NYMCRA
Team Finishes First in Class in Yukon River Quest
By John Vermilyea
During
one of our episodic mind wanderings over the course of the 2011 Yukon
1000 canoe race, we came up with a question that would burn in my
mind for years: Why were there no C4's in the Yukon? A tripping
canoe of 23’ designed for four paddlers, it seemed to be a perfect
craft to paddle and even race the Yukon River in. Given the
popularity of the C4 class in New York State, I was relatively
surprised that the class didn't even seem to exist in the Yukon
Territory.
Thus
began several subsequent years of emails querying various
board members and petitioning race committees' about the possible
future inclusion of C4's in Yukon races. We were turned away several
times before finally achieving success in August 2016 following the
success of adding a SUP class. We were being given a chance to enter
our C4's in the 2017 Yukon River Quest, a 440 mile race from
Whitehorse, YT to Dawson City! The only caveat being that we would
have to compete in the Voyageur class, meaning we would be up against
6 and 8 person boats. Better than nothing; at least we were in and
still able to compete for prize money!
Known
as the "Race to the Midnight Sun," the YRQ is the longest
annual canoe race in the world and this year’s field was comprised
of 100 registered boats, 89 of them showing up to race. Roughly 230
paddlers from 13 countries were standing on the starting line at
Rotary Park in Whitehorse on June 28th. Single and tandem kayaks,
solo/tandem/voyageur canoes, and SUPs were lined up along the
waterfront on race day, ready to test their mettle on the mighty
Yukon River.
The
race is divided into three distinct segments. The first segment is
about 180 miles with the famed Lake Laberge located several hours
from the start in Whitehorse. There is then a mandatory 7 hour safety
layover at a campground in the First Nation settlement of Carmacks.
Then it’s back on the water for another 160 miles or so to a second
safety stop. This one is in an extremely isolated location and is
only a 3 hour stop. The third and final segment is a marathon 100
mile sprint to the finish in Dawson City.
Now,
putting our money where our mouths were, we decided to assemble 2
boats worth of personnel and gear to at least ensure there would be 2
boats entered. We were pleased to see 2 more additional boats
entered as C4 from other parts of the country so felt pretty well
about the prospects for a healthy competition.
Coordinating
efforts to build 2 mixed teams , the pit crew to assist(2 per boat),
as well as arranging 2 people to drive the boats all the way
there and back proved a daunting task. Despite the fact that
canoeists are about as easy to herd as cats, it somehow all came
together. Our international efforts really shined here as we had
amongst us crew from as far away as Belgium and England in addition
to New York and Pennsylvania. We even managed to stay on task losing
both a paddler and a support crew member to injuries, including one
nasty spider bite on the way out! Finding a replacement paddler for a
race such as this is easier said than done, especially on short
notice. Fortune was on our side and we had someone not only willing,
but actually quite eager, to join us.
The
boats and crew began arriving in Whitehorse a full week ahead of the
race, giving ample time to hit the waters of the Yukon with mixed
variations of the actual teams paddling beforehand. I think a total
of 5 trips down the upper section to Takhini allowed an
excellent sample of what to expect under race conditions. Our Spray
Skirt construction had occupied a good deal of pre race preparations
in the spring so it was nice to see how well they functioned. They
exceeded all expectations and our Savage River C4's really shined
beneath them. Space is a little more of a premium in a C4 vs.
the Voyageurs we have competed in the past in, however creative use
of smaller dry bags ensured well trimmed and organized boats.
The
balance of our pre race time was spent organizing the required gear,
purchasing food and sampling the local color. The nearby First
Nations’ Cultural Center was having a traditional boatbuilding
seminar with 4 separate watercraft being built along the water during
our stay. It was fascinating to see traditional boatbuilding methods
such as dugout, birchbark and skin on frame still being kept alive.
The
meet and greet with racers and officials festively got things
underway Monday evening with a drum ceremony from the some of
the First Nations folks, highlighting the many indigenous territories
we would be passing thru. Weather forecasts were calling for a nice
stretch of weather for the entire week, giving us all confidence in
what we might expect, particularly from Lake Laberge, which
is quite capable of delivering nasty paddling conditions. Water
levels seemed high near Whitehorse but we were assured that they
were actually below normal, as we would see further down the river.
Tuesday
was a very busy day, registration and gear check in the morning
followed by mandatory racer and pit crew logistics
and safety meetings with officials to go over the
particulars. We had official measurements taken of our boats as
these were the first Savage River Saranacs' the Yukon had seen.
Map books, first aid kits, emergency gear and SPOT devices were all
checked over by race officials. This was the first of several "Gear
Checks" we would be subjected to, these checklists ensuring
that all racers begin and end the race with the same gear. Last
minute food was picked up and it was early to bed as it is an early
start on race day despite the official start being noon.
Boat
lineup along the river began at 7am with another gear check to
follow. This is where reality really set in; anything forgotten
or missed at this point was not going to be rectified. This is
the point where I turned on my GPS to find that my routes
and topographic maps, painstakingly created by another team
member, had all somehow magically disappeared. With no time to work
out a backup plan, I was stuck with the reality that navigation to
the maps would have to be done from the back of the boat only.
A collective "No-Biggie" from the rest of our crew
gave me confidence in our ability to read the river to stay in
currents, even though it gets pretty tricky in places below the White
River confluence. I was able to get the GPS to function as a
speedometer/odometer/timekeeper so we could manage the currents and
that seemed adequate. We opted to not run a GPS at all until after
Lake Laberge, the route until then being pretty straightforward. This
would help us conserve battery power for the one functional GPS in
the stern, allowing for batteries to be changed at the Carmacks rest
stop versus trying to change them on the water.
A
small ceremony featuring First Nations drums and
traditional dances kicked things off followed by a Lemans
start of a quarter mile run to the boats at the stroke of noon. The
weather was cool and overcast but the threat for rain seemed low.
This run got our hearts moving, followed by a bit of chaos
as all boats hit the water hoping for a strong start. We opted to jog
quickly versus sprinting to be the first boat on the water. This
proved a good strategy as we quickly overcame the sprinters and were
at the front of the pack after only a mile or two. We ultimately
set pace with a K2 and a C2 and worked our way across the lake
together with only a men’s voyageur out in front of us.
The
massive Lake Laberge was very kind to us this year, with a light
tailwind blowing us north the 31 or so miles toward the river again.
We made great time, getting to Lower Laberge much quicker than
anticipated. Years past we have seen everything from 4+ foot waves
and headwinds one year, to mirror flat conditions with raging
heat on another, both of which seemed to suck the life out of our
progress. These breezes kept our pace up and we were invigorated
to reach the end of the lake as quickly as we did. Overcast
conditions with breaks of sun really made conditions perfect.
The
boost of current came quickly after entering the river again and we
made good time through Hootalinqua. We entered the river with another
C4 team but quickly made time on them. We set a pattern and pace at
this point that hopefully would allow us to gain on the 3 boats in
front of us and put some distance on the boats behind us. The
overnight monitoring checkpoints of Big and Little Salmon came and
went and we enjoyed some faster water sections as the cooler night
air made us all snug up our spray skirts and pull on jackets and
hats. We attempted to get some music playing from a MP3 player we
brought along but couldn’t get the battery pack to function after
about 30 minutes. It was a great motivator while it lasted though!
It
is 180miles to the first mandatory safety stop of seven hours. I
often refer to this stop as the half-way point despite it not nearly
being such. The reason for that is how the race is structured, this
being the longest individual "segment." Its excruciatingly
difficult to manage the last 30-40 miles no matter how prepared
you are; sleep deprivation, exertion, overnight cold temperatures,
etc all seem to wreak havoc on your soul as you grind out the last
few hours to Carmacks.
Reaching
Carmacks is really an accomplishment unto itself, we were almost
as happy to get here as we would be at the finish (well, maybe that’s
a bit of an exaggeration!). The awesome volunteer dock attendants are
there to help paddlers up the bank as many can't manage to get
their legs to function and rocking "vertigo" seems to leave
many off balance. None of us were exempt from this and were happy to
have someone there to assist. This is where having a strong
pit crew shines, beds and meals were ready and waiting along
with Canadian "Loonies" for the showers. One advantage to
being in the front of the pack is that there is not a line at
the showers! A hot soaking shower is a good indicator of where
you may have hot-spots on your body and boy do they feel like fire! I
had a small paper cut on one hand that had torn open into a full
sized wound on one hand and had lost feeling in another finger tip.
Other then that I just wanted to sleep. But not before an AMAZING cup
of piping hot chicken broth. Amazing, the simplest things under the
right conditions make all the difference in the world.
Lying
down on my cot I slipped quickly into unconsciousness. The floor
seemed to "move" under me which left me with the sensation
that I was still in a boat. I awoke several hours later, unsure of
where I even was. I emerged into a "tent city" as many
paddlers had arrived while we were sleeping and I somehow managed to
find the RV we had for cooking meals. Here I found a tremendous
spread of food cooked up as well as plenty of hot coffee. Our food
supplies and water had been replenished while we slept so we really
just needed to get in the boat and paddle. But not before another
gear inspection!
There
is an official countdown to re-launching to ensure everyone is off
the water the exact same amount of time and we pushed off without a
second to spare. Back underway, it was time to knuckle down and go.
This 160 mile segment is a little easier to manage mentally; there
are many landmarks that you can subdivide to make it a little
less daunting. It’s a lot easier to say "15 miles to Five
Finger Rapids" or "5 miles to Rink Rapids" then it is
to say "150 miles to Coffee Creek."
We
shot the Five Finger and Rink rapid sections without fanfare and
moved quickly through Minto, Hells Gate and into the overnight
segment below Fort Selkirk. This night we were treated to a beautiful
sunset around midnight and gorgeous coloring to the wispy clouds as
the dusky night skies brought cool breezes.
We
had some amazing conversations during this segment to kill time along
with some light hearted philosophizing on everything from family life
to religion. That was until we realized the women’s Voyageur
that was 12 minutes behind us at Carmacks had split the distance!
With 10 or 12 miles to Coffee Creek we opted to sprint the distance
to try to open the lead back up a bit and believe we did so, although
I think I was already asleep by the time they arrived!
The
Coffee Creek mandatory stop is a really just a small mining camp with
a dock, a plywood latrine, a giant tarp to sleep under and a small
food serving area. Here they had hot coffee, soups and sandwiches. We
lucked out in that there was a small wall-tent off to one side that
was vacant when we arrived so we quickly jumped in, plenty of room
for all four of us and drifted off for a very short cat-nap. I slept
like a rock here but the 3 hour layover was over all too quickly and
then it’s back to it for a hundred mile run to the finish. I kept
dreaming there was an alarm clock going off in my head but
still managed the best sleep of the trip here.
Coffee
Creek...The best 2 hours of sleep I ever had....
We
had strategized before the stop that we would get back on the water
and sprint for three hours to try to put some distance on the
voyageur behind us and that got us back to life quickly. Refreshed by
the sprinting we also were able to take in some local wildlife or
"Charismatic Mega Fauna" as it was referred to by
someone at the pre-race meeting. Hardly "mega," the bear
and moose we saw were just youngsters, although I'm sure the
"mega" parents weren't far off! The bear was
actually swimming across the river in front of us. We didn’t get
close enough to draft, plus I’m not sure what the race rules say
about drafting the wildlife anyway!
The
White River and Stewart River confluences both introduce a lot
of silt to the river, and you can hear it "scouring" the
boat as you paddle. This segment gets quite braided and it
becomes challenging to follow the faster currents. What appears to be
the "best" direction is not always the case and it gets
tempting to try to take shortcuts, risky moves as often there is so
much current loss that the longer route around the outside may
actually be the faster choice.
We
opted to just follow the main currents as they bounced from one side
to the other and were quickly past the Sixty Mile River which is
the final monitoring point before Dawson. This segment requires sharp
attention as fatigue sets in well before reaching the end, especially
when you consider we only got a 3 hour break in between 150 and 100
mile segments! The last 30 miles here are nearly as mentally
challenging as the section leading into Carmacks, although maybe not
quite as you know that you don’t have to get back in the boat after
reaching Dawson!
At
about this point my mind started to drift toward mathematics.
Simple math...Specifically, the math required to determine our
projected arrival in Dawson and its correlation to restaurant closing
times. One of my primary timing goals for this race is to be able to
eat at Klondike Kate’s' before it closed on Friday night. This
years' chances were looking pretty likely! We closed in on Dawson,
with its beautiful Moosehide slide coming into view about 5 or
six miles out and also noticed that the women Voyageur had again
closed the gap, they were in sight of us!
That’s
all we needed to see to set the final sprint in motion, it became a
major source of motivation to get the two women in our boat the first
across the finish line! We opened up a final small gap between us and
crossed the finish line at 45 hours 48 minutes and 16 seconds,
almost 8 minutes in front of the next boat. Pretty close, considering
the distance! Nerve wracking as it was, it was helpful to have the
next boat so close behind us, what better motivation is there?
Complacency happens out there when the competition is out of
sight.
Final
gear checks and a quick recap with our amazing pit crew; we loaded
the vehicle with our boat gear and the boat and headed up to our
cabin for hot showers, knowing we had plenty of time to sit down for
dinner. Then it was back down to the water to watch our other NY C4
team finish. They looked great coming in and we couldn’t wait to
hear about their journey.
My
paper cut was now a full blown weeping flesh wound that required
several weeks to heal and I still don’t have feeling in my
left pointer finger but other than that the main issues were focused
around fatigue and depletion after covering the distance.
We
spent the rest of the weekend in wild Dawson celebrating Canada’s'
150th birthday and replacing lost calories. Saturday evening was a
"night on the town" where the Sour Toe cocktail club gained
a few members. The banquet on Sunday got us all our certificates
and finisher pins and some group recognition for each other’s
accomplishments before heading our separate ways. We had a long
ride back to Whitehorse, many of us departing Monday morning,
sad that it was over but elated at our accomplishments. A small group
headed off to Alaska for a few days of sightseeing and the folks who
drove began the long journey eastward.
We
were the fourth boat overall, second voyageur, and first place
mixed voyageur. Ashley Cary and Teresa Stout were the first
women to complete the 2017 race and we were the first C4 to ever
finish the race. Ultimately all 4 of the C4's finished within the top
20 and our other NY team came in at 50 hours and some change. Quite
respectable for a class that didn't exist here a year ago!
The
contributions and efforts put forth by our pit crew cannot be
overstated. A race of this magnitude simply cannot be done
efficiently without good support and this team really pulled out all
of the stops for us. We certainly would not have finished as well as
we did without their well executed preparations.
I
was very pleased at the C4 teams overall performance and sincerely
hope that given our own class next year, we have opened up the
opportunity for others to enter and really prove that C4 is the
ultimate craft to race the Yukon River Quest in! I predict that the
course canoe record will eventually be held by a C4.
Teams,
listed bow to stern:
#62-
Paul Repak, Holly crouch, Eileen Visser, Francis Soenen
#65-
Jon Vermilyea, Teresa Stout, Ashley Cary, Ben Schlimmer
Pit
Crew:
Vivien
Maiden, Kitty Leonard, Pam Repak, Lorraine Turturro, David Haas
Comments
Post a Comment