The Sound Rowers and Paddlers La Conner race is a very well organized race that’s open to a number of human powered watercraft. They offered a 2.7 mile short course and a 7 mile long course. The race check in was at the shelter at the top of the hill in Pioneer Park, so you get a little pre race warm-up running up and down the hill. 

The race starts under the bridge over the Swinomish Slough in the town of La Conner, goes South into Skagit Bay, then West toward Goat Island, around a channel marker 1 mile West of Goat Island and back to the start in La Conner.  The Race started a little after the high tide so we had an outgoing tide for the entire race and the water was glass smooth for most of the race.  We expected to be going with the tide on the way to Goat Island and against the tide on the way back, but the direction of the flow is a little unpredictable in the Swinomish Slough and on the North side of Goat Island. We ended up going against the tide on the way out of the Slough and part of the way to Goat Island and with the tide from mile 2.5 to mile 3.5 at the turn around.  The tide was pushing pretty hard on the way to the channel marker where we turned for the 7 mile race. After I passed Goat Island, I started paddling South because I could tell the racers ahead of me were getting pushed West by the heavy current. I route took me directly to the channel marker and I gained about 100 yards on the racer ahead of me.  We paddle against a decent current after the turn marker from mile 3.5 to mile 4.5 or maybe mile 5.  Once I got back into the Swinomish Slough, I was averaging about 6.7 mph, so I probably had a current going with me that was moving at least 1 mph.

Sound Rowers always had a great chilly feed at the shelter after the race with prizes for the top three finishers in most of the catagories.