Andrew & Dameon set off from the end of a narrow channel in Tacoma at 7pm on Friday, June 10th in a light drizzle. They were close to the front of the frenetic gaggle of 119 human-powered vessels at the start of the Seventy48. There were rowboats, kayaks, surf skis, stand up paddle boards, canoes, and even a 4-person bicycle-powered pontoon boat. (This particular vessel was incredibly fast but apparently hard to steer and almost careened into MURSU at the start!)
After rowing a couple hours in the dimming light, darkness descended. At first, it was disorienting. Although the winds were relatively light and the water relatively calm, not being able to see the waves meant that your body wasn’t able to anticipate the rolling of the boat, and made it more likely to catch your blade on a wave. But soon, they relaxed into a rhythm and even enjoyed watching the lights of Seattle blink past. Even more mesmerizing than the city lights were the blue-green galaxies of bioluminescent plankton that swirled off the end of blades at every stroke, and left a glowing tail behind them.
Other than dodging a few ferries and a surprise encounter with a freakish set of waves near Point No Point, the 70 miles rolled by fairly smoothly (if you don’t count the constant muscle fatigue and joint soreness). The current was with them, it rained only a little, and there were always other human-powered teams nearby to keep it interesting. Though they were around 20-25th place at dusk, they slowly and steadily creeped ahead on the leader board as the night wore on.
The goal finish time was 9am on June 11th, which would have been 14 hours. They hoped that would place them in the first 10 finishers. Luckily Leigh was still on “east coast time” and woke up early to check the tracker (see the progress linked here), did some quick math and measuring, and realized they were going to be in sooner than anticipated!
At 8:04 THE GITS hit the beach, in 9th place overall! As they approached, the announcer let the crowd know “This boat really has no business being this far up in the list of finishers…they’re twice as wide as a Maas [an ocean racing shell].” And it’s true – they beat many many boats that were lighter, faster and sleeker. A satisfying and well-earned victory, although both rowers say they see no need to either row through the night or for 70 miles straight ever again.
