2003 Aluminum Nationals Results, from CN by Gareth Stevens

CANOE NEWS July 2003

President’s Message / Kayk Specs / Aluminum Nationals in PA

President’s Message

2003 USCA National Stock Aluminum Championships in Pennsylvania

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly Wypych

and

Congratulation to the USCA 2003 Aluminum Nationals Champions!

The Cameron County Classic

Despite frigid weather, the 2003 Aluminum National hosts Ken and Joanne Gerg and their volunteer team did a terrific job in putting on a well organized, first rate event. The water was high, but the 12 trained members of a local search and rescue group were on hand as a river safety team, providing additional safety and security for racers. Paddlers came long distances to compete - Florida, Texas, Tennesee, Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin were represented alongside Pennsylvania and her nearer neighbors. Ken and Joanne's advertising efforts drew paddlers from Ontario as well, but the springtime blizzard snowfall conditions caused some last minute cancellations. You just can't beat Mother Nature...

Tave Lamperez and I arrived together in Emporium, PA from Illinois and Wisconsin Friday, April 4 — just in time for the great spaghetti dinner. We were there in time to see the Youngs and Bayers roll in from Florida, Richard Steppe, Colin Grimshaw, Julie Morgan, and Teddy Gray from Texas, Neal Sanders from Tennessee, and many other paddlers who had gathered from far and near for this the sixth standalone USCA National Stock Aluminum Championships. Back in 1998 the first Aluminum Championships held separately from the USCA’s National Canoe and Kayak Championships had also been held here in Emporium. While not breaking the 2002 Palestine, TX attendance record, the turnout was nonetheless impressive considering time of year and bad weather in the northeast US and adjacent Canada.

Congratulations to the champions: for Mens: Randy Bailey and Steve Martin; for Womens: Holly Reynolds and Teresa Stout; and for Masters: Rich Rankinen and Cole Lee (fastest time of the day!)

Tave and I were graciously given the use of a wonderful mountain cabin by Gerg family friend Sonny Abriatis. It was snowing in the hills when we arrived there after dark, and the roar of swollen mountain creeks filled the air. Steady rain and snow melt had created torrents that rushed either side of the cabin and around its outbuildings, overflowing existing stream beds and creating new paths down the hills.

"Thank you" to all the competitors for making this event a success despite the temperatures. I hope you're all thawed out now and gearing up for what we hope will be a warmer race in August!

Kayak Specifications: Announcement

And all this water was all headed for (and it had been, on and off, for weeks) the Driftwood Branch of Sinnemahoning Creek where the USCA Nationals and the Cameron County Classic were to be held that weekend.

“For the purpose of the 2003 Nationals, USCA confirms that the kayak specification rules passed at the 2003 annual meeting shall stand except that the rule dealing with concavity be withdrawn. However, the Competion Chair shall have discretion when boats are jigged to determine racing classification.”

Next morning, before breakfast, Tave and I drove down to the Creek.

This announcement was made jointly by the Executive Committee and the Kayak Committee.

The Sinnemahoning was rocking and rolling — no flat water to be seen — wicked cold, fast and furious, whipping left and right, with waves up to two feet along many stretches of rapids. The only thing we didn’t have to worry about were the rocks I’d heard so much about: they were buried some few feet beneath that wild water’s surface. Yee-ha! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gareth Stevens

So to re-cap, the USCA’s Kayak Specifications are: K1 Sea Kayak Recreational: 18ft max length, with a 4" water line beam of at least 22" — and see further specs below.*† K1 Sea Kayak Touring: 20ft max length, with a 4" water line beam of at least 18" — and see further specs below.*†

Below: Bow lifted high by rolling flood-stage waves, Lori Reed reaches down to the water with her paddle, on her way, with partner Pat Bayers, to second place in the Women’s National Aluminum Championship.

K1 Kayak Unlimited: any kayak or surf ski except ICF, downriver, or Olympic trainer kayaks — no max length, no minimum widths — however, also see flotation specs below.† K2 Tandem Sea Kayak: must be a true sea kayak design with two bulkheads and hatches. No ICF K2s or conversions. And see further specs below.*† * Sea Kayak Recreational, Sea Kayak Touring, Tandem Sea Kayak: 1. Flip up rudders not included in length 2. No hull modifications, no weight restrictions. 3. No ICF, downriver, or Olympic trainer kayaks. † Sea Kayak Recreational, Sea Kayak Touring, Kayak Unlimited, Tandem Sea kayak: Must have sufficient flotation to support a 25 lb weight in a boat full of water.

Aluminum Nationals in Emporium, PA

CANOE NEWS July 2003

Above: Less than a minute after the start of the Aluminum Nationals Masters class, left to right: Lee and Rankinen, then #28 (Stout and Schuster), then - all jammed together -#23 (Ballina and Harmon), #21 (the Youngs), and #42 (Grimshaw and Steppe), with Lamperez and Stevens behind them. Next, # 27 (Pelletier and Dyka), then #19 (Ders and Keiper) and #25 (Ronemus and Sanders). Below: Open Class lead pack: Boat #41, Bailey and Martin, with #40 (Andrews and Flament) on their side wave, and #43, Pennington and Malizia behind.

Sterling Run Rapids. Fortunately, they were rescued by a Mountaineer Search and Rescue team stationed in the area (see over page for photos).

Saturday, April 5, 2003 The USCA Aluminum Nationals could well have been the White Water Nationals as well. Rain starting Friday evening and continuing to race time brought the river to virtually flood stage. Racers from twelve states (from as far as Texas, Missouri and Florida) noted that they came too far not to race. Donning their life jackets, the paddlers challenged the roaring Driftwood Branch and set record times for Aluminum canoes over a shortened 16 mile course.

The Womens National Champions emerged as Teresa Stout (PA) and Holly Reynolds (NY). Second place went to Pat Bayers (FL) and Lori Reed of Emporium, PA. Third went to Judy Jeanes (PA) and Sarah Price (PA). Winning time for the 16 mile course was 1:36:26. See the story on Price, page 8. The Mens Open Class was won by strong local talent Randy Bailey of Driftwood, PA paddling with Steve Martin of Ridgway, PA. This same team won the Mens National Open Standard Class in Hanover, NH last summer. Their time was 1:24:32. The second place team was also local: Ryan Andrews of Tunkhannock, PA and Randy Flament of Emporium, PA. Third place went to the Houston, Texas based team of Colin Grimshaw and Richard Steppe. Fourth Place winners were Regis Malizia (PA) and past National Champ Doug Pennington (MO).

The Men’s Masters (paddlers over age 40) set the record with Rich Rankinen (PA) and Cole Lee (NY) paddling the course in 1:27:16. There must be something said for age as the first three teams in the Masters classes all had faster times than the Men’s “Open” (paddlers under age 40). Second place Masters were Don LaFever and Laszlo Botos, both of New York. Third place went to the Connecticut team of Dan Pelletier and Paul Dyka. Fourth was the Florida father/son team of Kirk and Laverne Young with Fifth place going to the Massachusetts/Virginia team of Bob Allen and Bobby Galbraith. Twelve teams competed in this class.

In the 18 ft Demo Class Bob Snook (PA) paddling with Ron Kaiser of (PA) won in a time of 1:29:4, nosing out the New York father/son team of Will and Bryan Whiting by 22 seconds. Ken Gerg (PA) paddling with Glen Vandewinckel of (NY) were third..

The women’s class had seven teams entered, but due to some severe Canadian weather our northern neighbors couldn’t get out of their environs resulting in five teams starting the event. Regrettably, the Texas team of Teddy Gray and Julie Morgan (last year’s runner up and National champ, respectively) had problems in or near the

Twenty-five canoes made it to the start line and while Texas still holds the 32 canoe rercord for participation, Pennsylvania holds the

CANOE NEWS July 2003

Aluminum Nationals / Cameron County Classic

Flipped and rescued. Top left: The Texan team of Julie Morgan and Teddy Gray were flipped by a sweeper into the cold waters of the Driftwood Branch. Above: The empty canoe is swept downstream. Top right: Gray (pictured here with rescuer Lois Wehner) and Morgan wanted to climb back in and keep going, but heeded the rescue team’s advice, galling as it was to have journeyed so far, only to be stymied by a freak accident and hypothermia-inducing water temps. Right: Members of the rescue team (l to r, Doug Smith, Lois Wehner, Nelson Haas and Craig Hudson) helped more than one team that flipped and swam.

ence was normally determined by the lines they chose to run some of the more difficult sections. Second place in this class went to the Ohio based team of Jay Way and Marvin King in 1:13:02. Third went to the Emporium team of Preston Clingan and Jason Orner in 1:28:37.

record for time covering a 16-mile course in an aluminum canoe. It truly was a great two days of canoe racing as Sunday’s events were just as exciting and the water more tolerable, down perhaps 3 to 4 feet from Saturday.

The Long Kayak class was won by John Ders of New York in 1:10:45. followed by Pennsylvania’s Gary Ballina with New Jersey paddler Dan McConaghy coming in third.

Sunday, April 6, 2003 The Cameron County Canoe Classic and USCA Mixed Aluminum Nationals were a success despite some high, fast, raging cold water that challenged a few swimmers.

In the Bob Umbenhauer Short Class (17ft aluminum canoes) Glen Vandewinckel (NY) teamed with Bob Allen (MA) to smoke the course in 1:11:40. (These guys also got the Grey Rats award for oldest team, combined age of 124 years proving again that canoeing keeps you young!)

Florida’s Kirk Young teamed with Judy Jeanes (PA) to run away with the Mixed Championships in a time of 1:11:57. for the 11 mile course. Second place went to the husband/wife team of Teresa and Randy Stout (PA). Third went to Floridian Laverne Young (past USCA National Champ) paddling with rising superstar Sarah Price, age 16 of PA. Fourth place went to the Emporium, PA husband/wife team of Randy and Toni Flament. Eight teams competed in this class.

Second place in this class went to Emporium’s Ben Stuart and Tunkhannock based paddler Ryan Andrews in 1:12:07 sec. Third went to a Florida based husband/wife team of Pat and Lewis Bayers. Ten canoes participated in this class In a real show of canoemanship, Gareth Stevens (WI) took a USCA C1 cruiser down the rain-swollen river on Sunday and won the one-person class in a time of 1:15:22 . He flipped once, but recovered nicely and finished strong. Second place in this class went to Neal Sanders (TN) who made a good, clean run but had a

The Bob Umbenhauer traveling trophy and first place award in the Long Aluminum Class (18’6”) went to Don Lafever (NY) and George Genung (NY) in a time of 1:11:56 (one second faster than the mixed winners running in a 17 ft canoe). All the top teams were moving at incredible speeds for aluminum canoes and the differ-

Aluminum Nationals / Cameron County Classic

CANOE NEWS July 2003

Top left: Bob Allen and Bobby Galbraith, paddling to 5th place in the Master’s Championship Class. Top center: Tave Lamperez (left) USCA Vice President, presents the new Masters trophy (made of salvaged “sunken pine” from the Sabine River in Texas) to Cole Lee and Rich Rankinen, who were not only the fastest Masters team but were fastest overall. Top right: Christine Bond, first place, women’s kayak. Immediately above: The team of Keith and Gary Blettner Right: Ken Gerg, host and director of both the Aluminum Nationals and Cameron County Classic, shakes hands with Mixed Aluminum partner Lori Reed.

St Marys. Fourth went to Keith and Kerry Blettner, Hanover, PA and Fifth went to the Emporium father/son team of Scott and Marcus Mullens (their time – 1:22:17.) First Place Cameron County went to Jeff Ream and Scoop McManigle who swam throughTunnel Hill area, recovered nicely, and went on to pick up a trophy in a time of 1:25:58. Second Cameron County team was Scott Aikens and Cain Frey, a team that has been with us from the start. We understand this will be their last year for a while as they are both entering the Armed Forces – we wish them well and hope the challenge presented to them by the river over the years will serve them well in their future life. Third place Cameron County was Chris Haas and Troy Shupe in a time of 1:35:38.

slower canoe and couldn’t catch the streaking Stevens. The Short Kayak division was won by Tom Workinger (PA) in 1:17:19. Second place went to Mike Charles of Grampian, third place to John Workinger (Huntington, PA.) Women’s Kayak saw an upset of the perennial champion when Christine Bond (PA) nosed out Linda Volpe (PA) to claim top spot in 1:18:43. Dee Stremmel (PA) was third. In the Long Recreational Standard the Emporium team (pays to know your home river) continued their winning ways over their State College based challengers. Randy Bailey (PA) and Regis Malizia (PA) set a record time of 1:08:53 sec (fastest time of any canoe in this race) and held off the father/son team of Dan and Evan Jones (PA) who posted a 1:10:08. Third place went to the husband/wife team of Cindy and Dave Freed (PA) in 1:14:25. First place Cameron County team was Brian Lovett (PA) and Chris Horning (PA) in 1:28:26.

To all the paddlers who challenged the rain swollen Driftwood Branch, you are to be commended. There were few mishaps and all showed some real canoeing skills. There was great competition in every class with leads changing regularly throughout the race. I suspect that for the paddlers who experienced these conditions, working as hard as they did, the results seem even more impressive.

In the Short Recreational Standard Class which normally has the largest number of canoes, trophies are awarded to five places in the Open Class and 3 places to the top Cameron County finishers.

Despite the wild water, the weather was reasonably cooperative and a GREAT time was had by all. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ken Gerg

First Place overall in this class went to John and Will Koenig of Lancaster, PA in 1:16:10. Second was Mike McKenzie and Fred Berry of Clearfield. Third went to Dave Gornati and Zig Gradl of

Complete results, and more photos, for all Aluminum Championship and Cameron County Classic races can be found on pages 57-58.

CANOE NEWS July 2003

New Trophies / From the Editor

From the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gareth Stevens June, no — July! A number of things, mostly of my own making, conspired to overwhelm my time and cause the “June” issue of Canoe News to become the “July” issue. And with the delay, so the number of race results to report grew. So this is a “bumper” edition — eighty tightly packed pages. Playing catch-up, the August issue will follow quickly, and will be somewhat smaller, I hope. The Des Plaines River Marathon Special Issue of Canoe News In part, the June issue of Canoe News was delayed by a last minute agreement reached with the Des Plaines River Canoe Marathon Committee to publish their results in a “Special Issue” mailed to all 1250 or so participants. The Des Plaines is the single largest canoe race in the country (see pp 32-33). Costs were almost fully covered by a combination a Committee contribution and advertising revenue generated by Janet Perry and myself. What the USCA gets out of the exercise is exposure: an opportunity to present itself to almost 2000 paddlers (this year’s 1250 plus 700 former participants) — most of whom are not (yet!) USCA members. A USCA membership application / remittance envelope is enclosed with the 16 page issue, which is being received now, as this July issue goes to press. Cross your fingers with me that we’ll get a good new member response out of the effort. The Des Plaines River Canoe Marathon Committee is pleased with the result, and believes, as I do, that providing a high quality illustrated souvenir like this will encourage participants to return. Following the success of this experiment, I’m hoping that other large canoeing events might like to follow suit. Canoe News’ Proofreading Team Responding to my Volunteers Wanted ad, a team of six proofreaders has assembled itself. Some have already made eagle-eyed contributions to the previous edition, and I am deeply grateful for their help. They are Colin Ingham, Judy Jeanes, Jennie Quill, Amy Solak, Mary Taggett, and Glennis Williams. However: I still urgently need help researching River Cleanups — see below. USCA Chairpersons and Officers: Want Volunteer Help?

New Trophy for Aluminum Nationals

Send me your Help Wanted descriptions!

Two new trophies have been made for presentation to the USCA. On April 5, 2003, the new USCA Stock Aluminum Men’s Masters Championship trophy was presented to Rich Rankinen and Cole Lee (see page 5). The base of this trophy, handmade in Texas, was fashioned out of "Sunken Pine". The wood came from pine trees recoverd from the Sabine River that had been submerged for many years. The result is wood that is very hard and look like “hardwood". The trophy is shown here (top, above), and is held by Bob Spain.

Volunteer Help Wanted E d i t o r / R e s e a r c h e r f o r C a n o e N e w s’ R i v e r C l e a n - U p s S e c t i o n W a n t e d : F o u r people willing to sleuth down dates and locations of river clean-ups (each volunteer to take responsibility for a region of the country: North East, South East, Midwest and West of the Mississippi*). This involves research on the web, e-mail correspondence, and occasional phone calls to track down information, then format and supply an updated list to the Editor of Canoe News b y a deadline date once every two months. Contact G a r e t h a t n a w a l @ t i c o n . n e t or phone (262) 628 9991.

New Trophy for C1 Grand Veterans On Sunday August 10, 2003, the new C1 Grand Veteran trophy, the Court McDermott trophy, shown directly above, will be presented to the USCA C1 Grand Veteran Champion. The trophy has been donated to the USCA by Berkshire County Paddlers.

*If anyone wishes to take on a smaller area, e v e n a single state, that would sure help. Please let me know.