As if Francophiles don’t have enough to celebrate right now. Saturday, July 14, marked Bastille Day—and the inaugural Prix de Paddle, HHYC’s 2.5K Human–Powered Boat Race. “If you can paddle, pedal or row it, you can win it!” shouts the poster, in English (whew).

Sometime around 10:07 a.m. or so, 16 contenders gathered for the mandatory 9:30 Captains Meeting.

Rules: ALL kayakers must wear PFDs…

…while some may wear shorts to match the kayaks.

Le cours de tour: 2.5K from Horseshoe Harbor entrance to Green Can 3, round it counterclockwise, then head for Red Nun 4 and back to HHYC finish line. The club’s cannon marks the one-minute-to-start signal. BOOM!!

And they’re off! Single-kayak: Men. Single-kayak: Women. Multi-yaks. SUP. Other (i.e. rowboat).

Despite waves and steady headwind, the pack rounds Green Can 3… (click for full-size pics in gallery)

On to Red Nun 4!

Tick tock…the race committee (Cullen and Alex) waits at the finish line.

And the winner is…Dwight (single-kayak: Men)! So fast, we didn’t get a photo of him actually crossing the line. The blur immediately behind him was Jim, in his handcrafted yak. Surfski maven Nan led the women’s field, with Griet and Maria in her wake.

Cooling our engines at the finish. (Ha! Sailors don’t get to do this!)

Strict Rule, No Exceptions: Enjoy Champagne brunch on the deck while race times are tallied.

Prizes included HHYC caps and “$15,000 stickers” (search-and-rescue prevention boat ID stickers, courtesy of the Coast Guard). Tres fun! Looking forward to next year 🙂 🙂