Bogalusa Crew 313 wins national championship

NORFORK, Ark. — Bogalusa Venturer Crew 313 won its 12th national championship here Saturday, winning three divisions and finishing second, third and fifth in another as the 45th National Invitational White River Canoe race came to a close.

The Crew, sponsored by the Bogalusa newspaper, is coached by Col. Robert Miller, United States Marine Corps (ret.) and left Bogalusa last Saturday, just hours after winning the Golden Anniversary 110-mile Bogue Chitto River Canoe Marathon.

Bogalusa took divisional titles in Open Cruising, Boys Aluminum-Advanced and Boys Aluminum-Novice and finished second, third and fifth in Boys Aluminum-Beginners.

In Open Cruising, Bogalusa finished the cumulative 120 miles in 11:49:33, edging Russellville, Ark. by 2:18 and beating New Brighton, Minn. by 16:39.

In Advanced, Bogalusa finished the race in 13:49:17, more than an hour better thn second place Little Rock, Ark., and 1:25.30 better than Bryan, Texas.

In Novice, Crew 313 finished in 14:15:53, claiming a victory of more than two hours over second-place Bryan. Bryan edged fellow Lone Star State entrant Fort Worth by 3:14.

In Beginners, Russellville, Ark. claimed the title and beat Crew 313's boat I4 by 20:32. Crew 313's boat I6 was another 13 minutes behind in third, while Little Rock was in fourth, just 24 seconds behind. Bogalusa's boat I5 was another nine minutes out.

(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)

Bogalusa Crew 313 closing in on 12th national championship

After two days of competition in the 120-mile, 45^th annual White River National Invitational Canoe Race, Bogalusa’s Venturer Crew 313 continues to hold down first place in three categories, but slipped a bit in a fourth division, where it now has teams in and is second, third and fifth.

 

Should the crew, coached by Col. Robert Miller, maintain those positions it would seem to have an insurmountable lock on a 12^th national championship in the prestigious race. The crew is sponsored by the Bogalusa newspaper.

In Open Cruising, the most advanced paddlers, Crew 313 leads Russellville, Ark. by two minutes, 29 seconds — a tightening of 3:10 off the day one margin. In Boys Aluminum-Advanced, Crew 313 leads Little Rock, Ark. by 46:07  — adding more than 20 minutes to their day one lead. In Boys Aluminum-Novice, Crew 313 leads Bryan, Texas by 1:05.16 — stretching their day one advantage by 39:47.

The slippage came in Boys Aluminum-Beginners.

Russellville, Ark. continues to lead, stretching its margin over second place Crew 313 to 14:21 and 20:34 over Crew 313’s third place boat. Crew 313’s canoe that was in fourth place after day one slipped to fifth after day two, 36:01 off the lead. That canoe was passed in the standings by Little Rock.

Russellville’s open cruising team, which gained 3:10 on Crew 313 on Friday, had the highest average speed for the day at 10.12 miles per hour. Crew 313 maintained the highest cumulative average speed at 9.92 miles per hour. Russellville’s 10.22 miles per hour on leg one was the fastest of the day, followed by New Brighton, Minn. with 10.18 miles per hour on that same leg.

Paddlers start 75 minutes earlier on Saturday’s final day, with the first oars hitting the water at 6:45 a.m. instead of day one and two’s 8 a.m. beginning.

Leg 6 — the longest of the race at 21 miles — gets paddlers under way as they navigate the river from Allyson/Sylamore to Lock No. 3 in a clock out run. A second clock out leg, 12 miles from Lock No. 3 to Lock No. 2, gets paddlers to within seven miles of the finish line, and that comes on Leg 8, from Lock No. 2 to Batesville.

Following completion of the race, officials will tally the results to determine the team champion as well as the winners of the numerous awards presented to entrants.

A total of 25 teams from six states were listed on the Day Two leaderboard, with two teams — one from Batesville, Ark. in Boys Aluminum-Advanced and one from Little Rock in Coed Aluminum-Beginners — had to be towed in an incurred 10 minute penalties.

The awards ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Pavilion near Norfork Dam.

(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)

Bogalusa's Crew 313 ready to pursue 12th national title

At the top of the list of winners is a name of a place some people seem to have difficulty pronouncing — Bogalusa, La.

Crew 313 advisor Col.
Robert Miller and helper
at the 2010 White River
National Invitational Race.

And Thursday morning, when oars make contact with water for the first time in the 45^th Annual National Invitational White River Canoe Race, Bogalusa Venturer Crew 313 will be seeking to add a 12^th national title to its total.

Crew 313 is headed by Col. Robert Miller and is fresh from the 110-mile Bogue Chitto River Marathon. As has been tradition, the Bogue Chitto race ended about mid-day Saturday and the Vogalusa team was on the road before dark.

Water levels, according to the USGS, are good — with 8.93 feet at Calico Rock and 9.54 feet at Batesville — although heat advisories have been issued by the National Weather Service.

Upwards of 160 canoers from across the country will gather at Bull Shoals Dam and must have their canoes at the water at 7:45, ready for an 8 a.m. start. The first leg runs 17 miles from the dam to Cotter, a small cradled in a bend in the White River while leg two is a 13.3 mile run from Cotter to Buffalo City. Crews may change paddlers after each of the first two legs, while leg three, the final of the day, is 12.3 miles and takes the teams to Norfork, where teams will eat, have a team meeting and camp at Quarry Park at Lake Norfork Dam.

With 42.5 miles in the books, team rise early on Friday to have their canoes at the water by 7:45 to meet the 8 a.m. start. The first leg of the day, the second-longest of the entire race, is from Norfork to Callico Rock. After this 18-mile leg, crews may once again change paddlers in preparation for leg five, 17 miles from Callico Rock to Allison/Sylamore.

At Sylamore, teams will have a cookout and a talent show prior to getting some sleep and rest for the championship push.

The final day gets under way earlier, with canoes due at the water at 6:30 and the race under way at 6:45.

Leg six is from Allison/Sylamore and runs 21 miles to Lock No. 3 on the White River. This is the longest leg of the race and is a clock out leg, as is leg seven, a 12-mile stretch from Lock No. 3 to Lock No. 2. This leg is also a clock out leg.

The final leg of the race is seven miles long, from Lock N. 2 to Batesville, with national titles on the line.

Following completion of the race, the awards ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. at the Pavilion near Norfork Dam.

Awards to be presented include:

            • Each member of a team placing first, second or third will receive an award;

            • The Doug Summer Memorial National Championship Traveling Trophy will be awarded to the team regardless of division entered that has the shortest accumulative elapsed time for the race. Doug's Faribault, Minn. Post 301 began attending the race in 1985 and by 1988, they were dominating most classes. Post 301 still owns all (Girls and Co-ed) of the Cruising Division records for the race as well as Co-ed Aluminum. This award is named for the late Doug Summer or "Coach Summer Sir". He was the first coach of Post 301, Faribault, Minnesota. His competed in the White River Canoe Race. He also swept all seven divisions of the race in 1998, the same year as his death from a car accident while returning from the United States Canoe Association (USCA) Nationals with junior paddlers.

• The Ron Eddings Memorial Traveling Trophy will be awarded to the Boy's Aluminum team with the shortest accumulative elapsed time for the race. Advanced and Novice Boy's Aluminum teams are eligible for this award. This award is named for the late Ronald Eddings, an advisor with Post 29 from Camdenton, Mo.

• The Dr. R.J. Van Patter Memorial Traveling Trophy will be awarded to the Girl's Aluminum team with the shortest accumulative elapsed time for the race. Advanced and Novice Girl's Aluminum teams are eligible for this award. This award is named for the late Dr. R.J "Doc" Van Patter, an advisor with Post 8 of Little Rock, Ark. and one of the early founders of the race.

• The Co-ed's Aluminum Championship Traveling Trophy will be awarded to the Co-ed's Aluminum team with the shortest accumulative elapsed time for the race. Advanced and Novice Co-ed's Aluminum teams are eligible for this award.

• The Girl's Cruising Championship Traveling Trophy will be awarded to the Girl's Cruising team with the shortest accumulative elapsed time for the race.

• The Co-ed's Cruising Championship Traveling Trophy will be awarded to the Co-ed's Cruising team with the shortest accumulative elapsed time for the race.

• The Sportsmanship Traveling Trophy will be awarded to the crew, post, or troop best representing the commonly accepted attributes of good sportsmanship such as fair play, respect for others including teammates, competitors and officials, helpfulness, positive attitude, fellowship, encouragement, and effort. The Sportsmanship award will be voted on by team captains at the conclusion of the race.

• The "Tom Edwards" award will be given to the team that travels the greatest distance to compete in the race.

• The "Carl Garner" award will be given to the crew/post/troop exhibiting the greatest spirit in the opinion of the race organizers.