The 2024 Hawkesbury Classic Paddle, held over the weekend, marked a successful 45th edition with 107 paddlers participating. Organized by the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic Association Inc., the event is a charity fundraiser for medically-based organizations, and this year, it raised $50,000 for the Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation. Over its 30-year history, the event has raised a staggering $4.5 million.

It was a magical weekend for the 111-kilometre overnight paddle from Windsor to Mooney Mooney on Sydney’s Hawkesbury River. The conditions on the river on Saturday night were excellent, albeit that it was a little dark in some sections of the river.

The event featured paddlers from across Australia, including Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, and South Australia, as well as Mike Kellog from the US.  It was especially exciting to see many new paddlers at this year’s event, with 40% of the paddlers having never completed the Classic before. Inspiring the paddlers at the pre-paddle briefing were Paralympic Silver Medallist canoeist Dylan Littlehales along with Arrow PhD Scholar Ritika Saxena. Ritika shared the ground breaking achievements in stem-cell research made by her and the team at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, thanks to the funding raised by the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic.

The fastest paddlers were Trent Martin (8 hrs 48 mins 29 secs) from Central Coast Ocean Paddlers, and Naomi Johnson (9 hrs 39 mins 10 secs) from Lane Cove River Kayakers, with Gene Burns and Jason Morton winning the “Brooklyn or Bust” category in 8 hrs 54 mins 44 secs.

Volunteers played a vital role in the event’s smooth operation, with around 300 people supporting safety, logistics, and medical needs. GPS tracking technology also enhanced safety, allowing family and friends worldwide to follow paddlers in real-time. This technology proved especially useful when a couple of paddlers decided to take a scenic tripe up the Macdonald River and Mangrove Creek. The boat was able to quickly locate them and guide them back on track.

We thank the paddlers and land crew who took part in this epic overnight paddling event, and of course a HUGE thank you to the team of volunteers who work for many months each year getting this event up and running. Your support of the work we do is so greatly appreciated.

Grab your friends and start training now – there’s nothing quite like the HCC on the paddling calendar. The event is open to all forms of paddle-powered craft from single paddler skis to dragon boats, and everything in between. To find out more visit the HCC website: https://www.canoeclassic.net/