The weather in La Conner on Saturday morning was pretty awful.

Conditions on Swinomish Channel, however, were oar-ful.

Dozens of human-powered watercraft braved high winds and a brisk current on the channel to take part in the Sound Rowers Open Water Rowing and Paddling Club season opening race here. The event featured a wide range of entries — from kayaks and surf skis to rowing shells and rowboats.  Paddle board enthusiasts also shared the water.

In all, there are about 20 classes of watercraft eligible for race entry.

The local race, whose overall winners Don Keisling and John Mooney teamed up to race together for the first time, consisted of a long course and short course. Both distances were adjusted, though, because of the weather.

The long course was reduced from seven miles to about six miles. The short course went from five miles to 2.7 miles.

“The high winds forced us to alter the course from the normal route out into Skagit Bay,” Race Director Kevin Olney said. “Staying within the Swinomish Channel offered protection from the wind and the waves. … The strong current was an additional challenge that the racers faced.”

The short course went from Rainbow Bridge to a buoy near the Hole-in-the-Wall and back, Olney said. The long course went to the buoy at the Hole-in-the-Wall, back under the bridge, on to a buoy near La Conner Marina, and finishing at the original start line, he said.

Olney said participants hailed mostly from Whatcom and Skagit Counties, though a group of racers attended from Seattle. Port Townsend, Sequim, Tacoma, Port Orchard, Vancouver, B.C., Wenatchee, and Bend, Oregon were also represented, he said.

“We had 48 boats finish the long course and six finishers in the short course,” Olney said.

Three racers didn’t finish, he noted.

More than 80 participants had pre-registered for the La Conner trials.

Sound Rowers & Paddlers is a volunteer-run entity which doesn’t have a single fixed clubhouse but hosts a dozen or so races annually, traditionally launching its season at La Conner. Other race venues include Olympia, Bainbridge Island and Bellingham.

The organization regularly draws world-class racers along with weekend athletes. About 70% are paddlers, the remainder being rowers.

La Conner paddleboarder Jen Cram was out of town and couldn’t enter this year’s race on Swinomish Channel.

“I had wanted to do it,” Cram said. “It’s definitely on my radar for next year.”

Despite frequent gusts, a loyal contingent of fans huddled Saturday at Conner Waterfront Park and the Sherman Street boat ramp to cheer on the racers.

“Part of the beauty of this sport,” said Neil Bransfield of Bellingham, “is dealing with the whims of Northwest weather.”

Michael Lee, also of Bellingham, and parent of a race entrant, insisted that conditions could be — and have been — worse.

“This is a lot better weather than last year when it was freezing,” Lee said.

Olney recounted the history of Sound Rowers & Paddlers, which dates to the 1980s. He believes the annual La Conner race was inspired by the famed 1941 exhibition on Swinomish Channel pairing the University of Washington eight-man crew and tribal pullers manning traditional racing canoes.

Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.