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 was joined by 4 outrigger canoes and 3 SUPs. For the kayakers, a high point of the race would be the participation of national sprint team member Jesse Lishchuk, who would also be leading a paddling clinic after the race.

Jesse was joined by 3 of the top 4 solo paddlers from the recent Ride the Bull race, Ed Joy, Greg Lesher, and Ronald Rivera. Flatwater speedster Joel Pekosz also figured to be a factor in his first open-water race of the season. The double ski competition was perhaps even more interesting, with 4 tandems in the race for the first time ever. It seemed likely that the teams of Tim Dwyer & Wesley Echols, Max Yasochka & Andrius Zinkevichus, and Mary Beth Gangloff & Kirk Olsen would be battling over the podium spots.

Paddlers lined up off the dock of the Conanicut Yacht Club for a race that would take them out of Jamestown Harbor, around Bull Point, out to the distant Beavertail Point bell buoy and back again. Although the forecast was for a mild southerly wind, the waters of Narragansett Bay are never placid. Unsurprisingly, the paddlers from sprint backgrounds got off the line quickest – Jesse, Ronald, and Max & Andrius went out strong, with Ed, Joel, Greg and the other doubles in pursuit.

Weaving through the moored boats of Jamestown Harbor and emerging around Bull Point into open water, the lead 6 boats gradually settled into 3 groups (excluding Jesse, who throughout the race varied his pace and course to check in with other paddlers) – Max & Andrius and Ed in the lead; Greg in solo pursuit; Tim & Wesley, Ronald, and Mary Beth & Kirk in separate pursuit on an outside line. The final group began to fall apart roughly halfway to the Beavertail buoy, with Tim & Wesley joining Greg. At the turn, Ed had a slight lead on Max & Andrius. There were followed by Greg (10 lengths back), Tim & Wesley (13 lengths back), Mary Beth & Kirk (20 lengths back), and Ronald (24 lengths back). Well under a minute separated the first 6 boats (again, excluding Jesse).

On the trip back towards Bull Point, Ed and Max & Andrius started on a straight outside line, while Tim & Wesley took an arcing inside line in an attempt to avoid the outgoing tide. Greg chose a compromise approach, while the others followed Tim & Wesley. It soon became clear that the inside path was superior, as the local boys pulled ahead of Greg, who in turn surged in front of Ed and Max & Andrius. Eventually, everyone adopted the faster line, with the order now Tim & Wesley, Greg, Ed, Max & Andrius, Mary Beth & Kirk, and Ronald. Ed soon caught and passed Greg, but was overheating and stopping periodically to cool down, allowing Greg to challenge.

Rounding Bull Point back into Jamestown Harbor, Ed made a move to try and catch the lead double. Max & Andrius got around a fading Greg, who found a second wind when later forced to defend his position from Mary Beth & Kirk. Up front, Ed caught the leaders but couldn’t hold on to the finish. Jesse, of course, was the overall winner, but Tim & Wesley were the first regional finishers at 1:27:30. Ed took the regional singles crown some 15 seconds later. The next 4 finishers (Max & Andrius, Greg, Mary Beth & Kirk, and Ronald) came in at intervals of 16, 16, 8, and 52 seconds – a remarkably close finish to an exciting race. The OC male and female titles went to Jeremy Grosvenor and Stacy Wu, while the SUP crowns were claimed by Will Bomar and Carly Tillotson (who was also the overall SUP winner).

Here are the full results:

You can find more detailed race results at SurfskiAmerica. Olga Sydorenko took photos at the race, which you can find here.