BOWMAN BAY — The waters of Deception Pass are infamous.

On Sunday, those waters dared 126 kayakers to compete in the third annual Deception Pass Dash.

Things on land went off without a hitch as event coordinator Bill Walker ran a tight ship for the Outdoor Adventure Center-sponsored event.

Once the race started, things got interesting.

The mean, green, frothy waters of Deception Pass were topped with white as angry waves pushed by howling winds and ripping tides swallowed one kayaker after another.

Of the 126 entrants, 94 survived the five-mile course, while 32 were either forced out of the race or decided discretion was the better part of valor and turned around.

The kayakers were greeted by angry seas at the west end of Deception Island. Some had to make self-rescues, while others were helped by fellow racers or were rescued by the Skagit County Sheriff’s Department or Deception Pass rangers.

Jean Rillard of Rennes, France, not only braved the harsh conditions, but tamed them, crossing the finish line first.

After paddling in Bowman Bay, competitors rounded Deception Island, padded east through Deception Pass, rounded Strawberry Island, raced back under the Deception Pass bridge by way of Canoe Pass, again went around Deception Island and crossed the finish line.

Rillard, who is on a six-month student visa in Vancouver, B.C., didn’t enter the race until two days before, then won in a time of 51 minutes, 41 seconds.

The Frenchman bested two-time defending Dash champion Don Kiesling of Seattle. Kiesling finished second in 54:08.

Rounding out the top three in the men’s division was David Jacobson of Bellingham, who finished in 56:51.

All three raced high-performance kayaks.

Squeezed between Kiesling and Jacobson for third place overall was a tandem kayak paddled by Larry Goolsby and Shaun Sullivan of Bellingham. The duo completed the course in 55:12.

The first woman to finish was Seattle’s Sherri Cassuto in 1 hour, 9 minutes, 40 seconds. She was the top finisher in the 49-paddler sea kayak category and was 18th overall. Cassuto competed in the 1988 Olympics in rowing.

“She (Cassuto) is over 50 and she still smoked the field. I’m really impressed,” said Walker.

Second place among women was Traci Cole of Kenmore in 1:12:41 (29th overall). The third woman to finish was Anacortes’ Leslie Mix in 1:20:17.

Jim Zimmerman and Nadja Baker of Anacortes managed to keep their tandem kayak afloat, though it was a constant fight. The pair finished 17th in 1:09:25.

While this was Zimmerman’s third Dash, it was Baker’s first. Both will remember this race.

“The wind was blowing out and the waves were coming in,” said Zimmerman. “In past years, it was cold, but calm and peaceful. For paddlers who like rough water, they got it today. There was some big water out there. We had some green walls coming right at us.”

It was anything but calm this year.

“We were in survival mode,” said a soaked Baker. “We’ve toured in some big water before, but never raced in anything like this. My father (Shane Baker) didn’t finish. He’s really competitive. For him to call it quits, you know it was rough.”

The two had a camera mounted on the front of the kayak to document the race. It didn’t survive the water’s relentless pounding.

“We had waves breaking over us all the time,” said Baker. “We lost the action camera off the front of the boat. I was scared. It was really wild. We got smacked down a few times and then there was this wall of seven-footers.

“That was really scary. But quitting was simply not an option. We had to just keep going.”

Zimmerman’s description of the race was a little different than Baker’s. Then again, he wasn’t sitting in the front of the kayak, getting up close and personal with those “green walls.”

“It was fun,” he said with a wide smile and water running down the side of his face. “It was awesome.”

That same sentiment was echoed by Anacortes’ Marianne Banks.

“It was a blast out there,” she said. “It was great. It was a completely different race than it was a year ago. Coming around Deception Island, with the wind and the ebb (tide), it was a real challenge.”

By race’s end, Banks had lent assistance to three racers who found themselves in peril, yet finished in 1:35:44.

“That’s my excuse for my time being so slow,” she joked. “At least that’s what I’m telling myself. My kayak really handled the conditions very well. It turns on a dime and rolls like a dream. It’s really a great boat.”

Fortunately, Banks didn’t have to test the boat’s rolling ability.

“On days like this, “ she said, “you don’t want to roll if you don’t have to. But knowing how to (roll) has made me a much better and much more confident paddler.”

Baker said if she and Zimmerman had paddled their touring kayak, they would have been fine. Instead, they chose their racing kayak, which is built for speed rather than durability.

“You could feel the vibrations coming through the boat as the waves hit,” said Zimmerman. “And the rudder was bad so that made steering difficult. Then again, a lot of the time the rudder was clear of the water.”

Sonya Bailey of Sedro-Woolley was taking part in her second Dash.

“It was rough,” she said. “But I am used to conditions like that. I was able to stay upright, but it was a fight. I think I made more bracing strokes than forward strokes.”

There is a strategy to paddling through waves averaging four to six feet, where every once in a while one tops out at seven. Zimmerman compared it to skiing moguls.

“You kind of have to pick a line,” he said. “It’s like going through moguls. You have to pause, see the line and then sneak through. That’s exactly what I told Nadja she had to do. That seemed to calm her down. You have to watch for those lines in the waves and then go for it. Then hope you don’t get crushed.”

Despite the rough conditions, when asked about coming back next year, no one hesitated in responding.

“We’ll be back,” Zimmerman and Baker quipped simultaneously.

“This is just a great race,” added Baker. “It’s a great race in a great area on some great water.”

And on this day, some rather scary water.

Vince Richardson can be reached at 360-416-2181 or by e-mail at