THE BEAST involved in a close finish at Northbridge
(14/3/10) - by Len Hedges

Regular partners Steve Paget (BRAWN) and Len Hedges (BRAINS) harnessed THE BEAST yet again for the Northbridge round of the Harbour Series.

THE BEAST enjoyed a warm up paddle from their launch spot at Tunks Park, about 3km away, figuring that parking and portage of a heavy double Spec ski would be a challenge at Northbridge. Being a more protected section of Middle Harbor meant that vey smooth conditions were expected which is not ideal for THE BEAST who likes it a bit rougher.

The start was a little crowded and THE BEAST ended up on the second row but wasn’t really disadvantaged since the double immediately in front of him (Red 7? or Fenn Elite?) took off like a rocket, leaving plenty of space for THE BEAST to accelerate up to cruise speed at a more leisurely pace. After such a frantic start, THE BEAST found itself behind about 30 boats but started to slowly make progress overtaking a few singles that slowed down after the initial sprint at the start.

The ‘Elliot Kayaks’ Double team of Holloway and Clancy (I think it was a VINDICATOR) came up from behind with a slightly faster cruise speed than THE BEAST. This was perfect since it allowed us to hop on their bow wave and stay with them for some time. Unfortunately, a ‘not-unusual’ lapse of concentration from BRAINS saw THE BEAST drop off and take station behind a gaggle of singles being towed along in the VINDICATOR’s wash.

Our pack of 5 boats which included the Epic & Fenn singles of Mark Rixon, Craig Macfarlane and Stephen Reitz made reasonable progress overtaking some more boats. BRAINS realized that the only way to get back alongside VINDICATOR was at the half way turning mark. THE BEAST’s canard rudder enabled a tighter turn than the slower turning VINDICATOR and, as it eventuated, after missing the pylon by millimeters, THE BEAST ended up nose to nose with VINDICATOR for the home bound leg.

BRAWN showed why he occupies the back seat by powering up a notch, taking THE BEAST into the lead of our little pack, with the other 4 boats off our bow wave in a typical ‘flying V’ formation. About 2km from the finish, BRAINS was just about done when BRAWN reasoned aloud that THE BEAST would be unable to beat VINDICATOR if it came to a 200m sprint finish.

BRAWN further reasoned aloud that THE BEAST should therefore sprint from 2km out to try and break the pack!!! BRAINS thought that BRAWN would be better off not thinking aloud!!! In fact, BRAWN didn’t seem to realize that the back seat guy is there for muscle – not brains. Very reluctantly BRAINS agreed and the sprint was on, although BRAINS can now confess that only the back half of THE BEAST was really sprinting. The harder we paddled, the faster our pack surfed off our bow wave – but unbelievably, BRAWN stepped up yet another notch (I love that guy! – but don’t read too much into that…) for the last 500m. BRAINS was letting the side down a little (well, OK, maybe a lot) but his job is really just strategic thinking after all.

About 30m to the finish with THE BEAST clearly out of synch after the ‘clash’. The other 2 singles are off to the left of shot below.

Approaching the finish line neck and neck was very exciting until the channel narrowed due to a moored yacht. The single inside us had nowhere to go, and the inevitable contact caused much clashing of paddles. THE BEAST got out of synch for a few strokes enabling VINDICATOR to edge her nose in front. The 5 boats in our pack finished within an 8 second period but unfortunately THE BEAST was not foremost.

You can check out our pack’s finish on Video Clip 6. It was a thoroughly enjoyable race. One of the beauties of open water racing is that there is always someone around you to race against – you don’t have to be a ‘top gun’ at the pointy end to enjoy the race. Join us for the next one at Rose Bay.