Monday, May 21, 2012

For me Kayaking must give way to a new sport!

I have to say everyone I talk to lately has given me the same words when I ask what sport I should take up?  The loud defining reply is kayaking!!!

For four years now I keep telling them I can't because of my bad foot (broken - leg broken) and if I stretch it out it cramps and resting on my bad heal it kills me...This is followed by bend your knees...don't put you legs out straight...My second reply is I have a bad ear and balance and I am dizzy and if the boat flips I won't know up or down or anything...they answer you will pop right to the surface.....

I have to say I won the most athletic award in high school..I love sports...I used to be great at most of it...but kayaking...please.

My best friend and business partner of 37 years Chris died of Breast Cancer ( a terrible death) and so in 2008 I paid for some people to go on the Inlet Bay World Record kayaking event to raise money for the Susan G. Koman cancer society.....they broke the record..yea..and raised a ton of money..$52,000 I believe.......Meanwhile I was safe in Earlville giving a speech on the Fair...

Then that record was broken in 2009 by Pittsburg..so last year they planned to do it again in Inlet...and try to break that record!   My sister-in-law said, "Come on you can do it"....I could not get out of it...so off I went with a borrowed blue kayaki thing....

The day was overcast and looked like rain at any minute but people started to come...there were so many people that they had to start people from many different spots on the lake...we had to paddle across the lake...and in a bit of a wind to Arrowhead Park the main gathering place with stands, shirts, food..whatever.....but there was NO POWER....which meant little food and stores open in town and few potties that worked because they needed pumps......

On the way across I got soaked by waves that ruined my cell phone even though it was in a baggy and after a while we set off for the place where we were supposed to paddle to and form a raft.... then we had to hold our paddles up and wait for the Guinness World Record People to fly over take a count and take a picture and make sure we were out in the water and not touching land.

On the planes first pass people yelled for us to move forward into the lake...on the second pass they shouted "waiting for more rafters"... as the clocks were down because of the power failure ...and then after far too much time we woo-woo-wooed and then the sun came out over us...many cried..I knew we broke the record.... it was over..and yes what ensued -  was a traffic jam.

Have you ever been on a lake next to 1,924 other kayaks...well its worse than being stuck on the freeway...especially since they are all facing in different directions!

I made it back to shore with the worse "charlie horse" I have had in years...but we did it...I did it ..and we broke the Guinness Book of World Records for the world's largest raft...by a ton of kayaks...it was such a sight that the official picture was printed in the Sport Illustrated Magazine...Dick Leland sent me his copy...I made Sports Illustrated!....But that's not all..a week ago a friend brought me the National Geographic Magazine for last month and we (I) was in it again...I, of course and 1,924 other people...

So as far as I am concerned...I have "Kayaked" my way to the top..Sports Illustrated..National Geographic...there is no where else to go...so I am working on finding a new sport this summer!!  Any suggestions????

Here are pictures of that wonderful event below...help stamp out Breast Cancer...view it be inspired...



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