Participation was high at the 2005 New England Canoe-Orienteering Championships with 47 people in 32 boats. In quite a turnaround from prior years the Short and Medium courses were only lightly tested while the daunting Advanced course, 6K straight-line and with several on-land controls, attracted the greatest crowd with 20 boats.

This was the third time for the Whitehall Reservoir as a canoe-o venue and the second time as the site for a New England Championships. The lake is generally oval with major dimensions of 1.5K by 3K. The many islands allow for complicated courses and the trail that circumvents the shore allows for additional route choices.

The Expert course was particularly tough this year to provide challenge for the teams preparing for the Nationals in 10 days. Map one was the same as the Advanced course and map two added another large loop out through the islands. Those people completing map one in less than two hours could choose to continue onto the expert course. Of the five teams eligible, three went on and two decided they'd had enough and stuck with Advanced.

The "splitting" technique, where one person runs to a control while the other moves the boat to a later meeting place, was particularly effective at Whitehall and thus was a huge advantage for tandem teams versus singles. That's why it is particularly impressive that Darrell Scott won the Advanced course in a single kayak.

In other performances of note, Pelle Wahlstrom and Marcia Steele were the winners on Medium because of their consistent boat speed and clean navigation. Terry Myers was last on Medium, but she'd already completed a triathlon an hour earlier and so finishing less than 20 minutes behind Pelle and Marcia was quite the achievement.

It was big day for Mike Smith. He and his son Michael have been entering canoe-os for a long time and they nearly won Medium in their heavy aluminum canoe, being only 1:46 back. But, Mike, not to be denied a championship T-shirt, went out alone in a kayak on the Very Short course and aced it.

The duel of the day was the Expert race between Nationals-bound canoe racers Steve and Seth Miller and top orienteers Pia Kivisakk and Mark Webb. It would have been a great battle to watch from a helicopter. Their splits were close throughout and it was only decided on the few open water legs where the Miller's boat speed was greater and on the portages where the Miller's light Kevlar hull was the advantage.

This was a wonderful meet to put on with some top-notch helpers- Pelle Wahlstrom, Marcia Steele, J-J Cote, and Katie Coney. Many thanks!