The WWALS Boomerang banner shows the sponsors and vendors for 11AM tomorrow morning, Saturday, November 3, 2018, at State Line Ramp (Mozell Spells, 6461 Madison Hwy, Valdosta, GA 31601). Paddle with us from Georgia into Florida, and back again!
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
WWALS Boomerang
From Georgia
To Florida
and Back Again
Withlacoochee River
State Line Ramp (Mozell Spells)
11 AM, Saturday, November 3, 2018
Join us for a fun filled day of paddle racing and leisurely paddling on an idyllic blackwater river.
Yes, we’ve moved downstream, to plenty of water, no deadfalls, plus shoals, in two states (Georgia and Florida) and four counties (Lowndes, Brooks, Madison, and Hamilton)!
Follow this link for a printable PDF flyer.
Or this link for the same flyer 2 per page.
Event: facebook, meetup, but don’t forget to get tickets!
Tickets:
$30 per boat.
We also recommend you support the work of WWALS by
becoming a WWALS member today!
When: 11:00 AM, November 3, 2018
Put In:
State Line Ramp (Mozell Spells, GA 31 Ramp),
6461 Madison Hwy, Valdosta, GA 31601.
VSU 16 miles, Quitman 23, Adel 37, Tifton 60, Moultrie 55,
Madison 15, Jasper 27, Live Oak 40, Lake City 60,
Tallahassee 70, Gainesville 108, Jacksonville 120.
Photo: John S. Quarterman, Horn Bridge and State Line Boat Ramp (Mozell Spells), 2018-10-27
Update 2018-10-28: Now at State Line Ramp! Yes, we’ve moved downstream, to plenty of water, no deadfalls, plus shoals, in two states (Georgia and Florida) and four counties (Lowndes, Brooks, Madison, and Hamilton).
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
WWALS Boomerang
Langdale Park
to Sugar Creek
and Back Again
Withlacoochee River
Valdosta, Georgia
11 AM, Saturday, November 3, 2018
Join us for a fun filled day of kayak and canoe racing and leisurely paddling on an idyllic blackwater river by the biggest Suwannee River Basin city.
New sponsors: the YMCA on Gornto Road, and the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia, with aerial drone photography by The Georgia Photography Fanatic, and food by Under Construction BBQ, plus at the turnaround walk up to The Salty Snapper.
Follow this link for a printable PDF flyer.
Or this link for the same flyer 2 per page.
Event: facebook, meetup, but don’t forget to get tickets!
Tickets:
$30 per boat.
We also recommend Continue reading
Update 2018-10-28: Now at State Line Ramp! Yes, we’ve moved downstream, to plenty of water, no deadfalls, plus shoals, in two states (Georgia and Florida) and four counties (Lowndes, Brooks, Madison, and Hamilton).
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hahira, GA, October 8, 2018 — By popular demand at the Hahira Honeybee Festival, WWALS has extended the deadline for early-bird $20 tickets through Saturday, October 13, for the WWALS Boomerang paddle race, coming up Saturday, November 3, 2018. This new event goes downstream and back again on the Withlacoochee River and the west edge of Valdosta, the largest city in the Suwannee River Basin, only a few miles from Valdosta State University. Someone from the Atlantic coast of Florida won our spring BIG Little River Paddle Race this spring, and kayaks or canoes from everywhere are welcome at the Boomerang as well. If you don’t have a boat, two outfitters so far have signed up to supply those. There will be food and drink and music at this WWALS fall paddling festival.
WWALS Boomerang organizer Bobby McKenzie and family with fellow WWALS board
member Dan Phillips
in the parade at the Hahira Honeybee Festival.
Boomerang paddlers will race from Langdale Park Boat Ramp, just off of North Valdosta Road (US 41), down the Withlacoochee River to Sugar Creek Landing, and back upstream. If you don’t want to race, you can just paddle, and if you don’t want to paddle upstream, you can take out onto Gornto Road. Bobby’s four-year-old son finished our other paddle race, so paddlers of all ages are welcome.
For all the details and to get tickets, Continue reading
Update 2018-10-28: Now at State Line Ramp! Yes, we’ve moved downstream, to plenty of water, no deadfalls, plus shoals, in two states (Georgia and Florida) and four counties (Lowndes, Brooks, Madison, and Hamilton).
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
Update 2018-10-08: Early-bird $20 ticket deadline extended through October 13th!
Today is the last day for the $20 early registration for WWALS Boomerang, Langdale Park to Sugar Creek and Back Again, Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, Georgia.
Here is a flyer and a two-per-sheet version, both in PDF ready for printing.
Get your $20 early-bird tickets today before they go up to $30!
And if you come to the Hahira Honeybee Festival today, you can see Bobby and the McKenzie clan march in the parade.
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
Update 2018-10-28: Now at State Line Ramp! Yes, we’ve moved downstream, to plenty of water, no deadfalls, plus shoals, in two states (Georgia and Florida) and four counties (Lowndes, Brooks, Madison, and Hamilton).
Update 2018-10-25: See new blog post with PDF flyers including new sponsors the YMCA and Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia, plus food by Under Construction BBQ, and at the turnaround walk up to The Salty Snapper, with aerial drone photography by The Georgia Photography Fanatic.
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
Update 2018-10-08: Early-bird $20 ticket deadline extended through October 13th!
Downstream and up again: it’s the WWALS Boomerang, from Langdale Park Boat Ramp to Sugar Creek Landing on the Withlacoochee River. Join us for a fun filled day of kayak and canoe racing and leisurely paddling.
New WWALS board member Bobby McKenzie,
whose son Zavier was the youngest finisher at our spring
BIG Little River Paddle Race,
has volunteered to organize a fall race,
with the enthusiastic support of the board and the Outings Committee.
We would also like to thank George Page, Executive Director of Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA), for his and VLPRA’s support. VLPRA renovated Langdale Park last year, so let’s go boat from there.
When: 11:00 AM, November 3, 2018
Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602. This is just outside the Valdosta City limits in Lowndes County, off of North Valdosta Road (US 41 North). Only 5.5 miles from downtown and only 4 miles from Valdosta State University.
GPS: 30.88727, -83.32395
Tickets:
$20 per boat through extended October 13, then $30.
We also recommend you support the work of WWALS by
becoming a WWALS member today!
Withlacoochee River, 2016-03-20.
A leisurely two-mile morning paddle from the recently reopened Langdale Park on the largest river through the biggest city in the Suwannee River Basin, arriving at the recently rediscovered Sugar Creek Landing, well in time for the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest in the afternoon.
When: 9AM, Saturday, June 23, 2018
Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602.
GPS: 30.88747, -83.32395
Take Out: Sugar Creek Landing, 2410 Gornto Rd, Valdosta, GA 31602, recently rediscovered next to the YMCA, and just across the railroad tracks from The Salty Snapper, venue of the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.
Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup. If you don’t have a boat, let us know; we may able to loan you one.
Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 1 November 2017, when the water was much lower.
The rainiest season in south Georgia and north Florida is the summer, yet that’s when rivers are usually the lowest. Here are seven years of data from the USGS Withlacoochee River Gauge at US 41 (North Valdosta Road) in Valdosta, Georgia. Rain is pretty steady through the year (except when there’s no rain), yet the river level varies wildly, highest in the winter, usually. Unless there are hurricanes in the fall, as happened in 2017 and 2016.
Rain Years 2010-2018
Level Years 2010-2018
Why does this happen? Continue reading
A leisurely five mile paddle in about two and a half hours through a surprisingly wild section of the Withlacoochee River, much of it actually inside Valdosta, the biggest city in the Suwannee River Basin, on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT).
When: 9 AM, Saturday, March 3, 2018
Put In: Staten Road Landing, 4556 Staten Road, Valdosta, GA 31605, Lowndes County, GA. 7.1 miles north of downtown Valdosta. Beware: it’s a long rough dirt road access, then a scramble down the riverbank.
GPS: 30.9328, -83.28227
Take Out: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602, Lowndes County, GA.
Free: This outing is Free! And we recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
Map: VALORGIS.
White is Valdosta inside grey city limits, yellow is recharge zones for the Floridan Aquifer, green is Langdale Park.
We start in Lowndes County, cross over the county’s expanded sewer and water lines at Bay Branch (those lines head for Stafford-Wright Road). Then the City of Valdosta is on our left briefly before back to county both sides, and Sermons Branch (is that its real name?). Into a Floridan Aquifer recharge zone, passing on our right the Shadrick Sink, notorious for Continue reading
