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Canoe Racing Pictures

Glenn MacGrady

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Any type of canoe racing. Any type of photo, video, painting or artwork.

Let's start with a historical picture of Crow Indians racing on the Missouri River.

crow-indians-missouri-river.jpg
 
Any type of canoe racing.

It is not paddling but how about the Labor Day regatta of the Association of Canoe Clubs of Sheepshead Bay from 1927 as shown below? A cropped version of this image was used on the first page of the 1929 Old Town Canoe Company catalog with a caption that identified it as being from Coney Island, New York. I'm also figuring out what to do with a collection of 40 films that includes many whitewater races from the late 1960s and early 1970s. The link below includes the label (if any) and an early frame.

Benson




index.php
 
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I've got hundreds, of the Adirondack 90 miler, as well as the Yukon River races. I'll post a few when I sort through some of the most interesting.
 
Here's a Toronto postcard from 1910 showcasing a War Canoe race in the harbour...

PC_3611_War Canoe Race Toronto Canada.jpg


Below is a photo of a War Canoe race down the Humber River, Toronto, June 1, 1929. Note all the spectators in smaller watercraft lining the marshy banks. Sometimes dragonboat and/or outrigger canoe races are held in this same stretch today...

f1266_it16762.jpg
 
Wow! 35 hours is more fun than I like to have. But if they’re handing out cheeseburgers…
 
Wow! 35 hours is more fun than I like to have. But if they’re handing out cheeseburgers…
I was asleep in that picture. One bite and passed out. That was at mile 148. Unfortunately I DNF'd at mile 200. I've since designed a new boat for the race that I hope to build this year.
 
Lots of Yukon 1000 mile photos:

Do you really want to do this.jpg

Map of our paddled route Y1K 2009
Y1K map route.jpg

reconfiguring/preparing the 34' rented voyageur canoe for 7 team paddlers at "Kanoe People" Y1K 2009
Y1K prepping the canoe2.jpg

Y1K Training Day f2009
Y1K training day.jpg

A good starting posiiton Y1K 2011
a good start.jpg

Crossing the start line perfectly timed 2009
Y1K start line.jpg

View from Takhini overlook, leader of the pack 2009
Y1K view from Takhini.jpg

Passing Policeman's Point
Policeman's Point .jpg

Entering Lake Laberge
Y1K entering Lake Laberge2.jpg

Smiles on Lake Laberge
smiles on Lake Laberge.jpg


Navigator's station cherry snacks on Lake Laberge
cherries on Lake Laberge.jpg

Arrival at Carmacks
Y1K arrival at Carmacks.jpg

Departing Carmacks

Leaving Carmacks1.jpg

Setup to enter Five Finger Rapids
Y1K five finger setup.jpg

Five Finger Rapids entry
Y1K almost in five fingers.jpg

Rink Rapids ahead
Rink Rapids.jpg
Arrival at Dawson City 6:00 AM
Y1K Dawson arrival.jpg

Lower Yukon Cruising, Still no competition in sight
looking alert team paddle.jpg

Let's do some sprints
Tired crew in the flats.jpg

Record flood damage 2009
destruction at eagle.jpg
destruction at eagle2.jpg

Must stop at Eagle, show passports after U.S. border crossing
stop at eagle.jpg

Friendly Customs Border Officer Collins - Tragically drowned one year later when his truck rollled into a deep ravine
officer collins at eagle.jpg

Calico Bluff - "Life Below Zero" TV show landscape
cakco bluff2.jpg

calico bluff.jpg
 

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Midnight campsite near the Arctic Circlemidnight campsite.jpg


Happy in the Yukon Flats
happy in the flats.jpg


Mandatory race requirement: 20Kg of food/person (2009 first year only) - Yeti and other required gear
yeti and gear load.jpg

Navigator's planned route through the Yukon Flats
route through the flats.jpg

Our happy team captain
happy captain KNk.jpg

Brian points the way
Brian points thataway.jpg

Forest fire generated thundercloud
thermocloud.jpg

First view of the 1000 mile finish line through heavy forest fire smoke
Y1K firfst view of finish bridge.jpg

Crossing the finish line (Dalton Highway bridge) 2009
Y1K finishing push hard.jpg

At the finish line
Y1K csrossing finish line.jpg

We did it!
Y1K finished cheers.jpg

First Y1K finishers 2009
Y1K finishers.jpg



Another year another boat, another Y1K finish 2011
Another year:boat:finish.jpg
 
YP, you do 1000 miles in 7 days? Who took the photos of the entire boat on the water, some from an elevated position?
The Y1K race organizers thought the fastest canoes "might" finish in about a week in the first running of the Y1K in 2009. Estimates were that slower canoes would take up to possibly two weeks. They wanted a reserve of an extra week in case of emergencies, hence the mandated requirement of 20kg of food/person be on board from the start for a full three week supply. (do the math for a crew of 7 paddlers). Dry weight only, could not include water weight to rehydrate. With efficient preplanned navigation to remain in mostly a 6mph current, plus our 6mph+ paddling speed, my voyageur canoe finished the 1000 miles in just 6 days, 6 hours, 52 minutes in 2009, with a load remaining of 3/4 of the food we started with. No crew member went hungry or lost any noticeable weight. That ridiculous food weight mandate rule was dropped for all subsequent Y1K races. We finished the Y1K race in 2011 in roughly the same amount of time carrying a confident starting load of only 10 days worth of food. For both races, I home dehydrated and packaged all main meals (breakfast and dinner, some snacks) for the entire team.

Although this race according, to strict rules is run with no outside support allowed after the start, we still had a pit crew of several family members and friends follow us who could take photos at certain accessible locations where we were visible during our passage. SPOT location transmissions, along with a continuously updated SPOT time and speed estimated spreadsheet calculator I wrote provided our time of arrival estimate to each of the 738 GPS waypoints I had programmed with select locations for my pit crew. Other than for an insurance covered major medical incident recovery, if we had any lesser reason to drop out of the race, our pit crew could meet us at possible First Nation village take out locations that we cold possibly limp along to reach down river. Few and far between when below Dawson City.

Another rule required effective antenna placement and use of continuous 10 minute interval SPOT device transmissions AND to mark mandatory 6 hour "night time" rest camp stops and restart times. Choose any 6 hour period to stop that includes the time between 2300-0200 where ever we wanted to camp. Violation of the rules with no SPOT transmission could result in a 30 minute finish time penalty per incident. Note in one photo my SPOT was properly placed on the bow deck. At least one of the teams accumulated as much as 9 hours of penalties added to their official finish time. My team had zero penalties at the finish.
 
Still called the "perfect run", this is John Lugbill, the greatest C-1 whitewater slalom paddler ever, at his career best at the Savage River World Championships in 1989—destroying his friend Davey Hearn, who himself destroyed the rest of the world.

 
Since 1947, the famous Ausable River Canoe Marathon attracts young, old, paraplegic and world class paddlers to race 120 miles from Grayling to Oscoda, Michigan. After time trials determine position order, the paddlers sprint along the road in front of thousands of spectators to plunk their hydroplaning rockets in the water, paddle through the night, portage over six hydroelectric dams, and sometimes culminate in close finishes. This video offers a tasty olla podrida of all of that.

 
Since 1947, the famous Ausable River Canoe Marathon attracts young, old, paraplegic and world class paddlers to race 120 miles from Grayling to Oscoda, Michigan.
And what a beast of a race. That is a different level to be able to compete for the top spots.
 
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