" MY FRIEND AND CANOE RACING PARTNER PETE CALVERLY "
Found this old photo of Petey and ....
I always wanted to win the Stilson canoe race
As a young kid I was so impressed with the winners
the great rivalries that formed
Who was going to win this year ?
New records ....
Essentially the race is in fact quite short
2.5 miles of flat water padling
Balls to the wall paddling I may add
Followed by a 1500m portage on a flat lumber road ( Wide for passing )
Then putting in for a final 1 mile paddle where we finished under a a small bridge
Spectators were numerous and many ran along the portage or waited at the canoe put in to see who would crest the hill first and be first team at the end of the portage ( usually the winning team )
The CBC made a film documentary one year
The guys producing must have done the race !
:-))
They had to censor some of the swear words heard during the race
:-))
From the age of 16 on I attempted to win that race
Came close but never won ( 5 years )
I trained year round to better my physical condition
Had 4 different partners
At the age of 16 I was the youngest ever to participate
We were 13th at the beginning of the portage
3rd at the end
My reputation was made as the fastest single canoe portager
Canoes weighed 90 - 100 lbs
I weighed 147 lbs at 16
But I could run with a canoe
Fast !
Unfortunately my partner Paul Laurier ( Sir Wilfrid Laurier's grandson ) and I dumped on the way in at the canoe put in
We finished last
But I had passed a lot of my heroes on the portage
Stu Lang wide reciever for the Edmonton Eskimos football team and a host of others
The bug was set ...
I needed to win that race
One year after a summer long canoe trip where I made the decision to leave the bow and reinvent myself as a sterns man
( back of canoe )
I modified the sternstroke during training all of Quetico canoe trip in anticipation of the upcoming race.
Decided to use a bowman's paddle ( pulls more water )
The J stroke was transformed into a short flick of the wrist without prying off the canoe gunnels
Essentially the J stroke is a steering stroke
It is also a stopping motion
The less you J
The faster you go ! ( Paddle like a bowman )
Well Peter snuck up on me two weeks before the race just before dinner one evening after my summer long canoe trip (where I always was in training ) and asked Guy ....
Wanna do the race ?
Peter is 5ft 5 inches tall
165 Lb of pure muscle
All torso
Short but powerful legs
As a rugby player he was recruited by the Toronto Argonauts football team
We tried to do the course and see how compatible we would be
The minute he put his back easily into the stroke
I felt a whoooosh
Pure power without the effort
Imagine the day of the race
I always goosebumps remembering the magic of that first stroke
It was as if we had been a team for 20 years
Well my first time with Pete we set a course record of 28.48
Two more years we set a new record each time
The record we set in 1978 still stands 28.08
They have shortened the course by 30-45 seconds
Still holds !
I used to have a bet with Pete that i was a faster runner with the canoe than him with the paddles
We would literally race one another
The competition was too far behind
That is how records are set
It was a close race
6 minutes17 seconds for slightly over 1500 meters of portaging
Now they use the two man canoe portaging technique
In this Stilson era the winner's times are about 2 minutes slower ?
Maybe they do not train as hard
Or the partners are a portaging unit
We were too busy racing one another
Pete reminded me that he was always the winner
That I was always 2nd
He is the bowman ( Front of the canoe )
He set the records cuz he was under the bridge first
:-))
g
Montreal
Two pictures of the canoe racing author can be seen in the evolution set
" MY FRIEND AND CANOE RACING PARTNER PETE CALVERLY "
Found this old photo of Petey and ....
I always wanted to win the Stilson canoe race
As a young kid I was so impressed with the winners
the great rivalries that formed
Who was going to win this year ?
New records ....
Essentially the race is in fact quite short
2.5 miles of flat water padling
Balls to the wall paddling I may add
Followed by a 1500m portage on a flat lumber road ( Wide for passing )
Then putting in for a final 1 mile paddle where we finished under a a small bridge
Spectators were numerous and many ran along the portage or waited at the canoe put in to see who would crest the hill first and be first team at the end of the portage ( usually the winning team )
The CBC made a film documentary one year
The guys producing must have done the race !
:-))
They had to censor some of the swear words heard during the race
:-))
From the age of 16 on I attempted to win that race
Came close but never won ( 5 years )
I trained year round to better my physical condition
Had 4 different partners
At the age of 16 I was the youngest ever to participate
We were 13th at the beginning of the portage
3rd at the end
My reputation was made as the fastest single canoe portager
Canoes weighed 90 - 100 lbs
I weighed 147 lbs at 16
But I could run with a canoe
Fast !
Unfortunately my partner Paul Laurier ( Sir Wilfrid Laurier's grandson ) and I dumped on the way in at the canoe put in
We finished last
But I had passed a lot of my heroes on the portage
Stu Lang wide reciever for the Edmonton Eskimos football team and a host of others
The bug was set ...
I needed to win that race
One year after a summer long canoe trip where I made the decision to leave the bow and reinvent myself as a sterns man
( back of canoe )
I modified the sternstroke during training all of Quetico canoe trip in anticipation of the upcoming race.
Decided to use a bowman's paddle ( pulls more water )
The J stroke was transformed into a short flick of the wrist without prying off the canoe gunnels
Essentially the J stroke is a steering stroke
It is also a stopping motion
The less you J
The faster you go ! ( Paddle like a bowman )
Well Peter snuck up on me two weeks before the race just before dinner one evening after my summer long canoe trip (where I always was in training ) and asked Guy ....
Wanna do the race ?
Peter is 5ft 5 inches tall
165 Lb of pure muscle
All torso
Short but powerful legs
As a rugby player he was recruited by the Toronto Argonauts football team
We tried to do the course and see how compatible we would be
The minute he put his back easily into the stroke
I felt a whoooosh
Pure power without the effort
Imagine the day of the race
I always goosebumps remembering the magic of that first stroke
It was as if we had been a team for 20 years
Well my first time with Pete we set a course record of 28.48
Two more years we set a new record each time
The record we set in 1978 still stands 28.08
They have shortened the course by 30-45 seconds
Still holds !
I used to have a bet with Pete that i was a faster runner with the canoe than him with the paddles
We would literally race one another
The competition was too far behind
That is how records are set
It was a close race
6 minutes17 seconds for slightly over 1500 meters of portaging
Now they use the two man canoe portaging technique
In this Stilson era the winner's times are about 2 minutes slower ?
Maybe they do not train as hard
Or the partners are a portaging unit
We were too busy racing one another
Pete reminded me that he was always the winner
That I was always 2nd
He is the bowman ( Front of the canoe )
He set the records cuz he was under the bridge first
:-))
g
Montreal
Two pictures of the canoe racing author can be seen in the evolution set