Naugatuck River Race

It was our first opportunity to get out on the water this year. The weather, and water, is just getting warm enough for minimal insulating layers. The first ever Naugatuck River Race was on Saturday. The river used to be full of pollution because there were many factories along its banks. Now it has been cleaned up and the proceeds from the event will go towards keeping it that way.
The six mile stretch of river is class I & II. That pretty much means that it's smooth with some rough parts. The roughest parts were all the rocks that were beneath the surface. Our boats got a little banged up....and I admit that I did capsize once. Luckily I had a helmet because I hit a few of those rocks while I was upside down.
I forgot to bring my camera along but there were plenty of people taking photos. These were taken by someone near the finish line. The last rapid was pretty choppy and not everyone made it through without getting wet.
Here's Jenny enjoying the waves.
Look at the control. What a master.
These crazy people went the whole trip in a metal row boat. That cannot have been a smooth ride.Excitement and terror These guys got some airCanoes tend to fill up with water quite a bit more easily than kayaks...as you can seeThis isn't looking good......and over they go. Swimming to the finish line....and anotherAnd this is just ridiculous. Their canoe is under there somewhere. At least they don't seem to mind. Ultimately I would say that only about 10% of the people on the river were trying to race. The rest of us were just out for a fun paddle down the river. I have no idea who won.