Kayaks and surf skis sprint from the start on Simon Pond on June 24 in Tupper Lake. (Provided photo — Roger Gocking)

TUPPER LAKE –The seventh running of the Tupper Lake 8-Miler canoe, kayak and stand up paddle board (SUP) race took place on Saturday, June 26.

After a year’s hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, wet and windy early morning weather made registration for the race a soggy affair. But, Mother Nature relented and skies cleared just before race start.

Forty-four boats with 60 paddlers and one canine, a passenger, set off in two waves. Canoes and the lone guide boat, as well as SUPs, were in the first wave, and three minutes later were the kayaks and surf skis. First to return on the out-and-back course, — from Simon Pond, up the Raquette River, to the turn-around at the Oxbow — were Royal McDonnell of Lake Clear and Jim Malloy of Henrietta in their K-1, IF Olympic sprint kayaks.

Youth finally prevailed in what had been a cat-and-mouse affair, and 23-year-old Royal out-sprinted 63-year-old Jim at the finish line for the two fastest times of the day.

A little more than five minutes behind was Eric Young of Mooers Falls. Young was closely followed by the first woman, Phoebe Reese of Oneonta. Reese was in an unlimited surf ski. Both Reese and Young were both in the under 50 class.

About two minutes later, the touring kayaks and SS20 surf skis began to arrive, led by David Wiltey from Johnstown, with Jay Appleton of Fayston, Vermont second and Bob Raymonda third. The men’s over-50 class was the largest in the race, with 10 kayaks and surf skis.

Breaking up the lead three was the first canoe in the C-2 mixed Amateur under-50 class with Rebecca Sutter of Saranac Lake and Michael Shimmer of Courtland.

First in the touring kayak class for men under 50 was Chris Legard from Williamstown and for the women was Emily Hart, also from Williamstown. Eileen Visser of Potsdam, with passenger canine, was first for the women over-50.

The men over-50 in the C-2 Amateur class were fairly close behind Sutter and Shimmer with Roger Henry of Redford and Jim Smell of Gansevoort in first place for the class. Alec Davis and Neal Sand of Milton Vermont were in second. Rodger Dempster of Saranac Lake and the grand ole patriarch of canoe racing in New York State, Glen Vanderwinckel, from Webster, were in third.

Dave Preston of Pennellville was in first for the C-1 Amateur Men over-50 class with Will Siegfried of Potsdam in second. Kim and Ed Greiner of Esperance were the only pair in the C-2 Amateur class.

There was just one family C-2 team of Matthew and Bruce Braman from Greene. There were six C-2 and C-1 Stock classes with Mary and Allen Kelly of Rensselaer Falls being the fastest. There were some tight races in the C-2 Stock Men over-50 class with Peter Cain of Potsdam and Brian Watson of Watertown finished in first as Duke Fisher of Bainbridge and Amber Giles were only a few seconds behind.

Even closer was the tussle between Linsey and Greg Stevens from Hartford, who had a time of 1:34.16, while Steve Dilgerand Aviva Gold of Potsdam had a time of 1:34.18 in the C-2 Stock Mixed.

There were three solo recreation classes with Placid Boatworks and Hornbeck ultra-light pack canoes with John Morona of Lake Clear the fastest. Jon Vermilyea of Baldwinsville and Kevin Berl of Rochester were the only guide boaters. Randy Young of Saranac Lake was the lone SUPer.

Many of the paddlers remained in the area to compete in the Celebrate Paddling Race in Saranac Lake on Lake Flower the following day.

Results Tupper Lake 8-Miler 26 June 2021:

Unlimited Kayaks Men under-50: Royal McDonnell: 1:07.01; Eric Young: 1:12.41. Unlimited Kayaks Men over-50: Jim Mallory: 1:07.04; Paul Tomblin: 1:15.03. Unlimited Kayaks Women under-50: Phoebe Reese: 1:13.13. Touring Kayak/SS20 Men over-50: David Wiltey: 1:15.02; Jay Appelton: 1:16.14; Bob Raymonda: 1:16.24; Jim Phillips: 1:22.36; Peter Jaworski: 1:24.26; Bill Short: 1:27.21; Karl Cook: 1:27.40; Chris Frechette: 1: 28.28; Joshua Ryan: 1: 44.30; Steven Buzzell: 1:55.16. Touring Kayak Men under-50: Chris Legard. 1:16.08.Touring Kayak Women under-50: Emily Hart: 1:22.15. Touring Kayak Women over-50: Eileen Visser: 1:26.09. C-2 Mixed Amateur under-50: Rebecca Sutter/Michael Schlimmer: 1:15.38. C-2 Amateur Men over-50: Roger Henry/Jim Amell: 1:17.02; Alec Davis/Neal Sand: 1:19.53; Rodger Dempster/Glen Vanderwinckel: 1:29.16. C-2 Family: Matthew/Bruce Braman: 1:19.42. C-2 Stock Mixed over-50: Mary/Allen Kelly: 1:22.49; Wendy/Brian Sanders: 1:24.52; Blanche Town/Chas Billingsley: 1:24.57. C-1 Amateurs Men over-50: Dave Preston: 1:24.37; Will Siegfried:1:26.18. C-2 Amateur Mixed over-50: Kim/Ed Greiner: 1:25.46. C-2 Stock Men under-50: Andy/Picking/Brandon Devito: 1:32.52. C-2 Stock Men over-50: Peter Cain/Brian Watson:1:25.22; Duke Fisher/Amber Giles: 1:25.58; Dennis Bradley/ Dennis Hadley: 1:45.42. C-2 Stock Mixed under-50: Lindsey/Greg Stevens:1:34.16; Steve Dilger/Aviva Gold: 1:34.18. C-1 Stock Men over-50: Nathaniel Corwin: 1:35.23. C-1 Stock Women under-50: Sara Mele: 2:02.04. Solo Rec Men over-50: John Morona:1:29.40; Chris Hoven: 1:40.10. Solo Rec Men under-50: Cory McWilliams: 1:48.26; John Ryan: 1:49.16. Solo Rec Woman over-50: Linda Grace: 1:52.04. Two-Person Guide Boat: Jon Vermilyea/Kevin Berl: 1:35.06. SUP Men over-50: Randy Young: 1:41.12.