Oh summer, how I love thee! It is so jam packed with adventures and good times … I realized suddenly that I had quite a bit of things to document.
Outrigger Iron Championships
First, a few weeks ago Ka Nai’a was in San Diego for the Iron Championship race, in which the Co-Ed crew took 1st place! This was the second “big” race of the season where the heavy hitters were able to paddle together, and it was a blast. The sun was out baking us while we waiting impatiently on the line, our nerves on edge but our confidence and expectations were high. We had a great start, but were followed the entire race by another team that was just on our tail. We never really shook them, either … they were a local San Diego team and when we hit the harbor mouth on the way to the finish, we could hear them rally. “THEY WANT YOU!” our coach was telling us from the back, and we knew it was true. A chorus of “This is OUR water!” could be heard echoing off the shoreline, and a dire sense of urgency surged through our muscles. It was a true race to the line, their canoe finishing only 10 seconds behind us. (We were about 8 minutes ahead of the 3rd place finishers.)
Such an amazing feeling to come out on top, to know we had earned it, and I’ve never seen Coach Mike so happy to see us! Folks are often turned off by his generally zealous attitude, but you can't deny that our coaches care about us with their very souls. After making the team "smoothies from heaven" my dad was able to video and witness our victorious finish, which made it all the sweeter.
Anglican Youth Retreat
The day after the race, I flew out of LAX to Sacramento for the Anglican Summer Youth Retreat, which was a success once again. For a while we thought we were going to have to cancel this year due to crazy schedules, but in the end it all came together. We had about 20 students, all of them absolute gems. It was great to reconnect with old friends, and it was great to see the way the students welcomed new faces into the fold within hours of arrival. I felt very spoiled this year because we changed facilities last minute and the new location was fancy. There were not only big comfy beds, there was a pool table, ping pong, nice grassy fields, and amazing food. (After that long hard race, I ate way more than my share at the buffet line every night that week!)
We discussed the story of Martha and Mary, and the challenges we must face in balancing schedules, friends, and life in general with “activities” and spiritual disciplines. I love every single one of those young ladies and gentlemen more than I can describe. I was able to make a quick
video of the fun, and there are other
videos from students popping up as well for your entertainment. (I was just told to add that you should especially keep an eye out for 3:18 of that second link ... sigh.)
Santa Cruz Island
After driving home with Eric, I was up the very next morning bright and early for our very first change practice of the outrigger season. (Change racing involves a support where paddlers jump into the open ocean and get picked up by the canoe to give other paddlers a chance to rest and rehydrate.) It was a wonky day, but we had to get it done because the very next weekend was our annual training trip to Santa Cruz Island.
For those of you who
read my post from last year, you are familiar with the crazy ordeal this is: 60 miles of ocean covered in 3 days of paddling!
The journey this year was rife with adversity, since the ocean was FAR from flat and the wind didn't want to stay calm. However, our novice members have TRUE GRIT and I love them for their great enthusiasm and spunk. We left at 5:35 AM on Friday morning and landed 4.5 hours later at Scorpion Harbor, where we unloaded the support boat and set up camp. We went hiking, and I finally got the hang of stand up paddle boarding. (I wish they weren't so dang expensive!) The sun came out on Saturday and it was much warmer than it was last year. We had great food and great company, and a pile of island foxes skittering around stealthily looking for food.
The return trip was long, but the crews all felt great. We have a few new members who are scared of sharks, some who are bad swimmers, many who are apt to sea sickness and others who have a number of logical fears. All of these things were overcome throughout the day, and it was indeed a feast of bliss to crack raid the leftover peanut butter and jelly jars on the boat dock afterwards. I had my annual two sips of beer, and could not have been prouder of my teammates.
One crazy bunch of burly bitches! :)
