A word about the photos on this site:
If you would like to download e-mail size file copies in small, med or large, and/or order premium framable quality prints please see messerlyphoto.com to purchase downloads and or prints.
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Sebastian Backstrom on board the batteau "Debbie"
at Maiden's Landing Saturday afternoon.
The 25th annual James River Batteau Festival ended at Maiden's Landing and the Dreaming Creek was first, followed by the Brunswick Belle. The crouds were average. A breeze blew through every once in a while. Maiden's was pretty hot Saturday afternoon.
Everyone celebrated a great ending to the week.
Click here for slideshow
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Cartersville, New Canton and Columbia photos to come soon.
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The Batteau Rose of Nelson with Jacob Neal on front sweep, running the rapids at Bremo Bluff. Photo taken from the new bridge by Holt Messerly.
Friday Morning from the top of the Bremo Bluff Bridge was an awesome experience. Looking down and zooming in on The Rose of Nelson and then seeing some batteaux in the distance looking down-river towards the power plant was beautiful.
Click here to see slideshow.
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Family and friends see the batteaux off
at Slate River Friday Morning.
Friday morning at Slate River was calm and cool after the rain the night before. Crews gradually got their stuff together to leave for this long day on the river.
Click here to see slideshow
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The Batteau Spirit of Buckingham arriving
at Slate River Thursday evening.
Slate River was nice as usual. Things started ot real hot and then a good rain came and cooled things off. There was singing and some music coming up from the boats Thursday night. Buddy High had a short Captains Meeting and all was good at Slate River Thursday Night.
Click here to see slideshow.
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Scottsville Town Council member Brandon Maupin by the river Thursday Morning. Brandon says he loves the Batteau Festival and is running a sweep on the Batteau Spirit of New London today!
Thursday Morning in Scottsville started out quiet and a little fog on the smooth water of the James. Gradually the batteau people started moving around. Tales from the night before could be overheard as the crews packed up the coolers for a new day. It's was a hot one Thursday. The Batteau arrived in Slate River thursday afternoon. HM.
Click here to see slideshow.
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The Batteau "Rose of Nelson" at Scottsville Wednesday evening.
Wednesday was a hot day on the river. The low water made for hard poling through many rocks. Goolsby's was no picnic today I was told. At the riverside campsite in Scottsville Bill and Nancy Trout were at the VC&NS display. As the batteau started to come in a cannon was heard from the Spirit of Buckingham while many people from Buckingham were there to greet their new boat. The spirit from Buckingham towards their new boat was really refreshing to see. As the evening wore on, two bluegrass bands gathered and played until dark. The music was really fantastic. Thank you to all the musicians who played. The atsmosphere provided by the music made a great campsite even nicer. The young boy with one band played "Are you washed in the blood of the lamb" on his mandolin while his band members played along. HM
Click here to see slideshow.
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Wednesday AM Update:
The Batteaux are leaving Howardsville this morning headed to Scottsville. The water is low, haveing dropped some each day. There is a difficult area known as Goolsby's Falls down-river from Howardsville. We hope everyone makes it through without too much trouble. Tonight at Scottsville there will be crafts and music and food and we invite everyone to come early and enjoy the Town of Scottsville. Stroll along the streets, visit the awesome museum, shop, eat and come see the batteaux as they start arriving in the late afternoon. This is one of the best sites to come and visit.
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The Batteau "Spirit of the James" at the entrance to Dog Island. This rapid is a series of difficult turns and maneuvers around logs and rocks.
Tuesday afternoon, Mike Neal and I (Holt Messerly) got the bright idea to paddle my canoe UP the river from Howardsville to Dog Island. This was actually quite an adventure. Having our traditional batteau lunch of Crackers with smokey cheese,m smoked oysters, Grey Poupon, and Tobasco on top while sitting on a rock waiting for the batteau was very peaceful. We waited a long time and finally the Morning Star came by. Then it was a very long time before another batteaux showed up. I took some shots with the zoom lens of some of the boats maneuvering around the rapid on the river-right entrance to the right side of the island. Upon returning to Howardsville I had a burger AND a meal from the local group selling food and it was very good. HM.
Click here to see slideshow.
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The 25th Anniversary Gathering at Wingina.
John Rothert (center-red shirt)
spoke about the first James River Batteau Festival and others told old stories as well.
Monday night at Wingina was real nice with many first year participants in attendance. The river was low on Monday. The Lady's Slipper parked at the State Park up-river from Wingina. Lots of boats came in late. No major hangups reported, just the normal fixing of broken boards and fixing of leaks etc. Many people went to bed early. Tuesday Morning was nice and a little cool and the water had dropped even lower.
click here to see slideshow
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Aproaching the Bent Creek Bridge (left).
The old bridge abutments are seen in the center.
This is a slide show of some photos taken by VC&NS Lifetime Member, Philip DeVos. There are photos from Lynchburg to Wingina. Thanks Phil for sharing these. HM.
Click here to see slideshow.
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The Batteau "Ladys Slipper" leaving Galt's Mill Sunday Morning.
Sunday morning in Galt's Mill was nice and sunny. A church service was held near the food area by Fr. Jim Hutchison from Saint Barnabas Anglican Church in Lynchburg. Spirits were good and Brenda Shrewsbury said "at least we were close to home" when she said they had to go and make a new sweep during the night. The "Dreaming Creek Gondola" was sitting on a rock where the river had dropped overnight and the back end tipped below the water. Many people helped tip the water out and then the boat rose up and after a little bailing was just fine.
Click here to see slideshow.
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Norm Hansen (center with pole) and his crew on board
the batteau "Thomas Jefferson III". Norm is one of
the
original Festival Captain's and former Chairman.
The 25th annual Festival officially began at Percival's Island on Saturday June 19th at 11am. The crouds were fantastic. The weather was perfect. There was a good water release and all the boats were doing fine. The start for the 25th festival went off without a hitch. Even Darrell Laurant from the News & Advance came to see the batteaux off and hear the buzz of activity at the Island.
Click here to see slideshow.
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Glen Shrewsbury, Trampus Hull and Emmett Abernathy
at the Amherst Boat Ramp Saturday, June 19, 2010
The activity at the Boat Ramp was normal. Everyone was getting ready and saying hellow to old friends, etc.
The Captain's Meeting was all good.
Click here to see slideshow.
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25th Anniversary Kickoff Ceremony
Jeff Taylor read a proclamation from Lynchburg's Mayor and John Rothert accepted the folder. Buddy High also spoke. Then the band played.
Click here to see photos.
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Friday Night at the Amherst Boat Ramp
Click here to see photos.
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IMPORTANT SITE INFORMATION
FROM JRBF Chairman BUDDY HIGH - JUNE 11, 2010
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PDF FILE.
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Batteau News as of Friday, June 11th:
The Tasty Critters will not be at Maiden's this year due to their age and health issues. Gail Timberlake is planning something instead.
Click here to see photos of the batteaux
as described below:
Last weekend there were enough batteau people at the Neal's Pond in Nelson County to start a small town! The Batteau Rosalee, new for this year, was sitting pretty in the water under a tree. Very nice new boat, just beautiful! Roger Nelson had two new handmade sweepmounts to give to his brother for the boat. The Rockfish Runner was being cleaned and worked on. The OLD Fluvanna was being pulled up off the bottom and it was comical to see everyone trying to turn it over in the water. The new crew are already old-timey looking and were a great bunch of old guys ready to go down the river. Very enthusiastic! The Rose of Nelson was upside down and dry under a shade tree and getting all new oakum. All the people gathered to turn it back over on to hay bales when the oakum was done. Then Mike Neal has this great idea to shove the end with the fork of his tractor and busts a board on the nosecone. BUT he and two of his boys quickly cut a board and in no time fixed it back up. Then the Rose was put into the pond and everyone went swimming. Thanks for the nice picnic lunch the Rose crew had when I got there! And also for the watermellon from the rose and the runner.
Also, last week, Mason Basten and some local batteau people had the old sedalia endeavor, renamed "The Mighty Joy" upside down in the water at Monacan Park in Amherst County putting oakum in the cracks. They worked into the late evening.
The excitement is building. This is going to be a great year. A little rain would be nice now though.
Please send me your news and photos and PLEASE get a name and password to BLOG during the festival if you can get to a computer during the week. The public really wants to know what is happening with the festival. The more news we can put out the better. You can post stories and photos etc. email: holt@batteau.org .
Also, if you forgot your blog name and password I can get you back online with a new password etc.
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NOTICE TO CANOEISTS AND OTHER CAMPERS:
See T-Shirt Booth to Pay Camping Fees.
Thank you for being honost and helping support this great festival and paying your camping fees. If you are a crewmember of a batteau OR the designated ground crew, your fees are included in your boat fee. If you are going along with a batteau you know, and are not the ground crew or batteau crew, and are just boating with a canoe, kayak or other floating device or following by car or other vehicle and are camping you are asked to please pay a camp fee. After June 15th camping passes will be available at the T-Shirt Booth.
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25th Annual James River Batteau Festival
Online Program of Events & Other 25th Anniversary Information – click here.
or click here to download flyer to print out.
Please print as many copies as you want, and help to spread the word!
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25th Anniversary Celebration – Monday, June 21st.
Wingina Site – 7:30 PM
Program details to follow.
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The Rescue of the "Lady's Slipper"
by Gail Timberlake
Copies of this book will be available at the JRBF T-Shirt booth during the festival. Gail wants everyone to know that half of the profit will go to the JRBF and half to the American Cancer Society this first year of sales!!!!!
You may also order this book online at Authorhouse.com.
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BATTEAU BLOG HEADLINES
These are the most recent headlines
and excerpts from the Batteau Blog Pages.
Click on "Read more..." to view the complete blog posting.
This new section is set up to automatically show the 10 newest headlines.
If you would like to blog please email the webmaster to get set up as a blogger.
To see all the blog entries click here.
JRBF 2010 – Photos taken by Elizabeth Davis of the Sedalia Endeavor
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This is a Bald Eagle we saw hunting on the way from Howardsville to Scottsvill
Sedalia Endeavor & Morning Dew, taken from on top of rock island.
Tom Moore – Anthony Rucker
Mason Basten, packing oakum
Virginia Creeper, coming into Goolsby’s
Dreaming Creek, coming into [...]
Ready to Go!
The Lord Chesterfield was off the ramp and in the river by 11 a.m. today and pretty much ready to go by 2:30! Theres “a little bit of a water problem,” possibly water coming in somewhere around the kingplank, but so far no cause for alarm. We know what a Big Fat Water Problem looks like, [...]
News & Advance – Darrell Laurant Column 6-17-2010
There was a column by Darrell Laurant published in The News & Advance in Lynchburg on Thursday 6-17-2010.
http://www2.newsadvance.com/lna/news/opinion/darrell_laurant/article/wheres_the_batteau_buzz/27902/#comments
I wrote a long comment regarding the column and the other comments. I’m re-posting my comments here:
With all due Respect to Mr. Laurant’s opinion about the state of the batteau festival and all the other comments regarding Lynchburg, I [...]
Batteau “Thomas Jefferson’s Spirit of New London” on display for New London Day, May 1, 2010
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Batteau “Thomas Jefferson’s Spirit of New London”
Glen Shrewsbury holds back batteau from the raging waters in New London.
The batteau “Thomas Jefferson’s Spirit of New London” was on display May 1st in New London. Capt. Glen Shrewsbury and other members of the [...]
Batteau “Rose of Nelson” was on Display at Darden Towe Park
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The Batteau “Rose of Nelson” participated in the 4th annual Rivanna River Regatta while on the trailer. A nice exhibit was on display for the VC&NS, showing atlas’s and photos, etc. Many people stopped by to talk about the [...]
Batteau “Columbia Drifter”
The new Batteau “Columbia Drifter” was recently flipped over. Alex Shaw (Andrew Shaw’s Brother from the Batteau “Debbie”) is the contact person. More details and photos [...]
Batteau “Rosalee” flipping went well on May 2, 2010.
The Batteau “Rosalee” was recently flipped over. See the posting for photos by Doug Berry. [...]
Spirit of Buckingham Batteau
The boat has been named the “Spirit of Buckingham”. There are ten people total involved in the building/navigating of the vessel. The crew consists of Roy Turner(of the former Manteo batteau), Barry Crickenberger(of the former Buccaneer batteau), Mitch Crickenberger, Josh Craft, Shaun Saunders, Brian Staton, Jack Buni, Woody Dunkum, Ronnie Craft, and Randy Waycaster. At this time the boat is nearly complete, and is sunken at Roy Turner’s pond. [...]
Meet the Maple Run
Captain Roger Huffman–most often found sitting in his chair by the back sweep, telling of lies (and sometimes truths that sound like lies), and keeping us off of rocks. [...]
I’m tired of this snow…
I don’t know about you all, but the snow was pretty for a while, and it was fun getting out of school for a while (I’m a teacher and we enjoy snow days just as much as the students!) but I am ready for summer!!!! I can’t wait until I’m on the Maple Run again and can feel [...]
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Where the River Bends – Scottsville Museum
A new exhibit at the Scottsville Museum has opened.
The towns history is showcased from indian times, to the
batteau, canal, train, civil war and other eras up to today.
Many interesting displays and artifacts are displayed.
This is a very nice new exhibit that everyone really must see!
The Scottsville Museum's regular hours are:
Saturdays: 10 am to 5 pm
Sundays: 1-5 pm;
Also open on Memorial Day, Batteau Night,
and July 4th.
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Virginia Sportsman magazine publishes article on
the 25th annual James River Batteau Festival.
The April/May issue of the Virginia Sportsman magazine has a four page article on the 25th annual James River Batteau Festival. There are 15 color photos. One photo is by Lyle Browning from the dig in Richmond years ago. Fourteen photos are by Holt Messerly from the past few years. The magazine's Editor, Hay Hardy, was very kind to give us this four page spread as she usually does two pages for events. This top quality color magazine is available in Lynchburg at Barnes & Noble on Wards Road, as well as other B&N stores in the Richmond area and around the state.
We are pleased to be able to share a pdf file of this article online for viewing only. Click here to view.
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Photo/slide-show from the Meeting in Scottsville, February 21, 2010
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2009 Pages Moved
Last years (2009) photo galleries and daily web pages have been moved to another section to make room for this year's info on the front page of the site. Click here for 2009 photos.
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Limited Prints Available
On Sept. 12th, 2009, Ned Nelson from the Dreaming Creek
went to Monticello to give a history talk on the canal and batteau.
Limited Edition, Signed Prints were shown. Most of these are signed as print#1.
Ned asked me to produce some prints to be able to show at this event.
Click here or photo above to see gallery.
These prints are for sale.
Contact Holt Messerly for details.
I'm posting this on the batteau web site because I went out of my way to produce
these prints for the batteau festival/canal society to display at a historical event,
therefore I'm going to show them here also. I'd like to recoup my costs. Thank you, Holt.
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