River is warning-free for canoe, kayak race

Canoes, kayaks and people on stand-up paddleboards can race — or mosey — down the Arkansas River on Saturday, thanks to this calm, dry weather.

For the first time in several years, no small craft warnings have been issued in the week before the annual Arkansas River Kayak and Canoe Race.

“There’s no current out there right now, basically,” says race organizer Phil Capel. “I paddled yesterday and went faster upstream than down, because the wind was at my back.”

Although most racers come from outside the region and they include some of the nation’s fastest teams, Capel says he’d like to see local people take advantage of the opportunity to experience the river as a beautiful, not-scary float trip.

“You get out there and it’s really pretty,” he says, “and this is a chance to paddle with safety boats watching after you.”

The paddling begins at 9 a.m. in the river near the Little Rock shore. Paddlers will launch from a boat ramp near the Murray Park soccer fields and race 5.5 miles, finishing under the Interstate 30 bridge downtown.

They will take out at North Shore Landing on the North Little Rock side.

Capel suggests that newcomers go to paddlearkansas. com to read about the different divisions, which are based on boat length and type of craft.

Registration costs $35 per person, not per boat (that’s $70 for a tandem crew) or $20 for paddlers younger than 18. Race day registration, which opens at 7:30 a.m., costs $40.

Everyone must attend an 8:30 a.m. safety briefing, and personal flotation devices are required.

A shuttle will be available to convey finishers back to Murray Park, beginning at 10:30 a.m.; it will make as many trips are needed, Capel says.

Online registration is at paddlearkansas.com. More information is at (501) 517-1553 and capelph@sbcglobal.net.