The first leg of the 2003 Yukon River Quest continued to whittle away last night at the number of boats hoping to make it all the way to Dawson City. As of 6:30 p.m. Thursday, six teams had scratched before or at the mandatory eight-hour stopover in Carmacks. By 9:40 this morning, the number of scratches had doubled to 12; meaning more than one-third of the 33 teams that started the 740-kilometre paddling marathon from the territoryâs capital Wednesday afternoon have been eliminated. The list of scratched entries include the canoe class entries of Rob Leef and Joe Milliet from Texas; Guy Rogers and Andy Alford from the Guernsey Channel Islands; Germanyâs Dirk Riecken and Jurgen Buschner; Whitehorseâs Louis Pelletier and Francis Roy; Dewinton, Alta.âs Kent Fenton and Whitehorseâs Rick Brown; Skagwayâs John D. OâDaniel and David Brena; Whitehorseâs Tony Arcand and Kevin Mellis; solo kayakers Heinz Rodinger from Austria; Whitehorseâs Linda Bourassa; Manitobaâs Steve VanVlaenderen; Ontarioâs Carole Lundy and Langley, B.C.âs Briana Wood. By 6:30 last evening, 16 teams had arrived in Carmacks and three had departed following their eight-hour rests. After drifting into the checkpoint first at 9:10 a.m. yesterday, the canoe class pairing of Mike and Fiona Vincent were promptly back on the water and on their way to Dawson at 5:10 p.m. Their arrival in Carmacks meant they took 20 hours, 55 minutes to paddle the 315 kms to that point. Sixteen minutes after the Vincents departed the Carmacks checkpoint, they were followed by North Vancouver solo kayaker Jerome Truran. Along with chasing the first-overall pair, Truran appeared to have the upper hand in his three-person battle for top spot in the solo kayak class. His arrival in Carmacks put him two hours, 35 minutes ahead of both Torontoâs Dave Zietsma and Edmontonâs Rick Amschler. Amschler Ñ last yearâs solo kayak winner Ñ then scratched near Five Finger Rapids, becoming the 13th boat to drop out of the race. ãI normally feel this bad at the end of a race,ä joked Truran while sitting in his craft awaiting to be released back onto the water by the Carmacksâ checkpoint staff. ãIt definitely is a long race. Lake Laberge was quiet when I went through it up until about the last hour, which suited me just fine.ä Third out of the Carmacksâ checkpoint was the canoe tandem of Ken Stanick and Dave Ross, who also hail from North Vancouver. They left in third place overall and second in the canoe category at 5:58 p.m. Just prior to jumping back in his teamâs canoe, Stanick offered some thoughts on what competing in his first River Quest had been like to that point. ãThe middle section of Lake Laberge was mentally tough, but weâre happy with the progress weâve made so far,ä he related. ãThe lake was (a lot) bigger than we expected, but we got through it okay.ä Stanick added that he liked the idea of having the full eight-hour stop at Carmacks, as opposed to previous years when there was a two-hour layover there and a six-hour one at Minto. ãItâs better this way,ä he said. ãIt gives you a complete rest instead of just giving you enough time to get out of your boat. ãBefore, I imagine you basically had time to stretch, get cleaned up and then move on. ãIt may make the second stretch (to Dawson) seem a little longer, but weâll see.ä Included in the field of 33 teams that started the fifth-annual race Wednesday are two eight-person teams paddling voyageur-style canoes. The first of those into Carmacks was the one coined Maine Yahoos to the Yukon. The other is the local ãPaddlers Abreastä contingent that is once again competing to raise awareness for breast cancer survival. On board the local voyageur boat are Dawn Olli, Linda Rapp, Claire Desmarais, Faye Swerhun, Lynn Rice-Rideout, Janet Moore, Robyn Findlater and Michelle Genest. After clambering out of their boat at 12:56 p.m. yesterday, at least one member of the Maine Yahoos to the Yukon squad didnât feel anything like living up to his teamâs name by dinner time last night. ãItâs a bad time to ask (how I feel),ä an exasperated Ron Muir offered. ãI donât even think I know what time of day it is. ãThe longest race Iâve ever done is about (112 kms) and I just donât know how some of these (teams) manage this. ãI really needed this layover. I felt like I could have slept for 20 hours when we got here (yesterday). ãWe just took turns sleeping and paddling through the night, but you have to force yourself to stay awake at times.ä The leading crew from Regina stroked past Fort Selkirk at one this morning, followed by Truran a half-hour later. Stanick and Ross were there third at 2:50 a.m. and close on their stern was the team consisting of Yukoner Tim Hodgson and Torontoâs Paul Pageau. The pair, after arriving in Carmacks at 10:34 a.m. yesterday, has steadily been making up time on the leaders. By 8:30 this morning, nine teams had passed through Fort Selkirk. Trailing Hodgson and Pageau were Zietsma; and in sixth overall, the tandem kayak team of Jeff Raymond and Katja Rademacher from Vancouver. Raymond and Rademacher are thus leading the tandem kayak class. They are followed by the Maine Yahoos to the Yukon; who left Carmacks at 8:52 p.m.; and the canoe-class vessels carrying Ottawaâs Mike Perreault and Will Bruce and Yellowknifeâs Paul Burke and David Coupland. River Quest Search and Rescue boats were involved in three rescues yesterday at Cassiar Bar. It was pouring rain and three partcipants were unable to go on due to hypothermia Ñ VanVlaenderen, Wood and Milliet. All three were suffering from exposure. VanVlaenderen, from Selkirk, Man., was paddling to raise awareness for arthritis research. Due to the cold weather and rain, his arthritis flared up and the type of arthritis he has makes his body start to shut down. VanVlaenderen received assistance from Fenton and Brown Wednesday night on the Thirty Mile. They helped him get out of the boat so he could take his medication. Further down the river at about 9:30 Thursday at Cassiar Bar, Paddlers Abreast found VanVlaenderen on the bank and helped him get warm and dry. The voyageur canoe squad spent more than three hours with him, getting VanVlaenderen stripped down and into warm, dry clothes. They also built him a fire and stayed with him until the first rescue boat arrived. Wood was suffering from mild hypothermia, as she did not have appropriate equipment for the conditions. Millietâs condition was also diagnosed as a mild case of hypothermia. His feet, in particular, were very cold and he could not warm up. He pulled out at Cassiar Bar and teammate Leef continued on solo for about three hours until he was finally picked up by Carmacksâ Search and Rescue near Little Salmon River. Later that evening at Carmacks, Leef told media spokesperson Jeff Brady that he has done a lot of canoe races and this yearâs River Quest was one of the best-run races he has ever been in. Leef plans return to compete in the race next year. Having helped an additional two squads on the river before reaching Carmacks, Paddlers Abreastâs tremendous acts of kindness left them in second-last position overall. The time they spent helping other teams will be credited to their finishing time in Dawson City. It is expected that the Vincents should arrive at the finish area in the Klondike capital around 4 p.m. With a file from the Starâs Dianne Villeseche.