Here is another of those trips down memory lane for those of us who remember the “Good Old Days” of festivals and events in Golden.  

From the Golden Gazette, Wednesday May 23, 1979. Thirty-nine floatable crafts of many diverse shapes and sizes officially entered the annual “Nicholson to Golden” raft race this year, while several other “unofficial” entries participated in the Monday, Victoria Day holiday party. A large crowd estimated at 350 enjoyed watching the race also.

Sponsored by the Nicholson Community Association, the race was slotted into several categories of competition; the race was slotted into several categories of competitors. Cash prizes were awarded to various winners, including the, most Creative Raft, going to an industrious crew who designed Captain’s Seat – a raft decorated with a toilet bowl  for the captain’s command post.

In the Creative Craft class, Brian Teske’s raft was judged second best, while third choice of the judges went to the Grads raft, bedecked with a hinged platform adorned with plenty of people, comfortable chairs, two flagpoles and unknown to other competitors until after the race began -a fire hose with portable pump which was quickly put to use spraying any other weird craft within distance.

The race meandered down the Columbia from Nicholson to a finish line just before the Airport, with mist raft crew busily poling and paddling in order to keep the raft pointed in the proper direction downstream.

Canoes, and other more manoeuvrable craft fared much better. A team of Dale Thompson and Pat Malloy paddled their canoe into first place in the canoe category in 55 breathless minutes of busy paddling. Gord Barlow and Bob Kramer arrive in Chuck Kucera’s sleek canoe five minutes later, while Blaine Henderson and Miles Rubinick placed third with a time of 65 minutes.

A two-man kayak paddled by Werner Sutter and Ken Darbyshire actually arrived across the finish line first with a time of 50 minutes elapsed, picking up first place in the kayak class. Jennifer French picked up two cash prizes, one for her second place finish in the kayak class – arriving at the finish line 70 minutes after the first paddle dipped the water – and an additional cash prize for being the first female crew to pass the finish line.

In the boat class of the raft race, David Nagle placed first, with J. Rowe finishing second.

Rafts were split into large and small classes – with crew size determining the classification. In the large raft class Rachelle Kelley’s team placed first, Brian MacKay’s second, and Lawney Zdanovich’s crew arrived third. In the small raft class Donna Penno’s crew crossed the finish line first followed by Alfred Hillary and Mark Molyneux.

There were occasional spills and subsequent chills during the race. One canoe team upset their raft within five minutes of pushing off from the Nicholson bridge. They were quickly picked up and eventually towed to the finish line by motorized safety boats patrolling the course.

One crew member on Dan Pecora’s sleek run-about with 85 horsepower motor helped pull at least one raft crew member to safety during the course of the race after a minor upset.

The race proved to be quite a spectacle, with local helicopters buzzing by the river throughout the race.

Several rafts in the competition didn’t manage to reach the finish line within the specified four hour time limit set by race organizers – probably due to the spontaneous parties started by various crews along the course, the quantities of spirits consumed, and the mysterious and constant flow of the Columbia River.

Race organizers say they plan on sponsoring the next annual Columbia River  raft race, and have therefore given raft enthusiasts fair warning to start planning their rafts and crafts for the next round.