ChattaJack: Race In The
Tennessee River Gorge
31 Mile Downriver Paddling Race in Chattanooga
31 Mile Downriver Paddling Race in Chattanooga
Posted in: Paddling Events / Article by: Naim Ferguson /
With stunning natural surroundings, the river was an ideal race course waiting for the right person to paddle along and make it happen. Ben Friberg (pictured left) was just the paddler to do that. In 2012 he launched the Inaugural Chattajack 31. -I can’t help but think of a certain beverage when viewing the branding, although the ’31’ has nothing to do with sour mash or whiskey barrels, but rather the mileage of the course. Paddler by day, jazz guitarist by night, Ben invited some close friends to participate in a low key, grassroots, point to point race in a stretch of river that is one of his favorite runs and right in his backyard. From 30 participants in its first event, to now hosting almost 600 entries in its 5th year (coming up October 28th).
Ben & Kim Friberg put their passion and skill into organizing this event, as is evident by its success. Jeff Schnelle represents Ozone in the Midwest US and got ozone involved. Outrigger Canoe is still a fairly new concept in the Midwest and landlocked states, but paddlers that find it discover it’s beauty and culture. Our mission is to connect more people with the sport and continue to share the stoke, so we are excited to sponsor this event and community.
Kai is currently in Tennessee and is participating in the event for the first time. Kai will be on site to share tips from his vast knowledge base as a competitor and canoe designer. Check in with Jeff Schnelle about clinics and demos of Kai’s latest canoe designs. The Gemini OC2 (two-person outrigger canoe) and the Ares OC1 (single person OC1 canoe).
“I’ve heard a lot about Chattajack from the guys at Ozone Florida and figured it would be worthwhile to scope out. I didn’t realize it was such a long race so I’m sure this one will hurt. On the bright side, this will be a great start to getting some base training for the upcoming OC1 season.” -Kai
Register for a Kai clinic here: https://paddleguru.com/races/ChattajackOCClinicsDemosbyJohnnyKaiPaddleDynamics/
John Puakea is also in town for the ChattaJack and will be holding clinics and showcasing his latest OC1 design, the Kahele.
“The Puakea Designs team is so excited to be at Chattajack 31 and experience this view firsthand in exactly one week! Will we see you there?! There is still time to sign up for Johnny’s clinics here: https://paddleguru.com
Come join us and Ozone Midwest on Friday, October 26th 2018 for demoing boats and paddles, shopping swag and talking story with the crew.”
If you are interested in learning more about Outrigger Canoes, Jeff from Paddle Dynamics and Ozone Midwest has a sweet mobile setup and travels to many paddling events with demo boats, if you have the chance to connect with Jeff he can give you the low down on the OC1 and OC2 canoes.