2023 Yukon River Quest Runs In July For First Time Ever

With 44 out of 54 teams crossing the finish line in Dawson City, the 2023 edition of the Yukon River Quest has officially come to an end. This was the first time in the race’s 23-year history it ran in July; teams normally paddle the 715-kilometer route from Whitehorse to Dawson City in the middle of June.

The change in tradition came after mass flooding threatened to cancel the event two years in a row. With these types of high water events predicted to increase in frequency, race organizers decided pushing the event to July in 2023 would eliminate uncertainty for racers and the need for last-minute decisions to be made by the organizing team.

The river at the 2023 Yukon River Quest was considered a low to normal level for early July, allowing the race to take place without a hitch.

While last year’s floodwater conditions presented challenges such as debris, sweepers and large waves, this year wasn’t without it’s obstacles. Racers faced irregular waves from the west on Lake Laberge and daytime high temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius, making proper hydration an essential component for success.

Finishing first overall was Team #21, the Golden Lake Crew, made up of Seb Courville and Jen Courville from Golden Lake, Ontario. They finished the race in 46 hours, 17 minutes, and 12 seconds.

No race records were broken this year. The list of top finishers is published below.

Solo Classes

Women’s Solo Canoe C1
1. Team #78 Shut Up and Paddle (Tania Halik | Invermere, BC, Canada) 65:20:31

Men’s Solo Canoe C1
1. Team #69 Matt@newwestdesign.ca (Matthew Smith | Calgary, AB, Canada) 54:13:16

Women’s Solo Kayak K1
1. Team #74 Team Lootas (Kelly Watson | Port Townsend, WA, USA) 54:09:20

2. Team #68 Rough Cut Diamond (Patricia Jones | Delta, BC, Canada) 57:00:41

3. Team #61 Stroke of Serendipity (Kimberly Dodds | Whitehorse, YT, Canada) 59:36:06

Men’s Solo Kayak K1
1. Team #85 Vini Vidi Vici (Thomas de Jager | Whitehorse, YT, Canada) 51:53:46

2. Team #76 The Waterman (Robert Gill | Vancouver, BC, Canada) 52:00:05

3. Team #73 CaCoCa (Jake VanLue | Granby, MO, USA) 57:07:48

Women’s Stand Up Paddleboard
None raced in 2023

Men’s Stand Up Paddleboard
1. Team #80 Yster Sweden (Goran Gustavsson | Halmstad, Halland, Sweden) 57:04:04

2. Team #64 Airboard (Thomas Schillig | Dietlikon, ZH, Switzerland( 57:32:28

3. Team #72 RGP (Christoph Weber | Chelsea, QC, Canada) 59:20:16

Tandem Canoe Classes

Mixed C2
1. Team #21 Golden Lake Crew (Seb Courville & Jen Courville | Golden Lake, ON, Canada) 46:17:12 – 1ST OVERALL

2. Team #40 Planned Grit (Mike De Abreu & Sophie Coupal | Arnprior, ON & Cantley, QC, Canada) 47:00:05 – 2ND OVERALL

3. Team #26 Broderson (Chris Broderson & Emily Broderson | Maple Grove, MN, USA) 48:53:04 – 5TH OVERALL

Women’s C2
None raced in 2023

Men’s C2
1. Team #34 Free Animal (Ragnar Robinson & Scott Fraser | La Ronge, SK, Canada) 48:15:12 – 4TH OVERALL

2. Team #31 Pangal Norte by Kilrich (John Philip Apostol & Joshua Apostal | Whitehorse, YT, Canada) 49:02:33 – 6TH OVERALL

3. Team #23 Watch Our Wake (Brian Groves & Shane Ringham | Whitehorse, YT, Canada) 49:53:49 – 8TH OVERALL

Tandem Kayak Classes

Mixed K2
1. Team #29 Spirit of America (Josh Friedman & Julie Kirk | Moyie Springs, ID, USA) 51:43:27

2. Team #38 Power Couple (Madison Power & Jeremy de Kroon | Victoria, BC, Canada) 66:15:00

Women’s K2
None raced in 2023

Men’s K2
1. Team #30 Yukiwis (Graham Sutherland & Greg Lloyd | Christchurch & Martinborough, New Zealand) 51:20:08

2. Team #36 The Revenant (Ben Lott & Scott Worthington | Wanaka & Tarras, New Zealand) 51:35:26

4-Person Canoe Classes

Mixed C4 (2 men, 2 women)
None raced in 2023

Women’s C4 (all women)
None raced in 2023

Open C4 (all or predominantly men)
1. Team #14 Spirit of the Yukon (Francis Soenen, Peter van den Berg, Danny Veys, Holly Crouch | Roselare, Essen & Marke, Belgium and Sherburne, NY, USA) 49:09:00 – 7TH OVERALL

2. Team #13 Usain Boat (Adam Strand, Michael Johnson, Giovanni Allevato, Douglass Endrizzi | Urbana, IL, Rapid City, SD, Kaneohe, HI & Monona, WI, USA) 54:51:01

3. Team #12 Mix Match (Martin Like, Anthony Ellis, Shawn Warren, Jerome Libecki | Powys & Shrewsbury, United Kingdom, Ft. McMurray, AB, Canada, & Springville, USA) 56:59:14

Voyageur Canoe Classes (6 or more persons)

Mixed Voyageur (1/3 of team must be women)
1. Team #3 3-2-1 Go 2023 (Tina Hoeben, Kathy Jensen, Cindy Lee, Margaret Caudle, Andrew Lane, Cheance Adair | Penticon, BC, Canada, Wallace, MI, Newark, Alameda & San Diego, CA, and Lena, WI, USA) 47:36:03 – 3RD OVERALL

2. Team #4 Ts’alvit (James Boyde, Pam Boyde, Midori Kirby, Peer Kirby, Marina McCready, Marianne Douglas | Whitehorse, YT, Canada) 49:56:02 – 9TH OVERALL

3. Team #1 CAP Warriors (Donna Johns, Bruce Jobin, Wes Kemble, Prezley Jobin, Dominic Johns, Shane Schinkel, Ethan Boucher, Barb Dawson | Carcross, Whitehorse & Haines Junction, YT, and Atlin, BC, Canada) 52:51:31

Women’s Voyageur (all women)
1. Team #2 Stix Together (Cheryl Rivest, Carolyn Relf, Kirsti de Vries, Susan Hamilton, Anna Peacock, Natalie Haltrich, Kathy Burden, Jennifer King | Whitehorse, YT, Canada) 49:57:34 – 10TH OVERALL

2. Team #7 Team Whoa (Tunde Fulop, Lisa Robertson, Patricia Clune, Noreen Schaefer, Danielle Boisvert, Tracey Hutton | Whitehorse, YT, Toronto, ON, Wynndel & Victoria, BC, Canada) 54:03:57

Open Voyageur (all or predominantly men)
1. Team #5 Good Company (Charlie Bodkin, Sam Horsley, James Samuels, Louis Hugh-Jones, Piers Haskard, Harry Horsley | South Coogee, High Range, Bondi Beach, Mosman, Manly, & High Range, NSW, Australia) 53:57:51

YRQ 300 (half quest to Carmacks)

Women’s VC Half
1. Team #8.5 Paddlers Abreast (Lynn Rice-Rideout, Asa Berg, Dawn Fralick, Rachel Zral, Stella (Mooney) Martin, Amy Miller, Monique Levesque, Jay Cherian | Whitehorse, YT & Atlin, BC, Canada) 26:00:05