Possible Seneca-Cayuga Paddling Marathon Race Oct 5

[Jeff Hogue]

Hi all,

I am working with a local biz to see if we can set up a race that would go pretty much the whole length of the Seneca-Cayuga canal (and back) on Oct 5.  If you are in the finger lakes area and can help, give me a shout!

-Jeff

[Gary McLain]

Can you give some more details, please?

Like start location, time, approx. distance of race, possible classes?

Prizes or cash?

Sent from my iPhone

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[Jeff]

Hi Gary,

We are still scouting and determining those details -- I'm looking for people to help decide! What would you like?

Rest assured that if this happens, we will include lots of details, including maps.  It is important to me to do so.

We do plan to give out medals/ribbons.  No cash prizes planned right now. It will be our first year, so no idea how many registrations to expect.   Considering a special pro/am prize for a pro/amateur c2 and/or guideboat incentive.

Planning to start first wave at 9am. 

At the moment, 

Date:  October 5, 2014

Location: Fuzzy Guppies on the Seneca-Cayuga Canal

Location details: Near Waterloo, New York, just off 5&20

Classes: Standard NYMCRA classes, if we get blessed by NYMCRA

Distance: approx. 20 miles

Course Flavor:  currently, planned to be flatwater in the canal, but an open water leg is being considered.

[Gary McLain]

As a board member of NYMCRA, I can say you can use all the NYMCRA classes!  We already have all of our NYMCRA organized events this year, but we plan on doing everything that we can to promote more racing and paddling in general!

A few suggestions that I would make.

October is an iffy month for weather and light, so I would suggest a little later start time, maybe 10:30?  It also allows people from Albany, Buffalo, or Lk Placid area time to drive there and make it a day trip.  

A 20 mile canal race is a bit long, I think.  Maybe 10 or 12, 15 max is my thinking, especially if you get any bad weather.  A 2.5 hr race at 40 degree temp makes for a low turnout of entrants.

I mentioned the cash prizes, most of our biggest event turnouts are the Pro events, for example, this past weekend we had the Madrid Weekend!  The most entered race was the Pro events!  17 pro C-1 racers on Sat, and 14 pro C-2 on Sunday.   This event is also one of the very best organized and run events of the year.   You may learn a bunch from those folks, if interested.  Longest event was 16 miles(and there is talk of shortening it to 13 already)!

I truly believe in order to get a great turn out, you need to get the local "plastic" kayakers to attend, they are not going to want to race 20 miles.  Maybe 5 miles max or shorter for them.
There is only a few races, that are over 15 miles.  An event to look at is maybe the Run of the Charles, in Boston.  There are a few longer races, but the shorter races are the most attended.

I will be glad to offer any assistance that I can give, and will encourage all my fellow NYMCRA folks to attend.

Please contact me privately if you want to discuss further.

Gary
Sent from my iPhone

[Jeff]

Thanks Gary!

I will contact you off list.

Yep, our local partner is a marina/campground/kayak rental location, and they are organizing the Paddle Adventure part of the event (same day), which might include stopping to get goodies at places along the canal.  Not a race.

Thanks so much for the info.  I have a long one in mind because I like them.  And I see a trend toward weekend warriors doing things that are very long. See the stickers on bumpers. Since most of us will never be first, we like things that are an accomplishment just to finish.

We will discuss a shorter race though, for the plastic yaks, too.

[Scott Stenberg]

Jeff,

 

I can help you with this a bit. I used to direct the Owasco Lake Challenge Caanoe and Kayak races so I'm familiar with some of the bureaucracy you will need to negotiate:

 

First off, you will need a regatta permit from the state: http://nysparks.com/recreation/boating/documents/RegattaPermitApplication.pdf but before you can get a permit, you need a letter of no objection from the local law enforcement and insurace.

 

Insurance is easy -  the best coverage is provided by the United States Canoe Association (USCA). it costs $3.75 per paddler. To get it, you need to join the USCA as a race sponsor ($30) and get your race sanctioned by the USCA. All the information is on the USCA web site at uscanoe.com.

 

The law enforcement non-objection letter is a bit more complicated. You need to contact your local sheriff's department for that. Usually they have an officer assigned to coordinate such things. That officer may require you to meet with your local emergency planning commission to coordinate emergency support. You may or may not also be required to get your county legislature's approval for your SD to issue the letter. That was a bureacratic layer that Cayuga County added to my race that killed the race.

 

I highly suggest that you write a detailed race plan - one that covers all the "nuts and bolts" of your regatta. A 5w+h outline should work with sections on safety, emergency planning, etc. Having a well written plan gives you a concise document to submit with the forms that you will submit for sanctioning and for the regatta permit. It streamlines the process. I can provide you a sample plan if you need one.

 

One last bit of advice - if your race touches it, you may need a permit for it. Any parks, public docks, boat launches, etc. should be on the table since they may be controlled by other agencies that may require permits to use. Do not assume that one permit covers all. Government agencies get very touchy if something from their domain is involved and they don't get their share of the "papers."

 

Feel free to contact me if you need help with the process.>>>>><>Scott

 

Scott Stenberg

USCA Treasurer

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Train Hard, Paddle Far, Don't Give Up!