Two months ago when I started paddling to get ready for the Adirondack Canoe Classic I was in a We-non-ah Jensen C-2. My dad and I have always done the race as partners and we were planning to do it again this year. After practicing for 6 weeks my dad pulled a muscle and/or ligaments in his back and try as he might, he wasn't healing fast enough for the race.
One week before the race we were planning on pulling out when during a conversation we considered what other options I had. I rejected completing the race with another partner. This is a race for my dad and I, and it will stay that way until one of my kids wants to try it with me. I was open to entering a different race class though. We had briefly discussed a C-1 but it requires a few more technical strokes and I didn't have time to learn them. That left the possibility of trying a touring kayak. I haven't kayaked since I was a teenager(a good 15+ years ago) but I felt that was the best option for me to try the race solo.
My dad then called Theresa, a paddler we both know from the Pennsylvania Association of Canoeing & Kayaking (PACK), looking for a kayak. She mentioned taking her place in a C-4 (Thanks for the offer Theresa) but that didn't pan out. Through a variety of connections we ended up borrowing a Current Designs Solstice from a local paddler my dad had met named Susan. Susan was very generous and loaned me not only her boat but a spray skirt, paddle, portage wheels, and pump. We had a boat but I wouldn't get the chance to try it out until the morning of September 5th, about an hour before race time.
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