What's the first thing you do after signing up for an 80 km solo C1 Sprint Expedition paddling race? Well, I have no idea what you are supposed to do, but what I did was email Gus at Hilltop Signs to create a decal with my race/boat name, River Rat, for my new (used) solo Wenonah Advantage canoe. I picked the name River Rat after one of my all-time favourite books Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. I figure that Ratty will be able to help me through this event, even though the rules clearly stipulate "unassisted". Please don't tell. I will need all the help I can get.
I don't know if the previous owner had named the canoe, but to me it will be River Rat. Or should I say, he. You see, I am already working on a relationship with this boat. I am going to have to get into shape and train and practice, and he will have to perform as well. We're going to have to learn to get along with each other, to learn just how far we can push each other. I feel like I'm the lucky one in this deal; this boat has already proven itself over the past three years of racing the Muskoka River X, and I've never raced solo in a boat. Anywhere. Yet.
I know I have my work cut out for me. I'll have to paddle at least 12 hours pretty much non-stop. I'll have to portage my Ratty over 10 + portages which might not be quite so bad if I didn't also have to portage all the required survival gear as well. I did manage to get Ratty on and off the truck today (to get him to Hilltop Signs), and portaged him around the house, so that's a start. I still don't have a yoke for him but I know I'll have to figure that out at some point.
I still haven't been on the water with him; I actually haven't even sat in him yet. But here we are, signed up for an 80 km race from Huntsville to Bracebridge. I'm not sure I'll be able to go in a straight line on a lake with a slight breeze - never mind on Lake of Bays with a stiff 15-20 knots blowing from the... wherever the prevailing winds blow from. Never mind navigating down the Muskoka River... on the one hand, at least the current will be favourable (I'll be going downstream); on the other hand, there are quite a few places that I'll have to be sure to hit the portage before being swept over a falls.
Did I mention I haven't even sat in this boat yet? With his billowing sides and pointed bow and stern Ratty looks to me as though he might just decide to toss me out on a whim. Flip in fast water, lose the riff-raff (yours truly) and carry on. I'll only be slowing him down... but that's not the kind of relationship I'm hoping for. Time will tell.
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