Paddle of the Sexes: The Osage Howler: a Difficult Decision

Yesterday we embarked on our first night paddle, participating in the second annual Osage Howler race. The Osage Howler is a 61 mile race on the Osage River during the last full moon before the MR340. It begins at the Bagnell Dam at 6:00 p.m. and ends at Pikes Camp.
Last year, there were nearly 50 participants in this 61-mile race, and the final participant crossed the finish at 5:25 a.m with an average pace of 5.33 mph. Since we've been maintaining a comfortable pace on all our Missouri River trip at around 6 mph, we were hopeful to complete the Osage Howler about 4:00 a.m.

We arrived in the area around noon. We dropped Danielle's car at Pikes Camp, and headed to Bagnell Dam. We had plenty of time to prepare, check, and double check all provisions for our first night paddle (and our first race!). At 6:00 we were on the water and ready to start! We were one of 18 boats - most of them were single kayaks. Our first checkpoint was 15.2 miles in, which we hoped to make by 9:00 p.m. Here's what happened next...

6:00 Race begins!
6:01 We notice that there is little to no current on the river. We paddle - hard - and make little progress.
7:00 We begin quarreling. Fingers are pointed back and forth blaming each other for our lack of progress.
7:10 We decide to switch spots: try Jeffrey in the front of the canoe, and Danielle in the back of the canoe. (Note: we tried this once before, in Springfield Lake.) Not surprisingly, we had the same result in the Osage River as we had in Springfield Lake: circle after circle, never figuring out how to make the boat go straight.
7:30 We decide to switch back to what we know: Jeffrey in the back of the canoe and Danielle in the front of the canoe. After this delay, we loose sight of all the other boats.
8:37 The sun sets. We wonder how far we are from the first checkpoint.
9:00 We are completely blind. The sun has set. The moon has not risen. (Note: in the Missouri River, where there is a current, although we may not be able to see trees/bouys/eddies in the water, we can hear them. The water rushes over and around these objects causing quite a noise. In the Osage River last night, with a slower current, we could not hear nor see any obstacles).
9:20 We nearly hit our first tree submerged in the water. We had no warning it was there as we could not see or hear it.
9:25 We wonder how far we are from the first checkpoint. We agree to text or call the race organizers at 9:30 if we don't make the checkpoint by then to let them know we are safe but moving slow.
9:30 We send a text to a race organizer.
9:50 We nearly hit a second tree submerged in the water.
10:00 We wonder how far we are from the first checkpoint. We discuss our slow pace.
10:28 The moon finally begins peeking through the trees. Our eyes start playing tricks on us. Is that debris in the water, or just a shadow from the tree? Do we need to go left or right at this fork in the river, does it look like the river ends on the right? Are those ripples in the water caused by a light breeze or are we about to run over a bunch of rocks?
10:45 We reach the first checkpoint (15.2 miles)! We ask how far behind we are from the first boat 2 hours) and how far behind we are from the last boat (30 minutes). We paddle on. The next checkpoint is only 5.6 miles.
10:50 We hit a small sandbank/tree/grass area. The boat broadsides in the river. If we were in the Missouri River, we likely would have capsized due to the strong current. Danielle leans hard to the left to keep Honeybee from capsizing. Danielle also yells a few choice words. Jeffrey steps out, which raises the boat and she is easily pushed away from the gravel. We breathe deeply and are thankful we didn't capsize.
10:51 We continue to discuss our slow pace. At our current rate, we calculate that we will probably finish between 10:00 a.m. and noon on Sunday (6-8 hours after our desired finish time).
11:00 We watch some really cool fireworks over the river while we paddle by campsites on the river.
11:15 We waiver back and forth about quitting the race. On one hand, we aren't quitters, we want to finish this race, we want our medal, and we don't want to fail. On the other hand,we are still about 13 miles from the halfway point in the race, it is dark as the moon is still quite low on the horizon, we risk running into more debris, we don't have enough provisions to be on the water until noon, there is little current, and we are moving so slow.
11:30 We make the decision to pull out at the second checkpoint and end the race, and hope we reach the second checkpoint soon.
12:00 We reach the second checkpoint! (6 hours/20.8 miles = 3.5 mph) We learn that one woman didn't make it to the first checkpoint before she quit. We learn that another tandem team had a sick paddler and they quit at the second checkpoint. We learn a solo kayaker also quit at the second checkpoint; she did the race last year and at 9:00 p.m. last year she had completed half of the race (30 miles). This year, at 10:00 pm. she had made it to the second checkpoint only (20.8 miles) and decided to stop. Relieved to be off the water, we ask for and receive a ride to our car so we can return and strap down Honeybee.
12:30 The moon fully rises.
2:30 We check into the hotel in Jefferson City, shower, and rest.

We picked Danielle's car up around 11:00 a.m. this morning from the end of the race, where we ran into another tandem team. They endured the entire course and crossed the finish line about 10:00 a.m. this morning. (16 hours/61 miles = 3.8 mph). Remember, they were the boat that was a half hour ahead of us at the first checkpoint. Had we continued through the entire race we would have finished well after. We learned that of the 18 boats that started the race, 7 boats did not finish. The water level was so low that there was little current, and 61 miles is a lot when there is no help from the water!

What we learned:
- We are getting better at communicating... mostly ... sometimes we use words to communicate our frustration. Some words are louder than other words.
- Quitting is disappointing, but sometimes it's the best decision. We can still learn from our experience.
- Moonlight is helpful and beautiful on the water, but the moonrise time changes significantly every night. Just like we check the weather forecast, we need to note the rise and setting of the sun and moon. The river is dark between sunset and moonrise.
- Other light sources on the banks (campsites, fireworks, city lights) make it difficult to develop our night vision.
- Small LED flashlights don't do much on the river - we'll need to research to find a lightweight, long-lasting flashlight that works for us.
- Relieving oneself at night is much more difficult.
- Jumping fish are terrifying at night.
- Night paddling is beautiful, but extra precautions must be taken to ensure safety.
- The best laid plans sometimes fail. Had we competed in the Osage Howler in 2017, we likely would have finished the race. In 2017, the water level was high and the current was fast. 2018 was a different ballgame.