Great Stone Dam Classic 2022 Summary

For the last few years, the Great Stone Dam Classic (GSDC) has drawn some of New England’s largest surfski fields, despite being a flatwater race. This past Sunday was no exception, as 26 kayaks (the vast majority surfskis) competed on the Merrimack River alongside canoes and SUPs. Co-directors Francisco Urena and Shawn Burke, in concert with cheery and helpful volunteers from the Greater Lawrence Community Boating Program, once again impressed all with a beautifully orchestrated event.

The 12th iteration of the GSDC would be run under cloudy skies with virtually no wind and temperatures in the mid 70s – a perfect recipe for fast times. Paddlers on the 8.2 mile course would head up the Merrimack for 3.25 miles to Pine Island, then return to a turn buoy just shy of the starting dock, where they’d begin a second 1.6 mile loop around two large inflatable buoys upstream, finishing back at the dock. With little wind, racers would be choosing their upstream and downstream lines primarily based on the mild river current (in the 0.2 to 0.3 mph range).

The top four paddlers from last year’s GSDC returned to face off again – New Jersey’s Rob Jehn, California’s Ben Lawry, and locals Janda Ricci-Munn and Greg Lesher. Two flatwater paddling standouts from inland Massachusetts, Joel Pekosz and Kurt Kuehnel, would be joining the fight for a podium spot, as would Ben Randall, a downriver specialist from Maine. Unfortunately, Ben L would be paddling a much slower boat than the other speedsters (a last-minute Think Six loaner rather than his normal Stellar SEA) due to a minor injury sustained the day before the race.

Most of the top paddlers grouped near the right side of the line, looking either to get out fast or latch onto someone who did so. At the gun, Rob got off the line quickest, although Janda also got a nice jump a few boats to his right. Francisco sprinted off the line in trademark fashion well to the left of the other top paddlers, vying with Rob for the early lead. Greg initially got on Rob’s side draft, but dropped to his stern within a few seconds, soon falling off that draft as well. Janda moved over to assume Rob’s draft, as Sam Duffield and Joel pulled even with Greg, with Ben L slightly behind Joel.

Within a couple minutes of the start, the lead boats began to string out. Francisco and Sam fell off the pace. Rob and Janda opened up a boat length lead on Joel and Greg, who in turn started separating from pursuers Ben L, Kurt, and Ben R. As the pack moved upriver the gaps slowly increased. Greg struggled to stay with Joel, repeatedly falling back and then recovering the draft, before finally being gapped for good 15 minutes into the race.

Rob continued to pull Janda to the upstream turn at Pine Island, where the two leaders enjoyed a dozen length lead over Joel, who in turn had a half-dozen lengths on Greg. Ben R reached the turn roughly the same distance further back, with Kurt in close pursuit. As the field filed through the gap between the island and the northern shore of the Merrimack, they had to contend with dense patches of surface weeds. Several paddlers reported having to stop to remove accumulations from their rudders, but all of the lead boats made it through unencumbered.

Emerging past the downstream end of the island, Janda took a turn pulling as he and Rob continued to widen their gap to Joel, as Joel did to Greg. Although Greg was also opening up his lead over Ben R, Kurt took up some of that slack, soon passing Ben to move into 5th place. Rob retook the lead by the Route 93 bridge, but Janda remained in direct contact. This would remain the case until the final turn of the race, when Rob finally broke free for the final 3/4 mile downriver sprint. Rob finished in 1:04:06, Janda in 1:04:16, and Joel in 1:05:51. Although Kurt continued to close on Greg, he was never quite able to catch him. Ben R came in next, followed by Chris Weaver and Ben L.

The women’s race was dominated by Andrea Goodman (in an ICF boat), with Beth Duguay finishing as the first ski. The double’s race featured two exciting battles. Bill Kuklinski & Kirk Olsen held off Bruce Deltorchio & Ed Duggan to take bronze, while at the front of the field Phil Werner & Tom Fagin (in an HPK kayak) gave it their all in an unsuccessful attempt to catch winners Rob Michalec & Dave Wiltey. In mixed doubles, Mary Beth Gangloff & Phil Sachs took the crown.

Here are the full results:

You can find more detailed race results at SurfskiAmerica.