The Great OC Lagoon Race is back for its fifth year

By Julia Train

Created in 2020, after Ocean City’s Night in Venice parade was canceled due to COVID-19, the Great OC Lagoon Race will be back for its fifth year on Saturday, July 27.

Tim Campbell and his wife, Kate, knew the island still needed an event to keep that sense of community that the annual boat parade provides.

So the couple, who live on the Carnival Lagoon, started the event that now has two races – one for kayakers and another for paddleboarders – to bring that togetherness back to the island.

Being an avid water sports enthusiast, along with running three separate Ocean City-related social media groups on Facebook and Instagram, it was an easy decision, Tim Campbell said.

While brainstorming one night in 2020, he thought to himself, “What if I could organize a community type event that would still get people out and having fun for a little bit?”

The Great OC Lagoon Race was originally only a paddleboard race, but then Tim added kayaking to the mix.

The event takes place between the 16th and 17th Street lagoons — Carnival and Venetian – and starts at 11 a.m. in the 16th Street (Carnival) lagoon with the paddleboard race.

Following that, at 11:30 a.m., is the kayak race. Participants launch off of the bulkhead at the end of 16th Street and complete one loop around the 17th Street island.

Tim described the area where the race takes place as almost like two lakes that were built with a tunnel that connects them.

“It’s just for fun, nothing too serious. Some people do take it seriously, but the majority of people are just out there to bring the community together, have some fun and some laughs,” Tim explained.

Dozens turn out for the races and its attendance has been growing a little bit each year.

Music will be playing out of a loudspeaker, and Kate will be the emcee to pump attendees up.

“It’s usually a good atmosphere. People are excited,” he said.

Tim orders trophies from Amazon for the male and female winner of each race and gets gift cards donated from local businesses so that each winner gets a gift basket from those establishments.

After the event, Tim said he’ll usually have some of the attendees over to his house for a couple of drinks.

Now that Night in Venice is back, the Campbells usually plan their event to be within a week or two of the boat parade. As for the future of the race, Tim is hoping to add a third event and is thinking about the possibility of making it a fundraiser eventually.

The event is for any age and open to both single and double kayakers, with all levels of experience welcome. Tim mentioned that he has had participants as young as 6 years old and up to 70.

The Great OC Lagoon Race is completely free and there’s no registration beforehand. Tim said to just show up 15 minutes before the race if you wish to partake.

Photos by Offshore Drones