The first Ocean Fest Kayak Race in the Umpqua River was considered a success.

The event was held as part of the annual Ocean Fest in Reedsport, Gardiner and Winchester Bay.

“This was a fun event, and we hope it becomes a regular part of Ocean Fest,” said Jim Akre, the organizer of the event. “The wind was a little hard on people, but I think everyone had fun.”

The wind and the current played favorable in the 12-mile marathon race, from the Umpqua Discovery Center in Reedsport to Winchester Bay.

Ethan Akre finished first in that event in the single-paddle kayak division with a time of 1 hour, 29 minutes and 30 seconds. That was the best time of any classification. Bill Kuern won the wind kayak race in 1 hour and 30 minutes, while Les Fletcher and Chris Kauffman teamed to win the tandem division in 1:37:40.

Those times were better than for the short course race, which was six miles, but was contested in rough winds in an out-and-back course.

Bill Sherman had the best time in that race, finishing in 2:03:30 in the single paddle division. Forest Hill and Jonathan Hill won the tandem race in 2:09:16, while Lorna Colvin won the single-pedal division in 2:31:10.

Results are listed in today’s Community Scoreboard.