麻豆社区

CARMACKS 鈥� Five paddling teams have called it quits before reaching the Carmacks checkpoint, River Quest race marshal Roger Hanberg announced this morning.

Of the scratches, three were solo male kayakers and two were mixed tandem canoe teams.

Heinz Rodinger, a 73-year-old kayaker from Austria, did not start the race yesterday, after reportedly suffering a shoulder injury.

The former Olympian had started 13 River Quest races previously.

British kayaker Darran Williams reportedly pulled out after his boat capsized in Lake Laberge, but the 34-year-old is expected to continue with the race as a safety boat volunteer.

Kevin Erickson, a 45-year-old kayaker from Montana, scratched this morning, Hanberg told reporters.

The two canoe teams to scratch were Team 40, Anne Clark and Ryerson Clark of Mahone Bay, N.S., and Team 41's Leigh and Cheryl Merritt of High River, Alta.

Team 66 鈥� solo kayaker Ken Gibbons of Whitehorse 鈥� was "in trouble鈥� this morning, added Hanberg, but made a successful return to the race.

Lake Laberge was an adventure for most teams attempting to cross it.

"The lake conditions aren't the worst ever experienced, but there was a storm front that went through and caused whitecaps for a short period of time,鈥� the race marshal said.

He said as many as four boats capsized on the lake.

Another incident of note came when Whitehorse kayaker Gary Seed pushed the 911 button on his GPS after apparently capsizing Wednesday afternoon, setting off an international search.

Fortunately, it was called off quickly as Seed continued to paddle, said Hanberg.

"Because we had half a dozen safety boats in the vicinity, the RCMP stood down until we could identify that he was no longer in danger,鈥� he explained.

"From a safety point of view, I'm really happy with where the race is at right now. All the teams are accounted for and are in good shape.鈥�