We the womens team called Switchblades here by challenge, any other womens team from Belize to beat us on July 6th at the Lobsterfest Round de Caye Canoe Race! I know there is quite a few youth teams and open teams but we need at least some challengers.
Team Esperanza has a womens team maybe, will they show? We will be looking for them at the start!!!!
Paddle for Fun
Race to Win!!!

The Auxillou seagulls (seagals) rise to the challenge of the switchblades next weekend. Paddlers will be: Wendy (mom), Giselle (11), and Zoe (9). Watch out switchblade.... we aim to win!! (well, if we don't faint about 50 feet into the first lap... :-)

Cheers,
Wendy

Challenge accepted! Let it be known though the women adult teams race course is twice as long as the open division. We still accept the challenge. By the way Koop Sheet Metal will be sponsoring transportation for four adult teams and one youth team!!! The adult teams are looking for sponsorship of the $30.00 race fee . Toucan Canoe will be paying the fee for one Koop Sheet Metal womens team. How about it CC, can we help the other three teams?
please email me if you can!allie_johnstone@hotmail.com or email Elvin Penner at koop@btl.net
Only six days to the race. Everyone ready?
Go long- go hard- canoe racing is awesome!

I think the Canoe Race is a super addition to the Lobsterfest Weekend. Great idea!
I remember as kids when we had a race where we sit in our mothers round metal wash basin in the open sea and try to get to a finishing line. It was hysterical as we would end up going in circles most of the time or sinking.

I really wish that I could be there for the Lobsterfest weekend but I'm up here in L.A. for another 10 days and having a really good time hanging out with RasSkip. Did Venice beach yesterday (bunch of locos...)and should be going to the "House of Blues" up on Sunset sometime in the next few days.

Please can someone take pictures so I can use in the next paper slated for end of July.

Chateau Giselle will gladly sponsor the $30 registration fee for one of the teams.

Cheers,
Chateau Giselle

Thank you Wendy for the sponsorship of a team from the country.

Tina, I hope you check out the outrigger canoe clubs in LA and area, try Newport Beach Yacht Club, and Dana Point is awesome too. We'll probably have a li dory race for Sept 21st, God willing and all. Stay safe and don't fall too mauch in love with LA LA Land.

The canoe race was an excellent addition. Congrats to Allie for organizing it. Our team, Chateau Giselle seagulls (seagals) with our paddlers Wendy (mom), Zoe (age 9), Hannah (age 5) and Bianca (age 7) won first place in the "Family" category. (I have to say that it helped that Allie created this division especially for us so that the kids could win medals as we were the only team with extremely young kids):-)

We were given a headstart of a few minutes, and actually the first half of the trip, we were kicking some butt. The first canoe that caught up to us did not reach us until we were close to Eden Isles. Congrats to the kids for their great paddling.

We would have thought it would have been easier to paddle once we got around to the back of the island, but not so. The wind kept blowing us out to sea and for a while we wondered if we would end up in Bomba. Nine year old Zoe was a great inspiration, and she kept giving us (including me, mom) courage to keep on going. Three quarters into the race, I was ready to call on the rescue boat to tow us ashore but she insisted that we at least try to finish the race, no matter how long it took. By this time, both her and my fingers were raw with blisters.

We were the last canoe to cross the finish line, but we were happy nontheless to have finished the race. Not all canoes that entered the race paddled across the finish line. It helped that we were only seconds behind the second to last boat which was made up of sprighty, energetic teenagers so we don't feel too bad. It was exciting to watch us two boats (all of the paddlers from the two canoes tired to the bone) shoot it out at the finish line.

The race was well organized. There were several rescue boats checking up on us. Joe Grind was on his pontoon boat which was perfect for the job. Israel from Big Fish was also out checking on the canoes.

At Eden Isles, our canoe had occassion to tip over emptying all of us (mom, Zoe, Hannah and Bianca) into the sea. Quicker than you could blink your eye, Israel and his crew had our boat right side up, the kids out the water and back in the boat, and us paddling again.

Yesterday after the race, I was bone tired. Today, I am also bone tired, probably from lack of training (and maybe too much eating and not enough exercise :-)? But next year, Zoe and I have vowed to get wider paddles, train some, and compete again.

Thanks Allie for a great bonding adventure with my kids. And thanks for making all these great kids winners! (:-)

Cheers,
Wendy