NATCHEZ &8212;There was a photo finish, loads of community involvement, perfect weather conditions and a sizeable amount of money raised in the name of charity. In short, the fifth annual Phatwater Kayak Challenge had everything one could ask for.

&8220;It had all the different angles, the water was epic, and really it just could not have been any better,&8221; Keith Benoist, co-founder and director of the kayak challenge, said. &8220;It was perfect &8230; absolutely perfect.&8221;

Shawn Wilber of Memphis, Tenn. won the 46.1-mile race with a time of 4 hours 23 minutes and 21 seconds, besting his nearest competitors by a few seconds.

Joe Royer (4:23:25) and Wim Nouwen (4:23:27) finished second and third respectively, with just two seconds separating the pair.

&8220;There was a lot of strategy going on. We were right there with each other all day,&8221; Wilber said. &8220;We worked the whole race with everyone taking 5-10 minutes up front in the lead.&8221;

Wilber said that it wasn&8217;t until the last half-mile that he began his final surge to take the lead.

&8220;I knew Shawn (Wilber) was going to win,&8221; Nowen said. &8220;He was the stronger paddler today.&8221;

Nowen, who competes in a number of events worldwide and is a former member of the Dutch national whitewater team, said that the race was the best he had competed in this year.

According to participants a big part of the draw for this race is its uniqueness and the city of Natchez.

&8220;This is a great, great event with just a phenomenal location,&8221; Chris VanMeter of Milwaukee, Wisc., said. &8220;I came down with my wife on Thursday and toured the city and the antebellum homes and was blown away by how beautiful everything was.&8221;

In total 80 participants showed up for the event, which was estimated to have raised over $4,000 for the Humane Society.

In addition to the participants some 30 volunteers also showed up to make sure the event went off without a hitch.

Over 60 sponsors contributed to the event ranging from a number of small private donors to large corporations such as Red Bull and Bass Pro Shops.

&8220;Although the turnout wasn&8217;t as high as other years, we felt this year was a great success,&8221; Benoist said. &8220;We started this race to raise money for the humane society and to promote the city and the river as recreational resource and eco-touring destination and I think we did both very well this year.&8221;