An intrepid squadron of four Vashon Island Rowing Club boats battled through a dramatic mass start, high winds and whitecaps to capture two first-place finishes at the unconventional Columbia River regatta known as Guano Rocks on Saturday.

Meanwhile, about as far away as she could be and remain in the continental U.S., fellow Vashon rower Kim Goforth won two golds at the Masters World Championships in Florida.

“Guano Rocks poses many challenges,” team captain Fred Sayer said. “First of all, it’s half again as long as most fall rowing regattas. Then we have weather, wind and colorful competition that includes all types of oar- and paddle-powered boats: Classic eights to standup paddleboards, outrigger canoes to racing kayaks. We all line up, 30 to 40 boats, and when the starting horn goes, it’s a frenzy of thrashing oars and paddles for the first 1,000 meters.”

The 5.5-mile Guano Rocks course winds through spectacular Columbia River canyon scenery near Wenatchee. At Saturday’s start, the waters lay flat as glass under a cloudy sky. Twenty minutes later, as the lead boats approached the turnaround marked by the guano-covered rocks that give the event its name, the sun broke through and the wind came up, pushing up whitecaps.

Sayer skippered a quad borrowed from event host Wenatchee Row and Paddle Club, finishing first in its category. Among his crew was first-time racer Mary Fran Lyons, who said, “I was just trying not to die.” Bob Horsley and Lana Krisman rounded out the blue-ribbon foursome.

“A Wenatchee four came out to race us,” Sayer said, “adding to the fun.”

Vashon beat Wenatchee.

Vashon also fielded a double skippered by first-time racer Brian Cox, with Mark Burns.

“I did die, 200 meters from the finish,” Cox said. “Fortunately, Mark still had something left.”

Two Vashon singles rowed by Rob Briggs and Mark Nassutti also raced. Nassutti finished first among the Vashon boats and first in his category.

Goforth battled global competition and Florida’s humid heat, rowing 1-kilometer sprints with a composite crew of rowers from across the country for Chinook Performance Racing. She won golds in a women’s four and a women’s eight.

As with most masters rowing events, post-race selective recall fueled by good food and libations enlarged the Guano Rocks events to mythical proportions and stimulated dreams of more daring. On Sunday, the VIRC crew rented a pontoon boat to scout the Columbia River canyon between Crescent Bar and Vantage, mulling the idea of a race through those 35 kilometers of unforgiving high-walled wilderness. They invited others to join the fray.

“All are welcome,” Sayer said. “Tall, small, old or young, come row with us.”

— Mark Nassutti is a masters member of the Vashon Island Rowing Club.