High winds and waves on the Ogeechee River wreaked havoc on a long-planned canoe trip hosted by the Rotary Club of Richmond Hill for young Interact students.
Oct. 30 was a sunny fall day, but this annual canoe excursion, which set off from Kings Ferry, was afflicted by 20-mph gusts of wind.
“It was quite an adventure and a good outing in spite of the weather, but I think maybe next year we will just go bowling with the Interact students,” organizer and Rotary board member Larry Barker said.
Responding to urgent phone calls, Jimmie and Donna Norris and Toby Roberts from Richmond Hill set out in their boats to rescue the stranded canoeists, who were strung out along the Ogeechee River in high winds and waves.
The exhausted young canoeists beached early at the Ford Plantation rather than reaching their ultimate destination of Sterling Creek at the Landings.
Local Rotarians Ray Gaster and Linda Barker collected the students and drove them to a barbecue dinner and bonfire as arranged, where they met the hardy few canoeists who had completed their journey by water.