I dropped my boat on Friday and wandered around the starting line for Chattajack, a 31-mile race down the Tennessee River starting in Chattanooga, TN here in the US.
There was an impressive array of watercraft and I am looking forward to brining you my full race video later this week.
Once I spotted this EFT (Extra Fast Tourer)/Sleek (which is simply the older West Side Boat Shop EFT with an updated, sharpened bow at entry,) I naturally moved my Thunderbolt-X right next to it so I would hopefully eventually meet its owner. Turns out he is Will Leeds and I was told he comes from Texas paddling royalty. He did really well in the kayak division, placing 4th. Really, really nice guy.
There is at least one other West Side Boat Shop kayak racing in this race, as I was told, which is a testament to these boats.
In a sea of Epic surfskis and kayaks (a major sponsor of this race) along with a strong dose of Stellar kayaks and surfskis, I’m proud to be representing a truly all-American kayak company that will continue to be relevant for a long time to come…especially when some design updates come in the near future. Stay tuned.
This was the first time I’ve gone to bed before 8:30pm in a long time and despite the fact my alarm was set for 4am Saturday morning in order to get to the finish line and catch the shuttle back to the start at 6:30, I woke up at 2:30, wide awake and here I am tapping on my keyboard to actually kill some time.
I’m obviously excited.
I knew these great people would become some of my favorite paddlers when I first met them at the James River Rundown, 2016.
Dave The Kayaker | The new home of West Side Boat Shop kayaks 