Wet, soaked, soggy, squishy, and some more wet.

That's how the intrepid paddlers at the French Broad Paddle Challenge looked and felt when they pulled their boats off the river Saturday. What started as a drizzle at 9 a.m. at Fletcher's Westfeldt Park turned into a soaking downpour 16 miles downriver and two hours later at Southern Waterways on Amboy Road.

But even while wringing out shirts and shoes and dumping water out of kayaks and canoes, the river rats were a happy bunch. Thirty boats competed in the second annual river race Saturday, part of the third annual Mountain Sports Festival, three days of outdoor sporting events that ends today.

"It felt wet, and cold," said Annie Pharr, 7, who bravely battled a near-flooding river and driving rain to paddle a tandem open canoe with her father, Yates Pharr, 35. Father steered from the stern while daughter paddled bow and looked for strainers.

"A strainer is something that's in the river and the water goes under and over it and it can suck you in," said Annie, whose navigational prowess avoided such a disaster.

The family duo, who finished in 2 hours, 31 minutes, were satisfied with their time.

"This is the first time we've done a long-term paddle together," Yates Pharr said. "Our goal was to finish and have fun."

That was also Mary Leonidas's goal. The 37-year-old nurse anesthetist from Asheville was one of only three female paddlers.

"It would've been nice to have more women in the race," said Leonidas, who had to work extra hard to paddle her sea kayak in a field of mostly men. "My back's sore, but it's not bad. It feels good. You always want to do your personal best, but I just wanted to finish strong and do better than last year."

"This is awesome," said Phillip Gibson of RiverLink, Inc. "I'm ecstatic that people wanted to come out despite the rain."

Gibson said in spite of the rain, the race conditions were safe, since there was no lightning.

Those who competed in the first Paddle Challenge were thrilled with the rain. Last year's hot, windy weather and low water made the race feel like paddling through lumpy oatmeal. This year's rain brought the French Broad's water level up to twice what it was last year. And the cooler weather and high water made for a fast ride: the last boats finished in about the same time as last year's winning boat.

And adding to the drama of the elements was the thrill of competing against a local legend.

The man to beat was two-time Olympian Lecky Haller, 45, of Asheville, who raced in a canoe. Haller, the Warren Wilson College paddling coach, said he was glad he could still inject fear and excitement into the hearts of eager paddlers.

"I think it's great," he said of the boaters out for his blood, "if I can help bring people to the river. I love this river. It's a great resource to have in Asheville, and it's good to see so many people came out."

Elmore Holmes, a 35-year-old woodworker from Memphis, Tenn., drove 500 miles for a little fun, some scenic kayaking, and a shot at Haller's head.

He managed to pull it off, winning the race in 1 hour, 47 minutes, and 31 seconds. Haller came in fourth at 1:54:57.

"I definitely came out to compete," said Holmes, who trains on the Mississippi River. "The competition was good enough that I was looking over my shoulder. Lecky was in a canoe, so he was at a disadvantage. But he's got a mystique. He's the kind of guy I never count out."

Neither does Matt Buys of Hendersonville, who tried to out-paddle the champion.

"I was hoping to beat Lecky," Buys said. "I was hoping an alligator would come up and swallow him, but it didn't."

Buys will have another chance today when Haller competes in the RiverLink Triathlon, a run, bike, and paddle race.

Mountain Sports Festival director Stuart Cowles said so the triathlon, as well as the Adventure Race, the Bouldermax climbing event, and other activities, will go on, rain or shine.

Other than pushing back the time of some events Saturday, including the Asheville Urban Sprawl stunt biking competition, the rain didn't cancel a single event.

"Everything is going well," Cowles said. "We've had a good flow of people through the Festival Center (in City-County Plaza). The race organizers operate autonomously, but I feel that no matter what, the events will go on."

In other paddling news, eightteen boats competed in a downpour at the Fontana Flatwater Dash Saturday on Fontana Lake near Bryson City. The six-mile paddling race, sponsored by Subaru and the Nantahala Outdoor Center, was a first-time event for the Mountain Sports Festival. The overall winner was Thomas Sherburne of Auburn, Ala., who finished in 58 minutes, 57.91 seconds. The first female finisher was Virginia Kern of Charlotte, who came in at 1 hour, 19 minutes, and 52 seconds.