2018 race schedule (first draft)

Here is how my 2018 race schedule looks right now.  As usual, this is a working document.  I probably won't make it to every event on this list, and as other events announce their dates I'll be adding them to this schedule.

You can count on seeing me at one event: that would be my hometown race, the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race.  Other events I attend pretty regularly are the ones at Ocean Springs in March and at Vicksburg in April.  And of course, I had to register early for the Gorge Downwind Championships because of its registration cap, so that's a go as long as no unforeseen complications arise.

Since I've attended the USCA Nationals the last two years I put it on my schedule for this coming year as well.  But I seriously doubt I'll make it there this time.  Going out to the Pacific Northwest in July will be an epic trip, and I just don't see myself making a trip to New York less than a month later.

Anyway, here we go: an early look at where I might be racing this coming year.

March
18  Battle On The Bayou.  Old Fort Bayou, Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  8.5 miles on flatwater.


April
7  Top Of The Teche.  Bayou Teche, Leonville, Louisiana, to Arnaudville, Louisiana.  7.7 miles down a Class I river.

21  Bluz Cruz Canoe and Kayak Race.  Mississippi River from Madison Parish Port, Louisiana, to Vicksburg, Mississippi.  21 miles down the largest river in North America.


May
12  Bluegrass River Run.  Kentucky River near Richmond, Kentucky.  19 miles down a Class I river.


June
16  Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race.  The 37th edition of this classic.  5000 meters down the largest river in North America.


July
16-21  Gorge Downwind Championships.  Columbia River, Hood River, Oregon.  A race for surf skis and outrigger canoes in the legendary downwind conditions of the Columbia River Gorge.


August
9-12  U.S. Canoe Association National Championships.  Onondaga Lake and Erie Canal, Syracuse, New York.  Marathon races in a variety of boat classes sanctioned by the USCA.


September
8  Lower Atchafalaya Sprints.  Atchafalaya River, Patterson, Louisiana.  A series of 3-mile races on flatwater.