Every year on the East Coast there’s a very popular tough ocean paddling race, the Blackburn Challenge. It’s named after an old-time dory fisherman whose hands froze to his oars but he made it home anyway. (The fingers had to come off later.) It’s a 20 mile race that takes several hours and covers a couple bays plus a bunch of outside water on the open ocean.
There are hundreds of boaters in a dozen kinds of boats, a real paddle fest. Kayaks, surfskis, dories, sculls, gigs—I suppose a third of the entries row, a third paddle with doubleblades and a third use canoe paddles of some kind. Perhaps half go solo and half in teams of up to 8 oarsmen and women.
The race is July 12. Here’s the homepage: www.blackburnchallenge.com/Blackburn.html
Hmmm, I don’t know a good way to follow the event online, though. Rats. Populist events need populist ways to follow them. Even if you’re not there. C’mon, it’s not rocket science! Well, it is…but it’s also plug’n’play. If someone was there with a Blackberry the whole world could thrill to the developing action… : )
If anyone knows of a live report blog or something, post it here, please!
[Pic courtesy of Joe Glickman’s 2007 race article at: www.surfski.info/content/view/480/147/
