2004 Adventure Racing World Championship, hosted by Raid the North Extreme
AR World Championship moves inland
Susan McKenzie / 02.08.2004
The winds were light, the chop was low and the visibility was high as the teams travelled the forty-five kilometres between CPs 4 and 7, dipping in and out of the small bays between North Bay on La Poile Bay and Port aux Basques, where cars can catch the ferry back to the mainland.
The area is quite rocky – both on land and in the water.
“When God made rocks, whatever he left over he threw in there,� says resident Dave Savoury, whose summer cabin in Garia Bay is serving as CP6. A trio of particularly dangerous rocks is locally known as “the bull, cow and calf.� “You don’t want to get caught up on them,� says Savoury.
The coastline is also dotted with small abandoned fishing communities, whole towns that have been broken up, its residents scattered across the region. Many were resettled in the 1940s and 1950s, but some of the virtual ghost towns, such as Petites, are more recently abandoned. Its thirteen residents were offered a buy out package last year, and now the tiny fishing village’s homes are vacant, disused lobster traps and fishing boats abandoned on the wharves.
The main field may now be scattered between CP2 and CP8, but the top two teams paddled most of the section in a sextet of boats. As Nokia Adventure and Nike ACG/ Balance Bar paddles into CP6 in Garia Bay, Mike Kloser led the parade of sea kayaks, followed by Petri Forsman of Nokia Adventure, who was towing Jukka Pinola. Behind them, Ian Adamson in a solo kayak was paddling alongside Anu Kopra and Markus Kettunen. Michael Tobin and Danelle Ballengee brought up the rear in their tandem boat.
Cross Sportswear thought it would take advantage of the wind and try to hoist a sail (in the Swedish colours of blue and yellow, of course.� It didn’t work, though.
“The wind was pointing in the wrong direction, so we could not get it to work,� says
Natasha Westling.
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