James River Batteau Festival Day Two

Sunday morning, we enjoyed a breakfast of pancakes and sausage, and the batteaux crews began the process of shuttling vehicles from Galts Mill down to the next stop at Bent Creek. By mid-morning, the Peaks Shadow, along with several other batteaux, formed the last group of boats to depart Galts Mill, just as the water level began to rise (American Electric Power assists the JRBF by releasing water from a dam above Lynchburg for the first two days of the festival).

Several other canoeists (including longtime friend John Buckley) and I helped scout rapids for the batteaux, and I took some time off to swim alongside my canoe in a deep stretch of water.

We arrived at Pettyjohn Shoals, just off Pettyjohn Island, where a number of batteaux were having problems. Below is what I posted to the Batteau Yahoogroup early Monday morning in response to rumors that one batteau's front end broke off:

"The Lady's Slipper was having trouble with serious leaks in its bow nosecone all weekend. It's nosecone did not break off, but crew members stated that there were a few holes. A number of batteaux got stuck hard on Pettyjohn Shoals on Sunday, and the Lady's Slipper was one of them. What happened tothe Lady's Slipper could happen to any batteau, and, in fact, it has in the past (including the Frank Padgett on Higginbotham's Falls [just around the corner] years ago). Several canoeists helped free the Slipper (just as another batteau came into that chute sideways, even though canoeists and a kayaker were pointing at a better route.By the time the Lady's Slipper made it to the right bank, it had sunk to its gunwales. Captain Betsy Healey made a quick, sound decision to offload all gear and crew from the boat, and this was done quickly and calmly. By the time we started moving the large boxes off, the batteau was on the river bottom (normally, a batteau would have neutral bouyancy, but since people were standing in it, it went to the bottom). Crew members and personal gear went onto other batteaux and canoes, and everyone moved down the river. I do not know what the crew of the Lady's Slipper decided to do once they got to Bent Creek. Batteaux that came immediately to the aid of the Lady's Slipper included: Peaks Shadow, Virginia Creeper, Brunswick Belle, Spirit of the James and The Maple Run."

After helping get gear off the Lady's Slipper, I carried a refugee from that boat (Anna Best from Hanover, an old friend) in my canoe. We navigated Wreck Island Falls well, and then stopped on the left bank for lunch. At that point, Anna and I switched positions in the canoe, and she became "captain" (generally, the person sitting in the rear of a canoe is in charge of major steering decisions). Anna guided us skillfully through Higginbotham's Falls, avery tricky spot.

We arrived at Bent Creek at about 5:30pm, and shared news of the Lady's Slipper with the ground crew from that boat.

James River Batteau Festival Day One

As many of you know, I have been participating in the James River Batteau Festival for quite some time. This year marks the 21st event, and the batteaux departed from Lynchburg on Saturday June 17th at Noon. My parents canoed from Lynchburg (Percival's Island) to the Joshua Falls boat ramp...about 10 miles. After purchasing groceries and a new dry bag, I met them at Joshua Falls ramp in Campbell County at about 3:30pm. I took the canoe from there to the first night's stop between Galts Mill and Stapleton in Amherst County.

I stopped at Joshua Falls in order to watch the batteaux come through this section. Joshua Falls is formed by the remnants of a dam that was used to funnel water into the James River & Kanawha Canal, I believe. This area is the first real test of maneuvering ability that the boats get, as the batteauman on the front sweep (often the captain) has to locate rocks and appropriate routes and then position the batteau so that it will head in the proper direction. The crew member on the rear sweep has an equally important job, as the stern (rear) must follow the bow (front) of the boat in just the right way.

After the Peaks Shadow passed the falls, I paddled after them, and stayed with that batteau for the rest of the day. The crew of that boat have also operated the Nekoosa, Frank Padgett, and Ole Sam, which I have crewed on occasion. We arrived at a field on river left between Galts Mill and Stapleton around dinnertime, and enjoyed a BBQ meal provided by Amelon Methodist Chuch. I slept under the stars, which were beautiful that evening.