Salmon Row!

This morning after practice, Ursula and I walked to the bridge on Lake Samish to watch the start of the Salmon Row.  This race features all types of self-propelled boats: rowing shells, sea kayaks, racing kayaks, standing paddle boards, canoes, and my personal favorite, the six-person wooden boat with wooden oars.  You can kind of see it in the first picture on the left.  These guys were dressed up in black and white striped shirts and looked like they were straight out of viking boats....or prison.

The starting line was hands down the funniest part.  There was one mass start (not the typical start we're used to in fall racing) so you see hundreds of people clamoring to get ahead, crashing into each other, and just having an all-around good time.  

We were in for a surprise when Kevin Bowman, champion of the Sea Kayak division, donated his Salmon Row prize money to our training center at 931 West Lake Samish Drive. Wow - thank you Kevin!

The warm-up to the starting line

The first rowers arrive at the starting line