Yaking on the Hooch II

Chuck Armentrout came to Columbus again to host another kayak competition and to talk to a local engineer about ideas that could help the sport grow in Columbus. (More of that story to come here and via a column by our own Tim Chitwood.) Here are some of my best shots from the session. My apologies to anyone who didn't make the cut, but if you keep trying I'll keep trying too. Don't forget to click on the images to enlarge them. This is my favorite of the day. I got luck and caught Frank Norton just as he came to the surface and a sheet of water ran away from his face.
Kirk Robertson catching a gulp of air before he goes back under again.
Here's Charlie Simmons immersed as he pulls a trick to bring his boat upward towards the sky.
And here's Kirk again taking his turn on the wave.
I caught Chuck here in the middle of a 360.
Alex Rath as he rolls his boat upright again.
Zach Sanders caught through the spray.
Charlie Simmons catching a ride on the eternal wave.

It's too darn hot

Stanley Misinco fishes with his shirt off as the sun begins to rise over the Riverwalk steps leading to the Chattahoochee River in downtown Columbus Tuesday morning. I can't blame Stanley at all. It was only shortly after nine in the morning when I took this and the temperature was already well into the 80's. I don't know how you people do it. I can tell who is from the south and who isn't because the locals (and by local I mean born and raised) here don't seem to sweat. It's quite impressive actually. I need to start finding photographs before the sun rises. Good luck to all you fellow Northerners in the coming months. I hope we make it to October.

Kayaking Columbus

I was lucky enough to catch Tayler Musselman Sunday afternoon as she was paddling her kayak down the Chattahoochee River just south of the Dillingham Bridge. I had my first real chance this past weekend to try kayaking, on flat water of course, and it's quite adventurous with the added bonus of a great upper body workout. I was only out for two hours, but saw a school of healthy-sized fish swim right past my bow, watched a blue heron fly back and forth in front of me, saw some type of water fowl I've never seen before and even watched a beaver swim, dive and chew on branches from a fallen pine.(You could even hear him chewing.) After all this, I was compelled to snag floating trash on my paddle back to shore. I so wish Columbus offered kayak rentals or tours because I'm sure it make us all better stewards of such a rich ecosystem that we could truly explore and commune with. Any readers out there have a kayak or two they want to get rid of??