After heavy rains and high water made last year's Tour De Coal community float trip a washout for the first time since its 2004 debut, the chairman of the event's sponsoring organization promises that "weather will be perfect" for the 2016 running of the annual 12-mile Coal River float, scheduled for June 18.
"This year's event is set for a 10 a.m. start at beautiful Meadowood Park in Tornado," said Bill Currey, chairman of the Coal River Group, the nonprofit organization that relies on entry fees from the group float trip as a major source of funding.
Last year, 400 boats and 600 people had planned to take part in the Tour, Currey said, but heavy rains caused potentially dangerous paddling conditions on the Coal, prompting the cancellation of the float trip due to safety concerns.
During the first Tour De Coal in 2004, "we only had about 40 people join us," said Chris Radford, president of the Coal River Group. "We didn't have a lot of sponsors, just Moses Ford and several individuals. The event was experimental at that time. Heck, we didn't know if anyone even come out."
But the Tour De Coal quickly grew, Radford said, thanks to the fact that "our founders were good promoters" and the news media took interest in the event.
During this year's float, participants are being asked to take along a trash bag and fill it with stream bank litter, in keeping with the group's mission to clean and restore the Coal River and its Big Coal and Little Coal River tributaries.
Participants are asked to donate $20 each, which entitles them to shuttle service, a commemorative T-shirt, and an early registration party with music from 5 to 8 p.m. on June 17 at the Coal River Group's River Center in Meadowood Park. For children under age 11, registration is free, but there will be a $15 charge for T-shirts.
Participants should bring their canoes, kayaks and paddleboards to Meadowood Park starting at 7 a.m., and then drive to Gateway Shopping Center in St. Albans to park their vehicles and catch shuttle buses back to Meadowood. Jon boats and rafts are considered unacceptable vessels for the Tour. Life vests and paddles will be required, and all boats taking part in the event must reach the take-out point at Gateway by 5 p.m. No transportation will be provided back to Meadowood at the end of the float.
"We depend on the proceeds from this event to help fund our many ongoing programs that teach youth about clean water, promote tourism for the entire 88-mile river system and support dozens of river trash removal efforts by our 600 volunteers," said Radford.
The 12-mile trip from Tornado to St. Albans is a gentle, scenic float with only one section of mild whitewater at Lower Falls, about halfway through the Tour, where volunteers will be on hand to guide paddlers through the shoals. About 65 volunteers are taking part in this year's event, mainly at the Tour's put-in and take-out sites.
Registration forms will be available at Meadowood Park on the morning of the event and during the early registration party on June 17. Downloadable forms and more information about the event is available at the Coal River Group's website, coalrivergroup.com.
Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelhammer@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5169, or follow @rsteelhammer on Twitter.