Ok, so with the first local event scheduled for this weekend what do you gys think? Who will win, place show or go. Surprises good or bad?

Some pretty decent teams in the mix. Here they are in order of race appearance.

Miracle Dragons
Strokin Sea Monkeys
Mayfair Warriors
Team Chaos
Big Fish
The Blades
The Saints
Stratford Women
GWN Premier Women
Hanalei
GWN Senior Women
Shogun Warriors
Hammerheads
Cyclones
Mayfair Predators

Mayfair
Hammerheads
Big Fish

I don't think Fish are participating this year.

Fish will be there.

Mayfair
Big Fish
Hammerheads

1. Mayfair - The best of this bunch - for now.
2. Big Fish - A solid second place
3. Hammerheads - This is a sprinting team, not a distance one
4. Hanalei - Comes in 4th because it is the beginning of the year. Near or at the top if it was the end of the year.

big fish over the hammerheads - no question.

in a 500 though..

other way around.

renova..move ova!

1) Hanalei
2) Big Fish
3) Mayfair

1. Mayfair - Home course advantage?
2/3. Big Fish - Strong core and new recruits, should be very close between 2 and 3
2/3. Hammerheads - Good off season training regime
4. Hanalei - too early in the season for this crew + the "Diggs" factor
5. GWN Premier Women - never count out a premier womens crew
6. Blades - the best once a week practice team out there
7. Shogun - Stan will really improve this crew
8. GWN Senior Women - never count out a senior womens crew either

Mayfair
Big Fish
Hammerheads
Blades
Hanalei
Shogun
GWN Premier
GWN Sr. (this won't be their top crew)

1-Mayfair
2-Hammerheads
3-Hanalei
4-Big Fish
5-Blades
6-GWN Sr.
7-Shogun
8-GWN Premier

Go Shogun!

1.Big fish all the way.
2.Mayfair
3.Hammers
4.Hanalei

Hein, Gilles..qui-est-ce-que ton papa?

big fish? No way

The top six are all that I can remember, but here they are:

1 Mayfair

2 Hanalei

3 Hammerheads

4 Big Fish

5 Blades

6 Shogun

Don't read too much into the relative placings of 2 - 4th, as there was only 1 second seperating them in 13 + minutes of racing!

1 Mayfair
2 Hanalei
3 Big Fish
4 Hammerheads
5 Blades
6 Shogun

Mayfair had a 2 second lead going into the 2000m over Hammerheads, who had a 2 second lead over Hanalei, who had a 3/4 second lead over Big Fish. However, the 2000m really separated the crews. Mayfair passed Hammerheads and beat them by approx 17 seconds. Unbelievably (could this really happen after 2km?) Big Fish and Hanalei had exactly the same time down to the hundredths of a second! So when all numbers added up both Hanalei and Fish had a faster 2km then the Hammerheads (3 seconds est) and with Hanalei's 3/4 of second lead going in went from 3rd to second and Fish went from 4th to 3rd. Thus showing that although the Hammerheads are a very strong 500m (but course was more like a 425m) they need to work on endurance and longer pieces. Of course, with this being the first regatta of the year, various paddlers subbing for most crews the results of this regatta really do not prove much.

2 things really come to mind though: 1) Mayfair was the best by a margin in both 500's as well as having a very strong 2km 2) that with about a second separating 2nd - 4th it could shape up to a very competitive season for many crews. Pickering should be quite the show!

The finishing order presented in the first post was correct, ie.

1. Mayfair
2. Hanalei
3. Hammerheads
4. Big Fish
5. Blades
6. Shogun

Mayfair did in fact dominate both distances, which is a great accomplishment. Congrats.

Hammerheads looked very strong in the 500m races, but two years at this event shows that 2000m is not their race. But I wouldn't be worried about it if I were them, 2k is not a common distance.

Hanalei were quite good once again. This crew is never to be underestimated.

Fish have some 500m kinks to work out, but they did a strong 2k.

You could really see the difference in steering during the 2km.
It makes a huge difference in time with crews that are almost equal in abilities.

A while back they were looking to find more paddlers or merge with another team. Did they end up merging with another team?

No, they just recruited a couple of paddlers and had a good returning core.

GWN 3000m Endurance Challenge
Team 400m #1 400m #2 2000m total
Mayfair Predators 1:55.46 2:00.86 9:20.43 13:16.75
Hanalei 1:58.26 2:04.73 9:37.18 13:40.17
Hammerheads 1:57.04 2:03.28 9:40.50 13:40.82
Big Fish 1:59.75 2:04.02 9:38.18 13:41.95
The Blades 2:01.16 2:06.73 9:43.79 13:51.68
Shogun Warriors 2:03.14 2:08.82 9:50.00 14:01.96
Team Chaos 2:05.57 2:08.67 9:54.70 14:08.94
The Saints 2:05.80 2:13.41 9:53.95 14:13.16
Mayfair Warriors 2:08.05 2:10.91 10:12.18 14:31.14
GWN Premier Women 2:12.72 2:16.29 10:09.82 14:38.83
Stratford Women 2:15.66 2:15.11 10:20.18 14:50.95
Miracle Dragons 2:12.18 2:12.54 10:32.27 14:56.99
Cyclones 2:13.64 2:15.95 10:39.59 15:09.18
Strokin Sea Monkeys 2:15.31 2:17.80 10:43.00 15:16.11
GWN Senior Women 2:22.10 2:24.34 10:46.39 15:32.83

Get your own handle!

There is only one BFF (Big Fat Fishy).

I can predict that I will log on and make some kind of bone headed post under the lame alias of "X".

Looks like Mayfair put out a bit of a spanking. What were the conditions like? Any good passing stories or collisions?

Conditions during the 500's were fine. The 2000 conditions sucked though because due to the wind the bay was all chop and wind all over the place. It really did not give anyone an ability to gain on most crews and quite a bit depended on the experience/skill of the cox. Yes Mayfair gained a lot on the crews in the 2000, job well done.

you said it yourself FAT

-first 2000 race: the 2nd-4th place teams starting at least a boat length behind the line because they didn't understand how the starts were happening (every 15 seconds, whether you're there or not)
-preds hogging the inside at their start, and starting 1/4 of a boat over the line (did they get penalized for that?)
-shane leaning out and pushing the gunnel of a boat that was cutting off his women's crew around a turn
-old school fibreglass boats, with the long wooden beam running down the middle
-hammerheads holding off the preds for most of the race by squeezing them towards the inside of the course, but finally getting passed at the second-last buoy

overall, a fun day, good turnout for such a small event. it's nice to be done racing by lunchtime! congrats to the winners.

The Preds did get a 5 second penalty for their over the line.

Fun little collision between the GWN Premier Women and the Cyclones as the Women were passing the Cyclones at the bottom turn.

Geat day overall!

Congrats to the preds for taking it to the others.

Somthing the GWN group ought to do is clarify the starting rules for the 2000m race. Is it "line abreast" or "line astern"? It was a little chaotic at the start with some boats lined up next to each other, and some boats lined up behind each other.

Jim definitely took some liberties by immediately parking his boat directly next to the buoy on the inside line of the course, despite being the 5th boat to actually start. That position should have been given to the first team out, with subsequent boats lined up to the right, and/or behind. But if the officials don't say anything, it's no foul so he was only doing the smart thing. IMO, he should have been ordered to back off (and move right).

Not that it mattered in the long run as the Preds put in a blazing fast 2k time.

One thing I'm left wondering this year is with so many long term Mayfair paddlers watching from the shore, or coaching other crews, who exactly is on the team this year?

the Mayfair Senior National team. Loaded with old flatties. I guess that is how you stay at the top. Screw hard work and development, just load up on flatties. Nothing in the rules say you can't.

Mayfair was NOT loaded with "old flatties". We had one retired flattie in our boat and one sub. We did have a few people leave our crew from last year, but that has been it. There were some former Predators watching from the sidelines that you may have seen.

Historically no crew has done more in the way of developing paddler than the Preds have. Until last year the Preds have never used a paddler that wasn't a member of it's club when all the other crews did what ever they wanted to. There are crew out there who have never developed a paddler ever, they just recruit (read poach) good paddlers from other crews.

Now just because the Preds recruit a couple of guys who can help they're crew when a bunch of the old guard is retiring, they don't develop paddlers or work hard?

You make me laugh.

As the individual who asked the original question, I was sincerely just curious. Didn't mean to start a flame war.

So thanks for the answers. I guess there's a changing of the guard at more than one team this year.

"Historically no crew has done more in the way of developing paddler than the Preds have." Don't go from one extreme to the next.

If the Preds take on some new talent to help the crew, who cares, most crews do it every year. If they are picking up people who will be on their team fine. It would be a different story if they just stack their boat for one race.

I would not go and say that the Preds have done the most to develop paddlers though. I can think of several teams who have done just the same if not more.

No no no

you misunderstand. it was a typo. the prior poster meant old fatties, not old flatties

No need to get too concerned

Oh, ok then. That is true.

I'm so proud of my GWN Women!!! Hello from the West Coast! I love you ladies!!!