The weather seemed to be on the side of Jay Thurston and Mike Kinziger for the first time in their six days on the Wisconsin River.

The two are more than half-way down the 436-mile Wisconsin and early Wednesday morning they crossed the Castle Rock Flowage without incident. Now they are headed south toward the Wisconsin Dells.

Although they started Wednesday a full day behind on their itinerary, Diana Thurston, Jay’s wife, said the winds that had fought the pair all the way down the northern section of the Wisconsin, had subsided.

“They’re so happy that the weather is better and now they have both the Petenwell (Flowage) and Castle Rock (Flowage) behind them,” Diana Thurston said from the Hwy. 82 bridge south of the Castle Rock dam. “They are renewed in spirit and ready to go.”

The pair was in the water at 4:30 a.m., Wednesday. They hope to make it at least to Portage today, but Diana said if conditions remain favorable, they may actually start to make up some of the time they lost due to the wind earlier in the trip.

“The water level is good, the weather is good and they’re feeling good,” Diana Thurston said.

The Broadcaster plans to have updates at about 2:30 p.m. and about 9 p.m. on Wednesday. Website updates will be available subject to cell phone reception and the support needs of Thurston and Kinziger as they head downstream. Jay Thurston, 75, of Viroqua and Mike Kinziger, 60, of Moscow, Idaho, are attempting to paddle the length of the Wisconsin River. Their itinerary calls for them to finish in six days and 10 hours, which would set a new speed record for canoeing the river. Jay and Mike appreciate the support they’ve received from family and friends through the internet posts they’ve received on this chain of stories.