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Conquering Tinian’s rough waters
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Posted on May 11 2008
Training for the Hamilton Cup three years ago pushed Saipan Outrigger Canoe Club member Richard Sikkel to organize the Tinian Crossing.
“We were preparing for the Hamilton Cup back then and we know the waters at the Tinian channel is rough so we decided to train there,” said Sikkel.
“We were saying, ‘if we can make it to the channel, well we can make it to the Hamilton Cup’”, he added.
Sikkel is one of the brains behind the annual Tinian Crossing where they once again conquered the Tinian channel for the third straight time.
SOCC paddlers completed the two-day crossing clocking in at three hours and 14 minutes in their return to Saipan to break their last year’s record of 3:33.
They left Kilili Beach Park on Saturday, May 3, to go to Tinian crossing the channel in 3:09. The annual two-day challenge is held during the San Jose Fiesta in Tinian where they paddled from Saipan to Tinian and back. The trip back on the second day was slightly tougher due to the fatigue of the previous day.
The channel is between Saipan and Tinian with its illusive and dreaded whirlpool, which is the most challenging part of the crossing. Paddlers went against the wind and swells in the second day of the crossing.
Sikkel said SOCC has been holding races in time for the Tinian fiesta five years ago but the cost of shipping the canoes from Saipan to Tinian had gone up so they decided to cancel it permanently in 2004.
“That is why we also decided to do the Tinian Crossing every year. We’ll go to Tinian to join them in the celebration then return the following day,” said Sikkel.
The SOCC paddlers that joined Sikkel in the crossing were Jim Sirok, Gil Birnbrich, Cooper Schraudenbach, Rita Bonici, Sonny Downer, Leon Leonard, Dave Palacios, and Brian Eckert.
Tinian senator Jude Hofschneider also joined SOCC in their paddle going to Tinian to join his constituents in time for the celebration. Rob Jordan, Eric Lister, and Joe Przyuski were on the chase boats captained by Dan Westphal and Morito Asai. A nine-man crew from Guam also joined SOCC.
