An 18.5-kilometre memorial canoe and kayak race that will take place Wednesday, Aug. 13
Yvonne was as comfortable talking politics and explaining theories on land use and northern urban planning as she was reciting poetry and comparing recipes
Mid-August 2002 in a phone call: “Can you make a pot of chili? We are having a race.”
The caller was Yvonne Dorothy Harris, and the race was the inaugural Takhini Downriver Canoe and Kayak Race.
From Rotary Peace Park to the Takhini River Bridge, six or so canoes and a few kayaks made their way 18.5 kilometres downstream in flotilla formation. The fastest paddlers were chowing down on chili and drinking beer in about an hour and a half. (Someone had thoughtfully thrown in a few cans to chill at the bottom of their boat … probably Joe Bishop).
Yvonne was big on ideas, sometimes short on advance notice, fast on delivery and quick in a canoe. She and I had just raced the 746 km Yukon River Quest (YRQ) in June and had won the women’s tandem canoe division. As there were only three teams in that category, Yvonne had continued to reassure me, during those long hours of training, that we would place in the top three. We did.
It was now August—enough recovery time already, she said—time to get training for next year’s YRQ. So, a race plan was hatched.
This rather casual approach continued for several years until the number of paddlers—young, old, rookie and veteran YRQ racers—soon out-ate the pot of chili. Baked beans were added to the menu, along with generously-donated Alpine Bakery bread. A large carrot cake took pride of place on someone’s overturned canoe.
The name of the race was expanded to the Chili and Bean Takhini Downriver Race. This year the race will be called the Yvonne Harris Memorial Race.
Yvonne competed in the original Dyea to Dawson, in 1997, raced many YRQs, paddled numerous northern rivers, raised two families, was a loving and spirited wife to her soulmate, Paul, wrote several books and sang beautifully while paddling long hours into the night—with haunting renditions of “Ave Maria” and a raucous “By the time you get to Dawson, you’ll have washed that man right out of your hair.” (We never had problems with bears.)
As we paddled those long hours into the pink alpenglow, we made up a story based on a historical Klondike figure and called it “Midnight at Hootalinqua.” We embellished our romance with adventure and intrigue and added details (sometimes rather spicy), back and forth, laughing away as we paddled on (and on).
Yvonne was as comfortable talking politics and explaining theories on land use and northern urban planning as she was reciting poetry and comparing recipes for favourite foods for entertaining, all on the river in a 40-pound Kevlar canoe. She taught me a lot about paddling, pacing, racing and life and will be missed in the Yukon paddling community as a friend and mentor to many.
The Yvonne Harris Memorial Race will start at 6 p.m. from Rotary Park. Stories and tributes to Yvonne will be shared at the Takhini River Bridge, after the race, along with chili, beans, bread, and carrot cake.
We invite you to come out to paddle and “raise a spoon” in Yvonne’s memory. For more information, please contact Pat McKenna at 867-332-0990.
Note: You will need to make arrangements for a boat shuttle back to town.
