Skagway team forced to scratch in Yukon River Quest
Mixed canoe team wins; kayak, voyageur records broken
By JEFF BRADY
The Skagway News - July 11, 2003

During the first four years of the Yukon River Quest, and the two years of the Dyea to Dawson races, the legendary winds of Lake Laberge stayed away.

Then came 2003.

As racers entered the lake after the start on June 25, a steady wind was blowing, and it kept up, getting stronger over the 30 miles. Not enough to produce life-threatening white caps, but at 20-25 mph, enough to keep paddlers busy controlling their craft with every rolling swell.

For the Skagway Alumni team, it proved to be too much, aggravating a back injury by stern man David Brena. By the time he and partner John D. O’Daniel reached Carmacks the following day at about 7:30 p.m., Brena could no longer continue.

The Skagway team wasn’t alone. A dozen other teams scratched by mid-race – about half due to injuries, the rest to cold, wet weather that greeted teams early on the second day. Some racers just could not get warm and had to receive assistance.

Solo kayaker Steve VanVlaenderen, a veteran racer from Manitoba with arthritis who raises money for the Paddle Far foundation, was aided by the Yukon voyageur team Paddlers Abreast. About 75 miles into the race, the team of breast cancer survivors got him out of his wet clothes, built a fire, and took care of him until safety boats arrived. For their efforts, they were awarded their time back plus an extra hour from race officials. By then, two other teams had joined them by the fire, ready to scratch.

Way ahead of these teams were the mixed canoe team of Mike and Fiona Vincent of Saskatchewan, who led from the beginning, and arrived in Dawson Friday night in a time of 55 hours, two minutes. Not far behind them, tied for second place with a time of 56:54 were the men’s canoe team Jerico, and solo kayaker Jerome Truran, both from British Columbia. Truran broke the solo kayak record for the race by three hours. In fourth place was the top northern team, Men of Constant Sorrow, from the Yukon in 57:41, and the voyageur team, Maine Yahoos to the Yukon, with a new record for their category, 64:13. Top woman in the event was solo kayaker Ingrid Wilcox of Whitehorse, who finished in 76:09.

In all, 18 of the 32 teams that started the race finished. Bringing up the rear was the Ontario tandem kayak team DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) in 93:36. They were awarded two halves of a Yukon stove donated by Haywire Industries, Griffith’s Heating and Mobile Maintenance of Whitehorse, immortalizing the Pierre Berton tale of the two Klondikers who split up every thing when they reached Dawson.

Despite not finishing the event, Brena of Skagway said it was a great experience.
The race was interesting and challenging for me, he said. If you could evaluate my paddling experience, I am probably now a 50 percent better paddler. John was an upbeat partner and the experience opened up the Yukon River. River names that I had heard but not associated and now placed.

My Uncle Bob on my mom's side lived along the Pelly River for 15 years and traveled extensively along the Yukon and Pelly via dog sled in the winter and canoe in the summer. He traveled with a wife and five kids. It is an easy race to be philosophical about and it gives new meaning to the term sea legs.

For more race results, see raceâs new site at www.yukonriverquest.com.