Rev. John Algera and his friend David Lyle paddled a 100-mile (160 km) kayak race that took 33 hours to complete. They finished in last place but will have a first place spot in the hearts of kids who live near Madison Ave. Christian Reformed Church in Paterson, N.J.
Algera pastors that church and Lyle is an elder at New Covenant CRC in North Hampton, N.H. They entered the Watertribe North Carolina Challenge, a race around Cedar Island and Beaufort, N.C., raising more than $6,000.
The money will be used to purchase six kayaks, life vests, paddles, a trailer, a trailer hitch on the church van, and fishing and camping equipment for the Madison Ave. CRC Cadets. The boys will learn kayaking on the Passaic, Hackensack, and Hudson rivers near the church. Cadets is the boys’ ministry offered in most Christian Reformed churches.
Algera built his own kayak from a kit and wrote about the entire process, along with notes from the race, at www.johnskayak.blogspot.com.
Race information and results can be found at www.watertribe.com, where Algera is listed as the Passaic Paddler and Lyle is the Summit Paddler.
