PALESTINE — NECHES — Gaston Jones of Austin crossed the finish line in 3 hours and 16 minutes — becoming the overall winner in the 22-mile 21st Annual Neches Wilderness Canoe Race Saturday put on by the Neches River Runners.

Fifty-eight boats launched from the starting point at the Lake Palestine Dam off of U.S. 175 and finished at the U.S. 79 ramp between Palestine and Jacksonville.

“It’s my fifth time to do the Neches — it’s a lot of fun, a good race,” Jones said. “The people who put this race on do a good job for a good cause — scholarships — and I try to always come out.”

Jones said he was happy to see the race still going after the possibility of it shutting down for good last year.

“At the last race, I was bummed out thinking it might the last. But the volunteers came through and kept it going. I think it’s a great tradition worth keeping,” Jones said.

Jones paddled the river in a Spencer Extreme solo unlimited canoe custom-made by Jack Spencer of Martinsdale.

“What I like about this race on the Neches (River) is that it’s small, windy and junky with lots of challenges,” Jones said. “You really have to use your skills and pay attention to what is up ahead. As opposed to a race on a big, wide open lake, this is a lot of fun.”

Jones, who is a big Texas Water Safari race fan, said the Neches River race is his second-favorite canoe race.

“I go to about every race there is in Texas. The Texas Water Safari is my favorite, but the Neches is my second,” Jones said.

In fact, this race may be Jones’ turning point.

“I’ve won a couple of races, but I usually come in second — that’s been a trend lately,” Jones said.

With temperatures in the triple digits, staying cool was a must.

“I kept dunking my hat in the water to stay cool,” Jones said, “but it’s August, so you know it’s going to be hot.”

While this year’s drought has wreaked havoc on water levels on Lake Palestine and many other waterways, that hasn’t been the case on the Neches River. That’s because the Neches River Authority is required to keep the river at a certain level to maintain habitats for local wildlife.

“This is our 21st year. We have had a good showing considering the economy and the number of people that probably thought the river was too low for the race,” race timer Candy Dillon said. “Our race is always going to be able to take place because they have to keep the river at a certain level and our race starts right by the dam. So even at its lowest level, we are still going to be able to have the race.”

This year marked a change in the Neches Wilderness Canoe Race as race founders and longtime directors passed the torch to a mostly new group to carry the tradition forward.

“We are now called the Neches River Runners — lots of same faces but everybody has different jobs and there is new growth,” Dillon said.

The new officers include president Kim Zemer, vice president Brad Chaffins and secretary Josie Chaffins.

“We’re really glad with the turnout this year considering the heat and drought throughout Texas. We were concerned but people knew it was for a good cause and its a good race and decided to show up. We have almost normal numbers as far as participation goes,” Neches River Runners vice president Brad Chaffins said. “We are really pleased with the amount of volunteers who helped put this on. The EMS, radio hams and volunteer fire departments made sure everyone had a safe race and stayed hydrated.”

Members of the Palestine/Anderson County Amateur Radio Club (PACARC) manned three checkpoints along the race to keep race officials informed of the safety of the participants.

“We relayed information to race officials on who had passed the checkpoints in case of the need of paramedics or emergency personnel,” PACARC Past President Larry Davis said. “It’s almost a necessity in a race as rough as this.”

Proceeds from the race provide scholarships for Trinity Valley Community College students. The scholarship program benefits a variety of students including returning adults, single parents, veterans and recent high school graduates.

“We want to thank all of our sponsors from the big money donations down to the small — everything goes back to the scholarship fund,” Brad Chaffins said.

For more information about the race, visit www.necheswildernessrace.com