extrapage

Kay let fly at the wheel, slapping it with her palm.She was close to tears. Another boat roared past on its way to Foster Bar.. . What to do? . . If this guy weren't standing here she'd pull something off and use it for a cord: silk long johns, bra anything. The two of them stood laughing and of all things he had his hands all over the front of her vest. Kay's back was to Baby Ann. Helpless, she felt helpless. The expense of this whole business was unbelievable and here a little cord was keeping them from getting out there and racing.
     Kay turned, she was smiling. She snapped, with her thumb, what looked like a belt attached to her helmet down to the vest. "Move your helmet. . . . I think this will work."
     Baby Ann reached for her helmet on Kay's seat and waved at Doug. What a great idea--a belt.
     Kay fastened her seat belt and yelled to Doug that she would see him at the finish line so he could get his belt back.
     Baby Ann hit the switch and they eased away from the dock. They both waved at Doug. He stood with hands in his pockets. Kay twisted around in her seat watching him as they moved closer to the arches of Patterson Bridge,. They waited for the last of the boats to take off. They would lose time for starting late but that was okay. Baby Ann just wanted to enter as the first all woman's team and try their best to finish.
     Baby Ann glanced over at Kay. A huge rain drop splashed on top of her bright yellow helmet. It was almost time to start. Just three more boats and then number 156 THE NAKED LADY would show her stuff!
     Oh, please, please, please, Baby Ann was thinking, just let us get past the crowd and back under the bridge in a manner that shows we know what we're doing. Baby Ann knew the announcer would be telling the crowd that they were the first all-woman's team--maybe in the world, and that she was the late Jack Tanner's wife: Jack Tanner who scored some of the best runs ever recorded here at the Rogue River Marathon. . . .
     Fans were sitting on the huge rocks under Patterson Bridge. One more boat and they were up. . . A wonderful nervous feeling started in her stomach; a nervous feeling she'd had many times before--as a navigator not a pilot.    Kay griped the knife-edge side of the boat.
     The ten second white flag went up. Baby Ann counted, five, four, three, two, one and she gently gave it gas. The pointed yellow tip of the boat went straight up. She quickly got up enough speed for it to gently lay back down. She'd decided not to roar by, control was what she wanted.   Kay waved at the kids on the rocks. Just as they reached the green flag it went down. Jot's was packed along the dock with fans. Neither of the women could hear them, the engine was roaring.
       Kay continued to wave to the crowd as the boat hit 37 miles per hour. Between 37 and 40 mph was what Baby Ann had decided to run it by the crowd and while making the wide sweeping turn around the turn-around-marker starting back up river. The boat tipped just a little to Baby Ann's side as she made the turn, keeping as much boat to water contact as possible. The wind had died down and the wake from the last boat was not noticable. She kept to her 40-45 miles per hour range .
     Thankfully the boat behaved, not bucking--which she feared as marking them as beginners; which of course was not true. The most experienced including her own Jack several times bounced from the marker all the way to Patterson Bridge. The bridge loomed; they   passed under it. A pink rose landed on the steering wheel. Kay waved at the fan on the bridge who had thrown it.   A surge of happiness came over Baby Ann. They had done it. They were on their way to Foster Bar and the first leg of the Rogue River Marathon . . . as the first white water jet boat all- woman's race team! Jack would have never believed it! (continue to top of page)

    Kay waved at Doug. He stood on the dock not far from where they had left him. Kay motioned for Baby Ann to wave. She couldn't let go of the wheel. The seriousness of the race seemed to take hold; she looked far ahead, remembering the twists and turns of the river. She and Kay had come early to Gold Beach, just
so they could take several runs up and down the river. They'd worked out a system to memorize where the hidden rocks were, thinking they could see the big ones. Ten rocks lay just under the surface of the water and if the pilot didn't know where they were could easily hit them. Each of them knew where five of them were.
     The water darkened ahead, the bottom of the boat bounced over rocks sitting on the bottom of the river. She wasn't keeping her mind on the race.   She was out of the main channel and close to the bank--too close. She didn't dare let up on the gas: the boat would come off plane and sink down possibly stranding them or worse ripping a hole in it.
     It was hard keeping even pressure on the gas; a big rock could loom any second.
Kay yelled and pointed with both hands indicating which way she thought best to go. Baby Ann's eyes jerked from the river to Kay's hands--back and forth, until finally the thumping noise stopped. Deeper water, safer water!
     Baby Ann remindered herself to pay closer attention. She wasn't driving the family car. She needed to think--always be thinking! They were coming to the area where a a couple of dangerous rocks lay just under the surface. This was hers to remember. The big fir marking the spot was not far off. They missed the one and
threaded through a huge flat-topped rock to the left and the dangerous one not far from the bank on the right.   Kay held up both index fingers showing Baby Ann how far they had missed it. On the bank a family was close enough to get sprayed with the rooster tail. A big yellow dog barked crazily and jumped into the water, taking out after them.
     One rock down and nine to go, Baby Ann was thinking. Kay waved to a lone fan perched on a huge rock. Now, if they were only all that big, Baby Ann chuckled to herself.
     No rain and the wind had died down.
So far the race was just fine. Kay's rock was up next. Baby Ann relaxed. The boat swayed rhythmically from side-to-side.
Perfection, Baby Ann thought; however she wished ardently that she had paid more attention when she sat by her husband's side as his navigator. She knew little about the actual racing other than she loved it.
And she also knew, lose power and you lose steering--lose steering and you go straight, headlong into whatever lies ahead.
     It worried her that the fans observed so close to the river, especially if a boat did lose steering. It happened in Mexico . . .          Kay hit her shoulder, and pointed ahead directing through a maize of rocks and foaming white water. She came to attention! (to be continued)