SUP Holland 11-City Tour

It’s taken me a long time to write about my adventure in Holland for a couple of reasons.  I was extremely tired from paddling 220 km in 5 days and when I got home I had to switch focus to my next big races.  I really just needed some time to reflect on the whole trip.

My first thoughts about the SUP 11-city tour occurred when I read an article about Anne-Marie Reichman, who grew up in the Friesland region of Holland, she currently lives in Maui.   She paddled the 11-city tour by herself two years ago to see if she could turn it into a SUP event.  The 11- city tour has a rich history in Friesland, originally it was an ice skating event called “Elfstedentocht”.  It is the worlds largest and longest speed skating competition and leisure skating tour. It is held irregularly in the province of Friesland, Netherlands.  It is 200km’s in length, on frozen canals, rivers and lakes.  The tour is not held every year because not every winter is cold enough to create the natural ice for the race.  The last skating races were 1985, 86 and 97 with about 15,000 amateur skaters.  When they call that it is on, “It giet Oan”, its a big deal.  The tour has now become popular on foot, bike, canoe, horseback, boat, motorbike, car and now SUP.

Then, I saw an article from the first SUP 11-city tour which was in 2009.  Anne- Marie had turned it into an event.  Hmmmm… that would be cool.  It had sparked my interest. What an amazing adventure that would be.  I am a good endurance athlete and endurance paddler, it would be a great event for me.  But, like a lot of things… when we think,” how cool would that be” it usually ends up being just a thought.  This time though… it became a reality.  I was asked by Naish, my board sponsor, to go to the Jever Cup in Hamburg, Germany.  When Naish told me they were sending me to Germany they suggested since I would be there anyways that I should consider staying and racing the SUP 11-city tour.  The two events lined up perfectly with the Jever Cup ending on a Sunday and the Holland event starting the following Wednesday.  I had never been to Europe before.

I was excited and nervous about the race events that were sending me to Europe. I had no idea what the competition would be like? I was going by myself except that I had just recently met Jenny Kalmbach and Jerry Bess who are also Naish team riders.  I would also know some people at the Jever Cup like EJ (Ernest Johnson) and his wife Andie Johnson, two of my favorite people, that I have met through standup paddling and Jean Philippe Wuilmart the KIALOA distributor from France that I had met at Battle of the Paddle.  Jenny and I started talking about coordinating the two events.  The trickiest part would be getting our boards from the Jever Cup in Hamburg to Leeuwarden, Holland – the start of the SUP 11-city tour.

The adventure started when we decided to rent a Europe car to get from Hamburg, Germany to Leeuwarden, Holland.  Jenny, Jerry and I rented our car and our GPS system and headed straight to the Autobahn.  I  told them a story about the last time I had been in a car with a Tom Tom GPS and how it was the voice of Mr. T that was giving directions.  Mr. T would yell at me and say things like, “Take a right turn ahead Fool,” and “I pity the fool that doesn’t take a right hand turn when I tell you to, fool!”  It was super funny and now Jerry was taking on the roll of Mr. T from the back seat. I was chosen to drive because they both live on the Big Island of Hawaii and didn’t feel that they drive fast enough to be on the Autobahn.  Off we go, “I hope I don’t get us killed!”  I have heard stories about the Autobahn and how you are supposed to drive. So, as we entered on to it I observed from the far right lane to see how it all worked. It was very fast and efficient. Once I got my courage up, I headed into the left lane.   I had Jenny helping with the navigation and windshield wipers because I was focused on driving and wasn’t sure how the wipers worked. Jerry was in the back seat laughing and talking like Mr.T with the ear to ear grin he sports so well.  After a couple of hours on the Autobahn we decided that I had taken quite well to driving fast,  we seemed to be passing everyone and no-one passing us! We only had two foul ups with the GPS where we had to exit and re-enter a few times before getting back on track.  When we reached Leeuwarden we took one more wrong turn with the GPS and I ended up driving down a pedestrian and bike path before we had to do an embarrassing exit back off the path. I would have liked to hear what Mr.T would have been yelling about that situation! Bikers were everywhere and trying not to run over a biker was tricky, too.  Worried we were going to kill someone we took our time to negotiate turning, but after a few angry drivers shaking their fists at us we started to catch on, basically the cars don’t stop for the bikers.

Leeuwarden was the starting place of the SUP 11-city tour and we stayed in a hotel our first night there. The hotel was nice and we got settled in and then took a walk around to see the sights. We had dinner and then finished our night at the hotel spa. We frequented the hotel spa while we were in Germany, too.  The spas became the subject of many long laughs, with us buttoned up Americans in all the naked co-ed spas. That night in our hotel room, Jenny and I shared a bed while Jerry was on a roll-away. We laughed about some of our funny moments in Germany and we nervously laughed about what we were about to do….five days in a row paddling about 30 miles a day! What had we gotten ourselves in to???  Jerry told us were crazy and he would be on vacation in Amsterdam if we changed our minds.

Jerry left us the next morning to hop on the Euro Rail to Amsterdam for some fun while  Jenny and my paddling adventure was just starting.  We checked out of the hotel and drove our stuff to the boat that we would be sleeping on during our 5 days of paddling.  We had no idea what to expect and only an address of where to meet the boat.  We drove up and started cracking up, “oh my god, it’s a pirate ship!”  It really looked like a pirate ship. After controlling our laughter we hopped on board and headed down to the living quarters on the boat. Jenny and I were sharing a room and it was teeny with bunk beds and a sink, barely room for the two of us to stand in there together. It was going to be cozy.  Shoving our huge luggage especially mine, under the bed was difficult. Organization was going to be key.

The opening ceremonies were that night at a restaurant close to where the ship was moored. Some competitors who had done it the year before like Bart, Xavi, Gerhard and Anne-Marie talked about their experience and what to expect. We toasted to a safe and fun race ahead.  Next, we headed to a hosted dinner where we met up with even more of the competitors.  Most of the people were from Holland but there were people from Spain, Australia, Papa New Guinea, France, Hawaii, California and Oregon and probably some places I have forgotten.  We were told what time the racers meeting would be in the morning, which would entail learning the rules, the route, getting your GPS tracking device and timing chip, preparing your water packs and any nutrition that you were bringing along.  Basically, anything you think you would need to paddle for about 30 miles.

The morning of the first day of racing we were anxious to get started.  We sat on our boards in the water with roses and had a moment of silence in remembrance of one of the racer’s father who had just passed away and was supposed to be with us on the trip.  We tossed our roses into the water and lined up at the starting line to race off.  I didn’t really know what to expect as far as pace would go, but we were off fast! We were going to be racing for about 5 or more hours for 5 days.  We knew eventually we would have to get into a rhythm and settle into a pace that we could maintain throughout the day.  It wasn’t far into the race that I hit a rock and took a swim, almost losing my Kaenon sunglasses in the water. My peanut butter and jelly sandwich was soaked.  I was shocked at first but then it gave us a good laugh. We got back on track and back into a rhythm. After awhile Jenny and I decided to start drafting off of one another like the first three guys leading the race were doing.  We found out it helps a lot!  Jenny and I both had on GPS watches and so we would switch the lead every kilometer.  Relief ensued when you heard the watch beep. It meant the kilometer was up and it was your turn to lead or draft. We got really good at switching the lead,  but it wasn’t always smooth.  There were times we would bump and bang into each other, even knocking each other off the board.  Which usually resulted in a “sorry” and a laugh.

Along the route we followed arrows that the support crew had placed on bridges, docks, trees and bushes. There were support boats around at times but mostly it was up to you to follow the arrows and figure out where you were going.  Sometimes the arrows would shift a little bit leaving you to question if you were headed in the right direction and relieved when you saw another arrow confirming that you were on track.  The canals varied in size a lot.  Some canals were really wide and sometimes so narrow that only one board width could fit through. At times we were ducking bushes and one time an arrow looked like we were supposed to get off our boards and run through a cow pasture. We continued down the canal.  Weeds were everywhere and the shape of your fin was crucial.  I had brought my Futures weed fin and it was working great.  For the people without the right fin, I felt sorry.   It was a chore of constantly having to swipe your fin clean of the weeds that were creating drag, but we would help people if we saw that was the case.  We also passed through some big lakes, which I found the most confusing. There were not arrows to follow because the lakes were so wide and the last thing you wanted to do was cross the wrong direction and add more distance to the day.  It never happened to us, but it did for few. We went under a lot of bridges during each day.  Under some bridges you could be standing and others you had to duck. My favorite were the ones that you had to lay down completely on your board to make it under. It felt so good to lay down for 5 seconds!

The scenery along the way was amazing. The smell…not so much!  Friesland is a dairy and cattle raising region.  We joked that with all the time spent paddling we should have been having deep thoughts, solving world peace or something like that. But instead, it went more like this…” look there’s a cow, and another one, and another one.  Ha, ha, that’s funny this dog is chasing us. Oh, oh, oh, look at the sheep.” I was wondering  what the cows were thinking as we went by.  Perhaps having deeper thoughts than us.   It was really breathtaking though.  We were passing through pastures and fields, farms, adorable villages with pretty houses and docks, boats, lots of animals and windmills.  You had to remember to look around and take it all in.

Half way through the mileage for the day, there was a mandatory 15 minute lunch break.  Although we were looking forward to the break it was fast and stressful.  At the break, you stopped along the shore where they had a lunch station set up. You rushed off your board and they would give you a starting time of when you could leave again.  You had to find your bag that you had packed in the morning. In the bag was anything you thought you might need for the second half of the paddle. My bag usually had some extra clothes, tape for blistered fingers, advil, electrolyte mix and some extra nutrition.  There was a packed lunch for everyone that was the same everyday. It was a sandwich of cheese and bread, a banana, snickers bar, bag of nuts and water.  You had to eat because you needed the energy.  Then refill your water pack and get ready to take off again.  It was also stressful because this was the time you found out where your competition was as they came in to the rest station.  Taking off paddling for the second half of the day you knew what your lead was.  Paddling again,  it was time to settle back into a rhythm and power out the rest of the day.

The people in Friesland were so great at cheering us on.  People were on banks and their docks as you went by.  Fisherman along the shore would cheer to us and occasionally deal with us getting tangled in their lines.  Usually we had no clue what they were saying because they were speaking Dutch, but we would flash them a big smile.  There were always people cheering from bridges that we were passing under.  Jenny and I heard a lot of – Go Girls and Girl Power!  Another thing that was cheered a lot, which I really liked was – Success! Success!

As we approached the finish to the first day of paddling it was such a relief to know we had one day done.  A big crowd of people were cheering us on as we paddled into the city of Sloten.  Jenny and I were the first women and 6th and 7th overall with the men.  It showed us who we would be probably paddling with and around for the next four days. They sent us straight off to a church where we would be getting a massage.  We learned that being fast would also secure you one of the first massages.   As we walked into the church we were surprised to see that the massage tables were set up right in the sanctuary.  Here they told us to take your top off and lay down.  Jenny and I were a bit shy with a church full of guys and kindly asked for some towels.  It was also a bit strange to be half naked in a church. Now, off the water, the competition was  to see who could get the longest massage. You were looking around thinking, “What? I am done….but that person was on the table for a long time before I got on and he is still getting a massage!”  Gerhard, one of our fellow paddlers, definitely got the award for getting the longest massage everyday, the massage being the ultimate reward.  After we were done with the massage it was time to cheer on others through the finish and wait for our boat to make its mooring spot.  The boat couldn’t fit into the narrow canals that we had finished in so we had to paddle our boards to the boat. A shower felt amazing and then it was time to head straight off to a dinner that they had set up for us in town.

At dinner there was a prize giving ceremony for the fastest guy and girl of the day.   The prize was usually something unique to the town and presented by a special person from that town. We were also presented with a pair of Keen shoes and a Mistral shirt.  We ate a ton of food, mostly pasta and bread. Your body needed it!  Jenny and I laughed that instead of losing weight from all the paddling, that we would come back having gained weight.   That was not the case… but we were definitely packing in the food.  Most people were really impressed by how fast Jenny and I were.  They were telling us they were proud of us and why were we so fast, anyways?  We reminded them that we train for this and that we were more impressed by them.  You would not believe how many people in this race were paddling for there first or second time EVER and would go out and paddle 30 miles! It took some of them a really long time, but they would do it.   One of the girls even stopped for a cappuccino along the way, which cracked me up.  I certainly didn’t paddle 30 miles my second time ever.

We headed back to our boat for the night.   There was about 30 people sleeping on the boat.  There were cabins in the fore and aft of the boat. Four sleeping cabins with bunks and six cabins with two bunks. Four toilets and two showers.  There was a kitchen and a living area to hang out.  The only time we were on the boat hanging out was at night after dinner.  It was time to talk, get on the internet to send messages home and go to sleep so you were rested for the next day.

Every day was pretty similar. We would wake up on the boat to a big breakfast that volunteers would make for us – a buffet of crepes, eggs, bread, cheese, meat and cereal.  You had to force yourself to eat a big breakfast for the long day ahead.  It usually made my stomach turn a bit, because I am not used to eating that much food upon waking.  Then it was time to get dressed, get your bag packed and the important taping of the blistered fingers which was a big process every morning.  We would have the racers meeting. Line up and go.  Each day you would stop at the half way point and again look forward to the massage that would be awaiting you at the finish.

The last day of the event we were all sore, tired and ready to get it done. It was different than the rest of the days because we knew this was it.  I had some major tendinitis in my left arm and literally every paddle stroke in my head was – ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch! But, I sucked it up and didn’t complain and just focused on finishing. What we had just paddled had been amazing, challenging and would be a life long memory and we were almost done. When we knew we only had about one kilometer left we gave it everything we had and sprinted in.  Jenny and I had paddled together through the whole thing, pushed each other, helped each other, laughed at and with each other and paddled our hearts out.   We finished together.  We were the first two girls to finish and finished sixth and seventh overall for the whole event.

The final prize giving ceremony was that night in Leeuwarden where we had started and finished this whole adventure.  It was an emotional ceremony and everyone was so happy to be done and to realize what we had all achieved.  We had the honor of receiving a special medal, the sought after 11-city cross.  It was designed in 1909 and is a Maltese cross.  It is an honor to wear it.

SUP 11-city tour promo’10  VIDEO