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6-28-04: I will post the final results as soon as I can get my hands on them.

>>>>>>>>>>>Some pics  FINAL RESULTS (Excel spreadsheet format) Some video clips<<<<<<<<<<<


2004 World Championships, June 19, 2004 – June 25, 2004
Racing begins in Marysville and then comes to Colusa, CA.

IMPORTANT: ALL SPECTATORS MUST STAY AT LEAST 50' FROM THE RIVER AT ALL TIMES OR RACING WILL BE HALTED.

Updated 6-21-04 (Rk)  This is always subject to change, and has changed continuously since January!

  • Racing in Colusa begins Tuesday, June 22, 2004.  Many of the race teams will be about town all week.  We've seen several teams here already.  Please feel free to introduce yourself and talk with them, some are from as far away as Canada, Mexico and New Zealand.  After the completion of racing each day, many have been rumored to appear in local eateries and watering holes and have T-shirts and hats and things available.  Sometimes you have to buy them, sometimes they just hand them out.  It's all a matter of timing so to speak.  Be careful though, they sometimes wind up driving on the wrong side of the road too!

  • Tuesday, at approximately 10:00AM, around 50 boats will be launched at the state park boat ramp prior to the beginning of racing.  No race events or exhibits will be held in the state park.  The city of Colusa will have Main Street closed between 8th and 9th, on Friday the 25th ONLY, through 4PM for any vendors or exhibitors that may wish to set up.  There should be several booths and vendors, anyone is welcome, Rotary will be selling hot dogs, I've even been told Riverbank Pizza will be making fresh pizza there!  Mark (Riverbank owner) told me, "One way or another, I'm going to wing it!"  That's on Main between 8th and 9th but again, that's on Friday only.  Racing is on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

  • At approximately 10:00AM on Tuesday the boats will be started and given the green flag, one boat at a time, a few minutes apart, heading downstream.  They will race all the way to Knights Landing, and back.  Anywhere along that route, once the first boat passes, there will be a boat going by every few minutes, at high speed, for around an hour until the last boat goes by.  At Knights Landing they will refuel, eat lunch, then again be started in a similar fashion back upstream to Colusa arriving here later that afternoon for an approximate distance of 100 miles.

  • Thursday and Friday get better as we launch them from Wards Landing.  All the boats will be staged on the docks at Wards.  The green flag will be waved and one at a time, every few minutes, they will race upstream, past Colusa (at high speed), all the way to Princeton.  Once all the boats have reached the mid-point in Princeton they will be similarly restarted and raced back down stream, again right through Colusa and on to Wards or Lovey's (still in the works).  This will repeat a second time for two round trips each day and a daily total of approximately 100 miles.  A total of 4 complete round trips to Princeton in two days, with over 40 race boats some of which run in excess of 130MHP.  By the end of racing on Friday, the boats will have run over 500 miles in 6 days, an International Marathon class event indeed.

  • Anyone familiar with the river would be the person to ask as far as the best place to watch.  Anywhere in Colusa, or the bridge area, or Burt's Steelhead Marina area would be prime.  If you plan on coming down toward Wards or Lovey's, be advised it will be very hectic during the morning (before racing) and evening (end of racing) when we have to launch and retrieve all those boats, probably around 50 or 60 when you include the officials and spotters.  On Thursday and Friday, assuming it goes as planned, there will be nearly continuous action in front of Colusa or anywhere between Colusa and Princeton, for much of the day.

  • No matter where you are along the course, once the first boat reaches you, there will be a boat going by every few minutes until the last boat has gone by.  The last racing boat will be followed by the "sweep boat", a boat with race officials who will do a safety run of the course.  Once the sweep boat reaches the far end, the first race boat will be green flagged heading back the other way and the pattern will repeat.  A boat will go by in the other direction every few minutes, and so on.

  • Plan to come down and watch as an international field of racing boats take on the Sacramento river in style.  Enjoy a full day of racing, with the best action in the area.  Thursday and Friday will be the best days to watch, all day.  See you there!
     

  • YOU MUST REMAIN AT LEAST 50' FROM THE SHORE, SOME OF THESE BOATS WILL TAKE CORNERS RIGHT AT THE WATERS EDGE AND IT IS INHERENTLY DANGEROUS.  STAY CLEAR OF THE WATER.
     

 

Marysville CA Schedule

Colusa CA Schedule

Thursday, June 17, 2004

Cocktail Party at the home of Jim Vantress, race committee chairman and race contestant.

Friday, June 18, 2004

Welcome Reception & Boat Show
Driver Check-in, Marysville.

Saturday, June 19, 2004

Race from Boyd’s Pump to Daguerre Point and back to Riverfront Park in Marysville, CA (6 legs) MAP

Sunday, June 20, 2004

Same race course as Saturday, repeated a second time. (6 legs)

Monday, June 21, 2004

Race from Marysville Riverfront Park or Boyd’s Pump (yet to be determined) to Verona (beach just before) MAP

 

 

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Race from Colusa CA to Knights Landing, and back to Colusa. MAP

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

No Racing.  Events to be determined.

Thursday, June 24, 2004

Race from Wards Landing to Princeton Ferry, and back to Wards Landing, two times, total length 100 miles. (4 legs)  MAP

Friday, June 25, 2004

Same race course as Thursday, repeated a second time. (4 legs)  Entire week of racing to end in Colusa Friday afternoon.  Main Street closure between 8th and 9th, vendors, boat show to follow race.

BOAT RACE FINAL:  Awards banquet at Lovey's Landing following the completion of racing on Friday.  Open to the public.  Come and celebrate with us and meet the racers and crews and enjoy a 12oz New York Steak dinner with chili, salad and bread for $13.  Live entertainment at Sportsman Club Thursday and Friday after racing, 5th St. Colusa.

Special thanks goes to the sheriffs and police departments whose assistance and support help us enjoy all this racing!

This event is brought to you in part by ColusaNET and through the efforts of countless individuals and city and county government officials and employees.  Thanks goes to the cities and counties, and law enforcement, and their efforts that helped to enable this event.  The following individuals, though not a complete list, were instrumental in making this happen:  Charlie Barlett, Jan Barlett, Bill Boyes, DeeDee Brady, Sgt. James Casner, Kathy Farster, Denny Farster, Bill Haase, June Haase, Sandra Haase, Rhonda Jones, Rick Kunze, Bill Lowe, Dan Mescher, Sgt. Bill Siler, Supervisor Bill Simmons, Kirk Stein, Jim Vantress, Supervisor Jim Whiteaker, John Walascek and many many others.

Special thanks to Patty Hickel for helping to make the Colusa portion of this happen.

I would personally appreciate any feedback on this event.  Please email me with your comments.  (rkunze-at-colusanet-dot-com)  I'd like to hear comments and suggestions, likes and dislikes, and anything else you might have to say.  Should we do this again in four years?  How about every year?  Should we make it a bigger event?  Things like that.

Rk