June 30, 2008
Whitehorse Star
By Will Johnson

Kisseynew racers win Yukon River Quest

At 2:02 on Friday afternoon, Team Kisseynew rounded the bend in Dawson City
and paddled to a record-breaking finish at the 2008 Yukon River Quest.

 

WINNING EFFORT - Team Kisseynew pulls into Dawson City winning the Yukon River Quest. Photo courtesy RON BERNARDIN

At 2:02 on Friday afternoon, Team Kisseynew rounded the bend in Dawson City and paddled to a record-breaking finish at the 2008 Yukon River Quest.

“Mentally, psychologically, I’m done. But physically, I’ll go again. Bring it,” said Tim Hodgson, who put together the voyageur team with Martin Bernardin.

The six men were groggy and disoriented, having paddled for almost two straight days. While posing for pictures and receiving congratulations, they expressed relief that they could now sleep.

Kisseynew now holds the course record, having completed the 742 kilometers from Whitehorse to Dawson in 39 hours, 32 minutes and 43 seconds.

Martin Bernardin looked particularly pleased, having placed second for the last two years in a row. “Well, I finally got it done,” said Bernardin, leaning heavily on his wife Heather. Together with Hodgson, they assembled their team with paddlers from across Canada and Australia.

“I could use a beer right now,” cracked Dennis Fosseneuve. His teammates grunted and laughed in approval.

At 2:35, Texas coasted into an easy second place finish. Having maintained a neck-and-neck competition for the entire race, they had lagged back a half an hour in the final stretch. Their finish time was 40 hours, 5 minutes-barely shy of their 40 hour goal.

The team members of Texas were gracious and praised Kisseynew, but also looked exhausted and disappointed. They were last year’s champions.

“The crazy thing is, whenever it was hot they would fly by us. Just leave us in their wake. But we’re all northern boys, eh? So, in the night, in the cold, we always got in front,” said Hodgson, who estimated that the lead had changed over ten times during the course of the race.

By the time the race was over, Hodgson was having trouble putting words together. Calling “1,2,3 switch!” was a challenge, as he’d repeated it thousands of times over the course of the grueling journey.

This year boasted six new records from the 200 plus participants in 89 boats, and organizers and racers alike praised the ideal weather conditions and amazing performances by racers.

Participants continued to stream into Dawson over the course of the weekend, with the last team arriving shortly before midnight on Saturday.

Volunteers and supporters kept a constant vigil, waiting near the riverbank. Many racers returned to cheer on their comrades, and spirits were high as finishers were met with enthusiastic applause and cheering.

After the first three voyageur teams completed the race, the next finisher was the tandem canoe team That’s What I’m Talking About, with Gloria Wesley and Gary Aprea completing the course in 44 hours, 13 minutes.

They were followed closely by Brad Pennington, who was only a minute behind. Pennington had been battling with Stephen Mooney for most of the course, but ended up with a 14-minute stretch of water between them.

The next winner of their class was tandem kayak team RBSI Make It Happen, with Robert Cassin and Carl Clinton, who came into Dawson at 9:37 p.m. on Friday with a finishing time of 47 hours, seven minutes.

Following closely behind was men’s tandem canoe team Moose and Jim, rolling in at 9:38 p.m. with a finishing time of 47 hours, eight minutes.

The fastest women’s team was tandem canoe team Yukon Water Women II, with Liz Bosely and Pat Mckenna finishing at 12:54 a.m. Saturday with a final time of 50 hours, 24 minutes.

“It was a really good race, we bettered our time by two hours,” said Mckenna. When asked whether she would be competing again next year, she didn’t have a definite answer.

“That’s like asking a woman who just delivered a baby if she wants another one,” joked Mckenna.

The winner of the solo canoe class was Kevin Mellis, who came in at 3:33 Saturday morning with a finishing time of 53 hours, three minutes.

Joe Evans, who completed the solo canoe race a little less than an hour later, donated his prize money to the Paddlers Abreast, in memory of his deceased wife. He smiled and hugged Linda Rapp, Paddlers Abreast’s team captain at the awards ceremony on Sunday.

The winning women’s tandem kayak team was The Incredigirls, consisting of Lisa McGee and Kim Petherick, who came into Dawson at 4:25 on Saturday afternoon. Their final time was 53 hours, 55 minutes.

The winners of the mixed category of the tandem kayak class were Peter Mygil and Vibe Sandberg, who came into Dawson at 5:03 p.m. on Saturday with a time of 54 hours, 33 minutes.

The winning women’s solo kayak was Ingrid Wilcox, who arrived at 8:14 p.m. on Saturday with a time of 57 hours, 44 minutes. For more information on Wilcox, see letters page 8.

“This has been one of the best years yet,” said Jeff Brady, race president, at the ceremony on Sunday. He said he couldn’t have hoped for a better result.

“Really, just a spectacular race,” said Stephen Mooney, who previously won in the tandem kayak class. He has competed for many years, and loves the challenge.

This year’s weather and the high calibre of the participants made it a year to remember, Mooney said. No matter how many times he competes, however, it remains an enormous test of endurance and pain. Around his hips and back are bruises and wounds from sitting in the kayak for days on end.

“Sitting down for hours on end is hell,” said Brandon Collyer, who competed in the tandem kayak class. Having flown in from South Africa for the race, Collyer spoke highly of the competition and the scenery.

His teammate, Mark Dixon, injured his shoulder early on but completed the race nonetheless. “In something like this, it’s foolish to think you’re not going to hurt yourself,” joked Collyer, who said he is slowly recuperating. They will be returning to South Africa soon.

Hundreds of participants gathered in Diamond Tooth Gertie’s on Sunday morning for the awards ceremony. With participants from all over the world, it was an eclectic crowd.

One of the highlights of the ceremony was when Brady called the team Are We There Yet? up to the podium.

“Yes we are!” cheered the team in response.