The Bridges of Essex County Race Summary

A small group of dedicated paddlers met in Danvers, MA for the final race of the New England season. Bill Kuklinski put together The Bridges of Essex County race a couple of weeks ago, gambling successfully that the field would be greeted with a glorious fall day rather than the bitter wind and cold that would have been equally in character for the November 7 date. As it was, the temperature stood at around 50 under a bright sun with barely any wind.

The race was a 6.5 mile out-and-back affair within the Danvers River estuary – a forking series of tidal straits that open into Beverly Harbor. Starting from the Pope’s Landing launch, racers would wind along the densely populated river, passing under Kenwood Avenue Bridge, a commuter rail bridge, and the Veterans Memorial Bridge (also known as the Salem-Beverly bridge). They’d then turn back upriver for a short stint before branching to the right up the Bass River to a turn-around at the Bridge Street bridge. Paddlers would then retrace all their steps back to the start. With an extremely high tide, all of the normal navigation hazards in the area were well underwater.

The modest field consisted almost entirely of local paddlers, with Cape Cod residents Chris Sherwood and Patty White being the only exceptions. Four singles (Greg Lesher, Matt Drayer, Kirk Olsen, and Francisco Urena) would compete against three doubles (Bill Kuklinski & Mary Beth Gangloff, Bruce Deltorchio & Ed Duggan, and Chris & Patty), making for some particularly interesting matchups. Matt and Greg have been battling one another all season, with Matt having the decided edge over the past several months. Kirk has also had a strong season, so could not be taken lightly. How these guys would stack up against the doubles was anyone’s guess.

As everybody expected he would, Francisco jumped out to an immediate lead with nobody able to hold on his draft. Greg remained relatively close, however, with Matt and Kirk not too far behind. Bruce & Ed got out to a lead in the double competition, with Bill & Mary Beth tight on their draft. By the first gentle turn, Greg had caught Francisco and started to move ahead. Over the next mile, Matt and Kirk also moved past Francisco, as did the lead dueling doubles.

Continuing under Kenwood Avenue bridge to Memorial Bridge, Greg widened his lead as Matt, Kirk, and the two lead doubles stayed within 30 seconds of one another. By the first turn back upriver, Kirk had moved ahead of Matt. During the Bass River leg, Bill & Mary Beth also moved ahead of Matt into third place. There would be only one other position change for the remainder of the race, as Bruce & Ed ultimately moved past Matt into fourth position – giving Bill & Mary Beth a run for their money down the return stretch.

Greg, Kirk, and Matt took the top three single positions, with Bill & Mary Beth, Bruce & Ed, and Chris & Patty taking the podium for the doubles. Here are the full results.

You can find more detailed race results from SurfskiAmerica. Mike Chamness took some excellent photos of the racers from the mouth of the Bass River.