TheSwirl.org

Kathryn and I went to see our alma mater (University of Washington) play vs Syracuse in their opening game of the season.  Both programs are in year 3 of a rebuilding program. I wore my UW t-shirt while Kathryn decided to go neutral.  I felt safe when we got to walk up University Avenue as the UW Band  came out of the Sheraton and walked to the Carrier Dome - lots of purple there!  There were a surprising number of UW fans at the fame and the % increased through out the game as the SU folks bailed enroute to a 42-12 loss. The game started at 8pm and went late into the night, but it also wasn’t pretty if you were an SU fan.  SU had their new orange on orange uniforms - which look ugly to me.  SU only got 8 yards rushing the whole game and gave up 302 yards rushing.  The SU QB got sacked 7 times. It was clear from the start that UW had a MUCH bigger offensive line and a LOT more team speed in the backfield.  I think Rankin, the UW running back got 147 yards playing in 3 quarters and the UW freshman QB ran for 70 yards.  I saw one girl with a UW t-shirt an SU ball cap - that was a good compromise.  But I decided to bite the bullet and commit to UW.

We entered a team into the 2007 General Clinton Canoe Regatta Grand Prix Relay with high hopes of being a contender. The General Clinton Grand Prix Relay Race uses one standard class aluminum canoe and a team of 10 paddlers to cover ~30 miles on the Susquehanna River from Oneonta to Bainbridge. There are four exchange points where the canoe pulls into a “pit stop”. The paddlers jump out, excess water is dumped from the the canoe and the new paddling team jumps in for their stretch of the race.

This is a race that I had done as a teenager in 1970 and 1971 and we submitted a team in 2005. Our 2005 team was rammed, dumped, was dead last in the 1st leg and ended up finishing 15th of 33 teams. So we had reason to believe that with some luck we could be a top ten team.

Our team was aligned thus:

We got off to a good start. We had good position on the bank - starting 12th in a lineup of 33 canoes. We made it out in front of the pack, moved up a couple of positions and cleared the chute under the bridge. I was feeling good about our place as we had moved up a couple of positions and we had a lot of space around us.

About 1/2 mile below the start the river makes a bend to the right, with the water forming a chute along the right bank and there is an overhanging tree - perfect for disaster. A team cut in front of us going right to left and we converged at the chute with a team on our right. At this juncture we got hit on the left by the team that had crossed in front of us, pushing us into the other team. They hit the tree but were just far enough ahead to get under the overhang. Kathryn and 1/2 of our canoe made it under - the stern and I did not. We dumped! AGAIN.

15 minutes later and only with the help of Race Assistants were we able to get the canoe extracted from the water, dumped and on our way again. Kathryn had lost her paddle and all the teams were long gone. We used our spare paddle and managed to catch and pass two boats before finishing our leg of the race.

At the exchange I located the team that lost a paddle and been given our floater as a replacement. Since I just paid a sizeable sum to have Mr. Gillespie repair and refinish my paddles over the winter I was glad to have it back.

Our remaining teams paddled strong, didn’t dump and we managed to finish 27th overall out of 33 teams with two teams scratching and/or not completing the race.

I really had a good time. With one or two tweaks (like staying afloat) I still feel like we could be a Top 10 (”I could’ve been a contender“). I may sneak down to Oneonta with my chain saw at some point and ensure that obstacle won’t get us again! Of course, my partner is not sure she will ever paddle that section again and it may take a few months and several intoxicating beverages to get her to agree to paddle in the race at all, but I am already planning for 2008.

On a positive note we had a good starting position due to our early entry. Next year we should focus on having our team established by early April. I thought our exchanges worked really well and considering how ad hoc we were I don’t think we lost any time. I was glad we had the rope on the back and the spare paddle.

Thoughts for 2008:

• Overcome the nasty overhanging tree/chute
• Maybe find a faster aluminum canoe. I am grateful to Dave Parson’s for loaning it to us, but he admits “it fell off a truck”
• Recruit additional team members. We can always use additional females and/or people that can paddle stern.
• Getting some of our team mates together in a canoe before the race would certainly help our synchronization, timing and performance.

I have pictures of the race at http://www.theswirl.org/trips/Splash-Bump-Beach-2007/index.html

I follow the Syracuse University basketball program through out the year.  I often peruse a bulletin board devoted to discussions of Syracuse Basketball.  Sorting the wheat from the chaff in these postings is often difficult as some topics take a beating.  One poster said it best recently: 

1. Zone versus Man - 4 million mentions (mostly from one surly poster)
2. x is not a point guard - 2 million mentions over many years
3. Paul Harris can’t shoot - 1 million mentions over the last year
4. Carmelo…Carmelo…Carmelo - 1/2 million mentions since 2003
5. Hopkins Coach Where When and now…how much 400 times a day (but only in the off-season)
6. New uniforms – love them or hate them (a recent topic)

 You have to be a fan(actic) to sort through this stuff.

Our lap top blew up so we have not been checking our mail until today. We spent a nice time in Tucson, went to the 4th Avenue Street Fair with over 400 vendor booths, live bands, and . We got Eric a power ranger cape.

We spent a day at the Desert Museum which is sort of a cross between a zoo and a nature trail - it is almost all outdoors. Got there is time for an incredible show/display of Harris Hawks.  Harris Hawks are social and hunt as a group.  We got to see 5 of them ‘hunting’ together.  One of the better wildlife exhibits we have seen.

The Hilton is quite resort-ish. Pool is very busy so did not go in, just sat by the edge the fisrt day. We had a very nice diner with the instructor/pro on Sunday night. Yesterday was all about golf. There are only three of us in the class and the instructor/pro is a very down-to-earth, jolly kind of guy who definitely thinks golf is fun and wants you to think so too. We spent 2 hours whacking at the golf ball - well, actually he was trying to teach “the fundamentals” of how to hold the club, how to stand etc. We hit the ball more often than not and was quite surprised to have some fairly good hits. We had some great hits, but a few went off course and near houses. Then we spent another hour doing “chip shots”. Those were somehow harder. We went to the club house and had a nice lunch then went on an actual golf course. It was after 3 when we got back to the room and we just watched televison and read until bedtime. Well, we are a little stiff today but think that will work itself out on the driving range this morning! Temperatures are expected to be in the 80s with serious winds today.

It is 6:19am at the Hancock Airport in Syracuse as we await our flights to Tucson, AZ.  Sister Barbara was nice enough to provide 1 week of house/child sitting as a Christmas present, with the provision that it be used before the nice weather comes in April.  Kathyrn & I agreed we would go a) somewhere warm and b) go to golf school.  I have had a goal of learning the basics of golf for the past two summers but didn’t follow through with lessons.  So we are attending the Hilton Golf Academy in Tucson where the temperatures have been in the mid-70s the past week.  After a night of fitful sleep we arose early and crossed our ice-slickened deck to the car and began our journey.