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 Island before returning upriver to the start. The unseasonable temperature was in the high 70s, with an 8-10 mph breeze from the southwest. The surfskis started shortly after high tide, giving them a slight boost on the outbound leg while working against the boats on the way home.

The surfski field consisted of 15 singles and 3 doubles (with a 4th HPK double). New Jersey’s Rob Jehn and local Greg Lesher seemed to be the paddlers to beat, coming off second and third place finishes respectively in last month’s Narrow River Race (winner Mike Florio was unable to make the Essex). But downriver specialist Ben Randall from Maine also threatened to contend. On the women’s side, Leslie Chappell was all but assured victory.

After the 20-some other boat classes had started in their heats, the surfskis lined up for their race. Jerry Madore – better known for his canoe prowess but a powerful double-blade paddler – launched off the line in his new Nelo, quickly gapping all the other paddlers. Hank Thorburn, Tim Dwyer, and Greg gave chase on an inside line, with Rob and Ben taking a wider route in pursuit. A quarter mile into the race, Jerry, Rob, Greg, and Ben had all separated from the pack.

Rob soon thereafter seized control of the race, with Greg and Ben on his draft. A short while later, Ben dropped off the pace. Rob continued to pull Greg until their lines diverged a third of the way through the race, with both paddlers coming to a virtual standstill when passing over an unexpected sand bar. When they came together again at Cross Island, Rob had opened a 2 length lead. Rounding the back side of the island, he extended this to 5 lengths, but Greg managed to close back to a couple of lengths in the shallows bordering the return side of Cross.

Greg sought to exploit eddies tight along the left shore returning back, while Rob took a more conservative route. Whether it was a better line or Rob was simply faster, he extended his lead slightly during this closing leg, finishing at 47:24 – 13 seconds ahead of Greg. After dropping off the lead pair, Ben had spent the remainder of the race paddling alone, finishing in third at 51:39. A chase pack of Tim, Jerry, Mike McDonough, and Bernie Romanowski had stuck close together for most of the race, only separating in the final few turns of the river. They finished in that order, separated by a minute and a half. Leslie won the women’s race in 59:35.

The most hotly contested race of the day took place in the doubles group, where 4 coed boats competed – Robin Francis & Phil Warner (in a kayak), Mary Beth Gangloff & Phil Sachs, Patty White & Chris Sherwood, and Jan & Kirk Olsen. The first three of these pairs exchanged the lead several times over the 5.5 mile course, ultimately sprinting through the finish in the above order with a mere 7 seconds separating first from third.

Here are the full results:

You can find more detailed surfski results at SurfskiAmerica. Full results can be found at Granite State Race Services. GSRS also has photos and video of the start/finish of the race.