Telling someone to “Look where you’re going,” wouldn’t have done much good Monday evening in Hancock, where paddlers were forbidden from doing so while taking to the water on Norway Pond for a good cause. The Blindfolded Boat Race to benefit Avenue A in Antrim pushed off just after 6 p.m., and after five preliminary heats and a final dash around the course, entrants helped raise over $8,000 for youth programs run through the Grapevine in Antrim. And nobody flipped into the pond. 

“The wet weather didn’t dampen the energy of our racers,” said Jacqueline Roland, Director of Teen Programs at The Grapevine. “We had such a joyful mix of returning racers and new teams — everyone showed up with enthusiasm, creativity, and a heart for local teens.”

Avenue A is a program of The Grapevine Family & Community Resource Center in Antrim. The Teen Center partners with youth ages 11–19 across the region, offering free enrichment programs that build resilience, foster leadership and create lasting connections. Over 300 teens from 18 towns participate in Avenue A programs annually.

A buoyed course was set out on the pond which had to be navigated by two-person canoes – one was a blindfolded paddler and the other a navigator – without a paddle – who shouted directions as to on which side to paddle and how to direct the canoe. Teams brought color and their own particular humor to the event via team names and costumes. Maura Young and Oliver Daley made up “The Wise Quakers” and showed up looking like waterfowl, and a team from the Renew Church dubbed their canoe “Noah’s Ark,” and had some stuffed animals as passengers to prove it. Twenty-eight crews competed altogether.

This was the third dash around the pond for Avenue A, and The Foecking Paddlers of Antrim, aka Kat and Bernd Foecking, were defending champions, but this mattered not to the Mad Dockers, a team of the Monadnock Knockers roller derby team. Half of the team, who identified herself as “Mi-Kill-Ya,” brimmed with bravado as they carried their craft to the water’s edge in spite of admitting. “We’ve only practiced canoeing once.” Karen Pellicano of Hillsborough was perched atop the lifeguard stand in case once was not enough to stay dry. 

Roland began the festivities by thanking the 30 volunteers who helped the event come to life, and noted local support with team sponsorships from Monadnock Community Hospital, Flag Leaf Bakery, and community groups including the Antrim Police Department, Renew Church, All Saints’ Church and Edmund’s Ace Hardware.

Sixth grader Mikey Kokoski of Hancock meandered the hillside overlooking the beach, sporting a sandwich board that encouraged donations to Avenue A. “They have a lot of good programs,” he explained. Roland said that teens from 18 different towns participate in the organization’s offerings. 

The Noah’s Ark crew of Jennifer and David Wallace had practiced less than the Mad Dockers, which is to say not at all, but when asked their strategy, they spoke as one: “To entertain.” 

On blankets and beach chairs, and nourished by grilling courtesy of members of the Hancock Congregational Church and baked goods courtesy of Avenue A parents, teams launched from the shore with the intention of rounding buoys set up to create a square course of sorts. John Anderson and Mark Murdough provided play-by-play and, by their own admission, “terrible jokes,” as blindfolded paddlers attempted to negotiate the course with the aid of what sounded to be vocally frustrated navigators.

“I meant paddle on the left, not that we want to go left,” was a frequent refrain heard on the shore, but the frustration was with good cheer. It seemed that some crews viewed the buoys as mere suggestions as to their course, for several had to retrace their paths after missing one, and round it properly. 

The winners of the heats lined up for the paddle off, and Bennington VFW Brown Knights pair of Josh Moreen and Brian Quinn rounded the course first with a time of 4:17 took home the title of Paddle-Off Winners. Asked what he would attribute their victory to, Quinn was quick to answer. “Good communication; we were in the military.” In the spirit of the event, the Business Too Casual crew of Tara Greenblat and Felix Hannah raised the most dollars for Avenue A in the Noah’s Ark crew. ConVal principal Heather McKillop and former Hancock Elementary principal Amy Janock, the ConVal Crew of “Paddlers with a Purpose,” gave a shoutout to local schools with paddles and a canoe prompting each one in the district. Golden Paddles were awarded to teams in a number of categories, from Best Costumes to Most Pledges.

“This event reminds us how powerful a community can be,” said Roland. “When we come together like this — with humor, generosity, and care — we’re not just raising money, we’re raising each other up.”

That the rain mostly held off until the last Golden Paddle was awarded, perhaps further contributed to Roland’s optimism around blindfolded boat racing. “We’re not an Olympic sport – yet,” she said.