Whitehorse Star, June 25, 2004

'You'd think at 48 you'd be smarter, but you still have a lot to learn'

WHITE WATER - Team Scar heads through Five Finger Rapids on their way
to Kirkman Creek Thursday evening during the 2004 Yukon River Quest. © Photo Whitehorse Star

By ECHO ROSS
Whitehorse Star

Participants are now into Day 3 of the 2004 Yukon River Quest and it's almost certain there will be a new record time set for the annual race.

Current record-holder Steven Landick of Michigan and his partner Bruce Barton have arrived at the second checkpoint in Kirkman Creek, where there is a mandatory three-hour layover.

They are being followed by Yukon team All North/Waterstone Frontec (Francis Roy and Jean-Francois Latour) in second place, but at least a couple of hours behind.

Whitehorse's Stephen Mooney (Promithian) was in third while Gerwing/Hodgson (Chris Gerwing and Tim Hodgson) was sitting in fourth place. Rounding out the top five was Scar (David Kelly and Curt Green).

So while it looks like Landick will win the title once again, there was still no lack of drama as the teams began pulling into Carmacks Thursday. The first scratch of this year's race, Nanaimo's Derek Crook, had to be rescued by boat and treated by the British Broadcasting Corporation's doctor. Crook, who was in second place at the start of Day 2, began suffering from dehydration and hypothermia - conditions which made him delirious.

The B.C. resident began river paddling just this past winter, after numerous years of sea kayaking. He completed his fifth 24-hour canoe race on Bowen Island a couple of weeks ago where he's finished first twice.

The boat and rudder he was traveling in were homemade by a friends of his - he was trying to prove and test the equipment for sales.

"I guess it ain't going over too well," he said.

Coming into the River Quest, Crook set a goal of finishing with a respectable time. But after Lake Laberge, when he found himself in second place, the athlete admitted he started thinking maybe he could keep it up.

"I thought I could make up a lot of time on the lake, " he said. "And I did. But once I got on the river, I started having problems.

Rivers, I soon learned, take a whole different skill level. You have to be able to navigate them and that was my downfall, not knowing the river."

Crook said things got worse as the night went on, and at about 1 a.m. Thursday, the hypothermia started to hit him.

"The heat was the first thing that got to me," he explained. "I only drank about four litres of water on the lake. Four litres was nowhere near enough to keep me hydrated. So I pulled over to get some clothes on and to try eating and drinking some more, but I was already cramping up on the shore."

The seagulls constantly diving around him on shore were also making Crook a bit nervous, so since he couldn't relax on shore, he thought he would be safer in his boat.

"I got back on the water, but things just started going downhill," he said. "The head wind chilled me right to the bone. I didn't have a proper wind breaker. Or I had it, but not in the boat, It was being brought into Carmacks with my other supplies."

"After five or six boats passed me that I knew I should be ahead of, I knew I wasn't going to be successful in this race."

Thankfully, the BBC crew and their guide, Up North's Mark Stenzig, weren't far behind Crook and they recognized he was in danger.

"I heard a boat coming up so I stopped and they pulled up beside me," he said. "It could have been a lot worse if I wasn't rescued at that point. I was delirious at that point."

Crook said he is very grateful for all of the help he received, right from the time he was rescued until he recovered. The BBC crew also gave him a bed in their an air-conditioned camper, along with a doctor to take care of him.

"I had no support crew of my own," the athlete said. "I didn't think I would need one. Obviously, I was really mistaken."

Once re-hydrated and on his way back to 100 per cent, Crook wasn't making any promises to return next year, but pointed out, 'You can never say never.'

"I've just got to be smarter," he admitted. "You would think at 48 you'd be smarter, but you still have a lot to learn. A support crew would be nice. I really stressed about arrangements to get my boat here and about all the other stuff."

Crook also offered advice to anyone hoping to enter the River Quest in the future.

"Anything you have to chew too long isn't advisable," he said of energy aids. "Liquid carbohydrates are much better. They agree with you much more."

Despite the unfortunate ending to the race, he said the trip was definitely worth it.

"I'm so happy to come here and see this part of the world,' he smiled. "I don't know when I would have got up here otherwise. And I've met a few people that I'm going to keep in touch with."

Crook even got a chance to travel with Landick and Barton, two competitors he believes no one can catch.

"There's no way," he stated. "I actually sprinted it out, trying to catch them by the end of the lake. Those guys are just unbelievable paddlers.

"Apparently one of them said he could just keep going and do the whole race. He didn't need a rest at the check point."

Fourteen other teams scratched Thursday, including Fookawi, comprised of Sam Vander Merwe and Mark Cluttley. They were in 11th place once they reached Carmacks but had to pull out due to a hand injury. Yellowkife's Jack Simpson (YK Jack) also scratched after starting the race an hour-and-a-half late Wednesday, due to problems getting out of the N.W.T. capital.

The other teams which scratched are; Fox Catchers 2, Century Plus, CUZ, SAS Chase 1, SAS Chase 2, solo kayaker Christine Irving, Channel Surfers, John Ronayne and Marie Ronayne, Beauty & The Beast, kayaker David Sendy, Alaska Kayak and soloist Eric Kocher.

Whitehorse resident Linda Bourassa had a close call yesterday afternoon. Bourassa flipped her solo kayak and had to be assisted by another racer. Though she was tired and her back was rubbed bare, she decided to continue and left Carmacks around midnight.

There are reports that at least two canoe teams have dumped, with at least one losing their boat before being assisted by Rangers. The reports suggest it could be either Yukon's Yvonne Harris and Pat McKenna or the Texas/Maryland team of Ginger Turner and Kaki Burrus, but that cannot yet be confirmed.

Either way, both teams have re-organized their boats and continued on along the river.

The current last place team, Blazing Paddles (John Little and Bill Butler), left Carmacks at 10:09 this morning.

The first teams in the 2004 Yukon River Quest are expected to arrive in Dawson during the early evening today or tomorrow.

SUNSHINE - The Skagway duo of John O'Daniel and Kathleen O'Daniel
(Skagway Siblings) enjoy their time on the Yukon River thursday
Morening, during the annual Yukon River Quest. © Photo Whitehorse Star

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