I participated in the first Mayor's cup race in 2006 only because I got pressured by my good friend Lyn. However, after the race, I was glad she did, and since then I participated in every Mayor's Cup race which followed without having needed to be motivated by Lyn. One of the reasons to participate in the following years was for me what my kayaking friend Mark Ceconi describes at his "favorite moment of the race": The feeling of accomplishment, and the excited and adrenalin fueled conversations about the race in the first minutes after crossing the finish line. Aside from this moment and the camaraderie, there are of course many aspects such as the food and the many prices. But there is another important added bonus, a bonus Eric Stiller, owner of Manhattan Kayak Co., mentioned after the first Mayor's Cup. Eric mentioned that everyone who participated in the race "now has a new tool in his or her toolkit". Although I see Eric at least once a week, I never asked him what he meant by saying this. But I know how much the first Mayor's Cup meant for me. It did not add just one, but several new tools to my tool kit, and I made experiences I would not have made otherwise. I am aware this is a big word, but aside from being true, I say it anyway: Participating in the Mayor's Cup changed my life.
The pivotal moment in the 2006 Mayor's Cup came when Joe Glickman and Greg Barton passed me in the Harlem River (they have started 20 or 30 minutes later) on their white, long and narrow surf skis. It was the first time that I saw a racing kayak stroke, and I was impressed and intrigued. It was a moment I will never forget. I had just experienced a similar moment I had experienced the last time 29 years ago: When I was 8 years old, I developed the desire to become a drummer the very moment I saw Keith Moon playing the drums with his band The Who on television. Since then, 2006 and 1977, whenever I practice drums I think about Keith Moon, and whenever I work on my forward stroke I think about Joe and Greg passing me on the Harlem River. The forward stroke Joe and Greg displayed not only showed speed, power and perfect form, but there was also a certain grace and economy I was eager to integrate into my own paddling. It was not my intention to become a surf ski racer, but I wanted to become a better all around sea kayaker, and I knew I wanted to have a little from this racing stroke form the moment I saw Joe and Greg passed me on the Harlem River. In drumming, or in music general, it is recommended to learn and practice jazz beats. Even if you want to become a heavy metal drummer, for the sake of developing a wider vocabulary, the practice and knowledge of jazz makes you a more versatile, and thus better, musician. Just like white water skills would add to your repertoire of sea kayaking strokes, I was certain that picking up a wing paddle, and paddling a surf ski, would add to my vocabulary as a sea kayaker.
A week after the Mayor's Cup I bought a used surf ski and a wing paddle and started paddling. Although I still consider myself as a sea kayaker and not a racer, I am now training 2-4 times a week on my surf ski, and in addition to the yearly Mayor's Cup, I participate in 2-4 more regional races each year. In some races with the surf ski, in some with a sea kayak, or like in last year's 2009 Mayors Cup race in a double kayak together with a disabled kayaker with whom I competed with in the "Achilles" division. "Achilles" is a non-profit New York-based organization, which enables people with disabilities to participate in mainstream athletics, such as kayaking. Last year I participated at the Mayor's Cup in so called "abled-disabled" tandem kayaks from team "Achilles". Being part of the "Achilles" team in last year's race is the Mayor's Cup race I am still most fond of, it was also the most fun and rewarding race I ever participated in so far. My paddling partner in the Achilles tandem kayak was Sergeant Michael Blair, who got wounded in Iraq. Mike demonstrated me how blurry, and even non existent, the lines between "abled" and "disabled" can be. Mile and I came in not only as the first kayakers in the Achilles division, but as the first tandem kayak overall.
In the end it does not matter if you are Greg Barton, an amputee, a passionate sea kayaker, if you are blind (some of the Achilles kayakers are blind), or an outrigger canoe paddler. I am sure you will walk away from the next Mayor's Cup with at least one new tool in your tool kit. However, in order for you to participate, you may need a friend like Lyn who is motivating you to take the plunge.
www.marcusdemuth.com
Thursday, August 12 and Friday, August 13
Lessons and clinics from the world's best paddlers.
Contact Ray Fusco for more details.
