Brian MacPhail and Daylan Tilitzky had one goal during the Duel in the Desert.
“We just wanted to go as fast as we possibly could,” said MacPhail.
While they accomplished their goal of being quick, it allowed them to win the OC-2 junior men, a highlight for organizer Don Mulhall of the event as Skaha Lake.
“We were hoping we could do fairly well if not place first,” he added.
MacPhail said he was scared to start because they didn’t have a strong start and didn’t build a large gap during the race.
“It was a lot of fun and we were definitely on the edge of our seats the entire way,” said MacPhail.
The two, who are also swimmers, liked their results but were exhausted. MacPhail said it was difficult to maintain their mental energy for 50 minutes. A lot of work has to go into it and then the second someone begins to slack off, he said, it’s hard to get it going again.
“You’re kind of done,” he said, noting the key to their success is that they are good friends that know how to push each other.
Along with pushing the right buttons, having calm waters helped as they didn’t have to deal with winds. MacPhail said that tail difficult because it makes the paddlers feel as if they are not moving.
Another local who enjoyed success was KISU swim coach Tina Hoeben, who placed fifth overall in women’s OC-1 and second in the master’s category. Hoeben enjoyed competing against B.C.’s top paddlers.
“It’s always a great event,” said Hoeben, who has competed in it 10 times. “This weekend was dead calm. You don’t have any challenges from wind and you focus on stroke and technique.”
Mulhall, who organizes the event with his wife and placed second in the masters, felt the weekend was a success. His only concern when the race approaches is the weather because it’s “quite unpredictable.” He said the flat water changes how paddlers approach the competition. This year Mulhall changed the course having two laps as opposed to the one, which teams liked. It also allowed spectators to see the crews at the mid point.
Another highlight for Mulhall was the performance of Wayne Still, who won the Kapuna category (65 and over) in 1:06.07.
Taking the men’s OC-1 open was Ashley James of False Creek.
James said the some of the key elements of False Creek winning was their blend of coaching and winter training.
“A small group of us brave the cold and continue training all through winter including participating in a seven-race series in OC-1’s,” said James in an email. “Lastly, as a team we have mostly paddled together for a few years which makes a big difference as we know each other and how we react to situations while on the water.”
James said the competition varies each year but always offers strong teams. James felt Vancouver Ocean Sports men’s crew were quite strong.
James said the False Creek crew led from the start so they focused on staying strong and maintaining the lead and, if able to, further that lead.
“Being the lead boat means we had extra pressure to know where we were going and not give the boats behind us any advantage,” he said. “About 40 minutes into the race we felt our canoe became sloppy and the glide wasn’t there. It was mostly a mental thing and can occur as the crew settles into a long race. A few positive words were spoken in the canoe about technique, rate and strength. This put us back on track for the remainder of the race for a very strong finish.”
Winning the masters and G masters were Mike Berneman and Bob Stewart respectively. Once again the False Creek men’s team won the big boat race while Penticton placed fourth. In second was Pacific Reach and Kamloops third.
Men V-1
Ryan Pogue …………52:53 …………1st open
John Roberts ……….57:50 …………1st G master
John Malmqvist …….59:16 …………1st master
Men Surfski
Paul Hardy …………..49:50 …………1st sr master
Jacques Godin ……..52:01 …………1st open
Keith Major…………..52:25 …………1st G master
Men OC-2
Brian & Daylon ……..51:40 …………1st juniors
Darryl & Bruce ……..53:12 …………1st masters
Graeme & Ambrose 53:34 …………1st open
Ian & Derek ………….57:00 …………2nd open
Name ………………….Time …………Place/Division
Women OC-1
Christine Chard …….59:43 …………1st open
Kimberly Amundson 1:01:15 ………2nd open
SP Smith ……………..1:01:48 ………1st master
Tina Hoeben ………..1:02:28 ………2nd master
Candace Bourque …1:03.32 ………3rd open
Sarah Kilby ………….1:03:42 ………3rd master
Tricia Ritchie ………..1:05.07 ………4th master
Kelli Power …………..1:06.29 ………5th master
Kathryn Ginther …….1:06.30 ………1st G master
Clara Schirrmeister .1:07.30 ………1st junior
Bev Boden …………..1:13.10 ………1st S master
Stefa Katamay ……..1:14.40 ………2nd S master
Women V-1
Leanne Stanley …….57:41 …………1st open
Kristine Malmqvist …1:09.02 ………2nd open
Women Surfski
Lynda Roberts………58:30 …………1st master
MJ Hunter ……………1:01.22 ………1st open
Women OC-2
Carrie & Willene ……57:26 …………1st master
Naz & Jane ………….1:00.41 ………2nd master
Mixed OC-2
Darryl & Wendy …….54:50 …………1st S master
Tanya & Graeme …..55:21 …………1st open
Sandy & Tim ………..56:51 …………1st master
Junior OC-2
Liam & Eric ………….1:14.28 ………1st juniors
Team 1st lap Total Place (total ages) CORA Points (no age averaging)
Novice/Junior
PRCC Juniors – 39:16 1st Junior 1st Junior
PRCC Ragtags – 45:40 Rec (unofficial)
FCRCC Novice – 46:25 1st Novice 1st Novice
PRCC Jr. Juniors – 52:46 2nd Junior 2nd Junior
Women
VOS 1 44:19 1:29.31 1st Open 1st Open
Jericho 45:14 1:32.54 1st Masters 1st Masters
Pacific Reach 47:15 1:36.37 2nd Open 2nd Open
PRCC 47:30 1:36.45 1st Sr Masters 2nd Masters
FCRCC (Westcoast Lilies)48:43 1:40.07 1st Golden Masters 1st Sr Masters
Lotus 49:27 1:41.02 2nd Sr Masters 3rd Open
Women (Unlimited Class)
VOS 2 45:08 1:32.01 1st
Calgary 1 45:48 1:34.14 2nd
Calgary 2 49:48 1:44.25 3rd
Mixed
Pacific Reach 41:36 1:23.47 1st Sr Masters 1st Masters
FCRCC 41:53 1:24.51 1st Masters 1st Open
FCRCC E2 42:58 1:26.08 2nd Masters 2nd Open
FCRCC E1 43:08 1:26.43 1st Open 3rd Open
VOS 46:26 1:32.54 2nd Open 4th Open
Men
FCRCC 1 36.29 1:13.39 1st Masters 1st Open
Pacific Reach 39:04 1:19.04 1st Open 2nd Open
Kamloops 41:29 1:23.56 2nd Masters 3rd Open
PRCC 41:47 1:24.46 1st Golden Masters 1st Masters
FCRCC 2 42:49 1:25.57 3rd Masters 4th Open
FCRCC Kupuna 43:19 1:28.30 1st Kupuna 1st Golden Masters
Men (Unlimited Class)
VOS 37:29 1:15.53 1st
Calgary 40:29 1:22.02 2nd
Calgary Kai 40:54 1:22.41 3rd
