Paddle and Portage

At 10am the gun went off and we started hacking at the water luck retarded lumberjacks. The water was smooth with just a light 5mph wind so for us the day was already a success. We raced the fast class with about 40 boats in various categories. The regular class consisted of around 250 boats. We sat back about 7th or 8th at the turn and and held there until we hit the beach. For the most part we had a clean start and first leg, some bumping and grinding, but overall we paddled pretty clean. We hit the beach running and were able to pass 3 boats right away, but got passed for the 1st time ever in the run by a couple of guys we didn't know. We past them back and then they passed us again putting about 10 meters on us. We hit the water on the other side of the isthmus and gave it all we could to catch, but they were keeping their distance. We only got passed by 1 solo canoe on the second leg, but it sat so low and narrow that it actually looked like kayak so we didn't feel to bad. As we neared the finish line I looked behind to see another canoe in our class gaining steadily. I was pretty sure that they wouldn't be able to catch, but every time I looked they were getting closer so I yelled to Aaron, "we have to go, Now!' He didn't look back, just put his head down and powered us to the finish. We finished 6th overall and 3rd in our class. We promptly got interviewed by the Wisconsin State Journal and then went off to find the free beer. This is our Jolly Roger flag, we run from the stern, it spells death on the water for those around us. Aaron displays his new carbon paddle that helped propel us to victory, I could have bought one but wanted to stay married.