Cartecay River Boatercross
The Cartecay River in Ellijay, GA was at a great level Saturday morning for the World Kayak Boater Cross event this year. 2.5 ft on the gauge was twice the flow of last years race.
New this year for the race was the additional location of the Cartecay River Experience - River Left. Located on the Left side of the river put in, this location was perfect for parking and river access. The covered pavilion with picnic tables, the private changing rooms, and restrooms provided a pleasant Experience for the boaters to prepare for the race. Now with two locations for river lovers of every type - The Cartecay River Experience Outfitters is my favorite weekend destination for relaxation and fun. http://www.cartecayriverexperience.com/ is their website with all the info.
We had a great turn out this year for the race. Race volunteer LA McAllister handled registration, timing, and shuttle. please remember to thank her for and all volunteers who do the hard work for these events. The race had 17 sign ins! An amazing turnout compared to prior events and the amount of natural flow in the area.
Before I continue with the race results I have to mention two very special people. Jana Walker and Tim Woodall. In the process of event registration a group of Cartecay River first timers showed up and were asking questions about the river. Jana and Tim removed themselves from the race and volunteered to guide the newbies down the river for their first Experience. This my friends is an amazing act of kindness that makes our boating community amazing and these folks are the real WINNERS!
The second Volunteer in the race was Jackson Thompson. Jackson inspected the boats for missing drain plugs and floatation. He was very thorough and examined all the boats closely.
He continued his safety inspections on the playground equipment and has reported back that your children will be safe on your next visit to River Left.
Once the registration process was complete and the starting time announced the racers moved into the water for the final inspection from our last volunteer – Black dog.
A proper fitting PFD and Helmet are necessary for World Kayak events and Black Dog made sure each boater was prepared for the race.
He did a second check on drain plugs as well. Thanks Black Dog.
Excitement began building as the starting line was laid out and boaters moved into starting positions. 5 minutes to start!
One minute till Start!
GO! The racers sped away and the excitement began!
It was quite a site to see! I hoped in my truck and raced to the finish line.
Barely making it to the finish line before the first racer appeared, it was no surprise to see last years winner come blazing thru the falls. Lightning Will Clements!
The rest of the racers seemed to have spaced themselves out thru the course. each boater had a clean run of the falls with plenty of room in between.
Thanks to everyone who participated and had a great time!
Nickajack Creek – A local run scouted and added to the bucket
Nickajack Creek runs under the old Covered bridge on Concord Rd in Smyrna, Georgia
I was pleasantly surprised today when I explored Nickajack Creek .
My first scouting attempt a few months ago led me to a small ditch which seemed ridiculously small to do any boating in.
Well it turns out that this creek confluences with another creek to give the river its start.
Here in the photo above the confluence of the two small creeks come together to make the beginning of this run. Keep it mind that there is minimum flow running at the time of the photos.
The first rapid I came to is right at the Silver Comet Bridge . The river rushes right around the bridge support and then drops 3ft to the left into a narrow channel.
The Creek has several small shelf’s and plenty of rocks. At a higher flow I see some potential for a fun run close to home.
I didn’t scout as far down as I wanted to. I did get to see enough to be convinced my boat will be hitting these waters soon.
I really enjoyed this hike with no leaves on the trees and bushes. I was able to see the entire run of river from the trail . It was an easy walk with a clear path. The additional scenery was nice as well.
Rick Thompson
WK video guide book
Check out this great video guide book. WK is working with GoPro to make a full library of video guides to your favorite runs.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3CEwki3i1U[/youtube]
Tellico River Cleanup
The Annual Tellico River Cleanup was held this weekend at one of my favorite rivers. The event is a cooperative gathering of several clubs and groups that enjoys the beauty of this scenic roadside gem.
I encourage a little bit of clean up with every river adventure for increased river Karma and a cleaner future for everyone.
After the Clean up boaters took to the water for some Whitewater fun.
The Tellico River is located near the town of Tellico Plains, TN. It is a three hour drive from Atlanta.
An enjoyable river level for those wanting to give it a try for the first time is 1.6 – 1.9. The level in the photos is 1.8ft.
The Tellico River is packed with creek boating fun. Boofs are plentiful!!
Jesse Hebden has the boof mastered. Jesse is one of the many great Georgia Canoeing Association (GCA) instructors ready to help you with some training. Gapaddle.com for this summers training schedule.
Francheska at the rapid ” Dirty S”
Alex Daniel running Autoboof for his first time.
The Main Attraction to the Tellico Ledges section is the ” Baby Falls”. OC boater Christopher Handley over the falls.
Jesse Hebden
Below Baby Falls is another great rapid called Diaper Wiper
Chattahoochee River Whitewater Course To Open Memorial Day Weekend
The announcement for the Whitewater Course grand opening date was made Thursday morning on the newly renovated 14th Street pedestrian bridge with business, civic and political leaders from both sides of the river looking on. The opening is a week ahead of the June 1 target date.
The course was created by breaching two downtown dams at Eagle & Phenix just below 12th Street and at City Mills just north of the TSYS campus. The Eagle & Phenix Dam is gone, while work to take out the City Mills Dam continues.
The grand opening will be during a Memorial Day weekend celebration.The celebration will include a concert in the Phenix City Amphitheater and fireworks over the river.
World Kayak Atlanta has been keeping an eye on this location since the project has started and cannot wait for the fun to begin. 
Chattahoochee River 3700 CFS Trip Report
The Metro Chattahoochee put in is at Cochran Shoals Park near Powers Ferry Road and has the large Gazebo style pavilion. There is another park directly across the river from this one that often times confuses people. This is the River Left park.
3700 is the CFS for this TR. It’s a considerable jump in volume from the 900 average CFS but nothing to panic about. The river is quite wide so it can handle quite a bit of flow – 12000 CFS is considered flood stage.
The first playspot on the river is nice and mild for some fun surfing. It is located just below the second bridge. There is plenty of space behind the hole for easy rolling and an easy swim/recovery.
The second rapid is at the River bend. At 3700 it is an easy ride thru some choppy waves that splash and sing. The top waves that you can see are large enough to surf as well. No rocks are exposed at this level.
Below River bend rapid is the Devils Raceway. What used to be a boulder garden is now a mild stretch of flow with easy holes. River Right beach view looking upstream to riverbend.
A hillside view of the Devils Racecourse at 3700 CFS. At this level you can surf every single one of these holes that are not occupied with wood.
Once you pass Devils Racecourse that stretch of water above the island is just boogie water til you round the bend to Jump Rock and then it flattens out like normal.
Easy paddling below the islands. Beautiful scenery is not hard to find in this town if you know where to look.
Round the bend from Jump Rock is the final stretch of fun. Similar to the racecourse this section will entertain you with swiftwater and easy holes. Find yourself on the river.
I am available most evenings for a work out paddle thru this section at ANY LEVEL and would be willing to paddle with you if you ask. Ps. Not the only boat I paddle so don’t worry if your boats looks a bit different than this one.
Rick Thompson
See you on the River
World Kayak Slalom Survivor Fun on the Chattahoochee (Metro) River
It was a beautiful Saturday morning for December. 16 people showed up at the Metro Hooch to have fun on the river playing a fun game created by Joe Jacobi called Slalom Survivor.
Slalom Survivor is a game that everyone can play no matter what type of boat you paddle. No Slalom boat is required.
The Metro Hooch is a great place for Slalom Survivor fun. The river is packed with eddies that allows for fun and challenging lines – while at the same time the river is fairly shallow and flow is mild.
Similar to real slalom racing the goal is to control you boat thru the course with speed and accuracy.
Instead of Gates that you typically see in slalom racing we used small buckets and clothes pins.
They goal was to get all 10 of your pins in the 10 buckets as fast as you can.
It was a lot of fun to play as well as watch.
Extra Thanks to Jimmy Jones and his daughter Megan for doing the timing for everyone.
I hope you all can make it out for some more fun times next year. It was a great season of fun for Atlanta World Kayak.
Thanks again to all the sponsors who make world kayak possible
and the winners were - Everyone!
Bobby Molleur – 3:14.2
Jim Tebbel – 4:58.9
John Harcourt 2:53.9
Carolyn Rand 4:19.8
Anne Connolly 3:08.8
Allen Pogue 3:10.1
Erik Tillman 3:29.5
Randy Hamilton 3:03.4
Mark Mullinax 2:43.4
Chris Beck 2:55.8
Alicia Evans 5:04.0
Ryan Wheeler 4:13.3
Jimmy Jones 3:01.0
Megan Jones – Timer
Mark Holmberg – Safety
PK Richardson – Safety
Mountain Khakis is Confirmed for the 2013 WK Hometown Throwdown season!
Each year I get the opportunity to work with a number of great companies that support WW kayaking through the WK Hometown Throwdowns. I have been working with Erin from Mtn. Khakis for a number of years now and her desire to help WK in our community growing initative has been nothing short of spectacular! This year she introduced me to another Mtn. Khakis employee who is out there on the river getting it done with his paddling community. Dom Clark and his friends started the “Dope Flow Boat Show” this past summer to document their boating fun. I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Dom, and here is what he had to say.
- Dom, what boating community do you call home? How long have you been involved in WW kayaking?
Indiana will always be my home, but the southeast is where it’s at for paddling. I started flatwater kayaking when I was 16 and quickly became fascinated with whitewater. I grew up in Indiana and my buddies and I would take our flatwater boats down any “gnar” that we could find. There is a 3 foot ledge on the Flatrock River (Class I), my hometown run, that is what really got me hungry for whitewater. I have been whitewater paddling for five years now.
- What aspect of WW boating is most appealing to you? (community, challenge, travel, exploration)
I love the challenge of running new rivers and seeing beautiful gorges that can only be accessed from the river. I also like the brotherhood that develops between you and your fellow boaters. To be honest, all aspects of WW boating are appealing to me, besides long portages!
- You work at Mtn. Khakis, who has been a fantastic partner of WK for 6 years now. Tell us a little something that we don’t know about your great company that pertains to boaters.
MK has been a sponsor of the hometown throwdowns for 7 years now and I am working to get MK more involved in the world of whitewater. As a side note, our Flannel-Lined Original Mountain Pants are awesome after a cold day of paddling!
- You and your paddling buddies have started a video project. Fill us in on what you are calling it and what you guys are looking to accomplish with the project.
John Higginbotham, Greg Nance and Logan Curry are the “founding fathers” of the “Dope Flow Boat Show.” it was created this summer to showcase our kayaking videos. Despite the name, DFBS does not have any negative connotations towards drugs or anything of an inappropriate nature. In a nutshell, Dope Flow Boat Show is a group that brings together badass kayakers. Our mission is to shed light on our sport through our videos and to bring new people into the world of whitewater. We always strive to set a good example for the youngins. We are going to make some informative/educational videos to explain some river running/creeking skills and some important safety precautions on the river. Although we do run stout whitewater, safety is always our number one priority. This is currently something that we are doing for fun, maybe it will turn into something bigger!
- Thanks for your time. Is there anything else that you want to share with the WK audience?
Get on the river and stay tuned for episode 3!
Here is episode #2
Later ; Colin
Atlanta World Kayak Rescue Rodeo
We had a great time in July at the Atlanta World Kayak rescue Challenge. The event was held at the Metro section of the Chattahoochee River. We had a pretty good turnout and a beautiful summer day. Rick had asked me at the beginning of the season to come up with an idea for an event. I asked a few friends etc. and the idea was born to do a rescue challenge. We had done throw rope competitions in the past but decided to do something a little more involved.
We started the day with a boat ferrying completion. We set an empty boat in an eddy. The idea was to get it across the main current and to an eddy on the other side the fastest. Chuck Jarrell showed us all up, doing it in just over 26 seconds ( everybody else was around a minute ). It turned out to be a fun event and everybody was learning. Next we headed down river to do the throw rope portion.
After talking and realizing how busy the river was we decided to ditch the actual competition part and make use of our recently certified SWR instructor Francheska. The rest of the day turned into a learning opportunity. Francheska worked with us on throw rope techniques for the rescuer and the swimmer. We spent a couple hours swimming the rapid and catching each other with roaps etc. Perfect for a day that was almost 100 deg. Lots of great stuff above and beyond just throwing and catching a rope.
We finished the day paddling the rest of the river, enjoying each others company and talking about what we had learned. We got to the takeout and in true World Kayak fashion gave out some great prizes. When all was said and done, I think everybody had a great time and learned some stuff. Hopefully we can expand on this next year. Big thanks to Francheska Thompson for her knowledge and to World Kayak and the many great sponsors for making this stuff happen. Also a big thanks to all our participants. Chuck Jarrell, Erik Humprey, Donald Robertson, Chad Copeland, Jimmy Jones, Francheska and Rick Thompson.
Written by John Roberts
Atlanta Hometown Throwdown #3 Event Coverage
Rick and I have a soft spot for downriver racing, so we brought it to the HTTD series this year, and it ended up being a blast. Event number three was a month long weekly race series, alternating downriver races with sprint races from week to week. The venue was our local back yard river the Chattahoochee which has so much to offer.
HTTD 3.1 Down River Race June 5th
We started off with a downriver race for week one. It was a slow start with five participants, but we all had fun. We even had John Pinyerd a USA National Champion and World Champion joined join in on the races!
Women’s Novice
Mary Elmore 15:40
Women’s Intermediate
Francheska Barreto 14:06
Men’s Novice
Michael (Chaz) Chassner 13:48
Men’s Intermediate
Paul Downing 13:06
Men’s Advanced
John Pinyerd 10:30
HTTD 3.2 Sprints June 12th
Week two brought the first sprint races and some new faces for a total of 8 racers. The location was Devil’s Race Course a well know class II rapid on the river. Some were nervous on how they would do, and some even attained back up the river for a second run. In the end it was great racing.
Women’s Novice
Men’s Intermediate
Rick Thompson 3:27
Todd McGinnis 3:35 4:52
Mark Mullinax 4:58
Men’s Advanced
Men’s Novice
Chaz Chassner 14:20
Men’s Intermediate
Rick Thompson 12:05
Mark Mullinax 12:30
Alex Gossett 12:39
John Roberts 14:39
Chuck Jarrell 17:28
HTTD 3.4 Sprints June 26th
The fourth and final week was our best turn out with 12 racers. It was our second sprint race. During the month we saw an emergence of old school long boats such as crossfires, and had paddlers asking about next week’s race. It was great to see fellow paddlers affected by the race bug. It was a special treat too to see two women’s juniors out there racing!
Women’s Novice
Mary Elmore 5:46
Olivia McGinnis 6:03
Chloe Butera 6:27
Women’s Intermediate
Francheska Barreto 5:22
Men’s Intermediate
Todd McGinnis 3:37 3:48
Rick Thompson 4:34
Mark Mullinax 4:49
Adam Turner 5:00
Roddy Ovetsky 5:19
Randy Hamilton 5:36
Robert Butera 6:31
Men’s Advanced
John Pinyerd 3:36 3:42
Overall it was a great month of racing!
