2013 Raisin River Canoe Race
The race took place this past Sunday, April 14 on a rather cool (6deg) mixed weather day. There was periods of hail, rain, and intermittent sunny spells none of which deterred an enthousiastic group of canoeists and kayakers of all ages from participating in this spring ritual which has them test their paddling skills over this approx 30km course. The course begins at St. Andrews, passes through Martintown at approximately the half-way mark, and finishes at Williamstown following a twisted route that encompasses several sets of rapids, flat water and a dam which can either be portaged around or paddled through (kamikaze fashion) via a chute in the dam.
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| Raisin River Race course |
This year water levels were high and paddlers were prohibited from 'shooting the dam' for safety concerns. For spectators of course this was a bit of a dissapointment as the action at the dam is a major attraction and is heavily attended by crowds not unlike those I imagine went to the coliseum in days of yore to watch Christians Vs lions.
Below is an image from 2012 when water levels were much lower and participants had the option to shoot the dam and many did.
Chute 2012
For comparison the image below was taken 2008, another year of high water and the bow wave from the dam was so strong it almost threw boats into the side wall with the potential for injury (I know of at least one) which is likely why they now prohibit using the chute in times of high water.
Chute 2008
Chute blocked 2013
The Raisin is primarily a canoe race but there are significant numbers of kayaks of all types; touring, whitewater, sit-on-top and even a few tandems and I would say generally speaking it seems the kayaks have better survival of both the rapids and the chute. The portage around the dam is probably close to 70m as paddlers have to go on the road and cross Kings Rd traffic (monitored by OPP) before re-entering the river below at what once would have been the mill race.
Martintown portage
There are two major rapids the first set just east of Delaney Rd about 5km from the start where spectators gather on the bridge to watch the sometimes comedic action as a parade of boats navigate through the rapids. This year one canoe was apparently broken in two as it capsized broadside to the current before the two halves dissapeared downstream. Higher water actually helps in the rapids, fewer rocks breaking the surface so most made it through without incident. The other popular viewing area is at the Mclaren rapids betwen Mcgillvray bridge and Williamstown a few kilometers from the finish, a few ended their race here as their canoes got away from them in the fast current after capsize.
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| First rapids |
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| McLaren rapids
Everyone seemed to have a great time despite the cold, and some of them must have been very cold by the time they reached the finish but no one seemed any the worse for wear and will likely be back next year for a repeat performance. I took a great number of images, too many to display here but they can all be viewed at the url below so if you participated in the race or think you know someone who did there is a good chance you can see them in one of their finer moments (or not) by clicking on the following link. As there is a lot of images they are best viewed in slideshow mode at full screen, you can always stop or go back and feel free to download.
New Link: Action photos from this year's race
KayakJock
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