"AND SO IT SHALL BE LOTUS AND SO WE SHALL GO AND WE SHALL BE MIXED, THREE OF EACH KIND SHALL BOARD THE BOAT AND WE SHALL PADDLE AND WE SHALL CALL OURSELVES MIXED  AND BEYOND THAT WE SHALL CALL OUSELVES THE MIGHT HOE VA'A KA MAUNA POHAKU NUI  AND WE SHALL GO FORTH AND ALL BUT THE PRINCESS SHALL DRIVE"

and the cars were loaded and there were only the three above plus Lynda and her side kick Jess and the princess, who was to fly. So it began...except once over the BC border Jess looked behind the car and said "hey, were we supposed to bring a boat?" Now too late to turn back and too inspired by Lynda's words to abandon the plan, we simply drove on...many ideas were hatched...maybe to use John Roberts name and secure a brand new boat in Abbotsford? Maybe to tie the two OC-2s together and add a cushion and paddle them as a six?...But finally we simply asked "W.W.J.D.?"-What Would Jacques DO? So we stopped and had ice cream and forgot about it...Turns out we were coverd.Lotus in its' incredible hospitality said not only do we have a boat but real men!!! Would you like to leave yours on the shore and take ours? Lynda placed hand upon jaw but her decision was made for her as she succumbed to Jon A. pathetic little girl howls and said, "Naw, We keeps 'em" And so the race began...after the womens, the mens and some sand castle competition Bill organized...ah but before talk of the race...what of Mike Ls. pre-race nutritional preparation? The Princess had arrived the night before and after her foot massage by Jess, she announced "This is my natural habitat and I shall lead you to food!" After the leading we found ourselves at a table... odd concoctions were delivered and Lynda sat in horror as Mike L. leapt into his third helping of nut loaf with natural yeast powder and flactulated almond paste...bellowing in an ecstasy of vegan gastronomic joy he yelled " Where is my organic kale? What about my tofu cutlets? Where is the Glutonous brown rice?" While the rest of us had to settle for what simple fare we could decipher, Mike seemed the proverbial hog in that quaint saying about heaven. His car covered with hippie political stickers and his stomach full of craven organic grule Mike slept the sweet sleep of the carbo loaded and and the princess and Pep shuddered in the realization: MIKE HAD GONE VANCOUVER!!!!! And then the race began....In fact the race went well except for the start when no one remembered to tell the boat to go and Bill dropped his tea he was sharing with elders in the boat next to ours...and the light ama which drove Jon to distractions and the heat, the God awful, unrelenting heat and the small splashing sounds of fish leaping about and the princes forgetting to take off her one white glove before the race and the heavy steady pull executed by the crew when after the first two K the competition had burned out but it was a race and even with the excuse of being out front no one quit racing and Calgary comes in first!!!!! OC-6 Mixed Division. A tradition is being upheld as no Calgary boat this year in the category has not won in the races we have done. Hello Gibsons!!!!???!!!

So celebration and joy Jon A frolics shamelessly after these races and Bill H begins sanppin' pictures and Jess grins like a happy elf and Lynda quits eyeing the coould have been Lotus men and Mike L says" Whoa! Hey dudes and dudettes, way to go" And the princess regally gazes down upon the little ones in their simple joy. BUT that was the first day.Just as the mayhem and odds and ends are getting sorted and people are at peace with each and the other...Greasy shows up- Chris W. blows into town and says "Oh me? Here? I got chicks everywhere and so I a, just droppin' in for a spin!" But instead he decided to join us for dinner, and a race. On the way back to Sarah K- AKA the Princess- natural habitat Mike suddenly went Calgary on us...Vancouver didn't take and it was clear that the mere mention of nut loaf could put ones life in danger...so began the "Quest for Meat!!!!" Down come the Marxist-Leninist stickers and the next thing we know we are all led to the Pampered Pig Pit...Mike is back! Mike is Back!!!!!! And so porcine fuled the next day the team virtually whipped the water to shreds. Lynda said "we didn't come all this way to not go home with every door prize, trophy or bit of food we can steal!!! Get out there and race and if you can't race forage!!!! Those that raced raced well...FIRST PLACE OC-2 MIXED AND WOMEN, CALGARY, FIRST PLACE OC-2 MENS, CALGARY THIRD PLACE OC-1, CALGARY...so after the awards and the chanting of "We're number one! We're number one" Lotus took us all aside and thanked us for coming and said NEVER NEVER come back again. Now if that is not the sign of having had a good time, what is?

The weather was good as always, one of these years we will pay the price but so far we have been lucky. This years races went well, the fleet of 10 C-lions means less heats so we got all the events off in record time.

OVERALL STANDINGS -