Maas Boats - Articles

MAAS RACING

2010

The North American Open Water Rowing Championship continues to gather momentum. This year it is being held in Port Townsend, WA courtesy of the Rat Island Rowing Club. This venue promises to be spectacular.

2008

It was another great year at the North American Open Water Rowing Championship. This year we brought the event to the San Francisco Bay for the first time and raced the inaugural Golden Gate Challenge. We got extremely lucky as we ran the race during the summer when there are typically high winds and fog. There was plenty of wind, but it was rowable. For more details on the NAOWRC visit the website.

2007

I got a chance to play stake boat for the Open Ocean Regatta run by the Open Water Rowing Center in Sausalito. It was an absolutely beautiful day to watch the race. My position was perfect -- stationed under the Golden Gate Bridge in the middle of "the washing machine" -- a really rough tide rip. The washing machine claimed one double on the way out, but merely gave everyone else a good ride.

Notable rows that I saw this year: Kathryn Furano and Nancy Rose in a double just smoked everyone. They just rowed through it all without missing a beat. Diane Davis in her Flyweight was, once again, unbeatable. (Which is why we're sponsoring her to race in the NAOWRC.) But following right on Diane's heels was a very talented, and determined Anne-Lise Maag. Anne-Lise didn't give Diane any breathing room and finished within 4 seconds of her at the end of an hour. And on the Strawberry course, Brian Kippen continues to get faster and faster winning the men's 1x division.

Check out the pictures in the gallery.

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We had a great time last year at the NAOWRC, so we're doing it again this year. This time it is going to be at the Blackburn Challenge -- the premier open ocean race on the East Coast. 20 miles out of Gloucester, MA on July 21, 2007.

Last year we sponsored the men's singles -- flying in three competitors from the East Coast of the US and one from Germany. It was a truly great race. This year, we are going to sponsor the mixed double and I'm working on other companies to see if they will sponsor other races.

Check out www.openwaterracing.com for details.

2006

North American Open Water Rowing Championships

This year we are sponsoring rowers from around the country to come race at the first ever North American Open Water Rowing Championship on August 26 in Seattle, WA. Check out www.openwaterracing.com for all the details.

2003

Maas Boats Win Two Golds and a Bronze at the US Rowing Master's Nationals

For those of you unfamiliar with the flat water racing scene, the Master's Nationals are the single largest flat water racing event in the country each year. This year, they were held in our back yard -- Lake Natoma in Sacramento, CA. 1,100 rowers from around the country came to compete in 1,000 meter sprint races. The boats ranged from flatwater racing singles to the traditional eights with coxswains.

Sprint races are not what the Maas boats were designed for. Our boats are made to handle rough conditions, but still be fun and fast to row. However, we're finding that the Maas Double, in particular has great flat water speed.

But the best story of the day is Steve Gurney from the New Haven Rowing Club. Steve has only been rowing for two years. He's a lightweight -- a perfect fit for the flyweight. He purchased a flyweight from us about a year ago to row in some rougher water in Santa Barbara. While he had attempted to find a flatwater single to row in his race at the Master's Nationals, he hadn't succeeded, so he brought along his flyweight just in case.

When Steve's race, the Men's H-J single, came by the finish line, he was easily in first place with open water over the second place boat. Steve's technique was truly impressive for a man who'd been rowing for only two years. Most of his competition had decades of experience.

I had never met Steve so I wandered over, camera in hand to where he was pulling the boat out of the water. He was absolutely thrilled. As he put it "I've never been a national champion anything before!" Congratulations to Steve. We know that the flyweight is fast, but it's really Steve that made that boat fly down the course.

The other Gold went to Jan Weissenberger and Tadas Petrys rowing the Maas Double in the Men's A category. This is one of the toughest and fastest double races on the program. Jan and Tadas won with a time of 3:26 -- a four second lead over the second place boat (an Empacher) stroke by Matt Knifton of Texas Rowing.

The Bronze medal was won by myself (Doug) and Richard Griffoul in the Men's C category. It was a hard race, but we just barely edged out a crew from the NY Athletic Club for the bronze.

All in all, it was an extremely fun weekend. And it proved beyond a doubt that the Maas Double is not only capable of winning in open water -- it has the speed to compete in the sprint races.

Go to the photo gallery for some pictures.

Double Wins the Blackburn Challenge

For those of you unfamiliar with the race, the Blackburn is the premier open water race on the East Coast.Ê It is 22 miles around Cape Ann in Gloucester, MA. First overall (out of 148 finishers) were Jay Manson and Patrice Rioux in a time of 2:33:25. From a very nice e-mail from Jay:

"...I was filling in for Al Flanders and was more than a little skeptical of your boat in the 3-5 foot swells off the Gloucester rocks. Well, needless to say, I was impressed. Patrice coached me on how to row in the open water, which after 20 years of rowing on flat water took some getting used to, and the waves that came up over the bow did not slow us down at all. I look forward to attempting this race again next year."

A real congratulations to Jay and Patrice. I've certainly never beaten 147 people in a race before!

Double Wins Southwest Regionals Sprint Race

Jan Weissenberger and Tadas Petrys raced a Maas Double to a first place in the Men's A-AA 2x category at the US Rowing Southwest Regionals in a time of 3:28. Jan and Tadas are both very experienced flat water rowers. Jan has experience with open water racing as well -- having competed in the Catalina Crossing when he was 14.

This flat water win was particularly fun for Jan and Tadas as they were getting comments from the other doubles about rowing an open water boat. But when they came off the line, they led all the way down the course. They started at a 45 stroke rating, settled once to a 40 and settled again to a 36.

Jan and Tadas are planning on racing the Double at the Master's Nationals this August.

Two Doubles Break the old Lake Whatcom Course Record

Last Saturday at Lake Whatcom the Maas Double set another course record. In fact both Doubles in the race broke the old record. The old record was set last year at 1:31:54 by the Knakals. This year the Storbs did the 12 miles in 1:29:08. The Knakals came in at 1:31:32.

According to my calculations, that means that the winning boat kept up a 2:14/500m pace the whole way. That's some pretty impressive rowing.

2002

Five Doubles Entered in Catalina Crossing

Eileen Hansen and Stefan Benton won the Catalina Crossing this year in a Maas Double they borrowed from our shop. It was an exciting race as they didn't catch the Men's Single winner Kenny Robinson in his Maas 24 until they were close to Catalina.

It was extremely rough weather this year. The videos that Eileen's husband Jay Graham (www.jaygraham.com) took show a 3 foot swell straight from the side with 8-12" of wind blown chop on top. Anyone who finished that race is nothing short of an open water god or godess. When I get a moment I will post some of Jay's photos on this site.

Double Places 2nd in the CPR

For those of you who haven't heard of the CPR -- it's the longest race I'm aware of (barring silly things like racing across the Atlantic.) It is 115 miles from Corvallis to Portland Oregon over two days. I've heard that it's a wonderful row, but, let's face it, that's a really long way.

This year a Maas Double rowed by Rainer and Adrian Storb placed second behind another double. Rainer believes that they may also be only the second boat ever to finish in under 13 hours. That's stunning if you do the calculations -- my calculator indicates that is averaging 2:07 / 500m for 13 hours. I bow down before that kind of rowing.

Double is 4th out of 110 Boats in the Blackburn Challenge

So here's the news -- the Maas double finally lost to another double. This was one very well rowed Maas Double -- Dan Gorrarian and Al Flanders. Dan and Al were first and second in the Blackburn last year in their singles and teamed up in the double. Ê What happened? The weather and the bailers.

The report I got from Dan was that four miles into the race, he and Al were two minutes in front of everyone and moving well. The waves at that point were in the 2-3 foot range. Then they moved out into more open ocean and the waves built up to around six feet. At that point, they were taking waves over the bow on a regular basis.

Here's where the bailers come in. The bailers we use have a tendency to loosen up over time. So, in rough weather, you can push them down, but they will close themselves. The fix for this is to "spread the wings" on the bailers before heading out. In any event, the boat was pretty much full of water when the waves got excessive.

The second place boat at that point was a Kingfisher double rowed by the holders of the course record. The Kingfisher pulled even and ahead of the Maas double in the six foot waves. When the course reached the relatively flat water again, the Maas made up significant time, but the Kingfisher's lead was too great.

All in all it sounds like it was a great race, although I strongly recommend against rowing any kind of a boat in 6 foot waves. It's just too dangerous.

Double Sets New Course Record at Commencement Bay

A Maas Double powered by Steve Issac and Matt Biery set a course record of 44:08 shattering the old course record by more than two minutes.Ê The second place boat was a flatwater double. Conditions were a light chop and the odd wake (which put water into the second place boat.)

Double Takes Silver in a time of 3:25.3 at the Goldrush

This weekend was the first test of the sprint speed of the new double -- and it passed with flying colors. It was rowed to a silver medal in the Men's A-C 2x category at the Goldrush Master's Regatta in Sacramento, CA. The competing boats in this race were flat water doubles from Hudson, Van Dusen and other like makers. The double's time over 1000 meters of 3:25.3 is extremely competitive by any standard. The boat that grabbed the gold was rowed by local legend Patrick Walter who easily won both the A & B single races as well.

Double Sets New Course Record at the Petaluma River Race

The Petaluma River Race is a 6 mile race down the Petaluma River. The double placed first in the Men's 2x category and shattered the old course record. While there were only three boats in the race, the second place boat was a brand new flat water double rowed by the previous course record holders.

Double Sets New Course Record at the Sausalito Open Ocean Regatta

A Maas Double rowed by Stefan Benton and Eileen Hansen set a new course record for the mixed 2x -- in conditions that should not have allowed that. The race was run under sunny skies, and three foot groundswell overlaid by a one foot chop. However, Stefan and Eileen were unfazed by the conditions as they powered ahead of two other mixed doubles and a men's double to win the gold.

Additional Course Records
Race	Year	Class	Old Record	New Record
La Conner	2002	M 2x	51:28	50:45
Manchester	2002	M 2x	1:18:17	1:12:13
Lake Whatcom	2002	M 2x	1:39:12	1:31:54
Shaw Island	2001	M 2x	1:47:28	1:43:09
Budd Inlet	2001	M 2x	1:11:35	58:04

Background

When the Aero was first introduced, it was a shock to the rowing world. It looked just impossibly sleek, tippy, fast and wet. Open water rowing shells designed before the Aero raisedÊ the sides of the boat in an effort to keep the water out. When Chris Maas designed the Aero he figured out that, with high sides, when the water eventually did get in, it couldn't get back out. So he designed a boat where, when the wave eventually broke over the boat, it ran right back out. There was nothing else like it.Ê And no one could touch Chris for speed.

The Maas 24 was designed next as a longer, faster, sleeker version of the Aero. It isÊ noticeably faster and sets the standard for open water racing craft. Again, when it was introduced, no one thought it would be possible to handle it in rough water. They were wrong.

The Flyweight was introduced for lighter (140 pound) open water rowers. The Flyweight is a 24 foot open water racing shell and just lightning fast for smaller rowers. The Single is a hybrid boat -- flat water lines, but open water construction and detailing. It is not intended for the kind of conditions in which the Aero, 24 and Flyweight play, but it can handle the roughest head race.

The Double, introduced in 2001 is, quite frankly, a startling boat. It was designed to be a reasonably fast, open-water double. However, we're finding that it is blazingly fast. As of this writing, there are only around 15 Doubles in use -- but it has already set five course records. In two of these races, the second place boat was a new, good-quality flatwater double. The Double can handle the open water (see the photo gallery) and we are just now learning how fast it is in flat water.