President's Column
By Ed Greiner
July is always a busy time for NNYP. Monday night paddling and Wednesday time trials are in full swing and there are, of course, two major races.
Both the Electric City Regatta and the Barge Chaser were well attended this year. While not record attendance at either race, they exceeded our expectations.
The Electric City Regatta took place on Saturday July 13th. We had 49 participants in 27 boats. The weather was scorching hot with the temperature around 93 degrees Fahrenheit. There was no shelter from the sun except our two small pop-up canopies. Surprisingly, only one kayaker, one of our locals, had serious problems with the heat. Although he made it in under his own power, he was far behind where we expected him to be. I had a similar problem at the 2016 Nationals in Northfield, Mass. I finished dead last. I would like to thank Rich Calder for providing the safety boat at Electric City and Geoff Moore for helping to man it. We were able to stay in contact with them to keep track of the racers.
In addition to our longtime sponsor Wolf Hollow Brewing Company, Two For The Road food truck helped defray our costs. They are a regular provider at Wolf Hollow and we make it a point to sample their fare whenever they are there.
Many people stayed in the Capital Region to race the Barge Chaser the next day. While the numbers were down from the previous day, 19 boats with 31 paddlers, it was still a better turnout than expected. The figure eight course of the Barge Chaser makes it a good one for spectators. In addition to watching participants from the start/finish line, an ambitious spectator could ride down the bike path to view the island turn or go west on route 5S to the Mabee farm. I was just happy that there was more shade available for the timing crew due to the trees at Kiwanis Park. Bill and Karen Simmons provided and manned the safety boat at the Barge Chaser as they did the previous month at the Towpath Regatta. Many thanks to them.
