Starboard long distance paddler and adventurer Bart De Zwart is fresh off the Yukon River Quest. Bart gives TotalSUP a breakdown of his 715 km race through the Yukon where he paddled using the Carbon Sandwich All Star 14 x 24.5, a board that performed exceptionally throughout with its brilliant combination of a good race shape and extra volume so he could store gear without loosing performance.
https://www.facebook.com/bart.maui/videos/10155639028091461/
Just before the race I didn’t have a regular training schedule for a race of 715 km as I was traveling through Europe by car, visiting family and going to the wedding of Connor Baxter. But I did have the new Starboard Airline 14’ inflatable All Star with me which is a great tool and fabulous board to have on the road, extremely easy to pack up and a real fast board this meant I could train wherever I could. Once in Canada I changed to the Rigid SUP All Star 14 x 24.5.
This year the weather looked great (little did I know) and there was a massive group of entries (120 teams), unfortunately in the last week a few Stand up paddle boards pulled out of the race, mostly because of injury or not being fit enough for a race like this. The race is demanding with little option of pulling out between the few check points, sometimes 100’s of km apart. So its takes planning, preparation and being fit physically and mentally. Mental preparation being the most important aspect!
The start is a 200m race to the board, which I had placed on the river bank ready to go (with all my mandatory gear and food). This is enough gear and food to survive if you get injured, have really bad weather and you have to camp out for a couple of days to wait for rescue.
When I started I was confident I could complete the race in under 55 hr, but soon after the race began the head wind started and I realized I had to slow down a little, so I wouldn’t hit a wall. The currents on the Yukon are very fast even with the head wind I was moving along but I was still going 1-3 km slower than normal.
As the race went on I became better and better at reading the currents. The river here is different to others it doesn’t always pay off to move to the outside of a bend to catch the faster current. This makes the race more interesting as you are always looking for the faster water it is never monotonous.
The water of the river and currents were low this year so it was a slow start to the lakes, it took about 3 hours. The promised tailwind turned into a head wind on the lake so all competitors were a lot slower over the lake normally it takes 6 hours. Finally around 10 pm at night I got to the River and picked up the current. After a hard 10 hrs paddle the current made me feel like I was flying. But it was quickly getting colder. Although the sun doesn’t go down until 12, it does get chilly and with water only being 5 degrees. But if you paddle hard, you stay warm.
During the first 10 hrs I had a good distance between myself and the 2nd placed team, a tandem sup team from France (Sebastien Le Meaux and Stéphane Leblond). Throughout the paddle I often found myself with other kayak and canoe teams. I had expected Sebastien and Stéphane to pass me at some point being on their 17′ board, especially as they were two, but their inflatable was a handful on the lake and by now the were getting tired.
For the first 6 hrs I was doing well and catching other canoe and kayaks, the other sup team and solo sups were still far behind. Every now and again a head wind picked up plus all my muscles were very sore, at this point I was loosing time and my 52 hr time plan was slowly fading. I was already a good 1 hr behind at the first stop and it looked like I would be losing another hour. Later I heard that a record 25 teams had quit the race at the first stop mostly from exhaustion or being cold.
The nights in the Yukon are twilight for a few hours than darkness, giving you the feeling you paddle always in daylight. The night was tough, not too sleepy but I was sore and in the morning clouds gathered and a thunder storm came in from behind , chasing me with thunder. It got very windy and started raining an hour before I was due to break, after 42 hrs of paddling. I still had 17 hr of paddling to complete before the last break.
The thunder came really close when I reached coffee creek for the 3 hrs and final break, where I ate and slept on the ground while the clouds above broke down on us. When I woke up after a 2 hr sleep I felt great (a little sleepy) and the sun came out again. I was ready for the last 12-13 hrs. Still now sign of any competing sups behind me. Later I heard more pulled out and there were only 4 more SUP teams in the race.
During the race it is really difficult, the pain in the muscles is intense, even a massage doesn’t go away, which is why it is a tough mental race. Once i finished at 5am it was pretty good, I could relax my back. The enforced stop of 3 hours was frustrating as I wanted to break the 55 hours race time, as there is only race money awarded if you come under 55 hours. A time that is harder on the SUP as we are the shortest and slowest craft on the water, after a while I was 30 minutes behind the 55 hour cut off.
Next on the cards for the Dutch / Hawaiian rider is the Yukon 1000 with team mate Ike Frans, by far the longest paddle race in the world. A race where only 15 teams (a mix of canoe , SUP, kayak) will start this race. This year the race has 3 SUP teams signed up with the team consisting of two paddlers who have to stay together. The Yukon 1000 will start in Whitehorse in Canada and will finish in the Daltan Highway Bridge in Alaska, taking about 8 days. Each team taking an obligatory stop and making camp between between 23:00 and 5:00 every day.
27 Feb 2024
C’est LE rendez-vous Ultra Longue Distance de l’été : les 10h de Vassivière et les 4h Challenge ! En 2024, c’est le samedi 6 juillet que vous avez rendez-vous sur la plage de Broussas, pour vous challenger sur le magnifique lac de Vassivière, dans la Creuse. Organisé par le Paddle Vassivière Club, les 10h de Vassivière […]
12 Feb 2024
Embark on a thrilling journey to the untouched wilderness of Norway’s Lofoten islands with renowned ultra-long-distance paddleboarder and adventurer Bart de Zwart. Last year in May, Bart left his sailboat in French Polynesia and traveled all the way to the North of Europe to paddle through the dramatic landscapes of the Lofoten archipelago on his […]
5 Dec 2023
Canada, a land of wide open spaces, untamed wilderness and a thriving SUP scene. At the heart of that scene are a number of dedicated individuals working hard for Canadian SUPers. One of those paddlers is Brent Ackland, the Infinity Surfboards man for the North Americas who has spent some time talking with Chris from […]
21 Aug 2023
Nothing tests an inflatable board better than an ultra-endurance paddleboarding challenge. Throw into the mix untouched wilderness, white water rapids and 1000 miles of paddling and you get the idea. With the recent SUP division victories at Yukon River Quest and Yukon 1000, Yster SUP, the premium Swedish SUP brand based in Malmö, consolidating its position […]
7 Aug 2023
Yster SUP, the premium Swedish SUP brand based in Malmö, has announced the launch of Basalty, a new all-water hard board series carefully handcrafted in the EU in basalt/carbon fibre and designed for performance touring, long-distance and adventure paddling. In developing the Basalty Series, Yster SUP has taken its original trademark features – Speed, Stability and […]
29 Jun 2023
When we’re publishing this article, Göran “Gossa” Gustavsson, Ultra Endurance Paddler and Yster SUP Team Rider supporting the premium Swedish brand on the development side, is already in Canada, getting acclimatised in the run up the Yukon River Quest, kicking off on the 4th July. This ultra endurance challenge is an annual marathon race testing paddlers’ […]
5 Mar 2023
Coast Mountain Trail Running (CMTR), organisers of trail running events in coastal British Columbia, Canada, have announced a new paddle partnership with Blackfish Paddles for the second edition of the Conquer the Vedder 2023 event held on 27 and 28 May 2023. “Based in Squamish, BC, Blackfish Paddles are one of the top SUP paddle […]
29 Jan 2023
Actualisation (01/05/2024): Les 10h de Vassivière sera le support du Championnat de France d’Ultra Longue Distance 2024! – Il y a un rendez-vous à ne pas manquer avant la pause estivale : les 10h de Vassivière ! C’est le samedi 1er juillet 2023 que vous avez rendez-vous sur les rives du lac de Vassivière, à […]
19 Jan 2023
Over the past month, Starboard has been working hard behind the curtains to present a very competitive line-up of international athletes for 2023. With future recruitment announcements by the Tiki brand still on hold (drums…), 3 athletes and 1 adventurer have already been announced to make their entrance in the Dream Team: SUP racers Alba […]
