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.
Wasabi Paddling Club is a competitive dragon boat and outrigger canoe paddling club with locations in Portland and Nehalem Bay, Oregon.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
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. )
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, July 30, 2010
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.
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.
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.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
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.
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.
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;
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
- 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.
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
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