Plenty of buzz for first-ever Yukon 1,000 Canoe and Kayak race; registration open

It hasn't even been advertised for week, but so far there has been a lot of buzz about the Yukon 1,000 Canoe and Kayak race.

It hasn’t even been advertised for week, but so far there has been a lot of buzz about the Yukon 1,000 Canoe and Kayak race.

Five boats signed up within the first 48 hours of sign up on Sunday, which was a pleasant surprise for race organizer Peter Coates. 

“I was initially thinking that 10 (teams) would be going well for a race that requires so much time from people, but we have had so much interest already that I think I would now be disappointed if we didn’t get 20,” Coates said. “It is very gratifying to see this many people interested in investing a lot of time.”

Presently, four canoes and one tandem kayak with two Alaskans, two Californians, two New Yorkers, two Brits and one paddler from each of the Yukon and Wyoming have signed up to compete.

Coates said the people that have expressed an initial interest appear to be a mix of outfitters and guides, serious canoe racers, and strong paddlers with a sense of adventure. 

The Yukon 1,000 is a race for canoes, kayaks and voyageur canoes. 

It will take place in the last two weeks of July, running from Whitehorse down the Yukon River into Alaska. The race wraps up at the Dalton Highway Bridge 1,000 miles later, which is 1,600-km downstream. Boats are expected to be entirely self sufficient. 

There is a limit of 50 teams that can register for the competition. More than a few picturesque destinations will be featured throughout the 1,600-km course, including Whitehorse, Lake Laberge, the upper Yukon, Dawson City and the Yukon Flats, which is where the river becomes very wide and open.

The race will be monitored by time and position data transmitted from each boat by a Spot device.

The device sends GPS coordinates and a timestamp to race control, which sorts them and displays the boats in race order and also plots their location on Google Earth. This will turn the race into more of a spectator sport.

Coates said the technology used in this race is one of the things that makes it unique from other river competitions held in the territory.

The race will feature a rule that will involve a mandatory check in before 11:15 p.m. every night and at least six hours later from the same place, which Coates said forces competitors to rest during the race.

“There is a forced sleep on them, which is something that is becoming a popular concept in adventure races,” he said. “Before the Spot device existed this sort of race could not be done, so it’s only really a possible race because of the new technology.”

Coates estimates the race will take seven to eight days to finish.

Participants in the 1,000 Canoe and Kayak race are competing for prize money, which will vary depending on how many people register to take part.

Individual registration is $250 and can be done at http://yukon1000.com.