Team Island Spirit took first place in the 35th annual Run of the Charles canoe race on Sunday. Paddlers Dana Gaines, Pam Browning, Jerry Whaland, and Chick Stapleton won the C4 (four-man racing canoe) Division, and finished 16th overall, completing the 19-mile course from Dedham to Boston in 3:19:11.
After capsizing their sternman, Jerry, for a quick swim in the Charles, the team carried their canoe for six portages over dams and alongside highways, taking the competition on the second leg of the running portage.