Racing Day 2 - From Satina

Satina wrote an email to Wasabi Paddling Club. I thought it should be included in the blog as it captured so many great memories....

So, come to find out I was supposed to helm the men's races after all. A certain someone from a certain coast opposite from ours who shall remain nameless played around with the masters crews rosters and had tried to remove me as the men's helm. After his helm(s) put the masters men through the extended race course yesterday Les Hopper felt I would be a better choice today and I steered the men's semi and final 500m races. Bronze! Straight and true all the way down the pike.

The Masters crew had two 500m races today also. Our final was a zen race. We took benches on every stroke. .083 seconds between first and third places. We beat out Canada and stayed right there with Germany and Hungary. Hungary is killing it here. Mind you this is their course we are racing on, the same course that is used for the European kayak and canoe championships constantly, and we are racing against most of their retired olympians, so hanging right there with them in a race is pretty freakin' cool.

The women's crew is locked in and giving the Hungary women and run to remember. They had champagne waiting for us after the final and then gave us gifts on the podium during the medal ceremony. Each one of their members gave one of our members a key chain that had the name of that Hungarian paddlers home town inscribed on it. The medal ceremony was of-course wrapped up with the line up to say congrats and shake hands/high five each other that somehow turned into giving each other hugs and then an arch that both teams took turns dancing through to Shania Twains 'Feel like a woman" playing in the background. Pretty cool I must say. My cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing with these women.

So the medal count so far:
Master Women Silver 500m
Master Men Bronze 500m
Master Mix Bronze 500m

Please keep in mind that the master crews are made up of primarily west coast paddlers with a few folks from Texas and Florida thrown in. A really great group of people really doing good with making the U.S. look good on and off the water. The Iranians made a point of
attending our medal ceremonies and quite possibly were louder than the rest of the U.S. contingency. Of-course we then attended theirs and cheered for them. Both their men's and women's crews have had a great showing so far.

That's all for now. It's late and I have to catch a 7am bus to helm the 200m finals for the mixed, women, and men tomorrow. I will only get to steer the 2000m for the mixed and men tomorrow. I will not be on the womens boat at all since they are running the women's and mens 2000m simultaneously. Freaking genius right? The 2000m race will be very interesting since the only rule is "Don't hit another boat." That's it...no guidelines to passing, overtaking, space between boats, etc. Should be an interesting race.

Miss you all -

SaTina

Life Is Too Short,
Break The Rules, Forgive Quickly,
Kiss Slowly, Love Truly,
Laugh Uncontrollably,
And Never Regret Anything
That Made You Smile.
Life May Not Be The Party
We Hoped For, But While We' re Here, We Should Dance...

Bring it Home

Laurie, Jen, SkinDog, Gavin, Mike B., Les H. and the rest of Team USA.......

You guys are great. We have enjoyed reading the blog and seeing the pictures. Most of all we all want you to know that we are all pulling for you back here. Many of us wish we could be there.

You make us proud!!!!

Remember that you must believe that you are the best paddler, for that bench, on the water that day.

Larry

Day 1 of races done

Day one of races is over. Team USA has mad a great showing so far and the PDX paddlers have been bringing it like nobodies business. Of all the other countires here I would have to say that the Iranians are by far the friendliest. I am helming for the Masters Mixed and Womens crews and we have done great so far. The women are gaining ground on the Hungarian women each race. The mixed crew has taken a third in every race giving the Germans a fight for second and leaving Canada in the dust. The mens team has gone of course in two of their three races and had a tough day. (just for the record it wasn't me on the back) I am the only female helm in the mixed division so I am enjoying kicking some arse in a skirt. tee-hee. Tomorrow we race a 500m and two 200m races and we are hoping that it cools down a bit. 6-9 races a day in 96 degree heat is a bit much for all of us.
We are fortunate to have a free concert outside of our rooms every night we have been here. Right across the river, a river not half as wide as the Willamette mind you, is the Hungarian Youth Festival. Think Lollapolooza in 3-4 different languages and you get the drift. Not to worry though, it only goes until 2am. Do you smell sarcasm?
A group of us ventured out to find a non-hotel dinner tonight. The hotel food is part of our package, but you can only eat so much soup, then salty starchiness, then soggy dessert-like substance even if it is free.

Friday - Race Day #1

Today was the first race day and, oh, what a race day it was. The competition is incredible. Countries like Germany, Russia and our host country, Hungary, have brought in the big guns. They've got Olympic kayakers, high knee paddlers, etc. on the teams and they are SOLID!

But maybe instead of 'oh', I should 'OW'. There was a whole lot of racing going on today and a whole lot of sore muscles tonight. I think many people were ready to fall asleep on their dinner plates. Our day started with a 5am wake up call, breakfast at 5:30am and off to the race site by 6:30am. Today was preliminary races for the 500m and 200m standard boats and 200m 10-man boats. Racing started with the 500m races. In the first round, I raced 3 back-to-back 500's on the Senior Mixed, Masters Mixed and Masters women. Then we got a little break and started round 2 of the 500m races where I raced 2 of those (Senior Mixed and Masters Women).

For the Master's division, instead of running Prelims, Repechage, and Finals, they are taking the combined time of 3 races for medals. Should be interesting. The 3rd race (and final) for this division is tomorrow (Sat.) afternoon.

Then it was on to the 200m races...

I raced my first race in a 10-man boat in the Senior Women's division. Our team age range went from 16-50 (or maybe older...not sure how old our steersperson is). Ashley Blundetto (18 years) and our own Jen PeArt were the lead strokers and Brittiney Blundetto (16 years old) was our caller. We had a mess of a first race but our second was solid putting us into the finals which will be on Sunday.

The first of the standard boat 200 meter races also were this afternoon. In the Masters division, race #2 will be on Saturday and on Sunday race 3. Again, this is accummulative.

As for the Senior division 200m standard boat. the Senior Mixed advanced to the finals, which are on Sunday. I'll have to go figure out the men's divisions and other or you can go check out the results on the official page. http://results.mkksz.hu/en/timetable/

I think 5 500's and 4 200's is a record amount of races for me in one day so with tired shoulders, back (Kurt where are you when I need you?) and bum I've off to bed. By Wasabi land...sweet dreams. Laurie

Opening Ceremonies ...WOW!

Often I've found that opening ceremonies can be long and dull but no this one! Szeged outdid themselves. And what is being worn on the red carpet this year ... well, RED, of course. To the Chinese, Red is good luck and it seemed that 80% of the teams were sporting it tonight: USA, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Canada, Russia, etc, etc. etc.

The images of the night are wonderful...light-footed dancers of all ages, officials with short and sweet speeches, the sea of competitors in their uniforms, one of the best stage areas that will double as the medals stand, the race course in the background just beckoning tomorrow's thoughts. Running into old friends, making new friends, cheering teams, and Hungary's top Opera tenors singing his way down the race course in a candle-lit dragon boat and to the stage while nearly a full moon rose in back him. And then...the fireworks! WOW!!! Nicely done.

Kicking around Szeged

As I mentioned in the previous blog entry, Szeged has a lot of statues. Some old, some new and inbetween the sleep, eat, practice, blah, blah, blah routine the team has either been going to the Turkish baths (I haven't been there yet) or kicking around the town. You can't help but notice the statues. Some inspired us!

That's Gavin striking a pose! :)

Practice and the Olympic Water Stadium

The last few days have been a blur. With a cancelled flight and everyone dispersed to the wind (literally), we trickled into Hungary. Since then it's been sleep, eat, practice, eat, meetings ... sleep, eat, practice, meetings. For 2 days, we've practiced at Szeged's Olympic water sports stadium (See picture) It's wonderful with some great permanent buildings along the course. There is a grass-topped island border that runs the length of the course with entrances onto the course at variuos distances. So you approach the coarse on the one side of the island and then drop onto the course to line up for your race.

Team USA has 2 main categories here: Senior (no age restrictions) and Masters (over 40). Our practice times have corresponded mainly with the Iranian and Hungarian teams. There's been lots of picture taking and wonderful exchanges with both the men's and women's teams from Iran. We share a bus to the race site which was been fun. Practices have gone well and I have finally got to try out a 10-man boat. IT'S FUN!!! The Senior division has 200 meter 10-man boat races as well as the standard 20-man boats. As the rest of the distances (500 m. and 2000 m.) will be in the standard boats.

Szeged has a lot of statues. The main one at the race course has to be honoring "The Speedo"! I wish I has a copy of the picture we took with some of the Iranian men. It was fabulous.

Views of Szeged, Hungary

2nd day

Back in our rooms after out second Team USA pracitce here in Hungary.

We had our first practice yesterday approximately 20 minutes after arriving in the hotel. Please note that the race site is a 10 minute drive. We dropped our bags in our rooms, put on paddling gear and off we went. It felt good to be on the water after the trek from heck via Delta airlines. Did you know the DELTA stands for Didn't Ever Leave The Airport? 14 of us had a great flight on Sunday, oh wait no we didn't since it got cancelled. We then got scattered to the winds and had to make connecting flights with minimal time allotments to do so. Whatever, we made it in one piece and that's all that counts, right?

The entire Team USA contigency had a 3 hour water session this morning. It looks like a strong group all around. It's "interesting" to watch all of the different styles of paddling to say the least
I will be paddling in the 2000m on Sunday due to a paddler having to fly out early and the fact that there are only 20 masters women. Bummed only get to steer the Mixed 2000m but it will be fun to race in a bench again.

Write at ya again soon-
SaTina

Failure to Launch

AT LAST! It's finally here! The day we leave for Hungary for the ICF World Championships!!!

Twelve of us gather at the airport. It's so cool, we're all on the same flight. We stop in at the Rogue Brewery on the C Concourse to enjoy the atmosphere and then off to our gate.

Oh, wait there's a mechanical problem so we'll be delayed an hour so back to The Rogue and now we've picked up an ER doctor who is also on our flight and knows Skinner. We're the fun crowd!!! So here we are, round 2 at The Rogue, catching up on a little email, etc. Then back to the gate. Oh wait, it's going to take a bit longer so the airlines hands out $6 food vouchers. My goal ... how many things can I get with the voucher! We disperse and shop. I've scored 2 Sweet & Salty Nut Rolls, 2 packages of Choc Chip Cookies AND a Rice Krispie bar. Whoo hoo!

So back to the gate, board the plane, sit for a while. Plane finally pulls out and then for about an hour we drive around the tarmack ... sightseeing? Luckily some didn't take their Ambien yet for then the announcement comes ... we're going back to the gate! Another mechanical!

So back at the gate, the mechanic shows up, he's checking ... he's checking ... he's checking. Hey we make some new friends on the flight. A lady 2 rows up thinks we're fun and comes back to visit. Well, maybe we're fun for some people and not others. The lady and guy in front of us were pretty up tight. So the women has a panic attack, jumps up and runs up the aisle in tears. The man scolds us for visiting near his seat. Luckily there's a social worker on board.

Oh wait, a new announcement ... the flight crew will now go over their allowed time so Delta cancels the flight.

So, 10 after leaving my house this morning our happy party of 12 has now dispersed and will depart out on several flights over the next day. So here is Skinner and I ... back in my living room. So much for the first day!

Is it a full moon?

Lasting Memories of Macau and first impressions of Phuket

As I sit in my spa pool villa at the Banyan Tree Resort in Phuket Thailand I feel the need to comemorate the most vivid memories of Macau and the racing and somehow contrast them with my after race expedition to the Island of Phuket. (OK, I can hear some of you now saying...my God this poor guy is bored stiff.........Well perish the thought.)

Macau was:

• Clean
• The people were engaging. Especially our little rebel helper, Dawn.
• Alex in the hotel restaurant was exceedingly helpful. His English was good but because he was from the Phillipines originally, we had better success speaking Spanish.
• The Casino architecture was amazing.
• There were no billboards.
• The teak dock built to accomocate 20 boats was superb. Because of the dock and the number of boats the entire race weekend ran on-time. Imgaine a dragon boat festival race running on-time. The secret is adequate dock space and boats to make the crew turns necessary to stay on-time.
• The heavy humid hot air made it so hard to breathe during races. Was I the only one that noticed this?
• Competition at the highest level. I honestly think I have not seen faster crews ever. Wasabi, to our credit, was in the thick of it.

Phuket:

• The Thai people at the Banyan Tree are so well trained in their jobs. It is amazing.
• This area where the resorts sit was once a moon cratered tin mine that the UN environmental group said was undevelopable - it was so contaminated. The Singapore money group behind this area came in anyway, removed all of the contaminated earth and relpaced it and shaped it to fit the plan. We are talking several square kilometers. The result is that one group is now providing jobs to the local residents who had seen there industry, tin mining, disappear and leave them with uninhabitable surroundings.
• I can say I have swam in the Adaman Sea.
• It is hot and humid like Macau but I have my own private pool. OK, I do have to share it with my wife.
• The food is exquisite. They have tiger prawns the size of small lobsters.
• Oh, and the best part in the compare and contrast department. In Penang two years ago we found Tiger beer to be so refreshing. There was no Tiger beer in Macau. We had to settle for Macau beer. Well, in Phuket they have Tiger Beer - frosty cold - and served in a chilled Weizen glass.

I was going to upload some pictures but our wi fi here in PhuKet is capacity contrained and therefore very slow.

Racing has concluded

The racing has concluded and now many of us head off in various directions for a well earned vacation. Some will depart for mainland China and some for other parts of Southeast Asia.

A summarization of the racing experience would go something like this;

• Great venue


• Super job of organizing by the Macau Organizers


• Wasabi represented the U.S. well earning a bronze medal in the Senior B Womens 2000m.


• The big winners were the German and Australian crews in our racing categories.


• The strongest teams in the premier categories were the Singapore military team, The Pacific Dragons (Australia) and the Chinese teams.

If I compare the racing in Macau this year to Penang 2 years ago I would say that the competition was higher in Macau. In Penang the Canadian teams dominated the event but in Macau the same Canadian teams, although very competitive, were not dominate.

Wasabi earned the right to compete with the highest level of competition in the world. What we learned is that the level of competition is getting higher everytime there is a World Championship and that we, Wasabi, can compete at that level. (There was never a race that we were blown out of except perhaps the GMMixed 2000 meter. The majority of the races we were in the thick of it.) That being said, we will have to continue to elevate our game and continuously think outside the box for new and creative ways to do so.

That is my opinion based on my observations and the workings of a sun-baked nearly heat-stroked mind.

For Laura and I we are off to Thailand. More from PhuKet when we arrive there.

SOLD

Apparently what was thought to be a nice gesture was a little more than that. Jeannette handed me a philippines wrist band only to be told this morning that she had sold me. So now I'm a kept women by someone on the Philippine team..
200 m races today. We made it to the grand final but could not bring home the bling. But we were right in there. Took 2 seconds off our semi heat race. Weather is HOT.... I don't think I have anything dry in my bag.
So a short recap... Wearing a racer back jersey... Hmm who new you needed to put sun screen on. Sold to the Philippine team for a wrist band. (Too cheap if you ask me). Raced 2000 M and 200 M. Now on to the 500 m tomorrow. Just another day in China.

Saturday

Saturday is now winding down. Masters Women started out the day with the 200m races. The heats felt like they were back to back to back and they were. We started around 830 am and were done by 1030. Supporters from the shore gave us great insight on how things looked and tweaks were made after the first race. The semifinal was a zen race where we came in second and advanced to the Grand Final. We didn't medal in the final but it was a great race and we hope to bring it altogether in the 500m tomorrow.
Grandmasters Mixed took over for Wasabi in the afternoon racing their final distance, the 500m. Didn't see all of their races but they did great in the minor finals. No medal this time but a great effort.
Among the lessons learned or relearned in Macau.
Get the front water.
Get the body moving.
Enjoy the process.
Don't take a bracelet from Jeanette.
(At breakfast this morning someone was commenting on the livestrong type bracelet that said Philippines that Skinner was wearing. Skinner commented that Jeanette had given it to her. Jeanette then informed us that what Skinner didn't know is that Jeannette had sold her. Skinner is trying to determine who exactly purchased her. We still plan to try to bring Skinner back. )

Friday is coming to a close

The 200 meter races are over for the GM crews. They continue tomorrow morning for the masters women and finish at around noon. The masters women having had the day off today.
Tomorrow afternoon the 500 meter races start with the GM Mixed crew racing at 1:30pm...... Oh Boy!! the heat of the day in the tropics.

Macau is a very clean city given how crowded it is. The only thing that looks trashy is the older buildings and what the heat and humidity can do as far as discoloration and rust goes. Not to mention the ever present mold. However, it is actually cleaner, to my eye, than downtown Portland.

This may be because they have cleaning crews everywhere and it may also be because there are no homeless residents. (If there are I haven't seen them or perhaps I do not know what to look for.) Regardless, there aren't any people living and sleeping on the streets that I can tell. There are no beggers either.........however......near the casinos there are hookers aplenty.

The other thing that there is plenty of, at least near the casinos, are high end jewelry stores and high end watch stores. In these stores there are no bargains but in Macau as a whole it is relatively cheap to dine and shop as long as you stay away from the big name stuff. For example, our hotel which is not a casino, has a restaurant that we are told is one of the best Portugese resturants in Macau. Gary, Laurie, Laura and I had a full 6 course meal for under $100 US and the food was excellent.

More later...........time for bed.

Roomates??? You got to love them

Ok, so traveling with friends can always be an adventure. Take your roomate who gets up to use the bathroom at 3 am and learns that if the key is not all the way in the electric card key switch, and you push it in all the lights in the room will light up. Ahh you have to love jet lag....
Yesterday was he 2000 m races and the Gm Women took bronze. We on the other hand had a bunch of Aussies and Canadians who had other plans for us. It didn't help that it was 150 degrees, plus the nerves set in. I think I was out of breath by the first 200 meters, forgot to spit out my gum until 1400 meters. Never so glad to hear Connie call the last power.
Off today but back on for 200 m races tomorrow.

Update from SaTina

SaTina is having some issues posting to the blog so I'm posting her latest update for her here:

4:49 pm Thursday Macau time


2000m race results

Wasabi GMX 8th place

Wasabi Master Women 6th place

Wasabi GM Women 3rd place. - and they looked amazing - I couldn't be any prouder of them.


Most of the GMX women also raced a 2000 on one of the women's crews. A grueling way to spend the day in this heat. Today was the first day since we have arrived that we have experienced full force sun without the blessing of overcast clouds and rain.

Wasabi participated in the opening ceremonies. Each country took out a boat holding their flag on an 8 ft. pole. We then did a little parade of nations for the peoples in the stands. You will be proud to know that Wasabi was the only USA team on our boat (of the 3 USA teams in Macau) and that we sang the national anthem not once, but twice while on the course.

Tomorrow the GM's mixed and women race the 200m races. The masters women have the day off.

GM Women win Bronze in the 2000M!

2000 meter race day is drawing to a close

Thanks Rachel for providing all of the information for everyone to keep informed. The IDBF Club Crew Championships has really embraced the new technologies;

• Real time race results
• A gigantic big screen TV that you can see in direct sunlight
• A paddler database (ugh!!!! but I guess it is a necessary evil) (Team Managers hate it).
• The credentials have a barcode that ties back to you, your picture, date of birth, gender, passport number, and whether you are a coach, helm, paddler etc. All fed by the ...... yes. The database.

The crew rosters for the different distances are done ......... on the database.......and then we have to turn in a copy that is a print from the database or (if you didn't bring a printer or if the Hotels business center is useless) you do it by hand.

All of that being said. The race site is really top notch. It is the best dock arrangement I have ever seen at a race. They can handle 16 boats at one time which makes marshalling and rurn around times a breeze.

The Macau folks organzing the race have gone above and beyond. They have more than enough staff to take care of everything necessary. Our personal staff person, Dawn, calls me every evening to make sure we know the race times for the next day and to see if we need to be escorted to the race site.

There are, however, the typical glitches as with anything this size. The opening ceremony, for example seems to have been hastily planned to be squeezed in between the final 2000 meter races. I can hear the announcer from my hotel room as I write this, so I know the opening ceremony is under way. (I am in the hotel room and not at the opening ceremony because I need to do tomorrow'a rosters in the database.)

The great news is that with such a well sized facililty the program is running on-time. Such a rarity in events this size.

The last comment for today, sorry no pictures, is about the weather. We had monsoonal rains that started yesterday afternoon about 4 pm and lasted for about 5 or 6 hours. A few more heavy downbursts came through during the night. Today however, the skies have not threatened once although there are large clouds passing in the distance.

The temperature is hot and the humidity is staggering. It is hard to breathe during a 2000 meter race in that kind of heavy air when you are not used to it.

More to come - follow the real time race results at IDBFworldchamps.com and click on live race results. It is the best way to stay informed.

Larry

Follow results from Macau in real time!

For all of you who are sitting in Portland, like me, wondering how Wasabi teams are doing in Macau, you can follow the results in realtime!

Just go to this site and click on the "live results" link.

Best of luck to all the Wasabi paddlers in Macau this week!

2000 meters gm mixed then senior women then gm women....

Tomorrow the races begin

Tomorrow is 2,000 meter day. The first one goes off at 10:00 am local time and is the Gm Mixed in an 8 boat race. 4 Australian crews, 2 Canadian, 1 German and 1 US. The Masters Women race at 12:15 pm followed by the GM Women at 1:45 pm. We then take part in the opening ceremonies with the parade of athletes and the dotting of the eye ceremony which starts at 3:45 pm.

To add to the adventures from yesterday (menitoned in Laurie's post below)

here are a couple of additional pictures.

The one directly above is of Laura and Laurie leaning through the windows of the central atrium of the Mandarin House and the above it is showing just how narrow most all of the streets are in Macau. This street is empty which is not normally the case. On most streets delivery trucks, taxi's and cars (Mercedes and the like) will come flying down the narrow streets. Pedestrians and motorbikes, gillions of them, must beware.

It's Started!

Yes, it has started! Practices started and so have the rains. It seems that it is a rule:

Get on the boat ...check

Sky opens up and pours ...check

Get off the boat ...check

Rain stops ...check!

However, with that said, the rain here has been very welcome. With the heat in the 30's (that's Celsius, my friends) and the humity in the 60's (probably 70's now), the rain is a refreshing respite from the heat. You're either soaked from sweating or soaked from the rain. I chose rain.

GM Mixed was the first to practice on Tuesday and both Women's teams practiced today. It's wonderful to see Connie standing up at the front of the boat yelling sweet remembraces in our ears. It's often intimidating to other teams to see her standing there so calmly. LOVE THAT!

Practices went well and we left the race site with confidence. The racing starts tomorrow with the 2000 meter races! YIPPEE! Let the games begin!!!

Oh, and there was ALMOST no fighting on the boat!

Walking Past History

Macau is rich in history and with it's narrow streets and alleyways and plaza's with beautiful mosaic tiles, it seems that walking is the best way to see it. (Ok, so we don't have a car.) Macau seems to have a bit of everything. European and Chinese architecture alongside Christian and Buddhist places of worship.

A-Ma' Temple existed before the city of Macau did. It seems to combine a bit of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. You can purchase incense such as these spiral burning one and hang them and your prayer at the temple. Built amongst some incredible rocks on a hillside, it is quite an inspiring and peaceful place. Cut into the rocks are Chinese symbols and prayers.

Then it was on to the Moorish Barracks which were built in 1874 to house an Indian regiment to reinforce the Macau police force, stopping to enjoy the view and one of Macau famous egg tarts.

Then past Lilau Square which used to be the main source of natural spring water in Macau and on to Mandarin House which is a traditional Chinese residential compound built in the mid-1800's. It had many open air courtyards and Larry, Laura, Gary and I found it facinating and beautiful.

And what else would you do in an old Chinese courtyard, but have an arm wrestling match!

It was then on to St. Lawrence's Church which was built by the Jesuit's in the mid-16th century, the Dom Pedro V Theatre which was the first western-style theatre built in China and on to Senado Square which has been Macau's urban center for centuries. The square is surrounded by pastel-colored European-style buildings.

Following the walking street up the hill from the Square, you run into Macau's most famous landmark ... the Ruins of St. Paul's ... a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The front facade is all that is left of the cathedral that was built in the early 1600's by the Jesuits and Japanese Christians who came to Macau to escape oppression in their own country.

Alas, the feet gave out and it was back to the hotel for some air conditioning, cool beverage, and dinner.

After all, tomorrow is another day. Hmmmm, where to next? Maybe one of the other islands?

Greetings from wonderfully charming and friendly Macau.

Ooh, and did I mention the bakeries? OMG! They are heavenly!!!!

Cheers, Laurie

Tuesday and everything is taking shape

Today opened with meeting our guide and personal race concierge named Dawn. She is Chinese and Dawn is the English name she has taken. She is a lovely young lady and so very willing to help. We followed Dawn to the race course which takes us down a narrow switchback road and then across a busy street. If is very close and very convenient to the hotel.

It was practice day for the GM Mixed crew. The weather was hot and humid to start the practice. After about 20 minutes the hardest rainstorm I have seen in a long time came through with rain that fell so hard is was actually beating the drum. Towards the end of practice lightening and thunder rolled in to puncuate the downburst. I have to admit that the rain was very refreshing as it took an edge off the heat.

The picture above right is of the narrow road leading to the race course and the picture above left is of the race course itself taken from the old church on top of Penha hill. The old church sits just above our hotel.

The picture to the right is of the Grand Lisboa hotel and Casino. It is one of the more unique buildings you will ever see and is an imposing landmark on the Macau skyline.

The photo below is the bridge (one of the bridges actually) between the Macau pennisula and the isalnd of Taipa which is also part of Macau.

Tomorrow is an early morning practice for the Womens teams. There is also a coaches/captains/managers meeting tomorrow morning to go over all the little items we need to know.

More news and information to come.

Larry

Dragon Boat Carnival Race Site

Yesterday we stumbled across the Dragon Boat races that are going on this weekend in Victoria Harbor. Here's a picture of the race site from up on top of Victoria Peak.

I believe the 2012 World Club Crew Champion- ship race is in Hong Kong. I wonder if this will be the race site? They park a bunch of barges down the right side of the race course to stabilize the water.

The walkway out in font of the building in the lower right is the Avenue of the Stars where yesterday we were trying out our Bruce Lee moves.

Where's Laurie?

Another lovely day!

Started with an excellent massage ... 2 hours of pain and bliss!!!

Then DIM SUM. OMG! Had the most incredible steamed egg yolk custard cream bun. I'm going to dream about that tonight. YUMMY!!!

Then off to Hong Kong Island on the Star Ferry and up to the top for this shot and others.

Back to the hotel for a swim in the pool to cool down. GAVIN, WE OWE YOU!
THIS HOTEL IS INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Amazing Seafood buffet tonight!

Hmmmmmm?

Wouldn't it suck to be out drinking,

maybe have a bit too much,

and have to find your way home?

OMG!!!!

July 24th Travel Day

Hi everyone,


Today started out pretty well. Bright sunny skies, warm temperatures and the excitement of getting ready for the BIG trip.

There were two large groups leaving today. One group was to leave around 2 pm via Delta Airlines to Narita and then on to Hong Kong arriving at 10:30 pm the next day. The other group, a smaller one, was leaving at 6:30pm on Air Canada to Vancouver and then direct into Hong Kong arriving at 6:30 am the next day.

As fate would have it the Delta flight was canceled. By my count and that of Sue Fischer's 15 out of 16 from the first group were re-routed on the Vancouver bound flight at 6:30.

So picture a DeHaviland DH8 loaded with two groups of Wasabians, all very grateful that the cancellation of the first group resulted in no worse of a delay than four hours. There were 4 non-Wasasbians on the plan that I am sure were wondering what they had gotten into by taking that flight. We all arrived safely in Vancouver and now we get to hurry up and wait.

It is 10:45 pm and we are all sitting at gate D51 in the Vancouver airport waiting for the Sidney flight to leave so we have room to breath. We then get to wait another two hours until our flight leaves at 2:00am.

That's all for now. Time to find a place to try and take a nap.



Larry

Good luck in Macau!

To all the racers, steerspeople, callers and coaches headed to Macau:

Have a great time!!! I know you will all be wonderful ambassadors of Wasabi and the USA! Wasabi is proud to support three crews racing at the 2010 Club Crew World Championships in Macau, China. We are sending you all our best and look forward to the wonderful stories you'll have to share!

Paddles up...finish to win!!

Tracey Miller
Wasabi President

HONG KONG -- Skyscraper City!

24-July-2010: Here we are! The first to hit Asian soil. Ran into a few teammates at the YVR airport. Then didn't see Bon, Connie C & crew until the airport at HKG. Whew! Long flight and we are very happy to be here.

We split up and headed into Tsim Sha Tsui. It was 6am and a beautiful day. After dropping luggage at the beautiful Langham hotel, my husband, Gary, and I headed out to introduce ourselves to Kowloon and get a look at Hong Kong.

In the morning we did a walkabout. First down to the promenade to look at Hong Kong Island & Victoria peak. Then a walk along the Avenue of Stars which is dedicated to the stars of Hong Kong's movie industry. Names, handprints and signatures of the stars like Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat, Jackie Chan and Michelle Cheung lined the walk. Of course, we had to match up a few handprints or strike a pose! :)

Then, what did we fun into but the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival being held in Hong Kong hardor. After watching the False Creek men swamp their boat during their race, we ran into some friend from San Francisco's Dragon Warriors! SMALL WORLD!!!! Dragon Warriors also had a tough time keeping water out of their boats. Slightly rough water over what looked like a 1000 meter course (probably was shorter), we saw at least one boat in each race swamp.

In the afternnoon we explored some areas where Gary used to live and in the evening caught the Hong Kong light show (they light up the buildings and have it set to music).

WELCOME TO HONG KONG!!!!!

Macau 2010

Lists are being made, last minute purchase bought, bags are being packed, dog and house sitting arrangements have been made.

The final count down until Macau. Some leave earlier than others. The exodus begins Thursday on through Sunday the 25th.

12 Noon Portland time is 3:00am Macau time (the next day).

Stay tuned to this blog site for the latest updates, race results, sites seen, delicious cuisine consumed and pictures.

Larry

2010 World Club Crew Championship in Macau, CN

All my bags are packed (almost),
I'm ready to go (almost).
I'm sitting here
My mind on ...whoa
Where is all this stuff
going to fit?

I'm leaving on a jet plane
I'm off to China once again!

YAHOO!!! GO WASABI!!!

This is a test, this is only a test. Yeah, I'm back on the blogger site!