Saturday May 7th & Sunday May 8th the GCA coordinated a First Timers/ Beginners Nantahala Trip. It was a huge success! On Saturday we had a total of 20 boaters!!!! We had 12 looking to work on skills & 8 support boaters. We divided our Saturday crew into three groups & several sub-groups allowing us to work the river without utter chaos. Sunday we had a hardcore group of boaters numbering 11.
I really want to commend all of the newer boaters, they all pushed themselves to their limits, working hard on ferries, catching & leaving eddies & rolling. Swims were at a minimum & most of those occurred at the falls. Robert Weddle shared his “secret” play spots with all of us. We surfed, flipped, rolled & surfed some more. We began both of our days putting in above Patton’s Run, everyone aced it. I felt like a proud papa. J
Our newer boaters consisted of:
Catharine Cato Kayak Jay Davis Kayak
Susan Locke Kayak Steve Courtney Kayak
Brian Kelleher Kayak Ronnie Courtney Kayak
Bobby Batchelor Kayak William Bridges Kayak
Daniel McCay Kayak James McCay Solo Canoe
Chris Thompson Kayak Rosemary Alvares Solo Canoe
I appreciate these guys participating, being willing to push their limits & making a fun day of it. I think everyone gained something from this.
Our support boaters were:
Steve Reach Kayak Gretchen Mallins Kayak
Nic Winchester Kayak Robert Weddle Kayak
Tom Bishop Kayak Allen Hedden Solo Canoe
Todd McGinnis Kayak Edward Stockman Solo Canoe
Pauline Thynne Kayak
A special thanks to all of the support boaters for their time & patience. Without you this trip would not have been possible. I especially appreciate boating with people I can rely upon. This is what the GCA is all about!!
I’d also like to suggest that all of our trip coordinators offer a slot or two to first timers on their river trips.
Mike Winchester
May 11, 2011
