Sports - Ski to Sea - Ski to Sea trainer

POSTED: Friday, May. 22, 2009

Canoe: Good News, Good Guys canoeist head down the Nooksack without his father in stern

There's a certain peace and calm that can only be had while skimming down a river.

Jody Nace feels it when he steps into his canoe and paddles down the Nooksack River. But this year more than any, that peace will be tinged with sadness.

For the past several years, Nace, 22, has paddled the river with his father, Larry, for the Ski to Sea race, a 90-mile, seven-leg relay race from the Mt. Baker Ski Area to Marine Park in Fairhaven. But on April 3, Nace lost his canoeing partner and a friend when his father passed away from heart failure at 59.

"Just being out on the river, there's a lot of memories I have with my dad out there," Nace said. "It's going to be hard."

Nace's dad had been doing the race for about 20 years, canoeing for the team Good News, Good Guys. Nace describes his father as a lover of the outdoors, especially canoeing, hiking and backpacking.

"(He was) incredibly active, loving. It's hard to whittle it down to just words," he said. "He'd been canoeing since before him and my mom were married."

That same love of nature had been passed down to his son. It was a natural fit when the two partnered up several years back for the race's canoe leg, an 18-mile paddle down the Nooksack River, from Everson to Hovander Park in Ferndale.

"I've been in the outdoors as long as I can remember," Nace said. "I remember when I was probably 6 or 7, for my birthday my mom and dad put me in a canoe and paddled down the Nooksack."

For this year's race, the team's normal kayaker Mickey Bevens will step into the canoe with Nace, as Bevens' son, Harrison, takes his place in the kayak.

"I just thought that, if Jody wanted to do it, I would be real happy to do it with him," Bevens said. "Jody has always been the bow guy, and Larry was the stern man. It took me a few nights out to get the boat going straight on the river."

The team hasn't discussed any ideas for honoring Larry at the race. But they will try hard, have fun and take care of each other, which is probably exactly what he would have wanted.

"Larry was such an encourager and humble. He could do super on a river and be telling me how good I did," Bevens said. "Certainly he'll be at the forefront of all our thoughts."

That's certainly the case for his son.

"This race is definitely for him," Nace said.

GOOD NEWS, GOOD GUYS

Division: Whatcom County Open

Cross-country ski: John Stevens

Downhill: Jim Taylor

Run: Eric Thomas

Road bike: Don Ligocki

Canoe: Mickey Bevens and Jody Nace

Mountain bike: Mark Smith

Kayak: Harrison Bevens