The twenty-first annual Oar and Paddle Regatta, postponed one week by Hurricane Irene, splashed off Sunday on Sengekontacket Pond at the Little Bridge with 55 people and one dog entering the lists.
The 2.7-mile course took the fleet the length of the pond, exiting at the Big Bridge and returning to the starting point, the Little Bridge, on the ocean side.The not unexpected winners were Dana Gaines and Jon Moore in their fiberglass double sea kayak in 23 minutes, 36 seconds.
Second to finish was Randy Durbin in a fiberglass sea kayak at 27:20.
Third was Percy Burt in his plastic sea kayak at 27:54.
The first woman to complete the course was Louise Swartz, also in a plastic sea kayak, at 34:18.
The second woman to finish was Fran Loftus in a fiberglass kayak at 36:03.
Eric and Terry Goplerud, a male and female team paddling a plastic double kayak, finished in 31:04.
Jessie Kanozak and Kristy Bergantim, two females, reached the finish line at 32:12.
In a double kayak with child aboard, Chelsea and Taylor Barbini finished in 45:40.
In another double kayak with baby, Ryan and Phoebe Barbini took 53:10 to complete the race,
Jenny Dowd and Robyn Bettencourt rode atop their double kayak finishing 43:51 after starting.
Also in a sit-on-top double kayak, Ken Chisholm and Paul Schwartz made it in 37:29.
Pat Loftus was the speediest senior male at 31:59.
Greg Kopoulos was the first male sit-on-top paddler at 39:11.
Brian O’Donnell pushed his wooden boat to finish at 31:33.
Kathy Rose took the prize for kayak with dog at 52:12.
Mark Baumhofer was awarded the prize for the greatest come-back effort to finish at 33:52.
Jon Labell and Chris Graham row, row, rowed their rowboat and reach the finish line at 49:49.
An Island Spirit Award went to Ken, Nick, Katie and Ryan Bettenhauser, four in a boat, who completed the challenge in 59:48.
The weather was great; the camaraderie even better; and the Friends of Sengekontacket were the beneficiaries.
Sponsors of the regatta included The Boneyard, the Green Room, Karpet Kare, Island Spirit Kayak, Stanza lone, and Off Shore Ale.
