiving, plaque-carrying third. And in doing so, we hit our watered-down, no-one-passes-us, last ditch effort goal; a goal we'd dialed into some 3.5 hours earlier as Tam edged ever farther away from us. The first place boat? Not even a blip on the horizon.
But once we re-focused, we relaxed, we cruised, we had fun. We cheered - "Go Beetches", we shouted - "Boo ya!", we swam with dolphins - a dozen or so swarmed the boat during a water change. Phenomenal. We finished the last 4 miles paddling through a bustling, sun-kissed Newport Harbor to the cheers of paddling friends on the shoreline and pulled up alongside our friends and rivals, Mt. Tam, at the finish offering nothing but congratulations and warm hugs. To smack talk is to be humble and gracious in defeat.
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It wasn't a perfect day, but it was a great day nonetheless. We had an awesome crew of fun, supportive paddlers who took it in stride as our goals shifted, working more on blending together and feeling good in the boat while Amy kept us engaged and focused. My stroke felt more dialed in than ever, like the puzzle pieces of entry, return, grab, reach, twist had fallen into place. Well, maybe not fallen into place, more like moved closer. And of course, I got to share another super paddling weekend with my pads girl Jessica. Our 2nd year of racing, one more year better, one more year experienced, one more year perhaps...less haole.
Post-race we showered, rocked some sundresses and joined the post-party with our crew and new Tam BFFs, toasting over beers, reliving the highlights of the day - "You did too think that was a shark!" and plotting next year's race schedule.
Catalina Crossing 2010. As good as it ever was. Imua.
And so, in our last big outrigger race of the season, on a calm, sunny, liquid blue Sunday morning, my coed crew and I left Catalina bound for Newport Beach with 3 goals in mind: 1. Beat Mt. Tam
2. Finish first
3. Not come in last
2. Finish first
3. Not come in last
Why not finish first as the primary goal? Because it seemed more fun to go after beating our rivals across the bay. Snag some good-natured bragging rights. And because it seemed the most attainable. Of the 4 crews who lined up that morning for masters coed, one of them finished 2nd overall in the open coed division the day before (28 boats total) and was described as "forgetaboutit." That left Tam, us and the other boat. Hence goal #2 - the pipe dream. Goal # 3 - the Hail Mary.I'll spare you the flowery details of a battle well-fought, victory slipping through our paddles, when the going got tough we got going. We took 3rd. Not a hard fought third, not a photo-finish third, just third. A perfectly satisfying, podium-placing, high-fiving, plaque-carrying third. And in doing so, we hit our watered-down, no-one-passes-us, last ditch effort goal; a goal we'd dialed into some 3.5 hours earlier as Tam edged ever farther away from us. The first place boat? Not even a blip on the horizon.But once we re-focused, we relaxed, we cruised, we had fun. We cheered - "Go Beetches", we shouted - "Boo ya!", we swam with dolphins - a dozen or so swarmed the boat during a water change. Phenomenal. We finished the last 4 miles paddling through a bustling, sun-kissed Newport Harbor to the cheers of paddling friends on the shoreline and pulled up alongside our friends and rivals, Mt. Tam, at the finish offering nothing but congratulations and warm hugs. To smack talk is to be humble and gracious in defeat. It wasn't a perfect day, but it was a great day nonetheless. We had an awesome crew of fun, supportive paddlers who took it in stride as our goals shifted, working more on blending together and feeling good in the boat while Amy kept us engaged and focused. My stroke felt more dialed in than ever, like the puzzle pieces of entry, return, grab, reach, twist had fallen into place. Well, maybe not fallen into place, more like moved closer. And of course, I got to share another super paddling weekend with my pads girl Jessica. Our 2nd year of racing, one more year better, one more year experienced, one more year perhaps...less haole. Post-race we showered, rocked some sundresses and joined the post-party with our crew and new Tam BFFs, toasting over beers, reliving the highlights of the day - "You did too think that was a shark!" and plotting next year's race schedule. Catalina Crossing 2010. As good as it ever was. Imua.
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