Rain didn’t dampen the fun at the 2018 Carlan Cup Riverboat Races

 

The 2018 Carlan Cup was a blast for both racers and fans. The yearly competition took place on Saturday, August 11 and Sunday, August 12 at Riverboat Park in Whitecourt. There were 21 boats registered in four different categories and riders took to the river both days at 2 p.m. for circuit races. On both mornings the group took off on a 48-mile trek from Whitecourt to the 947 (Chevron) bridge and back. Friday evening the boat launch held a grand show and shine for racers and a concession for all event goers.

Something that viewers might have noticed on many of the boats was a slogan that read KARMA STRONG. The decal is in honour of a woman named Karma who is fighting strong in the face of adversity, and her brothers Trapper and Clayton Wosley are both jet boat racers from Fort St. John. As part of the racing family, many other boaters have added it to their boats in a show of strength for her and her family.

During the first run of the turbine-powered boats, the CDN1 Little Smokey driven by Rick Hollingworth spun out in a bend by the Athabasca Bridge and ended up sliding onto the bank on the island. Thankfully, both Hollingworth and his navigator were okay and ended up coming to a stop beside the safety boats. Although he was listed as not finishing the race because he missed one lap, he did manage to get back into the water thanks to the safety crew and was able to finish what was left of the race. “Rick said there was a pressure wave right in the corner that they grabbed with the sponson. He could have maybe saved it by turning right but that would have put him into the bridge and he said the gravel looked more forgiving,” explained Curtis Tulloch, an active local racer who has raced for 13 years.

This was Tulloch’s first year on the shore rather than in a boat and he said he was helping wherever he was needed. “It’s been a successful year. We had a pretty good turnout compared to Grande Prairie and Peace River because I think we had one or two more boats than they did. It’s a smaller turnout than normal but it’s been a pretty good weekend.” He said support has been amazing. “We had lots of support from the community with lots of support boats out along the river. They stayed out there and weathered the storm so that was really good.”

Tulloch said there were anywhere from 40 to 50 volunteers over the course of the weekend and that the event wouldn’t be possible without them. Next year things will be even bigger as the World Jet Boat Races return to Canada. “We will be racing in Whitecourt, Peace River, Grande Prairie, and Taylor, BC. It’s 10 days of racing with two days off in between. There will be racers here from New Zealand, Mexico, the United States, and across Canada.” There will be anywhere from 40 to 50 boats in town for the big event.

The 2018 Carlan Cup ended with captain Ryan Rogers and his boat Pure Insanity on top of the leaderboard with the fastest time. Just over a minute behind him in second place was Chad Burns in Bad Habit. The pair held a lead of several minutes over the next closest competitor. Surface Tension driven by Nathan McLeod was tops in the FX category, Kelly Lock in Temper Mental lead the CX class, and Runn’n Loose manned by Stephen Ford ended on top of the A1 class.