Whitehorse, YT – The 24th annual Yukon River Quest kicked off with 177 paddlers from around the world racing from the starting line at Rotary Park to get in their boats to begin the long race to Dawson City.
A little girl is carried across the Yukon River after seeing the paddlers prep for the big race. Photo Courtesy of Macklen Linke/CKRW.
The paddlers come from 12 countries as far away as Israel, Czech Republic and Solenvia. Of the 76 teams, 73 will be doing the full 715 kilometers to Dawson City with the other three doing the YQR 300 Half Race to Carmacks.
Many folks gathered by the boat launch to prep their boats and chat with the paddlers.
Sam Koffman, a solo kayaker from Fairbanks, is a newbie this year and says he’s been doing a couple of key things in the last 30 minutes before the start.
“Right now, I’m just stretching. My legs start going numb after a while so I just want to stretch those out,” said Koffman. “I’m also making sure I have sunscreen on.”
A racer stretches his legs with 20 minutes to go before the send-off. Photo Courtesy of Macklen Linke/CKRW.
With nearly 180 paddlers this year there are a lot of racers to keep note of but here are some key players to eye this race.
In Solo Canoeing, veteran Mike De Abreu is going solo after being a part of a record-breaking four-person canoe team in 2022.
Two past champion racers Wayne Anderson of Alberta and Texan Brad Pennington will be battling yet again for the fastest time in solo kayaking.
A group of paddlers gather at the start line. Photo Courtesy of Macklen Linke/CKRW.
The Stand Up paddle board division is up in the air with many new teams.
‘Team 132’ is expected to do quite well in the tandem kayak division and the four-person canoe division is expected to be another tight match.
Before the racers set out to do their best they all gathered at the start as Whitehorse Mayor Laura Cabott, who raced in 1999, wished the paddlers the best of luck minutes before the 9 a.m. start.
Mayor Cabott may have pressed the starting horn about 10 seconds early but there was no stopping the paddlers as they raced to their boats.
Organizers credit the hard work of nearly 200 volunteers in making this event possible.
They also wished all of the teams the best of luck.
The first of the teams take off from the boat launch in downtown Whitehorse. Photo Courtesy of Macklen Linke/CKRW.
