Patrick and DeAnne Hemmens defended the Phatwater race title from last year, but not in record time for 2010. The win was just under 4 hours at 3:54. The river didn’t come out to play as the fast water was hard to find. Also a slight headwind for about 1 hour really made for a tough grind. But the festivities and flavor of Natchez, Mississippi is really what make this a great event.
Congratulations to first year ski paddler, Sean Lupton-Smith from Newport Beach, CA to win the mens’ single ski race in 4:01. He held off race veterens Joe Glickman 2nd and Eric Borgness 3rd. The best part of the day came when 13 year old KK McCarley (youngest paddler on the day and to finish this race with Dad) won the dontated Mako XT surfski.
Here are a few details from her dad Tim on the prize. “Everyone wanted to win the surfski, but when they called KK’s name and they saw how young she was and most knew how well she had done in the race, everyone was hugging her and talking to her. She was so excited that if we had let her sleep with it, she would have. She is in love with it.”
That pretty much says it all about the Phatwater race, awesome day!
www.natchezdemocrat.com/news/2010/oct/10/miss-river-sees-ninth-annual-phatwater-kayak-chall/