NoliFest 2022 Beat Nightfall BoaterX Results

On Friday evening of April 22nd the river community gathered for this 5th annual event.

The BoaterX had lots of fast action in the 8 mile enduro style course down the Nolichucky Gorge. There were a total of 48 athletes (record # in event history) competing with 46 paddle crafts (couple of tandem paddlers). The river level was 1,475 CFS (medium level). The event started at the launch site in Popular, NC and finished at the USA Raft Outpost near Erwin, TN.

This GO FAST event was a mass start and the first paddle craft down to the USA Raft landing was the winner! Another challenge for this event was it did not start till late in the evening at 7:06 PM, so athletes only had less than two hours to complete the course before daylight was gone.

Athlete’s spirits were high and motivated to go fast when the 5..4..3..2..1 countdown went down for the start. Then a huge wake was created with the mass launch! The “bump and run” technique was employed often as athletes jostled for positions down the course while trying to find faster lines to make passes.

This year’s winning time was held by defending 2021 champs, Mike Patterson & Bruce Poacher, in a tandem kayak with a course time of 59 minutes. Everyone finished the course before darkness set in for the night, but it was the twilight zone for a few… As the competitors reached the finish line they were greeted by cheers from the crowd that had amassed at USA Raft to help them finish strong! Good times, good times!!

1. Michael Patterson & Bruce Poacher – K2 – 0:59
2. Chris Hipgrave – K1M – 0:59
3. Adam Herzog – K1M – 1:00
4. Bernie Engelman – K1M – 1:01
5. Marcelo Galizio – K1M – 1:01
6. Curtis England – K1M – 1:01
7. Elijah Whyte – K1M – 1:02
8. Wes Berry & Kaelyn Bishop – K2 – 1:02
9. Nathan Anderson – K1M – 1:03
10. Sven Jonsson – K1M – 1:03
11. Drew Austell – K1M – 1:03
12. Dennis Ashford – K1M – 1:03
13. Jack Ditty – K1M – 1:03
14. Brett Mayer – K1M – 1:03
15. Wil Amos – K1M – 1:04
16. Elizabeth Lockemer – K1W – 1:04
17. Matt Dalton – K1M – 1:04
18. Ryan Horn – K1M – 1:04
19. Banks Liles – K1M – 1:05
20. Brain Davis – K1M – 1:05
21. Scott Darby – K1M – 1:05
22. Stokes Liles – K1M – 1:06
23. Eli Dowler – K1M – 1:06
24. Kevin Drury – K1M – 1:06
25. Ava Christensen – K1W – 1:06
26. Wesley R. Bradley – K1M – 1:06
27. Kyle Hicks – K1M – 1:07
28. Trey Moore – K1M – 1:07
29. Jason Burke – K1M – 1:08
30. Matt Reynolds – K1M – 1:08
31. Noah Miller – K1M – 1:08
32. Todd Harrison – K1M – 1:09
33. Tom Petruccelli – K1M – 1:09
34. Tera Wilson Robinson– K1M – 1:09
35. Chris Morgan – SUP – 1:10
36. Jack Nelson – SUP – 1:10
37. Stan Ezquerro – K1M – 1:10
38. Brady Taylor – K1M – 1:12
39. Lloyd Welch – K1M – 1:13
40. Ashley Brennan – K1M – 1:14
41. John Mattox – K1M – 1:15
42. Andy Hinton – SUP – 1:15
43. Paul Clark – SUP – 1:20
44. Josh Dalton – K1M – 1:20
45. Charles Kennedy – K1M – 1:21
46. Will Saylor – SUP – 1:25
*Tesla Jean – ?
*Michae La – ?

Big thanks to our volunteer finish line judges: Hal & Jen

In typical Matt Moses and USA Raft style the event ended with a nice throw together after party with good fellowship, live music, beverages and awards ceremony with a few prizes from USA Raft and an Orion Cooler awarded to our winner.

Cheers till time to put the hammer down again at NoliFest in 2023!!

#BeatNightFall
#nolifest
#noliwildandscenic
#usaraft
#gofast