By Canadian Press

3,500-kilometre Labrador snowmobile race cancelled after team goes into open water

Mar 7, 2023 | 11:25 AM

LABRADOR CITY, N.L. — A snowmobile race in Labrador that bills itself as the longest and toughest in the world has been cancelled mid-course because of rain and broken sea ice brought on by unseasonably warm temperatures.

Organizers of the 3,500-kilometre Cain’s Quest endurance race say the decision was made for safety reasons because of weather conditions now and in the coming days.

The news comes after a member of the Finnish team drove into open water early today on their way to a checkpoint in Port Hope Simpson, N.L., more than 900 kilometres from the race’s starting point in Labrador City.

A representative for the Finnish team said Esa Norokorpi came upon sudden open water before dawn and he did not have time to avoid it.

Jukka-Pekka Tolonen said in a Facebook message that the water was not deep, adding that Norokorpi and his racing partner Markku Rytinki were lucky they were only about 20 kilometres away from Port Hope Simpson.

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Cain’s Quest, which began on Saturday, follows a circuit from Labrador City in the west to the east coast, hitting both the southernmost and northernmost communities of Labrador before looping back to the starting point.

Jill Maepea, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, says a warm air mass is bringing unusually warm temperatures to much of Labrador, conditions that are expected to last for most of the week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2023.

The Canadian Press