Paddlers4Christ Daytripping on the Cartecay River

We ended up with eight in the P4C group paddling the Cartecay at moderately low water on Saturday the 8th of August: Pop with his son Ian and his friend Doug, Jason, Sean, Kelly and his friend Anita (alias Capt. Granny), and me (Ben). We looked forward to sharing the river and the Living Water with the others we would meet and the Lord responded by bringing about a hundred middle and high school age kids apparently getting in one last splash before returning to school.
It was great for so many of us to finally be able to place a face with a name, especially Jason who travelled all the way up from Florida to spend the day with us. The weather was absolutely wonderful, especially with the shade provided by so many riverside trees, and the water level allowed us to easily converse while making our way downstream.


Here are the eight paddlers that comprised the Paddlers4Christ contingent on the Cartecay River, Saturday, August 8, 2009. From left to right are Ian, Ben, Pop, Anita, Sean, Kelly, Doug, and Jason.

We started our trip down the river with Pop leading us all in a prayer of thanks for the day, our fellowship, and our salvation and a request that we might be able to lead people to the Light of the World through the day's paddling and our lives.

Although we were able to offer some help and lots of encouragement to others on the river, Kelly spent most of the day giving lessons to and playing tug boat for Capt. Granny and Pop and Ian were kept busy helping Doug empty water out of his kayak.


Kelly, along with the rest of our crew, gave tips to Anita and soon she was able to get her S.O.T. moving downstream rather than from bank to bank.

It really got kind of funny for some of us to watch Doug as he seemed a bit slow to learn that maybe God was trying to tell him that smoking was a bad idea. He couldn't seem to be able to do without a cigarette but, every time he lit one up, it was only a matter of seconds before he found himself upside down in the river again. This happened so many times, we all lost count!

The crew with the Water Shed were delightful in their cheerful conversation and the efficient way they ran shuttle. The same can be said for the "Dogs by Donation" folks. Their attitudes and character all made it easy to feel good about making the donations it will require to keep these services available to paddlers on the river.

One last comment about the day - of all the hundreds of people on the river: tubers, kayakers, IK paddlers, S.O.T. paddlers, swimmers, etc., I was the only canoeist seen all day long. I sure hope other open boaters out there will show up next time to show what paddling is all about .
Join us next time for a great day of fun, fellowship, and praising the Lord on the river!


After a little coaching by Kelly and encouragement from the rest of us, "Captain Granny" was enjoying the whitewater like a veteran paddler.