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!