Year: 2023
The Bridges of Essex County 2023 Summary
As the final race of the New England season, The Bridges of Essex County race attracted a robust crowd of 30 never-say-die paddlers. Inaugurated in 2021, Bill Kuklinski’s 6 mile out-and-back race on the Danvers River (a tidal estuary leading into Beverly Harbor) has in the past drawn only a modest field of locals. This […]
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Narrow River II 2023 Summary
On a spectacular late October morning in Rhode Island, 23 competitors met for the fall edition of Tim Dwyer’s Narrow River Race. A core crew of surfskis (and one ICF K1) were joined by a handful of outriggers, rowing craft, and SUPs to race the 8 mile course on the winding tidal estuary. Competitors would […]
Read More2023 Nahant Bay Race Summary
The Nahant Bay surfski competition, located just north of Boston, recently concluded with a thrilling race featuring a small yet robust field of 10 competitors, including eight single surfskis and sea kayaks, and one double surfski. The challenging 9.5-mile course involved two extensive stretches of open water. Paddlers began the first open water leg, approximately […]
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Blackburn Challenge 2023 Summary
As always, the Blackburn Challenge in Gloucester, MA lived up to its name. With moderate, but persistent, tide, wind, and chop working against competitors, this was one of the slowest Blackburn’s in recent memory. Twenty single and a half-dozen tandem surfskis lined up for the 19.5 mile race around Cape Ann. They’d be fighting a […]
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Jamestown Double Beaver 2023 Summary
Under a sun softened by a light haze, twenty-five paddlers met in Jamestown, Rhode Island on Saturday to compete in the 10 mile Jamestown Double Beaver race – the last ocean warm-up before the 20 mile Blackburn Challenge in mid-July. With race director Tim Dwyer inviting paddlers of all ilk, a field of 13 surfskis […]
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Ride the Bull 2023 Summary
Despite questionable weather forecasts, a small but dedicated group of paddlers met this weekend in Jamestown, Rhode Island to compete in the 11th annual Ride the Bull race. As a light rain slackened to a mist and then stopped altogether, co-directors Tim Dwyer and Greg Lesher reviewed the course with the field. The 8.8 mile […]
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Narrow River 2023 Summary
After a weather-induced delay of one week, New England surfskiers once again kicked off their season in Kingstown, Rhode Island at the Narrow River Race. Fourteen paddlers answered co-hosts Tim Dwyer’s and Bob Wright’s call to paddle the familiar 8 mile course on this winding estuary leading into Narragansett Bay. For the first time ever, […]
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