Racing report
Amazing Race Canada Season 8, Episode 7, "What the Duck is going on"
Film dates: 2022-05-11 - 2022-05-12
The last leg ended with a keep on racing event on the mat at the Western Alumni Stadium in London, ON. Teams leave the stadium in the following order:
1. | Franca & Nella | 14:43 | |
2. | Brendan & Connor | 14:52 | +0:09 |
3. | Cedric & Tychon | 15:04 | +0:21 |
4. | Beverly & Veronica | 15:19 | +0:36 |
5. | Cassie & Jahmeek | 16:15 | +1:32 |
6. | Jesse & Marika | 16:17 | +1:34 |
7. | Catherine & Craig | 16:19 | +1:36 |
8. | Court & Ali | ??:?? | +?:?? |
It is interesting that teams 5-7 were all at the mat at the same time and are seen leaving the mat together, but we are still shown different departure times for them and we do not see them driving together. I wonder if they did another of those pause the race for a while here and then released teams a set interval after they arrived.
On the mat Jon talks to Court & Ali and confirms that they were most certainly prepared to give up their spot in the race for Catherine & Craig had they not both made it back into the race.
The first clue is a route info telling teams to make their way to Prince Edward County, ON. It also warns teams that there is a double elimination ahead.
The first two teams are the only ones still having an express pass and both of them say they are going to use them in this leg to avoid the double elimination. The express passes usually have an expire date around this point in the race so I would guess that this or the next leg is the last leg where they can be used.
Teams first need to make their way to Spring Bank park where they can sign up for one of two buses to Toronto, ON. They sign up to the buses in the following order:
Bus #1
1(+1) Brendan & Connor
2(-1) Franca & Nella
3(+0) Cedric & Tychon
4(+0) Beverly & Veronica
Bus #2
5(+0) Cassie & Jahmeek
6(+1) Catherine & Craig
7(-1) Jesse & Marika
8(+0) Court & Ali
"
We've got a second map for Court & Ali", Catherine & Craig want to help their friends
The buses will arrive in downtown Toronto 15 minutes apart. Once they arrive teams must search the streets for two people wearing red hats, each of them is holding train tickets to two different trains to Belleville. One of them holds three tickets for the 06:17 train and the other 5 tickets to the 6:32 train.
Looking at the current train timetable I have grave doubts about these times. Currently the morning trains run with 2 hour intervals, and we see some racers board train #50 which according to the current schedule leaves Toronto at 06:47. It seems far more likely that they put all teams on the same train and then just released them 15 minutes apart from the station in Belleville.
All the teams from the first bus find the same lady and get 06:32 tickets. They realize there may be an earlier train and given them back and continue their search for the other person. This second person can not have been easy to find because the second bus arrives before they find her and two of the teams on the second bus find her first and score tickets on the first train.
In the end teams end up on the following trains:
Departing 06:17:
1. Catherine & Craig
2. Court & Ali
3. Franca & Nella, ran into Court & Ali who helped them find the ticket giver
Departing 06:32:
?. Beverly & Veronica
?. Brendan & Connor
?. Jesse & Marika
?. Cedric & Tychon
?. Cassie & Jahmeek
Cedric & Tychon are frustrated that Franca & Nelly just beat them to the tickets to the earlier train.
"
Team Franella seem to find all the luck all the time... I don't want to depend on luck, I want to depend on strong racing", Cedric
Teams spend the night in Toronto and the next morning they leave for Belleville. They find their next clue just outside the train station in Belleville.
Road block: Who wants to go house hunting?
Team must drive themselves to the Macaulay mountain conservation area (39km) and search for Birdhouse city. This is a "city" of more than 100 bird houses, all of them bearing individual names. Here racers will find a stand with a partial map of the area. There are birdhouse symbols on them. 7 with names and 14 without. They are also given 14 stickers with birdhouse names. They need to use the named ones to orient themselves and place the stickers on the correct nameless birdhouses on the map.
The racers seems to be forbidden to move the map so there is a lot of running involved in the task.
Unfortunately all the teams get identical maps so they are able to help each other
Franca & Nella seem to better at navigating so they arrive quite a bit before the other teams on the first train. Once the other two arrives they all start working together.
"
Sweet, I'm just gonna run the entire time", Beverly reads the additional info (and she is quick)
"
Their speed is absolutely ridiculous", Craig comments on Beverly & Veronica
There is tension between some teams here. Veronica asks Beverly to try to work with Catherine. But Catherine is not interested. Craig tries to ease the tension but flubs it by calling Veronica Vanessa. We have not seen why a lot of teams seem to dislike Beverly & Veronica but for some reason they seem to do so.
Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the road block):
1. | Franca & Nella* | (4-5) | |
2. | Court & Ali* | (2-3) | |
3. | Catherine* & Craig | (2-3) | |
4. | Beverly* & Veronica | (5-4) | |
?. | Jesse* & Marika | (5-4) | |
?. | Brendan & Connor* | (4-5) | |
?. | Cassie & Jahmeek* | (3-6) | |
?. | Cedric & Tychon* | (3-6) | |
The next clue tells teams to head to Prince Eddy's brewing company in the town of Picton (3km). Here they will find a double pass.
The pass is a new element in the race. The team which gets passed must wait for another team to arrive and leave this clue box before they can continue racing. It is a bit like a yield with an unknown waiting time. We do not get told what happens if the passed team is last. This is a double pass which means that two teams can pass two other teams.
Teams reach the pass board in the following order:
1(+0) Franca & Nella, passes Beverly & Veronica
2(+0) Court & Ali, are convinced by Franca & Nella to pass Franca & Nelly to burn the board
3(+0) Catherine & Craig
4(+?) Jesse & Marika
5(+?) Brendan & Connor
6(+?) Cassie & Jahmeek
7(-3) Beverly & Veronica, had trouble navigating and leave as #8 as they were passed
8(+?) Cedric & Tychon
Detour: Press it or Push it
In Press it teams must typeset a short message; "Prince Edward County is an island cluster of small hamlets and villages. It is rooted in farming, agriculture, trade through the waterways, and unique natural features." The trick is that you have to typeset it in reverse so it comes out correct when printed on paper. This takes place at Spark Box Studio (3.6km).
In Push it takes place in front of Savon du Bois in downtown Picton (1.5km). Here one racer from each team must put on a bathing suit and get into a bathtub. They will have a sheet with recipes and instructions which they can read to their partner. The other team member must push and mix together 15 bath bombs.
The bath tubs each contain a bunch of rubber ducks. And teams do not just have to make 15 identical bath bombs. The recipe says they have to make:
- One (1) Medium Green Bath Bomb
- Four (4) Small Green Bath Bombs
- Four (4) Medium Red Bath Bombs
- Two (2) Large Blue Bath Bombs
- Three (3) Medium Blue Bath Bombs
- Two (2) Small Blue Bath Bombs
"
Good job ladies", Franella tries to smooth things over when Beverly & Veronica arrives
Craig is the one in the bath tub for his team and he has fun with it. Pretends to strip, show his legs and does some classic beauty poses.
"
What the duck is going on over there", Court gets the title when Craig monkeys around
Teams complete the detour in the following order:
1(+3) Jesse & Marika, printing
2(-1) Franca & Nella, bath bombs
3(+0) Catherine & Craig, bath bombs
4(-2) Court & Ali, bath bombs
5(+0) Brendan & Connor, printing
6(+2) Beverly & Veronica, bath bombs
7(+0) Cedric & Tychon, printing
8(-2) Cassie & Jahmeek, bath bombs
The next clue sends teams to Sir James Whitney school for the deaf (35km). Here one racer will be paired with a student who will teach them to sign the name of the schools first deaf professor, Samuel Greene. While they do that their team mate have to memorize the American sign language alphabet. Then then they must reunite and the first of them signs the name to the other who must write it down correctly.
"
Last year I actually learned some ASL on a film set. Jesse and I have been practicing ASL", Marika
At the board Court asks Craig how he is figuring the alphabet out so quickly. Craig explains that they do performances for the hearing impaired every few months. Which means he and Catherine already know ASL.
So it turns out that of the eight teams, two use their express passes and three know ASL from before. So we are left with three teams actually having to learn ASL at this challenge and as this is a double elimination and they are all pretty sure this is the last task the pressure is on. Which does not make the task any easier. They are also there at the same time so they see each other. But Court & Ali have one advantage and that is that they got here a lot earlier than the other two remaining teams so they have spent more time practicing.
"
This is so hard", Court after failing to decipher what Ali signed
Teams complete this challenge in the following order:
1(+0) Jesse & Marika, knew ASL from before
2(+0) Franca & Nella, arrive as #1 are leaving and use their express pass
3(+0) Catherine & Craig, knew ASL from before
4(+1) Brendan & Connor, use their express pass
5(+1) Beverly & Veronica, knew ASL from before
6(-2) Court & Ali, on their 3rd attempt
7(+0) Cedric & Tychon
8(+0) Cassie & Jahmeek
Route info: Drive yourselves to Sandbanks provincial park and search the beach on foot for Jon at your next Pit Stop.
The first two teams are neck and neck during the drive to the park but Jesse & Marika arrive a few seconds before Franca & Nella and they are also much faster so there is not really any question about who will reach Jon first.
Teams reach Jon at the beach (43km) in the following order:
1(+0) Jesse & Marika, win a trip to Geneva, Switzerland and a $2500 Marshalls gift card
2(+0) Franca & Nella, just after #1
3(+0) Catherine & Craig
4(+0) Brendan & Connor
5(+0) Beverly & Veronica
6(+0) Court & Ali
7(+0) Cedric & Tychon, are eliminated
8(+0) Cassie & Jahmeek, are eliminated
"
Believe in yourself, get out and try new things, travel and see your country and most of all, spend time with people you love", Tychon about life lessons you can learn from the race
"
Leave with you head held up high, that's all you can ask for", Jahmeek