Douglas Tiger paddles way to concrete canoe victory

Douglas High alum and champion concrete canoe paddler Robert Coomes was sitting high and dry in traffic on Wednesday afternoon.

Robert and his University of Nevada, Reno, crewmates are taking their time bringing the 160-pound canoe back home after their victory Saturday in the 21st annual National Concrete Canoe Competition in Montreal.

When I called Robert he was sitting in rush hour traffic in St. Louis.

"We're taking our time on the way back," he said. "We did it in 48 hours straight on our way up. We stopped off to see a few friends in St. Louis and we're stopping every night."

Robert served as president of the University's American Society of Civil Engineers chapter, during construction of the canoe. The national society sponsors the annual competition. He received his degree in May and is contemplating graduate school.

"There were a lot of folks who led to the success of our team," he said. "We've got a great engineering program. We took everything thing we learned from our classroom courses to build the boat."

Work on the canoe begins at the beginning of the year when the students design the hull and the mix of the concrete that will be used in the canoe.

"Something new we did this year was to start teaching courses on how to do the mix and hull design," Robert said. "We're all starting to graduate, so it's important that the next group doesn't have to start over."

Designing the hull and concrete are the physical challenges involved in the canoe race, but participants also have to write and present a report that includes the canoe's technical specifications.

"You have to present yourself well to a company and prove what your work's worth," he said.

The photo released by the university shows Robert and two crewmembers paddling with the water close to the gunnels, which is nautical for the upper edge of the canoe's side.

"Congratulations, you're the first person to use the word gunnels," Robert said.

The three of them weigh around 600 pounds, and the canoe itself weighs 160 pounds, so the obvious question is whether he was afraid they might swamp the boat.

"We've never swamped it," he said. "We were the heaviest race there."

Robert credited Douglas High School's late debate coach Marty Cronin and Coach Ernie Monfiletto for teaching him about leadership.

"The whole reason I went into engineering was thanks to what I learned in Mr. (Orlyn) Fordham's physics class," he said. "They had the biggest impact on me."

Robert graduated from Douglas in 2003 and is the son of former Airport Manager Jim Braswell.