Yukon challenge awaits for ‘Boomtown Boys’

Two Marlborough men are preparing to tackle the toughest and longest paddling race in the world.

The Yukon 1000 can be completed in canoes or kayaks and involves paddling 1000 miles (1600km) in a two-person team along the Yukon River from Whitehorse in Canada to Dalton Highway Bridge in Alaska.

“The Boomtown Boys”, namely Kieran Hickman and Tim Macfarlane, have been included among the elite 30-strong field, which was chosen from around 2500 entries from all over the world.

As they wend their way through stunning remote landscapes from July 10, Kieran and Tim face approximately 18 hours and 200km of paddling each day to ensure they make the race finish cut-off time of 10 days.

However, they still plan to try and enjoy the trip. “As much as we want to race hard and give it our best, seeing the wildlife alongside the Yukon river like moose, caribou, bears and wolves, is a big thing for us, we are keen to enjoy the surrounds as much as we can while suffering,” said Kieran.

The race is unsupported, meaning participants must be self-sufficient in the wilderness for the duration, facing potential encounters with wildlife. Crossing the border at Eagle from Canada into America, all the crews must make a remote telephone call to US border control officials, telling them they are entering their country.

The physical and mental challenges posed by the scope of the race are obvious and welcomed by the Marlborough men, who are no strangers to adventure racing.

Kieran is a veteran of five Godzone events and a similar number of Coast to Coasts, while Tim has been a long-time support crew on Godzone and has also completed five Coast to Coasts, plus various other endurance challenges.

So, what prompted a couple of Marlborough paddlers to set out on such an extreme adventure?

“The race was always on my bucket list,” said Kieran, “it probably just came around a bit quicker than I had imagined. It has worked out really well with both of us being locals.

Tim is a keen paddler and, having been to the Yukon a few years back, “always thought the Yukon 1000 would be an epic race”.

“Having had a lot of fun over the years racing in C2C in a team with Kieran and being GZ support crew this is just a fantastic opportunity for another great adventure.”

To prepare for the Yukon the duo have completed many hours of paddling, including the length of the Clutha River from Lake Wanaka to the sea, a mere 300km.

They also undertook a mission around Arapaoa Island in the Marlborough Sounds, during which Tim and Kieran experienced the loss of their rudder in the Cook Strait. While they had all the safety gear including PFD, PLB, flares, and GPS communications, they had a challenging time navigating big seas and tides.

They managed to return to the safety of the inner Sounds and were able to limp home but the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter was definitely front of mind when things didn’t go quite as planned, reinforcing their decision to use the Yukon adventure as an opportunity to raise funds for the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter.

“We ended up doing about 60-70km with no rudder which was a bit interesting, so while we were out the front there, battling away, a little concerned for our welfare and doing a bit of a gear check … we started to think well, [the helicopter] is not a bad thing to be raising money for. It was a timely reminder,” Tim recalls.

So, where do they hope to finish on a river that is up to 5km wide in parts and extensively braided in others?

“It would be nice to get in the top half of the field, but some of the other competitors are seasoned pros who live on the water, out there to win it in record time,” said Kieran.

“We just know we are nowhere near that level … we are weekend warriors and out to race our own race - while still giving it our all.”

A number of Kiwis have raced the Yukon 1000 over the years, including adventure racing superstars Sophie Hart and Nathan Fa'avae who won the race last year in six days and 23 minutes, setting the bar pretty high.

The Boomtown Boys say they hope to finish in under eight days, their progress dependent on river flow, which is governed by the annual ice melt, currently very low at the moment.

You can follow the Boomtown Boys tracker, as they race the Yukon 1000 via this link https://www.yukon1000.org/ and support the Rescue Helicopter on their givealittle page. https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/yukon-1000-or-worlds-longest-canoe-race