Clear Creek Boater X Results

Update: Sorry about the mix-up but it was actually Mark Kennell who took first place in the long boat division in his Liquid Logic Stinger. Congrats and sorry about that Mark!

Update 2: Check out the results, photos, etc for the Second event of the series here.

Update 3: Canoe&Kayak showing some love!

This past Saturday was a Boater X Creek Race on Clear Creek, near Crossville and Wartburg, TN. This is the first event of the Plateau Creek Race Series, which is being brought to you by World Kayak, with help from The Outdoor Experience in Cookeville and we here at WeStroke.com.  At the crack of dawn on a frigid Saturday morning, we headed out of Nashville towards the Cumberland Plateau. 

Upon arriving, we discovered that the conditions on the plateau were much different from in the city, with ice everywhere. It made for an absolutely beautiful setting but the roads became quite dangerous. We even had one person slide off into a ravine because of the ice altough thankfully both they and their vehicle ended up being fine! 

The competitors all met at the Nemo takeout in order to do any last minute registering, discuss logistics and safety. While that was going on, I along with friends and WeStroke crew members Clint Norton and Matt Allen, started scouting for the best safety positions and spectator viewing areas. After around 6 miles of hiking, we managed to find a "decent" route to Jack's Rock. This is the first of the "big three" rapids and is quite beatuiful. The race was originally intended to finish at Wooten's Folly, the last of the big three but had to be shortened to end at Jack's for logistical reasons. A few racers took out at Jack's but most ended up running the rest of this beautiful and scenic waterway. 

Click to see the gallery

Once all the racers made it back up to the Lilly take out/put-in, they were divided into two groups,  Short boats (9 ft and under) and long boats (9+ ft), and led up to the top of Lilly Rapid. Skilled photographer Mary Brace had a prime spot on Lilly Bridge to catch the start of the action as the athletes came flying en masse into Lilly Rapid in true Boater X fashion. It really made for an awesome site to see. 

We also had a great viewing spot where we were perched atop one of the boulders at Jack's rock setting safety and shooting video and photography. The competitors poured into and over the feature in rapid succession. Everyone made it through very well with only one swim and one rope being thrown. Big props to the safety team on the rock and the boater safeties in the water. 

All in all, this was a fantastic event. Logistics dealing with the remoteness of the race course, icey roads, etc made for a few difficulties but everything ended up working out OK. Big BIG props are in order for several different parties. First of all, thanks to Philip Byard and WorldKayak for putting on this event. The organization's commitment to getting people more involved in kayaking is amazing. Also, big thanks to The Outdoor Experience for helping out with prizes for the participants including Jackson Kayak Nalgene bottles and apparel, a dry sack, kayaking DVDs and much more! They are an awesome local outdoor store with a ton of whitewater gear, boats, hiking gear and lost more. For more information about them, head to outdoorexperienceonline.com and check out our write up on them at /blog/2012/11/7/a-local-outdoor-store-for-the-middle-tn-area-and-more/ with photos, etc.

In addition, want to give a big congrats to Ben Ghertner who came in second place in the Short Boat division. Ben is our WeStroke Team Rider and you can find out more about this talented young whitewater paddler at /blog/2013/1/24/introducing-westroke-team-rider-ben-ghertner/

We here at WeStroke.com can't wait for the next two events and will have details on them coming up. We will also have a video edit soon and will post it when it's ready. In the meantime, check out the photo gallery above, the results below and be sure to head over to the World Kayak page to see Philip Byard's write up on the event. Thanks for organizing this Phil and everyone else who was involved!!!

 Oh and be sure to check out Nashville Whitewater on Facebook for even more photos! Thanks to Jay Penny and Mary Brace for all of the great photography. You guys rock!

RESULTS:

Short boats (9′ and under)

1.  Jason Crummer – Dagger Nomad

2.  Ben Ghertner – Dagger Mamba

3.  Darin Stenson – Dagger RPM

4.  Mikel Carr – Jackson Villain

5.  Ian Stewart – Jackson Villain

Long Boats (9’1″ and over)

1. Mark Kennell – Liquidlogic Stinger

2. Jim Enochs – Dagger Crossfire

3. Branden Voto – Liquidlogic Stinger

4. Bill Taylor – Perception Overflow