Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at the Nantahala Wave
Members of the 2013 World Planning Committee gathered today with the boating community to celebrate the opening of the new competitive wave feature on the Nantahala River. The porch at River’s End Restaurant was full and the crowd spilled out onto the sidewalk to watch the festivities. The event opened with a few words from planning committee members and an introduction by Andrew Holcomb, 2003 Freestyle World Championship Silver Medalist. Then builder Bill Baxter cut the ceremonial ribbon, which was held by local Nantahala paddlers Tommy Yon and “Blue.” Then a group of paddlers jumped in the wave for a few loops and some fun.
While the wave has been officially “unvieled,” it may still be tweaked to perfection in the coming months. This event marks an important milestone toward hosting the 2013 ICF Freestyle World Championships. The first event to be held on the new feature will be the annual NOC Freestyle Shootout, followed by qualifying events leading up to the Championships in September 2013.
[Photos by Pete Lucic & Tosh Arwood.]
Bill Baxter cuts the ribbon, held by local paddlers Tommy & Blue
Local paddlers Andrew Holcomb, Daniel Dutton, & Matt Anger preparing to get on the wave.
Andrew goes in for a loop.
Daniel Dutton from the NOC having a boat out of water experience.
Matt Anger setting up for a loop.
Ryan Baudrand from ERA testing out the wave.
Local musician Blue showing nice form.
Andrew demonstrating the "Mystery Move' capability of the new wave and having some fun. Yes, that is him under the water!
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Jackson kayaker Stephen Wright sets up for a loop on the Nanthala Wave.
Construction on the Nantahala Wave, home of the 2013 World Freestyle Championships, was completed in the end of November. However, the feature is far from “done.” The construction phase consisted of excavating the area around the feature to make it deeper and constructing a wave shaper machine, which forms the feature.
There is still much work to be done to dial in the feature in by altering the wave shaper and altering boulders around the feature. However, recent rains have caused high water levels and Duke will have to continue releasing water, preventing work on the wave for the moment. When water levels go back down, engineers will begin tweaking the wave and will be getting feedback from a small committee of World Champion playboaters.
Stephen Wright looping on the wave
Daniel Dutton surfing the new wave
The Nantahala wave in Wesser, NC “came on” today and boaters came out to test out the new feature, braving freezing cold temperatures to get a surf in.The water release was combined with natural flow from the recent rains, resulting in a feature that is “beefy” and very retentive. Playboaters will like the recovery pool the feature now has. No more rocks right below and a river right eddy that is much easier to catch and not blocked by guard rocks. There is also a new “bonus” wave that has appeared above the feature. There is still some work to be done to “fine tune” the feature in December.
The Nantahala Wave
New smaller wave upstream of the feature
Zach Thomason showing off some new tricks (and a few 'unintendos')
Lee Leibfarth demonstrating the retentiveness of the feature
Construction is almost complete on the Nantahala Wave! They placed the last piece of the Wave Shaper yesterday! Dec 1, 2011 will be the first scheduled release for the new wave feature!!! Check out the Nantahala Wave webpage on the Nantahala Region of worldkayak.com for photos, video & news updates!
http://regions.worldkayak.com/nantahala/nantahala-wave/
The transformation of the classic surf wave below the NOC is under construction to turn into a world class feature to host the 2013 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships! Check out the web page link below on the World Kayak Nantahala Regional site for a link to the live webcam, info about the project, and periodic photo updates from the locals!
http://regions.worldkayak.com/nantahala/nantahala-wave/
