Day 2 and 3: Open 1000m and Mixed and Open 200m

As a coach and paddler, this is certainly a full-on few days! I have cried 5 times already, 2 for happiness, 2 for distress and one for a touching paddler attitude.

The progression for the races to get to the final is: top two from heats to Semi, all others to one of 2 Reps. Top 2 from each Rep plus next 2 fastest to Semi = 2 Semi's of 6. Top 2 from each Semi plus next 2 fastest to Final. Other crews are put into a minor final.

Day 2:
On Thursday the open (men's) crew raced the 1000m. We had to go through the rep which meant 4 races for the guys which is a lot of 1000's. On the rep (2nd round) we didn't need as strong a crew so I stroked so Eugene could rest. The plan all worked great and the guys got lane 1 for the semi, a lane that has shown to be significantly faster than the other lanes, in all distances. From there, they made the final which is a great feat for a new team with the level of competition here! Every race got better and better and they raced to a 5th place in the final showing that, lane 1 in the semi or not, they deserved to be there! Finals are 6 crews.

Day 3:
Yesterday was the 200m day. Mixed in the morning, Open in the afternoon. Mixed was going well. Our heat was flat paddling but we came back with a great race in the rep. We were in a good position to expect a final position if we could execute our race in the semi where we had to be top 2 or the next 2 fastest times from the 2 semis. We were second 60 m into the race when our drum starting moving forward and back. As the stroke, the drum looked like it was going to fall on us. Our, now proven agile, drummer was grabbing at it with one hand and drumming with the other and somehow staying in the boat. There is a time penalty for not drumming. But the drum rolled so now it's sideways and I'm looking into the bottom of the drum and it's rolling around. Vivian is deperately trying to hold on to it and stay in the boat, and we're still going full speed. At one point, she's out over the left side of the boat and I think she going to fall off. I tried to paddle my best and the crew certainly kept the rhythm but Jeff and I were compromised due to worrying for Vivian and our own safety and having to be prepared for having a drum or drummer under our paddle or into our shoulders at any time. Our result was 1/2 sec out of the final, which from my perpective can be entirely accounted for with what will now been known as the incident with the drum. It was devastating. We raced the minor final with an extra woman and as much heart as we could muster and came 4th.

Then the Open team dried my tears by racing 3 fabulous rounds, with no rep needed, to earn a 5th place spot in the final. They're all heart those guys!! Along with a good dose of fitness and a beautifully blended technique.

Today: Mixed 500m where we are going to get this monkey off our backs!!