Hi everybody, Mark and I were the volunteers at TA3. I am a fellow adventure racers whose team lost their navigator just before the race so Mark and I volunteered to help Shane and Kathleen. We got there Friday after fighting traffic all the way down from Portland. Choosing Highway 53 was not a smart move. The plan to have fried eggs for breakfast on Sunday morning was changed to scrambled. Being the adventurous people that were are, we brought the tent and thought,
"Hey it's Oregon whats a little rain?" Holy Moly. Putting up that BIG tent was a true test of our marriage. We saw few other tents and didn't notice how close the motels in Manzanita were until we left on Sunday!

We checked in with Kathleen and recieved our assignment. Did you see the Elk!! They were huge! I have to say I was happy to we had the boat ramp, thinking that not having to trek to a cold wet CP would be a good thing.

The first thing we say on Saturday morning, after getting to TA3, was this strange illusion of a person drifting up from the boat ramp. Wrapped in a blanket in the dark, we met Shawn, the boat wrangler. We parked and "guarded" the boats all morning, listening to the radio as people passed CP4. In actuallity, we were walking among the boats and drooling over the ones we wished we could afford!

The first teams came through around 1 pm and we thought "this is just fine - a few at a time". Then all of a sudden, here comes herds of teams all at once. Checking for safety equipment, keeping track of which teams came in and more importantly, when they went out on the water. Without numbers prominent on the outside of clothing, we couldn't tell who was leaving the TA. We had brought our own walkie-talkies and put one of us by the beach and the other by the entrance to the TA.

Just as we thought we were doing a good job, teams started coming in off the water. Combined with teams coming in to do the water and those coming in off the water, we were swamped. We needed to keep track of all the times, who was on the water and who wasn't and then we started giving out the last "surprise" orienteering course maps, etc. Many teams sat on the ground at the TA to plot their courses for the orienteering, so we had to watch for them to leave and record their times as well. Thank goodness we had the significant others from Men in Tights to help us - Terry and the other girl (can't remember her name!).

As the day progressed, there were several 'short-course' time deadlines to announce to the teams. It was hard to see the disappointment in so many faces. The teams had done their best and it was like letting the steam out when they were told they'd been 'short-coursed'. Most took a deep breath and went on. Some, later in the day, were just glad to be done after 10 hours.

Just when we thought we were doing such a good job and thought all the teams were off the water, Shawn, who was now out in the Safety Boat, reminded us that there was one more team out. Just before they made it in, we were hit with the biggest rain squall ever. As it finished raining, we saw the most beautiful rainbow from end to end. Then it doubled. A very good omen.

A couple of volunteers brought us hamburgers and even though they were cold, they tasted good.

While waiting for the last team to come in, we heard the PA at the start point doing the awards, recognition and drawings. We could hear the people there cheering. We knew it had been a good race just from the noise!

After helping break down the TA, we came up to the Start area. We were cheered by those that were left. It was very nice. We met the couple from New Zealand who had been on the other end of the radio all day - very nice folks and they did a great job with the radio. Todd was there with his kilt and a beer. He opened his, then I opened mine (beer that is). He looked inside his beer cap, said he'd won and promptly took my beer away from me!

Saturday night we spent in the tent - the storm that came through did all but blow everything away. We were up at 8 and gone by 9! The weather broke for just that one hour so we could pack and leave. We're still drying things out!

Shane and Kathleen did a great job and so did all the volunteers and teams. Can't wait for the next season!

Terri &; Mark