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 proceed roughly 3 miles up the river, turn on a dock, then race back down a mile past the start to turn on a mid-stream marker before returning to the start.
The winner of the last 5 contests held on the Narrow River – Mike Florio – was strongly favored to notch another victory on his home waters, but Greg Lesher, Jerry Madore, Chris Chappell and others were there to challenge. In the women’s field, Loukia Lili (in the K1) would be up against Leslie Chappell, while the doubles of Mary Beth Gangloff & Bill Kuklinski and Patty White & Chris Sherwood would face each other.
Chris Chappell got off to his typical fast start, but Jerry, Loukia, Greg, and Mike also got off the line smartly. Within a few moments, however, Mike took the lead with others scrambling to get on his wash. Greg managed to catch a brief ride, with Jerry on his tail. Chris and Tim were close behind. Mike proved too strong, however, and soon started pulling away from his pursuers. Greg similarly dropped Jerry as the field made its way upriver.
At the upstream turn, Mike held a 30 second lead over Greg. Jerry was roughly the same distance behind in third place, with Chris, Tim, and Mary Beth & Bill not far behind him. In the women’s race, Loukia had separated from Leslie. Mike continued to slowly extend his lead on the subsequent downstream leg. By the final turn, he was up by 90 seconds on Greg, who now enjoyed a slightly larger lead on Jerry. Chris, Tim, and Mary Beth & Bill followed close behind.
The racers faced a slow final leg against the growing tidal current. Mike finished strong at 1:06:05, with Greg in second 2 minutes later, and Jerry taking third 3.5 minutes after that. Mary Beth & Bill finished as the first double (sixth overall) at 1:12:36. Loukia took the women’s title at 1:17:02. Among the OC paddlers, Yuye Yang was the first man and Qiaoyu Agyness Liao the first women.
Here are the full results:
| Name | Boat | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Florio | Epic V14 | 1:06:05 |
| Greg Lesher | Epic V14 | 1:08:07 |
| Jerry Madore | Nelo 550 | 1:11:37 |
| Chris Chappell | Van Dusen Mohican | 1:12:09 |
| Tim Dwyer | Epic V10L 2G | 1:12:30 |
| Bill Kuklinski & Mary Beth Gangloff | Epic V8 Double | 1:12:36 |
| Kirk Olsen | Epic V10 2G | 1:15:21 |
| Loukia Lili | K-1 | 1:17:02 |
| Leslie Chappell | Nelo 550 | 1:19:14 |
| Chris Sherwood & Patty White | Epic V8 Double | 1:19:24 |
| Andrew Luu | OC-1 | 1:20:00 |
| Fan Xie | OC-1 | 1:22:00 |
| Tony Chen | OC-1 | 1:23:10 |
| Eric Penanhoat | Ocean Rowing Shell | 1:23:43 |
| Jason Chen | OC-1 | 1:24:10 |
| Igor Yeremeev | Think Six | 1:26:48 |
| Qiaoyu Agyness Liao | OC-1 | 1:30:02 |
| Jeff Lenihan | Banks Dory | 1:52:19 |
| Short Course | ||
| Peter Colella | SUP | 1:18:57 |
| Hillary Deutsch | SUP | 1:50:05 |
You can find more detailed race results at SurfskiAmerica.