Come Saturday, a sight rarely seen east of California will come into view as the morning fog lifts off the Tennessee River at Ross’s Landing.
About 35 canoes, each the length of a small humpback whale, will line up for the start of Chattajack 31 , a river race that’s made Chattanooga a focal point for athletes from around the world.
“It’s got a big following,” said Christopher Gibson, 54, a Chattanooga paddler who is teaming up with three friends on a four-person stand-up paddleboard for the event. “But it’s more than a race, it’s a celebration of paddling.”
Among the race’s entrants will be six-person crews that sit one after another in 40-foot outrigger canoes. A sidearm, or ama, stabilizes the hull, a design that enabled ancient Polynesians to survive ocean surf, explore and settle throughout the Pacific.