The Tippy was low with many rocky shallows, rocky rapids, and suck water. There were also some welcome deeper sections where you didn’t suck down. The race started with Skeet and Terry in C2 in the lead with Matt Conrad in kayak, Larry Swift in C1 and me battling just behind. George & Tillman were behind us. We then caught Skeet and Terry within about half a mile or less and the 4 of us battled for a while. I then managed to pull ahead about a mile into the race and break away. Mat, Larry, Skeet and Terry were chasing hard though. I ended up winning with a time of 1:33 with Matt about 2 minutes behind me, Larry back about 2 minutes behind Matt, then Skeet and Terry about a minute or so behind Larry. I’m not sure how far back George and Tillman were. There were only the 5 boats in the race, but we had a good time. I hit one rock that sounded like it ripped out the bottom of my canoe. I haven’t checked it yet though, probably just added another big scratch to the bottom. I think everyone touched rocks on the way down.
(Tom Thomas)
Results:
C2 Man:
1st Terry Pontius / Skeet Craig 1:38:03
C1 Man:
1st Tom Thomas 1:33:27
2nd Larry Swift 1:37:15
K1 Man Sea Kayak:
1st Matt Conrad 1:34:32
C2 Aluminum:
1st George Tinsley / Hilman Culp Jr. 1:49:58
Julie Birge has a great video clip of the start, but you’ll need to go to her Facebook page to see that, posted on June 10th.
*This race was held on the Tippecanoe River due to low water levels on Wildcat Creek.
