麻豆社区

Alon Peled and Ron Shilon are experienced adventure racers.

The duo from Hod Hasharon and Tel Aviv, Israel, made their first attempt at the Yukon River Quest this year.

Unfortunately, their journey came to an end sooner than expected.

Competing in the men's tandem kayak division as team Tera Santa Israel, the duo hit a tree near Big Salmon and capsized their boat.

By the time they emerged for air, the strong current had sucked the boat downstream and nearly out of sight.

"We hit a tree and it just flipped over,鈥� said Shilon.

"It was the wrong judgement on our part. After 16 hours of paddling, we were tired, it was morning, and we made the wrong decision.

"We were coming at it and we thought right, left, right, left and we just hit it and flipped immediately and as soon as we came up for the air, the boat was gone, we were moving so fast.鈥�

Cold, alone and without a boat, Shilon and Hasharon began to swim for the nearest shore.

They fought their way through trees before finally climbing onto the banks of an island and gathering themselves.

"We got out of the water and just started looking for other boats, said Shilon.

As the other teams approached, they flew by the duo, propelled by the current.

"Everyone was very nice and tried to help but they were moving so fast they couldn't reach us,鈥� said Shilon.

Luckily, one paddler was able to get close enough to throw them a lighter so they could start a fire and try and warm up as the temperatures dropped to just one degree.

As fate would have it, the team was saved by a group of survivors.

The Paddlers Abreast women's voyageur canoe team spotted the stranded paddlers and used their satellite phone to call into the control centre.

After an hour on the shore, a safety boat was dispatched and Shilon and Peled were taken to the Carmacks checkpoint.

Jeff Brady, a board member with Yukon River Quest, said accidents like Shilon and Peled's can happen with water levels so high.

"You can't see the trees and all the obstacles and you're moving so fast,鈥� he said.

"It can make it really difficult.鈥�

Despite their obvious disappoint with having to scratch from the race, Shilon tried to stay optimistic about the incident.

"We're both okay so everything else makes no difference,鈥� he said.

"We both race a lot in different endurance races and these type of things happen. We have to get our gear and find our boat and just go on and continue the rest of our lives.鈥�

Just three days before the start of the River Quest, Shilon competed in the Western States Endurance Run, one of the oldest and most challenging trail runs in the world.

Beginning in Squaw Valley, Calif. and ending in Auburn, Calif., runners traverse 100 miles (161-kilometres) of trail and climb more than 8,000 feet of elevation.

Shilon's goal was to complete both races in good spirits and enjoy the competition.

Though the team was unable to cross the finish line of the River Quest, they will be in Dawson to watch the finish, before heading home.

"There will be more races, more marathons in the future,鈥� said Shilon, with a smile.

"It's not our last race.鈥�