ABOUT

The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic is a fun paddle with a serious purpose. Each year around 600 paddlers paddle 111 km overnight in the moonlight, down the Hawkesbury River from Windsor to Brooklyn, to raise money for charity. The Wisemans Dash, a shorter version of 67 Km finishing at Wisemans Ferry was introduced in 2016. This is a great introduction for newer paddlers, or a warm-up for returning paddlers. 

Over the years the event has build into a great community event, with paddlers, their landcrew and hundreds of volunteers converging on the banks of the Hawkesbury River at Windsor on the day of the event to enjoy the camaraderie and spirit that the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic has built. The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic has an excellent safety record, with the long-term health of paddlers over-riding any other considerations.

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The first paddlers leave Windsor at 4:00pm on Saturday and pass 21 safety checkpoints during the night. The fastest craft arrive at Brooklyn in less than 10 hours, but the average time is closer to 15 hours.

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The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic has been run since 1977 and is made possible by volunteers who put in hundreds of hours of time throughout the year, landowners who allow us the use of their land for the weekend and the paddlers and their support crews.

The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic has raised almost $4 million for medical research. The major beneficiary for this year's event will be the Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation.