Prince George is considered ideal paddling territory for canoe and kayak enthusiasts.
The city has two rivers flowing through it and as a result of an above-average winter snowpack, both are currently running high.
Conditions were ideal for last weekend's Two Rivers marathon canoe races along the confluence of the Nechako and Fraser rivers. But those waters were not always smooth sailing for a pair of paddlers in the tandem canoe C2 race on Sunday.
John Hagen and Robbie Martin, two to the city's top cross-country ski racers, were unceremoniously dumped into the drink in the first lap of a two-lap race. At the time they tipped over, they were near the back of a nine-boat pack and that's where they ended up as the final boat across the line at Cottonwood Island.
"It was actually kind of refreshing, said Martin, 18, who competed in biathlon at the 2011 Canada Winter Games. "We must have gotten hung up on an underwater stick and it doesn't take much to flip a pro boat. It was a little shocking, but we recovered alright."
Fortunately for the drenched Martin and Hagen, they happened upon a log sticking out of the water and were able to stand on it to dump the water out of their canoe and then continue the race along the back channels of the Nechako.
"They went over on a quiet spot on the Nechako -- those boats are very tippy and sometimes that just happens, said race organizer Dan McGaughey, 65, who was with Robbie's father Peter in the safety boat just behind the pair when they toppled over.
"They were in the water two or three minutes and the water's not too cold now, but early in the spring when we were training it was really cold. It will still take your breath away. We were racing them a little and gaining on them, and that put them a little behind.
"So when they got back in their boat they took off like scalded cats. It would have been embarrassing to for them to be beaten by old guys like us, and that didn't happen."
McGaughey said the high water is great for racing because it spreads the river over a wider area and reduces the surface current. Each lap takes about an hour to complete, and because the start and finish are at the same place, half of the paddling is going against the flow. The course takes racers as far as the turnaround point at the CN Rail bridge where the Nechako meets the Fraser.
For Martin, Sunday's race was his first experience in a timed paddling event and he says it definitely won't be his last.
"We knew we were going to come last but you have to start somewhere, we were definitely the rookie team, said Martin. "I like sports and I know I can improve on it, my uncle is the best in Prince George."
Martin is the nephew of Chris Cupp, a perennial Two Rivers champion who won Saturday's C1 solo canoe race in one hour 57 minutes. Cupp also teamed up with Tyrone Gee of Vancouver to place second in the C2 event, one minute behind Phil Evanson and Pat Turner, who set the pace with a time of 1:49.
Evanson, the second-place soloist, was 38 seconds behind Cupp, while former Prince George resident Ian Chadwick, who now lives in Enderby, was third, ahead of Thom Pritchard of Bellingham, Wash., and Barry Leslie of Victoria.
Jon Davies of Calgary and Mike Norton of Canmore placed third in the C2 race, followed by Chadwick and Steve McAleer of New Brunswick and the two-person team of Darryl Spencer of Kamlops and Chris Nicholson of Sun Peaks.
