Serge Corbin is a Canadian professional marathon canoe racer and a native of St. Boniface, Quebec. [1]
Contents
Serge Corbin is a Canadian professional marathon canoe racer and a native of St. Boniface, Quebec. [1]
Corbin began his canoe racing career at the age of 16. His first partner was his older brother and hero, Claude Corbin. The elder Corbin was already an accomplished paddler and the two went on to form one of the most successful partnerships in the history of canoeing. Subsequent to Claude's retirement, Serge has shared success with more than ten partners.
Corbin has essentially owned the sport of marathon canoe racing in North America by dominating its Triple Crown races from his rookie season, when he was 16, until well into his late 40s. The Triple Crown of Canoe Racing consists of North America's three most prestigious marathon canoe races: the General Clinton Canoe Regatta (70 miles over one day from Cooperstown, NY to Bainbridge, NY); The Au Sable River Canoe Marathon (120 miles non-stop overnight from Grayling, MI to Oscoda, MI); and, la Classique Internationale de Canots de la Mauricie, a three-day, three stage race from La-Tuque, QC to Trois-Rivieres, QC.
![Champions of the 2002 Triple Crown Canoe Racing, their third Triple Crown Championship in a row, [left] Jeff Kolka, 43, of Grayling, Michigan, and Serge Corbin, 45, of St-Boniface de Shawinigan, Quebec 2002 Triple Crown of Canoe Racing Champions.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/2002_Triple_Crown_of_Canoe_Racing_Champions.jpg/220px-2002_Triple_Crown_of_Canoe_Racing_Champions.jpg)
In the AuSable River Canoe Marathon, Serge Corbin holds the record for most individual victories, at 18. For 27 years he held the course record, at 13:58:08, set in 1994 with his partner Solomon Carriere, of Cumberland House, Saskatchewan. In 2021, Jorden Wakeley and Matt Meersman, set the new course record at 13:54:09.
Corbin has won La Classique on 25 different occasions with 10 different partners. In 2004 Serge was honored with a 4-hour tribute commemorating his 25 victories in Quebec's grueling marathon. [2]
He has been most dominant in the General Clinton, where he entered the 70 mile marathon 29 times and won the race 28 times. Corbin has only lost one 70 mile canoe race between the banks of upstate New York's often shallow Susquehanna River. [3]
Corbin has ventured outside of flatwater marathon canoe racing to participate in outrigger ocean canoe racing and swanboat racing. He was on winning teams in the prestigious Molokai Hoe race in 1985 and 1989. [4] He has also competed in international swanboat competitions. [5]
Corbin is listed as one of the "Paddlers of the Century" by Paddling Magazine. [6]
The Au Sable River is a 138-mile-long (222 km) river in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Rising in the Northern Lower Peninsula, the river flows in a generally southeasterly direction to its mouth at Lake Huron at the communities of Au Sable and Oscoda. It is considered one of the best brown trout fisheries east of the Rockies and has been designated a blue ribbon trout stream by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. A map from 1795 located in the United States Gazetteer calls it the Beauais River. In French, the river is called the Rivière au sable, literally "Sand River".
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles.
Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other activities such as canoe camping, or where canoeing is merely a transportation method used to accomplish other activities. Most present-day canoeing is done as or as a part of a sport or recreational activity. In some parts of Europe canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an open canoe.
Wildwater canoeing is a competitive discipline of canoeing in which kayaks or canoes are used to negotiate a stretch of river speedily. It is also called "Whitewater racing" or "Downriver racing" to distinguish it from whitewater slalom racing and whitewater rodeo or Freestyle competition.
Outrigger boats are various watercraft featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull. They can range from small dugout canoes to large plank-built vessels. Outrigger boats can also vary in their configuration, from the ancestral double-hull configuration (catamarans), to single-outrigger vessels prevalent in the Pacific Islands and Madagascar, to the double-outrigger vessels (trimarans) prevalent in Island Southeast Asia. They are traditionally fitted with Austronesian sails, like the crab claw sails and tanja sails, but in modern times are often fitted with petrol engines.
Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today but is often used as a hypernym for both canoe marathon and canoe sprint. Similarly, the term 'canoeing' is used to describe both kayaking and canoeing.
A surfski is a type of kayak in the kayaking "family" of paddling craft. It is generally the longest of all kayaks and is a performance oriented kayak designed for speed on open water, most commonly the ocean, although it is well suited to all bodies of water and recreational paddling.
The Massive Murray Paddle, formerly the Red Cross Murray Marathon or Murray Marathon, and later the YMCA Massive Murray Paddle, is an Australian 415 km, 5-day canoe/kayak flatwater race on the Murray River. One of the longest annual flatwater canoe races in the world, it starts in Yarrawonga and ends in Koondrook. The race raises funds to assist local community-driven programs.
The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic is an annual marathon canoe race taking place on the Hawkesbury River in Northwest Sydney usually at the end of October. The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic consists of a 111 km paddle downstream starting in Windsor and finishing in Mooney Mooney. The race is Australia's fourth-longest annual canoe race after the 404 km Murray Marathon, the 208 km Riverland Paddling Marathon on the Murray River between Martins Bend and Morgan in South Australia and the 133 km Avon Descent in Western Australia. The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic has over 300 paddlers each year. Around 300 paddlers travel 111 km in moonlight, down the Hawkesbury River from Windsor to Brooklyn, to raise money for Charity. Over the years the Hawkesbury Classic has developed into a great event. Paddlers, their land crew and hundreds of volunteers converge on the banks of the Hawkesbury River at Windsor on the day of the event to enjoy the fun and competition of an overnight paddle, and the now famous camaraderie and spirit of the event. Paddlers leave Windsor between 4pm and 4.30pm on Saturday and pass 18 safety checkpoints during the night. The fastest craft arrive at Brooklyn on Sunday morning in less than 10 hours, but the average time is closer to 15 hours. The classic began in 1977 and is made possible by volunteers who put in hundreds of hours of time throughout the year, the landowners who allow the use of their land for the weekend and the paddlers and their support crews. The Classic has raised more than $4.5 million for medical research, the major beneficiary continues to be will be the Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation.
Canoe Kayak Canada is the governing body of competitive canoeing and kayaking disciplines in Canada. The three specific disciplines represented are flatwater, whitewater and marathon. Canoe Kayak Canada officially replaced the name "Canadian Canoe Association" in 2005, although the former title is still used by the organization. The name change came about from a desire to include the kayaking discipline in the organization's name.
The Au Sable River Canoe Marathon, presented by Consumers Energy, is an annual 120 mi (193 km) canoe race in Michigan from Grayling to Oscoda. Nicknamed and known simply as "The Marathon," it first ran in 1947, and is perhaps the oldest marathon canoe race in the United States, and is the longest, non-stop, canoe-only race in North America. The race has been billed as "The World's Toughest Spectator Race" as many of the spectators follow the racers overnight down the full 120 miles (190 km) to the finish.
A rabaska or Maître canoe was originally a large canoe made of tree bark, used by the Algonquin people.
The Adirondack Canoe Classic, also known as the 90-miler, is a three-day, 90-mile (140 km) canoe race from Old Forge to Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks of New York, United States. The race has drawn as many as 500 competitors from California to Florida, New Zealand and Canada paddling 250 canoes, kayaks and guideboats. Included in the ninety mile length is 5.25 miles (8.45 km) of carries.
Canoe marathon is a paddling sport in which athletes paddle a kayak or canoe over a long distance to the finish line. The International Canoe Federation states standard distance races are at least 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) without an upper limit, while short distance races are between 3.4 kilometres (2.1 mi), and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi). Many events are raced down sections of river, including currents or portages around obstacles. Some events attract thousands of competitors and are staged over several days.
The Hasler Series is the British national club championship in the sport of marathon canoeing, a long distance form of canoe racing, governed by the Marathon Racing Committee and supported by British Canoeing (BC).
Canoeing – recreational boating activity or paddle sport in which you kneel or sit facing forward in an open or closed-decked canoe, and propel yourself with a single-bladed paddle, under your own power.
Originally a means of winter transport between the islands and shores of the Saint Lawrence River, ice canoeing is now a sport. Crews of five athletes alternately push their canoe across the ice on the frozen parts of the river, and paddle in a river with currents of four knots, tides of over 15 feet, and ice blocks weighing a few tonnes blown by the wind. Shoes with bolts screwed to the bottom are worn to keep their traction on the ice.
Andrea Moller is a Brazilian-American competitive canoeist and surfer. She competes in every outrigger race large event, from one-man (OC1) to six-man (OC6) canoes as well as SUP long-distance races all year round. She is a professional Paramedic and mother, on Maui where she lives.
The Triple Crown of Canoe Racing is a canoe marathon series consisting of:
Norwich Canoe Club is based at Whitlingham, Trowse in Norwich, Norfolk, UK with Whitlingham Great Broad, Whitlingham Little Broad, River Yare and River Wensum on its doorstep. It is a canoe and kayak racing club that focuses on flatwater sprint canoeing and marathon canoeing. It is a friendly club where canoeing is safe and fun and welcomes anyone who wants to have a go on the water. The club has as many girls as boys and as many women as men and also many families who all come and paddle together. Members are all ages, from 7 to 70 so there is definitely a place for everyone.