What an epic weekend! Big thanks to everyone that came out for The Race That Never Was! If you didn’t make it don’t miss out again next year! The weekend kicked off with a Friday full of gorge/crib runs and it sounds like most people got at least 4 laps in. We ended Friday with a few cold brews and Mike McVey set up a full media lab at the campsite so we could watch some kayaking and get fired up for the morning.

As people started to roll into the put-in parking lot on Saturday morning you could tell right away it was going to be a good day. People just kept pouring in and the stoke was high. Boaters came from all over New England, even Canada, and the West Branch felt very alive.

All of The Race That Never Was racers and their boats!

We kicked off The Race That Never Was at 3pm with one boater launching every minute. There were some missed lines and the occasional beat down but no real crazy carnage. Everyone made it off the river safe and sound and fired up for the after party.

Everybody gathered at Penobscot Outdoor Center at about 8pm for awards and cold beverages. We also crowned the first ever “BIGGEST SENDER,” the overall winner between The Race That Never Was and the K-BOMB. Congratulations to Willy Mook, Willy is THE BIGGEST SENDER! Going into The Race That Never Was it was looking like a battle between Chris Hull and Zack DiSilvestro for the title of BIGGEST SENDER as they were the two who tied for first at the K-BOMB. Ben Schott was also looking like a strong contender with a 2nd place finish at the K-BOMB only 7 seconds behind Zack and Chris. There were some other names in the running too, Adam Swett, Chuck Mathieu and a few others barely seperated by about 20 seconds. Willy had a 3rd place finish at the K-BOMB but absolutely dominated The Race That Never Was beating the second place finisher by 44 seconds, the largest gap in times at either race.

As the winner of The Race That Never Was Willy took home the first place prize, an Astral Green Jacket donated by RAFTING RANDYS! And, as the overall winner, THE BIGGEST SENDER, Willy walked away with a brand new Jackson Rockstar! Congrats Willy!

Willy Mook is THE BIGGEST SENDER

BIG THANKS to everyone that helped make this series possible! Many racers also acted as volunteers, safety boaters, timers and so on… We really couldn’t have done it without you. You all were a fine example of what a fantastic boating community we have here in Maine and I couldn’t be more stoked to be a part of it. Thanks to Ernie Deluca, Chris and Karen, The NEOC crew and Bob the bartender, Isaac and the Venus Project, Josh and Naomi, Colin Kemp, Mary Walker, Cam at No Limit Custom Ink, and many more…

Special Thanks To

RAFTING RANDYS
MAINE KAYAK
JACKSON KAYAKS
THE VENUS PROJECT
THE MARSHALLS
NEW ENGLAND OUTDOOR CENTER
FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT
BROOKFIELD POWER
NO UMBRELLA
SEND IT, WHITEWATER
NO LIMIT CUSTOM INK
ALL THE VOLUNTEERS

AND EVERYONE THAT JOINED US…

THANK YOU FOR A KILLER EVENT AND WE CAN’T WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR!

————————————-

OFFICIAL RESULTS
————————————-

MENS

THE BIGGEST SENDER: WILLY MOOK

1st. Willy Mook 8.23
2nd. Ryan Linehan 9.07
3rd. Chris Hull 9.12

4. Zack DiSilvestro 9.13
5. Peter Lataille 9.18
5. Chuck Mathieu 9.18
6. Brian Rockwood 9.19
7. Noah Isaacson 9.20
8. Thomas Perkins 9.24
9. Ben Schott 9.25
10. Josh G. 9.27
11. Adam Swett 9.28
12. Mike D. 9.30
13. Tom Neilson 9.31
14. Mike McVey 9.32
15. Nate Warren 9.34
16. Adam Tremblay 9.44
17. Adam Eckenroth 9.45
17. Mike Smith 9.45
18. Jacob Risch 9.48
19. Joshua Firmin 9.51
20. Ian Campbell 10.01
21. Taylor Walker 10.02
22. Andrew Wahl 10.05
23. Jeffrey Tillinghast 10.08
24. Nolan Kilgannon 10.23
25. Jeremy Cass 10.26
26. Mark Waugh 10.27
27. Greg Winston 10.30
28. Mike D. (hand paddle) 10.56
29. Nate Warren (hand paddle) 10.57
30. Zeke Callanan 11.26

LADIES

1st. Jane Koopman 9.39
2nd. Margaret Williams 10.25
3rd. Leanne Bernier 10.26

DUO

1st. Zack + Adam 8.47
DNF Ian + Josh