Year: 2022
Narrow River Race II 2022 Summary
Unfortunately, our usual correspondent was unable to attend the Narrow River Race II. Race director Tim Dwyer was kind enough to submit a report of his own… The Fall edition of the 8 mile Narrow River Race in South Kingston, RI had some notable similarities and differences vs the Spring edition. Similarities were the flat […]
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Great Stone Dam Classic 2022 Summary
For the last few years, the Great Stone Dam Classic (GSDC) has drawn some of New England’s largest surfski fields, despite being a flatwater race. This past Sunday was no exception, as 26 kayaks (the vast majority surfskis) competed on the Merrimack River alongside canoes and SUPs. Co-directors Francisco Urena and Shawn Burke, in concert […]
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Nahant Bay Race 2022 Summary
After a two year hiatus, Mike McDonough revived his popular Nahant Bay Race for 2022. With a 7-10 mph north wind forecast to swing to the northeast during the race, Mike decided to reuse a course he plotted for the 2014 race. From Fisherman’s Beach in Swampscott, MA, paddlers would exit Nahant Bay via the […]
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Blackburn Challenge 2022 Summary
This year’s Blackburn Challenge in Gloucester, MA featured one of the great head-to-head battles in the storied 35 year history of this great race. Twenty-one single HPKs (all skis but one) and four double skis participated in this classic 19.5 mile race around Cape Ann. Conditions were benign on paper, with a modest outgoing tide, […]
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Jamestown Double Beaver 2022 Summary
Area paddlers met in Rhode Island for the 14th Jamestown Double Beaver on a stunning day. With competition from the Toms River Race in New Jersey the day after, participation was lower than usual. The field consisted of 7 surfskis and 3 SUPs. As race director Tim Dwyer told everyone, racers would run the standard […]
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Ride the Bull 2022 Summary
Competitors at this year’s Ride the Bull Race didn’t have to contend with conditions as daunting as in some former years, but still had to negotiate a course with vexing tidal currents and confused waves from varied directions. Sixteen paddlers traveled to Jamestown, Rhode Island for the 10th running of this race – founded by […]
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Sakonnet Surfski Race 2022 Summary
Twenty-one paddlers gathered at Island Park Beach in Rhode Island on Saturday for the 15th running of Wesley Echol’s Sakonnet Surfski Race. The 9.4 mile out-and-back course had competitors starting just off the beach, heading south 4.7 miles to a red can, and then returning to the start. With an extremely light wind from the […]
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Battle of the Bay 2022 Summary
Despite a persistent fog, a dedicated group of paddlers met at Rhode Island’s Fort Adams State Park for the 8th edition of the Battle of the Bay. Surveying the situation, race director Tim Dwyer modified the normal course to accommodate the reduced visibility. Starting just off the park beach, competitors would round the north tip […]
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Essex River Race 2022 Summary
After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Essex River Race returned to its original location at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum. More than 90 boats of every conceivable configuration competed – from surfskis to canoes to 6 person rowboats. The 5.8 mile course winds out the Essex River into a broad estuary, where racers then round Cross […]
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Narrow River Race 2022 Summary
The New England paddling season kicked off with the Narrow River Race in Kingstown, Rhode Island. Host Tim Dwyer welcomed 20 paddlers to this 8 mile race in a winding estuary that branches off Narragansett Bay. Racers would head 3 miles upriver from the start, then return 4 miles downriver back past the start, making […]
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