Fort Langley Canoe Club (FLCC) held their annual Cranberry Voyageur Races on October 11, 2008 in conjunction with the Fort Langley Cranberry Festival. We limit the number of teams that enter to only 20 and there was a waiting list of teams wanting to join in the fun. We had a dry but cool day warming up in the afternoon. The morning was clear so we did not have to wait for the fog to clear, starting the races at 10am.Each team gets two morning races on a circular course of about 1000m. The times from the first heats are used to seed the second round of heats. All the heats on the circular course have four or five teams all fighting to round the markers. The combined times from the heats are used to seed the finals, of which there are two with 10 teams in each race. After the mass start, pumpkins are dropped in the river and each team must steer their canoe to pick one up. Hopefully another boat has not set their target on the same pumpkin. Once they have a pumpkin they paddle up and downstream around markers and crossing paths. There is a beach run where the boat heads to the beach and one paddler jumps out with his paddle. Someone on shore places a glass of cranberry juice on the paddle and they must move along the beach without spilling to where someone else takes the glass and gives the paddler a bag of cranberries. The paddler then runs and gets back in their boat. There is often a jam of boats at the beach while waiting for their runner , all jocking for position to leave the beach in a hurry. Once away from the beach it's around the markers again and through the finish line. A fun time for spectators and participants.
Results for final races
Final B - slowest to fastest
14:20 Saints Preserve Us
13:07 Cultus Crantinis
13:06 Bublitz Family
13:02 Naluwan
12:51 FLCC Cranberry Tarts
12:50 McLellan Family
12:24 Myriad Mavericks
12:11 FLCC Paddle Pushers
12:06 Soul Sisters
12:03 Mana Wahine
Final A - slowest to fastest
13:40 Gung Haggis Fun Cranberries
13:30 Pirates Warriors
13:22 Gung Haggis Fat Turkey
12:31 FLCC Bedford Bridge Bashers
12:20 FLCC Surging' Sturgeons
12:15 Riptide
11:06 Chilliwack Crusaders
10:56 SI Peter and the Pumpkin Eaters
10:54 FLCC Cranivores
9:51 FLCC Flatwater Sprint
During the day the teams optional entered in the first Chili Cookoff. The team that entered each provided a taster for all the chilis and voted for their favourite in each category. The entry fees were split between the first place in each category. The chili contest provided an opportunity for the teams to mingle as well as some hot food between the races as the paddlers don't have much time to get a mouthful before their next race!The results for the chili cookoff
Best Vegetarian
1 place - Gung Haggis
2nd place - FLCC Sea Syrens
Best Meat
1st place - SI Pumpkin eaters
2nd place - FLCC Cranberry Tarts
Best Cranberry
1st place - FLCC Cranberry Tarts
2nd place tied - FLCC Cran-ivoes and Gung Haggis
