There are about 10-15 crews lining the beach. Our boat rests peacefully on the shore - held firm by one of my team members. The word "GO" echoes over the beach and hundreds of thundering feet pound the sand, then the surf, and then up, up, up into the boat - paddles are grabbed, calls are made and we're off!

The water is churned into a white, frothy mess. I can see some of the boats surging to the front, but I can hear crews behind me as well - we're up there - we're part of the race! As we finish our start, we settle down into our race pace. We've got about 45 kilometres of racing ahead of us and we can't keep this pace up for the next four hours. I hear "hike - ho!" and I switch my paddle to my other hand, reach forward, and bury it into the water. I can feel my five team members doing the same, and our boat surges forward.

We maintain this synchronicity for about an hour, following the shores of Lake Okanagan. The boats have spread out, but we are still closely matched by at least one or two other crews. We start to look around for our chase boat. It's about time to make our first change. Looking forward I can see three people jumping out of the boat, their heads now bobbing in the water and their arms waving. Those of us in the boat maintain steady, prepping for our next move. I hear "2 seat!" and I know that it's my turn. Hands grab the side of the boat, my paddle slides under my seat and I'm out. I hit the water and look up to see the boat moving away, three new paddlers already working hard.

I tread water for what seems like forever, searching for sight of our chase boat. I see it coming towards me, slowing down to pick me up. Once in, I grab a towel, some water, some food and sit back to enjoy the ride! The boat crashes over the waves as we race to catch up to our boat.

I repeat this same scenario numerous times over the course of the afternoon as we make our way over the water. We cross to the other shore, change directions, and begin the race for home. We haven't seen many crews for a while now, but we know we're in the race. Around the next bend, and there it is - the beach! It looks so close but yet I know that we've still got a ways to go. We make our last change and then settle in for the long haul home. I'm setting the pace now and can feel everyone else matching me stroke for stroke.

The beach gets closer, my shoulders start to ache but I know we're almost there. "Hike-Ho!" "Hike - Ho!" I up the pace, pulling harder and harder against the water. And then I hear the horn, an arc of water shoots over us to signal the finish and then we collapse.

4 hours and 15 minutes…and we've finished second! Not bad for a bunch of paddlers from the Prairies.