Nyack Rowers Gear Up For Hudson Challenge

Long-distance rowers can once again test themselves against themselves, and others, in the third annual 25k Hudson River Challenge, an event hosted by the Nyack-based on Saturday, Sept. 10.

(Read about last year's Challenge .)

The first 25k Challenge was held to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage of discovery in 1609. Since 2009, the race between the George Washington and Tappan Zee bridges has offered a stern test to experienced rowers and paddlers in the area.

Sue DeMocker, executive director of the RRA, notes that the Hudson River is known for its unpredictable water conditions and its strong tidal currents.

But the Challenge also offers competitors and spectators alike a close-hand view of the beauty of the Palisades, as the river follows the Western shore along the foot of its towering Jurassic cliffs.

“This is a marathon of a race,” DeMocker said. “It’s certainly not your typical race. There are only four open-water races each year on the East Coast, and we are one of them. The longest is 22 miles, and the others are 15-and-a-half miles, like ours.”

The course record is 1 hour 58 minutes, with many of the boats coming in around the three-hour mark.

The 15.5-mile course is not technically “open water,” but it certainly can resemble that depending on the wind, the tide, and the currents. Last year’s field faced strong currents, and high waves, with several vessels swamping.

“I was on one of them,” laughed DeMocker, who was called into action at the last minute, jumping into the boat just five minutes before launch.

The event last year attracted 64 participants in 22 human-powered vessels representing 14 clubs and 11 cities in seven states. The inaugural Challenge in 2009 featured 70 competitors in18 boats, representing 11 clubs and 11 cities in five states.

This year’s launch area is set at the Englewood Boat Basin, at the Palisades Interstate Park in Englewood, NJ, which lies just north of the George Washington Bridge. Boats will start from the boat basin, going north, and follow the Western shore of the river, and finish north of the Tappan Zee Bridge, near the Nyack Municipal Dock.

For the morning of Sept. 10, tide and current charts predict that racers will be riding the flood tide and current northward from Englewood, starting around 7:30 a.m., with no ebb current predicted for the Tarrytown/Nyack portion of the river until late morning.

An awards ceremony and post-race activities are scheduled at noon, adjacent to the finish line in Nyack.

There is a $50 entry fee for singles, $100 for doubles/pairs, $200 for quads, and $250 for fours and eights.

Registration deadline is Sept. 4, although entries will be accepted, with a late fee, up until race day.

For further information, or to volunteer your time or expertise, e-mail susan@riverrowing.org, or call 914-255-5932. You can also access the organization’s website at www.riverrowing.org.

Registration entry categories include:

• Rowed boats: sculls, under 21 feet, 1x; sculls, over 21 feet, 1x; sculls/sweeps, 2x, 4x, 4+, 8x, 8+.
• Paddled boats: kayak, double; sea kayak, SK; fast sea kayak (FSK); high performance kayaks (HPK); outriggers canoes, OC-1, OC-2, and OC-6’s.
• The final classes/categories of human-powered vessels will be conveyed at the Competitors’ meeting on the morning of the race.