After a 3-year hiatus, the Boat Bash Snow Crash returns to Franklin
Union Leader | John Koziol | March 6, 2022
By John Koziol/Union Leader Correspondent - At just two, Belle England wasn’t able to participate in Saturday’s Boat Bash Snow Crash event, but she showed herself adept at moving a kayak around, a skill that will serve her well in the future.
By John Koziol/Union Leader Correspondent - Before racing head-to-head in the Boat Bash Snow Crash, these competitors did time trials Saturday at Veterans Memorial Recreation Area as part of the Franklin Outing Club’s 60th Winter Carnival.
FRANKLIN – While highlighting a unique relationship between two nonprofit groups, and to the delight of prospective snow kayaker Belle England, Boat Bash Snow Crash returned Saturday to cap off the 60th Franklin Winter Carnival.
By John Koziol/Union Leader Correspondent - A snowmobile pulls kayaks uphill Saturday for time trials at the Boat Bash Snow Crash event which was held at Veterans Memorial Recreation Area and capped the Franklin Outing Club’s 60th Winter Carnival.
Sponsored by the Franklin Outing Club, the Winter Carnival began Feb. 11 with an evening snowshoe walk at the Veterans Memorial Recreation Area and before it wrapped up there Saturday, included a road race, an ice-fishing derby at nearby Lake Webster, an ice-skating party, a ski-a-thon, and, of course, the Boat Bash Snow Crash.
The brainchild of Marty Parichand, who owns Outdoor New England, an outfitter in downtown Franklin, Boat Bash Snow Crash – in which kayakers race head-to-head down a ski slope at the recreation area — began about a decade ago as a fun fundraiser for Mill City Park – a multi-use facility along the Winnipesaukee River that is based around what will be the first whitewater park in New England.
Working with the City of Franklin, Mill City Park has overseen the construction of a “standing wave” in the Winnipesaukee, just below the Central Street Bridge, while construction of amphitheater seating along the south riverbank and of an underpass below the bridge remain under construction for a mid-June grand-opening.
By John Koziol/Union Leader Correspondent - Above and below: Before racing head-to-head in the Boat Bash Snow Crash, these competitors did time trials Saturday at Veterans Memorial Recreation Area as part of the Franklin Outing Club’s 60th Winter Carnival
City Manager Judie Milner, who volunteered at the Winter Carnival ticket desk Saturday, said Franklin has applied for a $1.5 million federal grant that would pay for some of the work and had been notified that Franklin’s application was at the top of the list of New Hampshire funding priorities through the American Rescue Plan Act.
Under a separate, federal program, she said Franklin is also seeking money for a second standing wave above the Central Street Bridge, as well as development of some of 13 acres of abutting land for a climbing wall, parkour course and a bicycle pump track.
By John Koziol/Union Leader Correspondent - Before racing head-to-head in the Boat Bash Snow Crash, these competitors did time trials Saturday at Veterans Memorial Recreation Area as part of the Franklin Outing Club’s 60th Winter Carnival.
As for the Boat Bash Snow Crash, Milner said it represented “the Franklin community at its best” with The Outing Club and Mill City Park combining their efforts for the greater good.
Elizabeth Fales of Gilford said she brought her daughters, including 2-year old Belle England, because she’d heard of Boat Bash Snow Crash and wanted them to see it in person.
“This is awesome,” said Fales, adding “the kids are having a blast,” even though Belle will have to wait a couple more years before she can compete.
Nick Mason, who is secretary of Mill City Park’s board of directors, said Boat Bash Snow Crash, which has not been held since 2019 because of poor weather and was canceled in 2021 because of COVID-19 safety concerns, said the event continues to evolve.
This year 28 people of all ages signed up, some to race, some just to feel what it’s like to navigate a kayak downhill on a ski slope.
Although it generates a modest amount of money for Mill City Park and the Outing Club, Mason said the Boat Bash Snow Crash helps educate the public about both groups while introducing local children to winter snow sports and a modified version of kayaking.
“This is the fourth time that we’ve been successful, in putting on the Boat Bash Snow Crash,” he said. “It’s kind of a novelty,” said Mason, like something you’d see in a Warren Miller film about extreme skiing.