HOUGHTON LAKE – A new races has come to town: The Muskegon River Throw Down!
Initiated by Sean Brabant, the ‘Muskegon River Throw Down’ will offer an additional canoe race to the Michigan Canoe Racing Association schedule to give paddlers another opportunity to compete amongst others.
Starting venue for the race is North Shore Lounge. Brabant said the lounge will provide adequate parking for sponsors, competitors, spectators, and any interested vendors.
‘This will also be a great option for an award venue with food and drinks,’ he said.
The 13.25-mile-long race will begin at the mouth of the Muskegon in Houghton Lake.
Competitors will go up to a half mile into Houghton Lake (dependent on weather) where they will perform a counter clockwise buoy turn. After the buoy, they will continue paddling back to the mouth of the Muskegon.
Five minutes down the river, there will be a small dam that a single canoe can fit through – if the area gets congested, boats have the option to portage the dam.
Paddlers will continue up the river until the north branch splits, and they will perform another counter clockwise buoy turn to head back down the river until they reach the north bound US 127 expressway overpass.
There, they will make a clockwise buoy turn around the south bridge support and return to the north branch buoy to make their last turn in a clockwise direction.
Brabant said payouts for the race will be dependent on the amount of sponsorships the race receives: C2-E1 race will payout to 20 places; C2-E2 will payout top three; and C1 will payout to 15 places.
Bonus money will be awarded to the top women’, mixed, masters, and seniors teams.
For more information contact Brabant at 989-205-1369 or email sbrabant@nesterauto.com.
