Center Hill Lake being drained, new Wave/Hole appears at Rock Island that I have never seen!

Photos

Today Horace Holden and his 4 boys came to paddle at Rock Island and it was a special day for everyone! Oliver, his 6 year old got to do his first river run, while Isaac and Simon got to play some great stuff, all with their dad. Horace trained and raced during the period I did, with him making the Olympic team for the 1996 Olympics on the Ocoee. He has since become an airline pilot and hasn’t paddled a bunch (kids and all). However, he has recently gotten his kids into paddling and he is back, and his kids are becoming his paddling buddies! Simon and Isaac are both playing and river running now, and have bombproof rolls. Oliver at age 6 is just learning but seems to really like it. His youngest, Henry, is only 2 but is not far behind.

Today was a special day for myself, my kids, Nick, and Clay. Center Hill lake dam has a crack in it and they are draining the lake to fix it. This means new rapids will be found on the Caney Fork below the Rock Island hole, where it is usually a lake. Today we surfed what I call, No Lake Hole. It is a fun wave/hole combo that gives huge loops, and is really fun for surfing. It is especially fun because I have never been here when it was in, because the lake is now lower than their minimum level.

Dane and Emily really enjoyed paddling with Oliver, Simon, and Isaac. Emily kept saying she thought little Oliver (46 pounds) was so cute in his black Darth Vader Fun 1 that she just wanted to pick him up and pet him. Dane enjoyed a couple of kids his age to surf with.

It looks like the boys will surf again today before heading back home to Chattanooga.

🙂 EJ