Published: June 19, 2009 07:10 am      

Canoe races on Boardman slated

TRAVERSE CITY -- The Outback Adventure canoe races on the Boardman River will help kick off the Cherry Festival on July 4-5.

The individual event, which will serve as the Michigan Canoe Racing Association state championship, will be held Saturday, July 4. Starting at Brown Bridge Dam, it will showcase paddlers as they complete the winding Boardman River, finishing at Shumsky Landing. The race starts at 3 p.m.

The next day, professional tandem racers in ultra light carbon fiber canoes start on Brown Bridge pond at 10 a.m. Paddlers will do a 10 minute loop on the pond, then portage Brown Bridge Dam and head downstream, portaging Cass and Sabin dams and finishing the 22-mile course at Hull Park.