Here’s a shot of the, “Fastest Woman On The River” when she was about 5 years old, standing next to her brother Jeff, near what is now the Bailey Park area of Natchez Under-The-Hill.

The astute among you will note there is but one bridge where two now stand.  That’s the Delta Queen, no longer considered river-worthy.  A congressional exemption to keep her afloat on the Mississippi has expired, and she is now moored on the Tennessee River, in Chattanooga, where her future remains in limbo.  Apparently she needs a new owner with deep pockets to bring her up to the point where she can once again ply the Mississippi.  I’ll leave that to others.  Right now the Fastest Woman On The River and I are about to ply the river in our Ruahine Adventure Duet, in preparation for Joe and Carol Lee Royer’s arrival, along with the rest of you, three weeks from yesterday.

It has been brought to my attention there are some irregularities on our web site registration, which require phones and second addresses at check out.  I’ll look into this but the bottom line is still:  You’ve got to be present to sign a waiver, so just register when you get here.  I’ve got too much to do to doctor this right now, so just come on down to the Under-The-Hill Saloon on Friday, October 9th, and get fitted with a T-Shirt and course map.

Phatwater at the Natchez Gauge today is 21.77′ and rising, down about 4′ from a year ago.

Phatwater  and Olympic veteran and last year’s third place solo, Mike Herbert, may be paddling tandem this year with Philippe Boccara, of France, his old Olympic roommate from the 80s.  Our tandem competition will be fierce this year, with Mike’s old Olympic friends and competition, DeAnne and Patrick Hemmens, also paddling a two-seater.

The time bomb keeps ticking—

KB