Friends of Lake Williams (FLW) conducted its 1st Canoe and Kayak rally on July 3rd 2010.  This is a continuation of many such events that are intended to promote healthy enjoyment and appreciation of our lake.  As is the case with most of FLW's lake activities, there was NO entry fee and anyone with a kayak or canoe was welcomed to participate.

The event started at 9 am Saturday morning at the Lake Williams Beach Association First Beach off of Lakeshore Drive.  Four checkpoints were established and marked with balloons where participants received a colored card.  Starts were staggered and total elapsed time was used to determine the winner in each category.  Volunteers manned motorized boats to monitor progress and to promote boating safety.  This proved to be prudent as one of our young kayak participants capsized.  His experience only resulted in wet clothing.

Prizes were awarded to the winners in each category.

 

 
Participants were also entered into a raffle to receive additional merchandise.

Pictures taken before and after the event are displayed below (Hint:  Click on the small image to see a larger version of the photo in a separate tab or window).

 

We would like to applaud the following volunteers who made the rally a success:

Rally organizers: Rich Lesh and Diane Marquis
Check point preparation: Rich Lesh and Steve Looby
Boating safety monitors: Steve Looby and Ryk Nelson
Starter: Rich Lesh
Timekeeper: Diane Marquis