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"Thought you might like
to hear that we have now used our "Sunny" double in adventure races, and in
ocean, river, and lake environments. We competed in the Lake Champlain
Challenge (six miles in the lake in Burlington, VT) and the Jacksonville (FL)
Open Water Series, a one-mile ocean paddle. The Lake Champlain event was in
windy, open conditions. We had to stop on an island halfway to empty the boat.
Chop was about 1 1/2 foot, and swells maybe 2-3 feet - about the limit for the
boat I think." "Of some slight special note, we were crowned the
champs in the "Mixed Married Masters Tandem Inflatable Kayak" at both events.
We actually won the double kayak category in both the events, but the
organizers thought it was a hoot that we are married, masters, and using an
unconventional boat. It would be more impressive if we had more competition,
though we did beat other people in "normal" kayaks." "A bigger
challenge for the two of us was the Beach Endurance Adventure Race (BEAR) The
BEAR course is complex, with many 'special' events, but featured three kayak
legs, two of about 4-5 miles each, and another of about 2/3 of a mile. The
first two were interrupted with a land navigation challenge. The break between
the 2nd and 3rd leg required a very long (~2 mile) portage, the short paddle,
and then another 1/2 mile portage. We had a tremendous advantage on the
portages with our light and easy to carry double kayak - we put it on our heads
and just walked, while others wrestled with plastic and fiberglass boats. Had
the portage been even longer (no thanks!) we could have deflated the boat and
run with it in the pack. The boat seemed to be pretty tough also - we had to
beach on oyster beds and thorn bushes several times, and I thought we might
puncture, but that hull material was fine. Very cool. We finished third coed
team overall, and first Masters." "We fielded a lot of questions about
the "Sunny", both during, and after all three events. We spread the word
that we love our boat!" Terry and Rebecca Ryan,
Florida
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