The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic is an annual

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

race taking place on the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney. ...

in Northwest

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

usually at the end of October. The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic consists of a 111 km paddle downstream starting in

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

and finishing in Mooney Mooney. The race is Australia's fourth-longest annual canoe race after the 404 km Murray Marathon, the 208 km Riverland Paddling Marathon on the Murray River between Martins Bend and Morgan in South Australia and the 133 km

Avon Descent The Avon Descent is an annual, two-day, white water event along the Avon and Swan Rivers in Western Australia. It includes both paddle craft (kayaks, surf skis) and small motor boats, and runs from Northam to the Perth suburb of Bayswater. It ...

in Western Australia. The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic has over 600 paddlers each year. Around 600 paddlers travel 111 km in moonlight, down the Hawkesbury River from Windsor to Brooklyn, to raise money for Charity. Over the years the Hawkesbury Classic has developed into a great event. Paddlers, their land crew and hundreds of volunteers converge on the banks of the Hawkesbury River at Windsor on the day of the event to enjoy the fun and competition of an overnight paddle, and the now famous camaraderie and spirit of the event. Paddlers leave Windsor between 4pm and 6pm on Saturday and pass 20 safety checkpoints during the night. The fastest craft arrive at Brooklyn on Sunday morning in less than 10 hours, but the average time is closer to 15 hours. The classic began in 1977 and is made possible by volunteers who put in hundreds of hours of time throughout the year, the landowners who allow the use of their land for the weekend and the paddlers and their support crews. The Classic has raised more than $3.3 million for medical research, the major beneficiary continues to be will be the Arrow, The Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation. Entry fees and sponsorship monies raised by the Classic go towards supporting medical research. The first race in 1977 had 250 participants and raised A$8,500. This has increased over time with $185,000 donated in 2008. Over 14 years, approximately $2 million has been donated to the Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation. The classic is supported by volunteers from the

New South Wales State Emergency Service The New South Wales State Emergency Service (NSW SES), an agency of the Government of New South Wales, is an emergency and rescue service dedicated to assisting the community in times of natural and man-made disasters. The NSW SES is made up al ...

New South Wales Volunteer Rescue Association The VRA Rescue NSW (VRA) is an Australian organisation of volunteer members, they provide rescue to the communities across New South Wales. The first rescue squads, with the assistance of NSW Police formed the Volunteer Rescue Association (now ca ...

and staff from

NSW Maritime NSW Maritime, the trading name of Maritime Authority of New South Wales, was an agency of the Government of New South Wales, Australia responsible for marine safety, regulation of commercial and recreational boating and oversight of port operati ...

. The 2020 and 2021 Events were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Despite this, $12,050 and $11,478 was raised in 2020 and 2021 respectively and donated to Arrow. The 2022 Event is scheduled for the 29-30 October 2022.

Craft types

The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic accommodates boats of all types (canoes, kayaks, outriggers) provided that they are propelled by human muscle. The majority of paddlers use canoes and kayaks with C1, C2, K1, K2 and TK types being the most popular choices. TK2 boats are claimed to be the best boats for the Hawkesbury as they provide stability and speed at the same time. Despite the strengths of the TK boats, professional and elite paddlers opt to compete in Olympic-class boats for the extra speed component. Ocean racing skis are becoming the most popular craft for the out and out racers in this event.

References

External links

Official Site
{{Canoeing and kayaking Canoeing and kayaking competitions in Australia Sports competitions in Sydney Canoe marathon City of Hawkesbury Hornsby Shire