UPDATE: Alpine Shop’s own Perry Whitaker – part of a four-man team known as “Mississippi Speed Record” – will be paddling through St. Louis today on day 10 of their attempt at the World Record for Fastest Time to Row the Length of the Mississippi River by a Team. (By Guinness’ guidelines, this can be undertaken in a scull, rowboat, kayak or canoe.)
The old World Record of 18 days, four hours and 51 minutes was set back in 2003. However, a new tentative record of 17 days and 20 hours was set just four days ago by another team.
Now, Mississippi Speed Record has that new time in sight. As of 10 am on Friday, May 14, they had reduced a deficit of more than four hours down to just 36 minutes off the pace as they head into Alton and then into downtown St. Louis later today.
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ORIGINAL STORY:
Of all the personalities and characters that you may have come across at an Alpine Shop location over the past decade, none are probably so well known as Perry Whitaker. A consummate adventurer and ambassador, Whitaker has dedicated himself to getting people outdoors – especially if it involves his beloved rivers.
An experienced kayaker and canoeist, Whitaker is a 12-time finisher of the Missouri River 340 Race and has been Alpine Shop’s lead paddle instructor for almost a decade, leading everything from small basic classes to multi-day paddles on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers around his hometown St. Louis. In 2019, he was even named one of the area’s Best Outdoor Guides/Instructors by the readers of Terrain Magazine.
Now, after months of training, he’s begun “an adventure like no other” – an attempt at the World Record for Fastest Time to Row the Length of the Mississippi River by a Team. (By Guinness’ guidelines, this can be undertaken in a scull, rowboat, kayak or canoe.) Whitaker, part of a four-man team comprised of paddling experts from across the U.S., will be attempting to break the World Record of 18 days, four hours and 51 minutes set back in 2003. The team, known as Mississippi Speed Record, has a live feed of the attempt that is allowing people from across the world to keep track of the attempt.
The second-longest river in the U.S. and the fourth longest in the world, the Mississippi River is between 2,300 and 2,350 miles (at best estimate). In order to break the record, Whitaker’s team will need to tackle nearly 140 miles each day on the river. Leaving Lake Itasca in Northern Minnesota on Tuesday, May 4, they expect to take about four days to reach the Twin Cities, six days from Minneapolis/St. Paul to St. Louis, and another seven from his hometown of St. Louis to the Gulf of Mexico south of New Orleans.
According to the Mississippi Speed Record site:
Since 2003 there have been at least three unsuccessful attempts to break the record. A team of four consisting of Tim Muhich, Colin Bright, Clint Adams and Boot Baweja made and attempt in 2014, and in 2017 they made another attempt with Dale Waldo replacing Boot Baweja. Kevin Eckelkamp (nephew of Steve Eckelkamp), Nate Lastinger and KJ Millhone made an unsuccessful attempt in 2018(9).
In 2020, Scott Miller along with KJ Millhone, Casey Millhone, and Oliver Simes put together a team to break the record. Because of the Covid pandemic and numerous stay at home orders, this attempt was scraped and Scott Miller put together the current team trying to break the record in 2021.
