The 2019 Downriver (and Youth-Adult) Series came to end on the lower Farmington River in Windsor, CT on a glorious 80-degree Saturday. The 25 boats and 36 paddlers that participated were a record for the three-year-old race.

Thanks to a four hour release by the Farmington River Power Co., there was enough water for a fun run through a quarter-mile rapid and five miles of quickwater. Sadly, a significant amount of the released water was absorbed by Keith Duggan's kayak, and although he never swam OUT of his boat, he did appear to be mostly swimming IN his boat by the time he reached the finish. Still there were no complaints from the paddlers following him, indicating the river remained fluid.

The race marked the Downriver series debut of Cheyenne Voudren, and was Dave Nowak's 16th race—making him the only paddler to compete in every Downriver Series race this season.

Adam Beyer secured his second kayak downriver championship (he last won in 2016), while Keith Duggan will finish second. Keith has finished in the top 5 in 14 of the 15 seasons in which he has competed and has never finished lower than 6th. Dave Nowak, Mike Lewis, and Tim Nutt round out the top 5 DR kayakers.

The race had no impact on the canoe side of things, where Jerry Madore will be followed by Eric Jones, who in turn beat out his daughter Phoebe Jones by a single point. Amy Thornton & Pat Lizak will finish in a tie for fourth.

Thank you to April, Sam & Phoebe Jones for all the admin work, and to Tim Lewis for once again sweeping the race. And congratulations to everyone on a most excellent DR season.

-Eric