CARMACKS — All was calm on the water as time ticked away toward 8 a.m. Thursday. The sun glimmered off the water, and rumblings began that the first Yukon River Quest boat was due to reach the Carmacks checkpoint.

The checkpoint marks the place where the paddlers must take a mandatory seven-hour break before continuing on to Dawson City. Carmacks sits just under halfway.

The River Quest volunteers began to gather on the dock where the boats get pulled out of the water. The shoreline at the Coal Mine Campground began to fill with handlers and fans of the race. The first boat was near.

Then, from around a bend in the river they, the men’s tandem canoe team, #wepaddletogher, became visible paddling strong toward the flag that marked their time.

Ivan English and Mark Vincent, both from Saskatchewan, were pulled to the dock by the volunteers. Their legs were shaky after a long paddle which had begun at noon Wednesday from Rotary Peace Park in Whitehorse.

Lake Laberge, which had been calm during the early afternoon, was hit by a thunderstorm which caused the water to turn and the waves to become high.

Because of their boat, English said, they were able to navigate through the choppy water better than the voyageur canoes which had been leading when the lead group entered the lake.

“On Lake Laberge, it whipped up before the narrows,” said English.

“We were just trying to hold on and we had a couple boats nearby swamped or dumped. We were pretty happy to just be able to get through it.

Vincent noted that Lake Laberge is known for rough water.

“All the books you read, it says it is notoriously unpredictable,” said Vincent.

The duo was surprised they were the first to reach Carmacks, saying it might be because the big boats, the voyageurs, had trouble on the lake.

“The big boats travel faster but they had a lot of trouble, and just didn’t catch back up,” said Vincent.

“We are really happy,” said English. “We were able to handle the bad conditions on Lake Laberge a little bit easier.

“The smaller boats kind of bounce like a cork and the bigger boats dive through the waves and fill up,” added Vincent.

The pair looked really strong coming into Carmacks, but English said he was feeling dead, and that it was time to rest.

The #wepaddletogther reached Carmacks at 8:12:56 a.m. Thursday.

The crowd which had gathered to watch the first boat in lingered about; the second boat was an estimated 20 minutes away.

As they became visible, the cries of “boat!” echoed through the campground as the people rushed to the banks to cheer them on their last push before a much-needed break.

The voyageur team C6 Heave Paddlesports, a team from across the U.K., passed the flag marking their time at 8:32:04 a.m.

Thor Harley said they were able to manage the rocky water better than the voyageur canoes ahead of them and were able to get passed.

“The waves were getting up to maybe four- or five-foot,” said Harley. “The two crews in front of us swamped, and Yukon Wide looked uncomfortable.

“We had to pull in as well because we were starting to swamp. We managed, but it was very tricky.”

Harley said it was a pleasant surprise to reach Carmacks second.

“We are very happy; it was a little unexpected,” said Harley. “We thought we would be chasing the other two voyageurs down the river, but we were lucky to pass them during the storm.”

Harley and the C6 Heave Paddlesports team said they were happy Lake Laberge was now behind them.

“That is by far the worst part,” said Harley. “(Today) will be tough because we are tired, but Laberge is by far the worst part.”

Harley said he was feeling tired and hungry, and stressed the importance of the seven hours of mandatory rest.

“I don’t know how you could make it without it,” he said.

It didn’t take long before the third- and fourth-place boats could be seen making their final strokes to the end.

The Hatchet Lake Voyagers voyageur boat and the mixed tandem kayak team The Kiwis both rounded the corner together.

It was The Kiwis who were able to find the faster water and reach the checkpoint at 8:55:03 only 18 seconds ahead of Hatchet Lake.

The Kiwis got out of their boat with shaky legs. They were taken to get something to eat and get some much-needed rest.

Joseph Dzeylion of Hatchet Lake Voyagers talked about the team’s experience flipping over.

“It is not scary, it is cold, and lots of water in the boat,” said Dzeylion. “The water started rocking side-by-side and rolling over. It was very windy.”

Dzeylion said the team is pleased with their placement and that they were feeling strong and ready for the final push to Dawson.

The Hatchet Lake team, which hails from Wollaston Lake, Sask., had the largest cheering section of the arriving boats. As they became visible from the campground, their supporters began to beat their drums and sing.

“It is really cool,” said Dzeylion about having such a boisterous fan section.

The 2017 and 2018 overall Yukon River Quest winning team, Yukon Wide Adventure, also had their troubles on the lake. They were the sixth boat to reach Carmacks at 9:03 a.m. Thursday.

“We got the thunderstorm and we got three, four feet of waves,” said team captain Thomas de Jager. “Gus (Oliveira, who sits at the front), he got baptized because the waves were rolling over us. We had to pull over five or six times to bail it out.

“Our boat is not made for waves. I was pretty much bracing in the back. The team was awesome. Luckily we made it and did not flip. We lost our good position in the front.”

De Jager estimated that the team lost about two hours during the storm.

Although it dropped back in position, de Jager said the team is still going for it.

“We are going to go and maybe they are good and they are better and that’s just what it is sometimes,” said de Jager. “We haven’t given up yet, so watch out! We are still coming. We know the river.”

The women’s tandem canoe Momentary Lapse of Reason was the first women in their class to reach Carmacks. When told that by their handlers, they were overjoyed.

“We were in disbelief,” said Sandra Luken. “We thought there was another boat in front of us.”

“We knew the local boats were pretty strong and we hadn’t seen them all race, so we figured they were in front of us,” said Sophie Coupal.

The women’s tandem canoe has eight teams in the class and Luken said they hope they all finish.

“It is such a strong field, and it’s the largest C2 women’s field ever and I hope everyone finishes,” said Luken. “We are running our race plan and it is working.”

The pair was stuck in the storm on Laberge, but Coupal said it was a situation they have been in before.

“It slowed us down a lot and it was pretty choppy, but we’ve been in that situation before where the lake is ridiculous,” said Coupal. “Our speed slows down, but we push through.”

Moving ahead in the race, Luken said they will continue to race their own race and take care of themselves.

The prospects of winning their class has them excited, but they aren’t looking too far ahead because “there is a lot of racing to go.”

The first standup paddleboarder into Carmacks was the three-time champion, Bart de Zwart. Compared to his other years, he said it was more difficult.

“The leg was hard it was a lot of wind and a lot of chop,” said de Zwart. “It just slows you down. On a SUP, you catch all the wind and you don’t cut through the waves.”

Although he said his time is much slower than years previous, he said he was happy with his placement once he learned that the next SUP racer was two hours behind.

“I pushed hard this whole time,” said de Zwart. “I really pushed, especially in the beginning, and (Wednesday) night, it worked.”

Physically, he said he is feeling fine, and the rest of the way, he planned to keep with what is working.

As the boats continued to roll in through the day, the sun shone high in the sky over the river, making it nice and hot.

The enthusiasm of the volunteers and the fans remained consistent from the first boat that arrived to the last.