Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Staging



With the NASCAR racing season in full gear it got me thinking about Kenai's version of it. Every year in July and August the Classic and Jr. Classic tournaments are headquartered out of Harry Gaines' place on the lower Kenai River. The guides participating are required to wait in front of their dock a half hour before the start of the tournament. Initially, we are all spread out at safe distances but as the starting time nears we are literally rubbing the sides of the boats together. Veteran or rookie, the competitive juices are definitely flowing.

It always fun to be part of these events. Unfortunately, for the spectator, it is not as exciting as a NASCAR race. Speeds are no more than 25 mph and to date there have been no firey crashes.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are you all just on your way to pick up fisherman or do you just go out in empty boats?
Fun pics,
peter

Anonymous said...

Hey Peter,

If you look closely in one of the photos you'll see a dock and a tent. A coordinator holds up your assigned number and you pull in and pick up your 4 anglers for the day. Kind of like pit row.

The photos are all before the pack of boats tighten up. I wish I could take photos when we're close together but I have to concentrate on not hitting another boat. It would be a little embarrassing to be playing bumper boats before the tournament....