Cape Cod Bay Challenge – We Made It!

August 15, 2008

Months of preparation, planning, and training. Hundreds of miles paddled getting our selves ready for a long day on Cape Cod Bay. Mike has been reminding us all to hydrate well and eat right. The mandatory carb loading pasta feast the night before. We were ready…….then Bill, Mike, and I finished off 5 bottles of wine along with some good cigars…….I don’t think that’s typical marathon preparation wisdom.

OMG!…..it’s time to get up already! Down a bottle of Gatorade and a handful of aspirin. Drive to the hotel to pick up Mike and Bill…Oh well…at least I don’t feel as bad as Mike looks….mint julep comes to mind. Bill makes me angry…he’s actually kind of chipper…I feel like smacking him.

6:00….Hey…we made it to the beach! It’s a start. Shawn and Jody are there already looking fit and very competent. I don’t think they drank any wine last night…..smart guys. Heavy fog….real heavy…where’s David, where’s the boat? Start making phone calls….OK…the boat’s on it’s way. Should be here in 20 minutes or so. I get David’s voicemail….I hope he got another plane last night after the 1st was cancelled. Mike is making funny noises. My head is swimming but I can tell I feel better than he does.

6:20…we wanted to launch at 6:30…..we call the boat again. Capt. Paul says he’s getting close….coming in slow because of the fog. David shows up looking like a Hollywood star…oh wait…that’s right he is! Who’s friggin idea was it to have all these young fit guys around?

6:40…We call again…GPS puts the boat 1000 yards off the beach….we can’t see a thing….Capt. says he can’t tell where the house sized boulders are that are out there just below the surface and doesn’t want to risk coming closer, I can’t blame him, it’s like a mine field out there. I’m beginning to think we should have launched from inside the harbor. It wouldn’t have mattered except that we have Jerry and Paul and a board for Bill on the boat. Looks like you guys will have to ferry that board in….start paddling.

6:50…We call the boat again….they say we should be able to see Jerry by now….nothing…..are you folks SURE you’re off Plymouth beach?

7:00….still nothing….wait!, what’s that coming out of the fog….looks like something from a Stephen King movie walking on water coming to eat the tourists. It’s Jerry, I feel like cheering and we haven’t even left yet. Still no sign of Paul though. We decide to paddle out to meet him halfway.

7:15….we’ve geared up…said good bye to friends and family that showed up to see us off and paddle out in search of Paul. Somehow this isn’t the start I was hoping for but at least we’re on the water……and Mike has stopped chumming.
Foggy start
Foggy start2

The water is like glass, the fog pea soup, not a breath of wind, the only sound our paddles and boards on the water. We find Paul still a long way from shore. Finally we’re underway….look…there actually is a boat! We stop to talk for few and give instructions for signals.

Uh Oh!….my head isn’t cooperating at all. The fog is blending the sky into the sea and I have no horizon to help my balance. (If you’re interested you can read some of the background of why I need a horizon for balance here: http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org/Standup/standup.html )I fall for the 1st time…..this is going to be a long day!

I don’t think Bill was really running away from Jerry and his floaties…

On second thought….:)

The fog starts to lift about 4 miles offshore…..don’t look back….the cliffs at Plymouth still look close. Finally some horizon…but I think the damage is done….my head is taking lefts while the board is going straight….I get wet a lot. I don’t think my share of the 5 bottles of wine last night is helping either. I’m feeling bad about slowing us down but the guys are very cool about it. Making it seem like it was their idea to take a break when I was struggling. Thanks guys…:). I’m happy to see Mike looks like he’s feeling better. There’s actually some flesh tones showing through the green.

Hehe…I just noticed that you two look like twins, sorry David…:)

Hhhmmm….I guess Bill and I did too….LOL

The fog is finally behind us

What happened to our forecast? As of Friday night we were supposed to have 10-14 kt tailwinds and calm seas. Instead we have maybe a 2-4 kt WNW and once we got out further into the bay 2 ft side swell from the north and confused chop. At least there isn’t a headwind.

Fast forward…..we take a break at the halfway point. Jody has picked up a mylar ballon that was floating 10 miles out….reminds us why we are doing this. Shawn and Jody are having no problem keeping up on their 10-6 Vec’s. A combination of Shawn’s shaping skills and the fact that they are the most fit amongst us no doubt. The boards look like they have motor’s when they want to make them move.

15 miles in. Everyone is making it look easy. I’m feeling awkward, old, and slow. My head is still swimming occasionally. I pull my hat back….having the brim in my field of vision is bugging me….I don’t usually wear a hat. 5 minutes later my head is clear…or close anyway. Can it be that simple? I know that vision and balance are closely tied together. I can only guess that having an artificial horizon of a hat brim moving around was causing me problems. I don’t think I’ll wear a hat on the water anymore. Maybe a bandana and a cutlass….I’ll be the 1st SUPirate.

20 miles….We’ve had Provincetown in sight for awhile. We also get leeward of Race Point and the water flattens nicely. The hardest part is behind us. Still 8 miles to go but no question of making it now. As we get closer the boat traffic gets heavier….Capt. Paul is like a pit bull mother with her puppy’s….any boat approaching us finds a 50’ sport fisher aimed at it….making it very obvious to stay clear.

We had to be quite a site to the folks on the beach at Race Point. 8 guys coming in from the open ocean walking on water. Just so long as they didn’t want any wine….I’d had my fill of wine for awhile.

I couldn’t believe how excited I was to make the last turn into the harbor. Folks on boats taking pictures. The Capt of one of the big whale watch boats getting ready to go out announced our arrival over the loudspeaker and the passengers lined the rails watching and waving as we went by. Family and friends were on the dock, there were boat horns blaring. It made me want to hold back a bit and savor the moment. WE MADE IT! Let the record show that Jerry Issel was the 1st man to paddle across Cape Cod Bay, Plymouth to Provincetown, shore to shore. The rest of us all landed within the minute.

It felt good to feel solid ground again. We had a great lunch at the Surf Club Restaurant (how appropriate) and then parted ways. It felt strange to break it up, like it should last longer somehow. The best thing about this whole experience is the great friends we’ve made. This is a great crew of guys and I’m proud to have shared this with all of you. I know we’ll all get on the water together again.

L to R: Shawn, Jody, Bob, Bill, David, Jerry, Mike, and Paul

Beyond the sense of accomplishment of making it across we raised money and awareness for a good cause. The final numbers aren’t in yet but I think it’s safe to say that we will have raised somewhere between $11,000 and $12,000 for the Ocean Conservancy and their International Coastal Cleanup. We also raised awareness of the sport itself and on a personal note I hope I’ve inspired some others that are facing health issues to try something different as therapy. Get out there and live…..this isn’t a dress rehearsal.

Start training for next year guys….
Aloha.