In early September a group of students from Hamilton’s Marathon Canoe Racing Team (HCMCRT) raced in the Adirondack Classic 90-Miler Canoe Race. This past weekend several of those students were back at it, racing in the Long Lake Long Boat Regatta on Sept. 20.
The Long Lake Long Boat Regatta is a 10-mile race that starts from the town beach, runs north for five miles down Long Lake and past Round Island before turning and coming back to the beach. While the race is open to boats of all sizes, as a Long Boat Regatta the field consists primarily of C-4s (four person canoes) and voyageur or war canoes (six to eight person canoes). The war canoes race for the North American War Canoe Championship while several co-ed C-4s (two female paddlers and two males) made up of college students race for the New York State Collegiate C-4 Cup.
This year 11 students took part in the race. In the collegiate class Peter Skaggs ’16, Alex Wang ’17, Courtney Anderson ’15, and Ally Kontra ’15 paddled the boat Meatstick while Anne McGarvey ’17, Sam Bernstein ’17, Maggie Smith ’17, and Jake Davidson ’15 paddled Razzleberry. Rachel Lannino ’17, Eric Nieminen ’16, and Katie Jickling ’15 formed half of the crew for a war canoe, with the other paddlers hailing from throughout the Adirondacks.
Conditions on race day were challenging. A 15 mph wind was blowing lengthwise down the lake so for the first half of the race, the boats benefited from the strong wind and waves pushing them along. Once the boats rounded the island however, they had to fight the wind for the final stretch. At times the waves were so large that they crashed over the bows of the boats, soaking the paddlers.
Despite the tough conditions, Hamilton made a strong showing. Razzleberry won their class, finishing with a time of 1:27:11 just seconds ahead of Paul Smith’s College who finished moments later with a time of 1:27:24. Meatstick paddled hard, coming in third place with a time of 1:40:55. Razzleberry’s win broke a three-year winning streak by Paul Smith’s. Rounding out the competition, the war canoe crewed in part by Hamilton paddlers also came in first with a blistering time of 1:24:42.
With the weather growing colder and academic commitments ramping up, the Long Lake Long Boat Regatta was the Marathon Canoe Racing Team’s last race of the season. But as soon as the winter ends and the ice thaws from the lakes, the paddlers of HCMCRT will be back out on the water, training for another season.
HCMCRT is a highly welcoming group and is always looking for new paddlers. Contact Annie Emanuels ’16, Lindsay Pattison ’16, or Maggie Smith ’17 for more information. An interest meeting will also be held at the beginning of the spring in the Glen House–keep your eyes peeled for the email!
