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WPG
A canoeing, kayaking, and whitewater rafting guide to Wisconsin's most popular paddle rivers.
2011 Lazy Beaver Canoe and Kayak Race
Baraboo River, LaSalle to Reedsburg, WI
Saturday July 30th, 2011
By Jeff Seering,
Published August 3rd 2011
Canoes ruled Saturday, July 30 at the 11th annual Lazy Beaver Canoe and Kayak Race from LaValle to Reedsburg. For the first time since 2005 canoes were the fastest boats in the Lazy Beaver.
Dennis Klitzke and Jeff Hooker paddled their canoe down river in two hours, five minutes and 15 seconds, the best time out of the 28 boats entered in Saturday's race. Klitzke and Hooker repeated as the canoe grand champions. The second fastest boat was a canoe paddled by Gary Rodgers and Dave Pfefferle, who won the Older than Dirt (Combined ages of over 100 years) with a 2:09:35 time.
Klitzke and Pfefferle set the canoe record for the race in 2010 when they paddled the course in slightly over two hours. The river was higher last year than this year. A record might have been in the offing if the 2011 race had been run on Friday, when the river was over a foot higher than it was Saturday. Still there was plenty of water, minimizing delays due to log jams.
The father/son team of Tom and Aaron Daly paddled the fastest kayak Saturday, completing the race in two hours and 14 minutes. Ben Seering was the fastest solo men's kayaker with a time of 2:17:40. Jayce Pollard won the men's racing kayak category by completing the course in 2:16:40. Tanner Gross won the junior kayak category with a time of 3:32:20. Brandi Jo Jones won the women's racing kayak category in 2:25:35 and Heather Wolf the women's recreational kayak division in 3:26:50.
Dave White, a veteran Lazy Beaver paddler, teamed again with Austin Denman to win the adult/child canoe division in 2:12:45. Steve Verhas and Carrie Polster teamed to win the mixed couples canoe category with a time of 2:49:00.
The best decorated boat this year was also the loudest boat in race history. Eric Goldsmith and Mark Chitwood's entry with two "smokestacks" and a truck horn they sounded as they neared the finish line won that award.
While no course records were set Saturday, the entire field completed the race faster than in any of the previous 10 years. The slowest boat completed the race in four hours and five minutes.
The Lazy Beaver Race is held the last Saturday in July each year.