Joanne Hamilton-Vale was ready and waiting on her computer in the United Kingdom as the clock reached 7 a.m. and the official registration for the 2017 Yukon River Quest opened.

One of 11 pioneering standup paddleboarders in the 2016 race, she was forced to withdraw after Lake Laberge when she was so ill she couldn’t keep down any nutrition.

“I was heart-broken in 2016 at getting so sick and withdrawing from the race,” she said.

A breast cancer survivor, she had trained six months for the race and was raising money for Stand Up for the Cure, a global breast cancer awareness charity that raises money through standup paddleboarding.

Hamilton-Vale had raised $7,500, but was unable to complete the race.

“I do not like things beating me,” she said. “I knew I was going to sign up again the minute I had to say the words ‘I officially withdraw from the race’ in 2016.

“I will never forget that moment.”

She spent the remainder of the race recovering and supporting the other standup paddleboarders competing in the race for the first time.

She said she also signed up to complete the 2017 YRQ because she left her wedding ring in Dawson City with strict instructions that she was not to get it back until she crossed the finish line in 2017.

As standup paddleboards (SUP) were added as an official class for 2017, there are some new and returning faces in the category. Bart de Zwarte, who was the first SUP to cross the finish line last year in under 55 hours will be back to defend his title.

In all, 10 SUPs have signed up so far and the solo boat category is full.

As of press time, there were 58 entrants. The race is capped at 100 entries.

Five Whitehorse-area boats are registered, including Shannon Mallory and Sarah Crane “River Arm Wrestlers” in tandem canoe; Jason Biensch and Spencer Edelman “Maximum Capacity” in tandem canoe; Stuart Knaack “SUP Yukon” in SUP; the “Stix Together” voyageur team; “Paddloons” voyageur team; “Dark Swimmer” voyageur team; and “Deer”, the tandem canoe duo of Peter and Patrick Deer.

Yukon River Quest president Harry Kern is worried that Yukon teams might be operating on Yukon time and could miss out on the opportunity to register.

“Who knows, by the end of the week it might be full,” he said.

This is the fastest the race has filled up. Last year it was full at 100 boats in March.

Due to space restriction at Carmacks Checkpoint, the race can’t get any bigger, said Kern.

He said the organizing committee also wants to race to maintain a high quality.

There are still spots open in tandem categories, as well as 12 more spots for voyageurs. Once a category is full, a waiting list will be started.

The deadline to register is May 15, 2017. Late registration will be available if there’s space from May 15 to June 15, 2017 for $150 extra.

The 2017 Yukon River Quest starts in Whitehorse on June 28 at noon from Rotary Peace Park.