Blackburn Challenge 2022 Summary
This year’s Blackburn Challenge in Gloucester, MA featured one of the great head-to-head battles in the storied 35 year history of this great race. Twenty-one single HPKs (all skis but one) and four double skis participated in this classic 19.5 mile race around Cape Ann. Conditions were benign on paper, with a modest outgoing tide, […]
Read More
Jamestown Double Beaver 2022 Summary
Area paddlers met in Rhode Island for the 14th Jamestown Double Beaver on a stunning day. With competition from the Toms River Race in New Jersey the day after, participation was lower than usual. The field consisted of 7 surfskis and 3 SUPs. As race director Tim Dwyer told everyone, racers would run the standard […]
Read More
Ride the Bull 2022 Summary
Competitors at this year’s Ride the Bull Race didn’t have to contend with conditions as daunting as in some former years, but still had to negotiate a course with vexing tidal currents and confused waves from varied directions. Sixteen paddlers traveled to Jamestown, Rhode Island for the 10th running of this race – founded by […]
Read More
Sakonnet Surfski Race 2022 Summary
Twenty-one paddlers gathered at Island Park Beach in Rhode Island on Saturday for the 15th running of Wesley Echol’s Sakonnet Surfski Race. The 9.4 mile out-and-back course had competitors starting just off the beach, heading south 4.7 miles to a red can, and then returning to the start. With an extremely light wind from the […]
Read More
Battle of the Bay 2022 Summary
Despite a persistent fog, a dedicated group of paddlers met at Rhode Island’s Fort Adams State Park for the 8th edition of the Battle of the Bay. Surveying the situation, race director Tim Dwyer modified the normal course to accommodate the reduced visibility. Starting just off the park beach, competitors would round the north tip […]
Read More
Essex River Race 2022 Summary
After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Essex River Race returned to its original location at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum. More than 90 boats of every conceivable configuration competed – from surfskis to canoes to 6 person rowboats. The 5.8 mile course winds out the Essex River into a broad estuary, where racers then round Cross […]
Read More
Narrow River Race 2022 Summary
The New England paddling season kicked off with the Narrow River Race in Kingstown, Rhode Island. Host Tim Dwyer welcomed 20 paddlers to this 8 mile race in a winding estuary that branches off Narragansett Bay. Racers would head 3 miles upriver from the start, then return 4 miles downriver back past the start, making […]
Read More
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 […]
Read More
Plum Beach Lighthouse Race Summary
For the past 4 years, the Plum Beach Lighthouse Race has marked the end of the New England ocean paddling season. With high winds forecast for its original date, race director Wesley Echols decided to extend the season by a day – shifting the race from Saturday to Sunday. The 8 mile out-and-back course starts […]
Read More
Essex River (Replacement) Race Summary
Although the official Essex River Race was cancelled, a group of dedicated surfski paddlers met on Saturday to hold an unofficial replacement on the standard course. With the generous permission of the town of Essex to use their launch facilities (thanks to Bill Kuklinski and Tom Lawler), 16 paddlers assembled on a pleasant October day. […]
Read More