What a weekend!

Abreast in Barnet

Barnet had a fine time at the 2008 Festival. Saturday was perfect racing weather – cloudy, nice temperature and no rain! Our first race was good and steady with great timing. Our second race was strong – a great showing. Sunday was our day, though.

A strong and steady first race and a powerful second race – we came in third! A Bronze Medal to end our five-year drought. Our novices were amazing. Most moving of all was the Breast Cancer Race and the Flower Ceremony where everyone was one mind – remembering. A great weekend!

Dorothy Fenning

Abreast - Deas Divas

Deas Divas – the best team ever! OMG! What a day, what a weekend, what a team!! Wasn’t that fun!! I was thrilled to hear that you did so well in the first race on Sunday, when I was running the Scotiabank half marathon. I really was muttering to myself, sending all kinds of good thoughts your way.

Running is a lot like paddling, you’ve got to trust that you have trained and are prepared for your race day. For that half an hour, I was so focused on you I didn’t really think about my running, I just let my body do its thing. I also carried Gill Bartholemew’s angel earrings that she made for each member of the crew.

I can hardly believe that we missed third in the Rec. B final by a mere .400th of a second! Crazy!! But, from the start that we had on Saturday, until that race, what an incredible job you all did! And the fact that we came in fourth in the breast cancer race was pretty special, too. That had to be the best race of the weekend; there was such energy and desire to succeed, we almost pulled it off.

The flower ceremony was beautiful and I was so glad that everyone could participate. It was pretty special to pull up beside the BOSS boat and have Lois, Shelly, Sandy and Lynn right beside us. This year has reminded me about teamwork, commitment and perseverance. We’ve had our share of illnesses and injuries, but through it all the spirit of our team never dampened. Thank you all for being so special. It has been an honour being your captain this year.

Marcia Rempel

Abreast Up The Creek

The fine tuned athletes of Abreast Up The Creek arrived early on Saturday morning. First order of business was coffee and muffins kindly provided by Tim Horton's. Next, a warm up and stretch and we were "racer ready".

Race 1, WOW what a great race, Dr. Don actually said we were "perfect." Time to mingle, chat, shop and enjoy the weather. Race 2 was not as perfect but we were proud of our effort. We returned eager as ever early on Sunday morning. Race 3 and 4 were solid performances. Then to the "AIAB challenge race", the paddling was fierce and the times ooohhh so close!! We worked together as a team and gave it our all for one another.

Oh yes, Wasabi Team Soar did win the BCS trophy and our visitors NAC from California won bronze. We retired to the beer garden and reflected on "a job well done.” Our wonderful weekend was captured on camera by Esther's daughter Wendy.

Jean Buckley

Abreast with
FORT-itude

I had the pleasure of watching the 3rd race from the sidelines. First I watched False Creek, Deas and Richmond and was transporting myself into the boat. Then our Abreast with Fortitude crew! How exciting both races were and how so very proud I am to be apart of this great Society!!

The Breast Cancer race as always was wonderful. So emotional! Great weekend! I am proud of my crew and so very proud to be a part of Abreast in a Boat!

Pat McCuaig

Abreast in Richmond

The mornings were early but the days were filled with exciting races. We didn’t start out too well. Our first race Saturday morning had us finish 6th out of 7 with a time of 2:54:430. Our second race was better but still 6th out of 7 with a time of 2:43:280 (beating the last place team by 31/100th of a second). We finished the day officially out of the running for the competitive division.

We finished our first race on Sunday 4th out of 6 with a time of 2:58:470 again beating the team behind us by only 8/100th of a second. This had us in the second heat (B group) for the finals. The final race was our best of the day. While our time was horrible (2:59:560), it was enough for second place beating the 3rd place team by 59/100th of a second and the 4th place team by 96/100th of a second. Quite literally it was a photo finish. We received a silver medal.

As for the Breast Cancer Race, well, the wheels fell off. We had to race without our usual drummer and steersperson. While their replacements did a wonderful job, maybe they were too nice. Don’t get me wrong, Heather K. can yell almost as loud as Deb T. But we truly missed Malcolm’s “encouragement” from the back of the boat.

Rena Pratt