After a quick video recap of the last episode we join our 10 teams as Natalie & Meaghan leave first from Victoria at 4:18am and they're off to Tofino, BC. Alain & Audrey are right behind at 4:24am and the rest of the teams are following close behind. Everyone is heading for the Victoria airport to catch one of three flights leaving one hour apart.
On the first flight are Natalie & Meaghan, Alain & Audrey, Rex & Bob, and Cormac & Nicole. On the second flight are Laura & Jackie, Sukhi & Jinder, and Mickey & Pete. While on the final flight are Ryan & Rob, Jen & Shawn, and Pierre & Michel.
Time for a little Detour: Sharp Knives, requires teams to properly slice fish fillets to 30 lbs, while Sharp Eyes, requires teams to sort 1000 fish into their proper bins. Sorting the fish sounds easy but I'd probably go with the filleting, it's a skill that comes back pretty quick and you don't smell quite as fishy.
Rex & Bob have moved into first place as they head to the Detour and decide to do Sharp Eyes, as do the rest of the teams on the first flight. Having failed their first attempt at sorting Alain & Audrey decide to switch, only to find their filleting skills to be almost as bad as their sorting.
The second flight arrives, and after getting the clue the three middle teams catch up to everyone sorting fish. There's a little variety this time as teams split their choice but Sukhi & Jinder are tossing fish like a circus act. Fun to watch but not very productive.
The final flight arrives and those three teams are still in this as there are still teams at the Detour where nobody's doing very good at the fish sorting. Well, until Alain and Audrey finish their fillets to move into first and get the next clue; make your way to North Chesterman Beach. This is a beautiful beach with some great waves so we all know what's coming.
Rex & Bob finally figured out the trick to sorting their fish, good thing they didn't switch, and they manage to pass Alain & Audrey on the road to the beach. Back at the bins, Sukhi & Jinder thought their Biology background would be an asset but they were wrong, while Laura & Jackie found the filleting to be too much and switched to sorting. That may have been a mistake.
Rex & Bob are the first team to the next task, Time to Catch A Wave in Tofino; one team member must catch a wave for at least 3 seconds while the other takes their picture. Sounds like an easy enough task but Rex has trouble enough biking to the beach with his board. Not sure he's going to last 3 seconds once he's on it.
The final flight has caught up to the first and Shawn is counting on his attention to detail as a graphic designer in helping him to sort fish. As a fellow designer all I can say is, good luck with that. I'd still have chosen filleting.
Nobody has really misread a clue yet but Alain & Audrey start to panic looking for an actual Surf Shack and run right past the boards with the clue they need. Twice. Despite there being a big sign saying Surf Shack.
The Old Couple make it to the waves and Rex discovers it's harder than dancing. For someone who spent their career dependent on their balance this should have been an easy task but I guess the stage doesn't tend to move beneath you.
Upon leaving the fish factory Sukhi & Jinder decide they need to plug in their car, only to find out they have a full charge. Duh. Once again they've decided to stop for nothing. As much fun as they seem to be to watch, a few more mistakes like that and we'll be saying so long to those two.
Everybody seems to have better luck with filleting than sorting back at the fish station. Except for Laura & Jackie who switched to sorting only to find it just as difficult for them.
Meanwhile Alain & Audrey surf by the boys with ease and move on to the Roadblock: Make A Traditional Tofino Beach Chair to get their next clue. The chair is made from bits of driftwood, rope and netting and based on one nearby so Alain figures he can do it and gets started.
After watching Alain & Audrey leave him in the sand Rex is a bit snippy when the Olympians arrive, assuming they have a gold medal in surfing. Nope, but they're likely better than he is. His snippiness continues as each team catches up and passes them by. Maybe if he spent more time attempting to get on the board and less time being the queen of drama they'd have moved on by now.
Jen and Shawn managed to sort their fish pretty quickly and they're outta there. I guess his attention to detail did work in his favor. Off to the beach.
Mickey & Pete had no problem on the boards and also ripped past Rex & Bob, but when they got to the Roadblock, Mickey's chair couldn't hold the weight.
As Laura & Jackie complete their sorting, the bartenders realize they're the last ones at the Detour and it's not looking good. On paper these guys should be at the front of the pack but for some reason they seem to just be scrapping by these first two episodes. Not sure that's going to be good enough.
Back at the beach, Natalie completes her chair in record time and gets the next clue; Travel on foot to the Crab Dock and this leg's Pit Stop. The Olympians are proving to be a powerhouse team, especially when they stay focused.
Rex & Bob finally decide to take a penalty on the surfing and move on, while Alain has doubts about his chair, but somehow it passes and they're off to the Pit Stop. Unless Natalie & Meaghan head east from the beach, Alain & Audrey will once again take second.
Jinder is even funnier on a surf board as he tries to catch his wave, and falls in. Tries again, falls again. Rinse and repeat. Maybe he should send Sukhi out.
Natalie & Meaghan, for the second time in a row are Team Number 1, and also win two round trip tickets to Hong Kong and another $2000 on their card. Nicely done. Ryan & Rob finally finish their fish task, just as Alain & Audrey arrive at the mat and are Team Number 2. Okay, it's all editing, they were probably an hour apart but that's how it's shown.
Jen & Shawn arrive at the beach but as soon as Shawn tried to get up on his board his arm slipped out from under him and he dislocated his shoulder. That's not gonna be good as Jen hollers for a medic while Shawn does his best to control the pain. Shawn keeps trying to pop his shoulder back in as he exits the water, figuring they can switch spots and move on, but to no avail as the medic decides it's time for a hospital visit, delaying their race to the mat.
Bob doesn't like his chair so he takes it apart and tries again, even before getting it judged. No fair asking the puppy for help, Bob. Although he might make a better chair.
Since Nicole finished the surfing in a hurry, Cormac gets his chair done quick just for balance and there's a lot of "I'm so proud of you" chatter, which I suppose is well deserved and honest but let's hope it doesn't become a habit. At least not during the race.
Bob has decided he's not much of a carpenter and Rex & Bob decide to take another penalty and pass on the chair task. What? These two give up way too easily to be on the race. I can maybe understand taking one penalty if you really felt you were that incompetent, but two?
At the mat, Mickey & Pete are Team Number 3, while Cormac & Nicole are Team Number 4. Although he's not likely to start a new career as a surfer Jinder finally managed to keep his balance long enough for Sukhi to get a picture, as did the final team of Ryan & Rob who once again have faded into the background. We expected better.
Pierre & Michel are Team Number 5, while Rex & Bob come in 6th but now need to sit out their 6 hours worth of penalties. Not sure that'll be enough for Shawn, who had to be sedated to reset his shoulder, but it'll certainly help the other teams.
Three more chairs are finally being made and they all pass. Sukhi & Jinder are Team Number 6, Ryan & Rob are Team Number 7, and Laura & Jackie are Team Number 8. Because of his injury, Jen & Shawn have decided to withdraw from the race and that made Rex & Bob Team Number 9. It also shortened their penalty time but I assume that will be added to their departure for the next leg, giving the other teams nearly a five hour lead. Watch for the airport regrouping.
Upon leaving the hospital, Jen & Shawn return to the mat only to be eliminated and that one had to suck for Jon, but Shawn had a great attitude about it. He figured, in order to be eliminated from Amazing Race Canada you had to first be in Amazing Race Canada. Good point. Sorry to see them go but look forward to our chat.
Next week the teams leave Canada, head to China and come face to face with a cultural hero and a local delicacy. I guess that'd be my task because Wayne hates trying new foods, especially ones he can't identify. Mmm, tastes like chicken. Sure it does.
See you all real soon. Watch for our video recap, as well as our interview with Jen & Shawn and more feedback from Season One racer Corey Mitic, all coming up later this week