BATTEAU FESTIVAL MINUS ONE: Friday June 16th
Lynchburg
Lynchburg City Councilman Jim
Whitaker (seated, left) takes a
ride on the Blackwater with
his family.
DAY ONE: Saturday June 17th
Lynchburg to Christian's Creek (19 miles)
Captain's Log
Departed Christian Mill Creek at 8:45am on a declining river. Passed through Patterson’s Shoals towards the right bank, then crossed sharply to the left bank to enter the fast channel alongside the Grief Brothers Corp. campground. By the time we reached Wreck Island Falls, the river level was on the rise, and the falls were navigated successfully. Met Josh and Will Tyler at Riverville…Josh Tyler boarded the boat to serve on the crew. Stayed to far left side of river at Riverville. H.T. Brown and a Scout from Troop 32 canoed ahead to scout Higginbotham’s Falls for us. They capsized in the center channel, forcing us to go right. The falls were passed with only minor scraping. Towards bottom of Smith Islands, be sure to stay to the right upon approaching a large gravel shoal…water in the center is to shallow. We stayed to the right of the islands at Bent Creek, and pushed several times at Freeland’s Falls. Arrived at James River State Park in mid afternoon. Endured a thunderstorm with very strong winds and rain after dinner time. Our tarp was put to the test, and failed. Instead of spraying only one side of the canvas with Spanish Brown latex pint, we should have rolled both sides. Crew: Scott Smith, William White, Justin Nance, Josh Tyler, Brandon Meyer, Phil Spradlin, Ben Nash, Tommy Brown, Arvid Englund, Andy Hoffman.
Above: Crew members retreat
under the tarp from an evening thunderstorm.
DAY THREE: Monday June 19th
James River State Park to Wingina (7 miles)Captain's Log
Departed James River State Park around 10:30am. Like last year, we and the other boats near us (Lord Chesterfield, Fluvanna, etc.) had significant trouble immediately downriver of our campsite, in the Welch Rock Shoals area. We worked ourselves to the left bank, and generally puzzled our way through the shoals about 50 to 75 feet off of the left bank. The Lord Chesterfield took a similar path, and had a bit more trouble, but they were more heavily burdened than us. The Fluvanna took the far right bank, and had to push as well. This was much easier than in 1999, but it still took a good bit of time to work through. We held to the far right bank approaching the State Park boat ramp (directly under the trees) and avoided the shallower ledges in the center. The Tye River Dam section was navigated by the book, and with ease, however the ledges just below the dam provided sizeable entertainment. The Virginia Creeper had taken a route to the left of center, and was having difficulty, so we took a channel just to the left of the island on the right bank. There were two significant spots where we had to push, and a waterfall that we had to push over, but once we got through that, we entered a fast, deep channel that allowed us to approach the ledge from downstream and assist the Virginia Creeper, which was still hung up, and the Old Warwick. From just past Cunningham’s Island to just past Gantt Island, we held to the right bank. Arrived at Wingina sometime in the 2:00 hour. After arriving in Wingina, we learned of the death of Gary Taylor, Director of the Sports Capital of Virginia, who was killed in a Blacksburg Triathlon on Sunday. Gary organized the James River Extreme Festival (we ran the Bikathlon there). Before dinner, we were hit with another large thunderstorm, which made us glad our equipment was still safe in our dry bags. Crew: Scott Smith, William White, Justin Nance, Brandon Meyer, Phil Spradlin, Tommy Brown, Arvid Englund, Andy Hoffman, Florence Brown.
Above: Fishing was excellent
on the river this year. This diminutive
Largemouth Bass caught by William
White was one of many during the week.
Captain's Log
This day was one of the best that I have ever seen on the river. The temperature was in the mid 80’s, low humidity, blue skies, and the water was noticeably higher and faster. Many other locations within the James River Basin must have received significant rain on Monday night to raise the river by this much (probably only a few inches, but enough to make it fast and cloudy). We took the left channel around Swift Island, staying just to the right of center, and had no difficulty (unlike last year, where we came about broadside and cracked our rear sweep). Generally kept to the right bank from Warminster to Buford Island…were glad to have our 23’ “wooka” poles, which allowed us to continue poling through the Warminster depths. Passed to the left of Buford Island and to the right of Dog Island with no problems. Upon passing through the Rock Ledge Maze, there was quite a discussion on whether or not we were at the right spot, as the “maze” was almost completely submerged. Arrived in Howardsville with plenty of time to spare. Later in the evening, we met the young men and women of Venturing Crew 500 from Ashland, who would be canoeing with us for the rest of the week. Crew: Scott Smith, William White, Justin Nance, Brandon Meyer, Phil Spradlin, Tommy Brown, Arvid Englund, Andy Hoffman, Florence Brown.
Photos coming soon!
Captain's Log
Ate breakfast at the Howardsville Store and packed the boat. Met Cabell Smith, a previously unkown cousin of mine, who would ride on the boat today. The weather was warming up, but the skies were cloudy, with a stiff wind out of the southwest. This wind caused us a problem in the Goosby Island area, as we were blown onto a sandbar at the head of the island at Warren’s Ferry Sluice. Since the water was so swift, we reversed the ends of the boat and took the left channel around the island, instead of the sluice. We were supposed to meet Harry Bruns, a cousin of Cabell’s, at Warren’s Ferry at Noon, but we passed the ferry at 11:00am, so we continued on. Stopped for lunch at Rock Island, after running the excellent sluice just above it. We then nosed into the outlet of Rock Island Creek for a bathroom break, and repaired a significant leak in the stern of the boat. Perkins Falls at Hatton’s Ferry presented little challenge, and we were able to float over the grass flats below the ferry with no problem, as opposed to 1999, when the grass slowed the batteau down. Arrived in Scottsville, set up camp, took showers at the school, and ate dinner at the Pig & Steak (formerly the Dew Drop Inn of Walton’s fame). Bob Schomaker met us, and would continue for the rest of the week. I began to have pain in my jaw (related to upcoming Wisdom Tooth surgery), and had to go to the UVa Medical Center late at night to get a prescription to help with the pain. My actual trip to the hospital was far less exciting than the one that those who remained in camp fabricated. Crew: Scott Smith, William White, Justin Nance, Brandon Meyer, Phil Spradlin, Tommy Brown, Arvid Englund, Andy Hoffman, Cabell Smith.
Above: The morning haze beyond the confluence of the
Rockfish
and James Rivers at Howardsville.
Left: Loading the camping and
personal gear onto the
batteau at the Howardsville
boat landing.
Right: William steers the boat
while the rest of the crew sleeps.
Left: William White, Co-Captain,
Rear Sweep
Right: Scott Smith, Captain,
Front Sweep
Left: Arvie falls off the boat,
once again :)
Right: Brandon doing his part
to make the boat get down the River
Above: Brandon and Scott repair
a persisent leak.
Cotton and wax are forced into
the crack with a putty knife.
Above: Sometimes the best channel
is under trees.
The Blackwater isn't afraid
to go there!
DAY SIX: Thursday June 22nd
Scottsville to Slate River (11 miles)Captain's Log
Left from Scottsville at a good hour…I slept from Scottsville to some point just above the Hardware River. The crew did a fine job of navigating through the many islands between Buffaloe Shoals and the Hardware. I took the front sweep upon closing on Seven Islands…we passed The Beaver at the beginning of the run, and they passed us again before the end. The water was running so high (relatively) many of the fun sluices and rapids on the left channel were rather boring. The Beaver, Crew 500, and us visited the aqueduct at Big Bremo Creek. As we were re-entering the river, we had a near-collision with the Fluvanna, who was making an approach to visit the aqueduct by hugging the left bank tightly. We pulled into the Slate River in mid-afternoon and set up camp. Crew: Scott Smith, William White, Justin Nance, Brandon Meyer, Phil Spradlin, Tommy Brown, Arvid Englund, Andy Hoffman, Bob Schomaker.
Above: Becca and Bettina of Venturing Crew 500
pull alongside the boat in their canoe.
Above: The crew takes a side trip up a creek through an aqueduct
from the James River & Kanawha Canal, built in the early 1800's.
The canal traveled over the bridge...now, trains take the same path.
Above: On their way out of the aqueduct tunnel.
Above: Juston (front) relaxes as Tommy and Phil organize
the boat's repair equipment.
Above: The crew of the Blackwater and the sponsor sign. The top section honors Dr. George Cabell, who built the Blackwater Tobacco Warehouse in 1805. The bottom strips recognize our 2000 corporate sponsors: CFW Intelos, Westvaco, Merequeen Farm Storage, and Cheryl Kirby Photography.
DAY SEVEN: Friday June 23rd
Slate River to Cartersville (21 miles)Captain's Log
Immediately upon leaving from Slate River, we approached the bridges at Bremo. The water flow had changed from previous years, as a new bridge is being constructed. A cofferdam forced us to take the right side of the river, but the channel was navigated easily. We stopped just below the Bremo Power Plant to take baths in the warm water emitted from that facility. The day up to Columbia was not noteworthy, and we had a nice run through the left channel around Elk Island. At the Elk Island Bridge, we saw some crewmembers of the Batteau Elk Hill, and they said they hoped to be with us again next year. At six miles, Elk Island is the longest on the James, and our crew thought we would never pass it. We arrived in Cartersville in late afternoon. William and I made a run to the store on top of the hill while the crew set up camp. Brandon, who did not have enough fluid intake during the day, was exhibiting signs of heat stroke, so we took appropriate actions to cool him, and his condition improved. Crew: Scott Smith, William White, Brandon Meyer, Phil Spradlin, Tommy Brown, Arvid Englund, Andy Hoffman, Bob Schomaker, Bettina and Banks from Crew 500.
As usual, Phil Spradlin (above
right) strikes a pose while
Bob Schomaker (above left) does
all the work! :)
Above: Bob rewards himself for his labors by taking
a quick dip in the river.
Captain's Log
Upon awakening, we were surprised to see Will and Josh Tyler watching a movie in their Jeep. Josh joined us for the day. Rusty, who rode with us out of desperation on our part on Saturday last year, rode with us as a guest today. We made a moderately early start on this hot, long day. We passed the day with no problems, swimming occasionally. We, along with the Fluvanna, explored the aqueduct at Lickinghole Creek, and picked up Ellen Quarles from that boat for the rest of the day. Upon landing at Maidens, I broke my #1 rule and stepped off the boat without shoes on, planting my foot in the mud. When I raised my foot, I discovered that a barb from a Catfish was imbedded in my foot. While I was at Johnson-Willis Hospital having it surgically removed, the crew did a fine job of loading the batteau onto the trailer by themselves. After I returned, William, Brandon, Phil, Josh, and I went to Midlothian to see the movie “Big Momma’s House.” Bob, Tommy, and Andy stayed behind. Crew: Scott Smith, William White, Brandon Meyer, Phil Spradlin, Tommy Brown, Arvid Englund, Andy Hoffman, Bob Schomaker, Rusty, Josh Tyler, and Anna & Becca from Crew 500.
BATTEAU FESTIVAL PLUS ONE: Sunday June 25th
The Trip Home
