Race 2

Another AquaPaddle event.  Initially I had no intention of attending this one.  I had friends over for a barbecue and successfully executed said barbecue in spite of atrocious weather and without causing any form of food poisoning (that I am aware of).   This did also feature ~5 cans of ale, and I'm not used to that sort of drinking at all anymore.  Sunday morning came and the sun was shining.  Who in the name of greek buggery expected that?!  So I pulled myself together, took some paracetamol, downed a couple of pints of water,  packed the car and headed off.

An equally well attended event.  The sun was out and spirits were high, though I needed to wee-wee on arrival and there was nowhere to sneak off to.  You may remember from the previous post that I was half mocked for my average fin and also shown in my first race how much top end kit can make a difference.  Having done some research, I had chosen to buy myself two Black Project fins, having been especially motivated by the indications that learning to use them can present something of a challenge and generally curious if they really could make that much of a difference.

Anyway this presented me with something of a quandary.  I didn't want people to think I fancied myself as some sort of pro but I really wanted to see if the fins were all they were cracked up to be.  I nervously attached the Tiger v2 fin and hoped no one would notice.

Two officials noticed it and said "wow, that's a superb fin!" within five minutes.  I blush and try and close the conversation down as quickly as possible.  The first guy though adds, I'll get a really good step-back turn out of it.  He was the same person who told me in the previous race to attach my leash differently.  When I replied "Hmm yeah.  Maybe" he clearly realised I was an embarrassed newb and persisted.  Try the turn.  Try it.

As we made ready for the race he had clearly decided I was in desperate need of a mentor.  Board needs more pressure.  Accept the lack of stability from the fin.  Try the turn.  We lined up at the start.

At the start of the race, a rather unpleasant ale burp surfaced from me that really could've gone either way.  I held to my rhythm.  Third.  Then fourth.  But the pack was closer this time.  There was more to study.  People were doing half strokes.  Finishing at their hip and going for the next one.  I was shoving back as far as I possibly could.  Interesting.  

When the turn came, I made a half-arsed step back on the board and a performed a turn that could've probably been out-maneuvered by a tanker.  But the flow of the river was significantly stronger this time, and I really felt the benefit again.   By the finish, I'd recovered ground on third and we finished on a sprint that I lost.  Fourth.

As I finished my would-be mentor added "your paddle is too long" adding that to my now extensive set of field notes.

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