Adel, GA, May 3, 2022 — Nineteen canoeists and kayakers set out on a beautiful blue-sky morning on Saturday, April 30, 2022, and one from far away won the BIG Little River Paddle Race.
![[Carl Fuller, First Prize Winner]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/gretchen/2022-04-30--blrpr-pictures/many.jpg)
Carl Fuller, First Prize Winner
They paddled three miles from Red Roberts Landing to the Colquitt County boat ramp on Reed Bingham State Park Lake.
![[Five boats]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/gretchen/2022-04-30--blrpr-pictures/P4300037.jpg)
Carl Fuller already in the lead.
The overall winner was Continue reading
Adel, Georgia, April 25, 2021 — Because of predicted water level rise and dirt shuttle roads being too muddy and treacherous to drive, the BIG Little River Paddle Race is cancelled.
Yesterday, due to predicted heavy rain, Bret Wagenhorst postponed BLRPR to this afternoon. But today, after still more rain last night, and despite a nice sunny day today, conditions are still not favorable, as described above.
So Dr. Wagenhorst says: “I am officially and finally cancelling this year’s BIG Little River Paddle Race. I hate to do this but paddler safety is paramount.”
![[USGS Folsom Bridge Little River gauge near Hahira 2021-04-25 09:15]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-04-24--blrpr/hrag1_hg.jpg)
USGS Folsom Bridge Little River gauge near Hahira 2021-04-25 09:15
USGS Folsom Bridge Little River Hahira Gauge 2021-04-25 09:15
I think we can all agree safety first. For next year, WWALS and FORB and the park will be evaluating how best to handle this sort of situation.
However, so decisions can be made, One person is in charge of rescheduling or cancelling BLRPR, and all three organizations involved support his decision.
Tomorrow, Monday, April 26, 2021, WWALS has the Banks Lake Full Pink Moon Paddle, to watch the sun set and the moon rise, and maybe see bats. To join us for this leisurely paddle on a flat lake, please be there by 7:15 PM, at Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635.
Friends of Reed Bingham State Park (FORB) is Continue reading
Update 2021-04-25: BIG Little River Paddle Race is cancelled due to weather.
Postponed due to weather to 2PM, Sunday, April 25, 2021: BIG Little River Paddle Race.
Thanks to Kraken for telling his Rivers Radio audience about the BIG Little River Paddle Race,
coming up at 8AM this Saturday, April 24, 2021,
at Reed Bingham State Park, between Adel and Moultrie, Georgia.
Get your tickets online only for $30, and boat rental is $10 per boat:
https://wwals.net/pictures/2021-04-24–blrpr
The weather prediction keeps improving, currently saying no rain until afternoon Saturday. Bring a light rain jacket just in case.
Kraken is a radio host, owner of Southern Ocean Sports, has an Amazon Prime video series about retrieving old logs from the Withlacoochee River, and runs the Lowndes County, GA, emergency dive rescue team. And he likes WWALS, FORB, and the BIG Little River Paddle Race. Continue reading
Update 2021-04-25: BIG Little River Paddle Race is cancelled due to weather.
Postponed due to weather to 2PM, Sunday, April 25, 2021: BIG Little River Paddle Race.
Wes James asked some questions I hadn’t thought of about the BIG Little River Paddle Race last night on WAAC 92.9 FM radio, about boat size, for example.
Remember to get your tickets, and if you want to you can rent a boat,
both online in advance:
https://wwals.net/pictures/2021-04-24–blrpr
We are watching the weather, as discussed in the first video. While today the prediction is for thunderstorms Saturday, it’s also for those not starting until afternoon, when everybody will be off the river anyway, in which case no problem. Also, we’ve frequently seen such predictions move a day or so later, so we shall see. So far, so good.
Update 2021-04-25: BIG Little River Paddle Race is cancelled due to weather.
Postponed due to weather to 2PM, Sunday, April 25, 2021: BIG Little River Paddle Race.
Adel, Georgia, April 19, 2021 — Southwell Medical of Tifton and Adel has become a sponsor of the annual WWALS and FORB race and leisurely paddle three miles down the scenic blackwater Little River in Reed Bingham State Park between Adel and Moultrie, Georgia.
“Spaces are going fast, with only four heats of ten people, so sign up soon!” said event mastermind Bret Wagenhorst, an eye doctor in Tifton, GA, and a charter board member of WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS). “First Prize is $100, and another $200 if the winner beats the record.”
All tickets are $30 online in advance, and you can also rent a boat online from the park and pick it up at the start at Red Roberts Landing. For tickets, boats, and all event details, including sponsor opportunities, see:
https://wwals.net/pictures/2021-04-24–blrpr/
Photo: Phil Hubbard, of
Dan Phillips placing second in BLRPR 2018.
You could win in any of a dozen categories, or up to $300 if you Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (PDF)
One month before BIG Little River Paddle Race
Hahira, Georgia, March 27, 2019 — It’s one month until the Seventh Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race (BLRPR) in Reed Bingham State Park, between Adel and Moultrie, Georgia. You can just paddle along this scenic stretch of tea-colored river on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail among cypress, turtles, birds, and yes, alligators. (Don’t pet them and they won’t bother you.) This three-mile race also has fierce competitors, with last year’s winner finishing in barely more than half an hour. Plus lunch, a silent auction, and a kayak raffle, at this family fun sporting event in support of two local nonprofits.
Photo: Bret Wagenhorst, of paddlers in BLRPR 2018
BLRPR mastermind Bret Wagenhorst, an eye doctor in Tifton, GA, and a charter board member of WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS), said, “You can win in any of a dozen categories: one- or two-person canoe or kayak, male or female or mixed, as well as oldest, youngest, and from farthest away.”
Continue readingIn eight minutes she talked about the BIG Little River Paddle Race, the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, on the air with Charlie Walker, KIX 99.5 Country Radio, plus Paddle Georgia, and all the other events and outings.
“That’s our signature event,” said WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman, about the Seventh Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race.
It’s our seventh year. It’s at Reed Bingham [State Park]. We paddle from Continue reading
You could win in any of a dozen categories. But you are not required to race: it’s a nice spring paddle anyway!
With the silent auction afterwards and a kayak raffle: it’s the seventh annual BIG Little River Paddle Race, a fundraiser for WWALS and Friends of Reed Bingham State Park (FORB).
Photo: Bret Wagenhorst, of BLRPR 2018.
Where: Red Roberts Landing
31°11’32.0″N 83°31’13.2″W
Rountree Bridge Road
Between Moultrie and Adel, GA
I-75 Exit 41 (at Sparks) to Rountree Bridge Road
When:
8AM-9AM Registration
9:30 AM Mass Start
Registration: Register on-line Continue reading
You’ve seen who won the eleven awards. Now here are the rest of the paddlers in the 6th Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race, from more counties, states, and watersheds than ever before. Also more Solo Female Kayaks than Solo Male Kayaks, and several whole families of paddlers.
43 Boats
37 kayaks
6 canoes
49 Paddlers
29 male
20 female Continue reading
Update 2018-07-05: All the winners. Update 2018-07-16: All the paddlers.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hahira, GA, April 29, 2018 — With the first-ever winner from Florida and a new record time, the next two categories one each from Tift and Lowndes Counties, Georgia, and a record number paddlers from 4 to 67 years old, the BIG Little River Paddle Race at Reed Bingham State Park Saturday was a fun time and a successful fundraiser for Friends of Reed Bingham State Park (FORB) and WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS).
Lloyd Reeves drove three hours from Crescent City, Florida, with a very fast kayak, to become the first-ever Florida winner, and he proved himself a winner in another way with the prize.
In addition to the First Prize trophy, winner Reeves got a hundred dollar bill from race organizer Bret Wagenhorst of WWALS. and a matching hundred dollar bill from Dianne Walters of FORB. Reeves then Continue reading
![[BIG Little River Paddle Race]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-04-22--waac-kraken-radio/blrpr.jpg)
![[Finish]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2018-04-28--blrpr-hubbard/4063062-28Apr18.jpg)