The Early CCC: Making History!

The Early CCC: Making History!

a Carolina Paddler article

by Tony Comer and Alton Chewning

-It was January, 1969.  Tony Comer and his wife, Pat, had just moved to Greensboro, NC.  They occupied an apartment on a Saturday and the following day were surprised when a Greensboro Daily News newspaper was delivered to their door.  The previous renter hadn’t changed the subscription yet and Tony accepted the bulky Sunday paper as a welcoming gift.  Little did he know.

In the January 26 sports section of the Daily News was this eye-catching article, “Anytime is Canoeing Season.” The article explained how some devoted paddlers found cold water and cold weather was not an insurmountable obstacle to canoeing.  The article featured the Benner family: Bob, Betty, son David 12 and daughter Dawn, 10, and their love of paddling.  Tony had done a little canoeing, and the article intrigued him, particularly this excerpt:

Bob is a member of the Canoe Cruisers out of Washington, D.C., and the Coastal Canoe club of Norfolk, VA.  Most of these members are Virginians, but some Tar Heels belong. Bob would like to see a canoe club formed in the Greensboro area.  

“I’m very much interested in promoting canoeing and through the sport of canoeing, promote conservation of our water resources.” he said. “Hopefully, there are many people interested in canoeing whether it be on white water or just river cruising. They might would like to take a greater part in such activities but weren’t aware of the possibilities in the area.”   

The next day, Tony got in touch with Bob as did a few others.  Lloyd Rich, Bob and Tony met at Bob and Betty’s house and considered next steps.  Consider these calls and meetings the foetus of the CCC.  On March 16, 1969, fifteen people* met at the Benner home in Jamestown and the CCC was born.  Bob was elected the President (called Chairman at the time), Sheila Massey the Secretary/Editor and Tony Comer the Cruise Chair.  The CCC was screaming and kicking.

Tony, who now lives in Glendale Springs, Colorado, recalls the first meetings:

Tony: “In that first meeting Bob suggested a few streams that we could begin to paddle. We developed the CCC patch and we planned the first official meeting in June.  That meeting was also at Bob’s house, and we spent most of our time discussing what to call our club.  One of the contenders was THE CAROLINA KAYAK, C-1, FOLBOT and CANOE CLUB.  It stretched Bob’s diplomatic skills to guide us through that rough discussion because every boater was very involved and committed to their particular craft.  It was finally agreed that THE CAROLINA CANOE CLUB would be all-inclusive.  I don’t remember a vote but since there were only four Folbots and one C-1 paddler at that time the name was probably pre-ordained.  We didn’t mention to ANYONE that we had already designed the CCC patch!  Officers and chairs were elected, and trip schedule was developed two or three months out.

History being made

At a CCC organizational meeting later that summer, one fellow mentioned history was being made that day. Comer recalls, “We all agreed and started sharing our feelings of why this was going to lead to a wonderful sport and experience.”  The man interrupted and said, “No.  He wasn’t talking about the Club.  He was talking about the first person to walk on the moon!”  The group turned to a television that was playing and heard the “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

“Long live the Grumman!”

Tony’s paddling career was intimately tied to the Grumman canoe.  The Grumman company was originally called the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation.  During World War II Grumman manufactured hundreds of military planes but it’s probably best known for its Navy “Cat” models: the Wildcat, Hellcat, Tigercat and Bearcat.  With the end of the war drawing near Grumman’s leaders looked for another way to use their significant aluminum manufacturing capability. In 1944, Grumman developed their first canoe models and soon had a large market share.

As a side note, Grumman also was the primary builder of the Apollo Lunar Module, the craft that landed the first humans (“one small step”) on the moon.

Tony gives us background on the Grumman. “In 1969 the Grumman was king.  There were other aluminum canoes, but they were of weaker material and only Grumman had their patented flush rivet design that would not be sheared off when rocks were scraped.

In addition, they had a whitewater model in both 15′ and 17′ that had a shoe keel and two extra ribs.  I wore three canoes out without losing any, but the high waves and big drops often caused the stern to pound boulders that were underwater and eventually the gunnel would start to crack on each side of the kneeling paddler.  We would extend the boats’ life by riveting a foot long angle iron into the gunnel but eventually that too would crack.

Another thing that doomed the Grumman was a simple fact that aluminum and granite were like two pieces of sandpaper and touching an underwater rock would bring one to a violent halt.  In heavy or class III+ water this usually meant gallons of water pouring over the stern until we could get dislodged.  For that reason, the small streams like the Fisher and Mayo were excellent training grounds for beginning paddlers.

Reading the water was as important as developing paddling skills.  In the beginning, we were quite the sight following Bob as he maneuvered thru rapids with very seldom a switch to the opposite side while we tandem paddlers looked like two ducks with broken wings switching paddles from side to side with no appearance of control.”

Other craft:  Folbots, C-1, Kayaks

Comer: “The Folbot was a great craft in heavy water and for sliding over rock that was wet, but it was impossible to maneuver in rapids requiring quick turns.  The Masseys were very good in them, but they didn’t catch on with newer members wanting to get into whitewater.

The C-1 and Kayak were so new to most of us.  They were sealed by the skirt but kayakers usually were bareheaded or wore a stocking cap.  Occasionally we would see someone with a German WWII helmet but we weren’t sure if that would protect the head or act as an anchor!  The C-1 had to have bow and stern higher than the cockpit and the kayak had to have them lower than the cockpit.  I think there was a volume requirement also.  If they overturned in a rapid they would usually make one quick attempt to roll then eject.  The rolls and flips of the hotdoggers occurred at the bottom of the rapid in big curlers.  It was 1971 or so before the gear and the talent really started to show just how unlimited these boats were.”

Paddles and PFD’s

Comer: “Speaking of gear.  Our first paddles were $1.69 paddles from hardware stores that would snap anytime we did a high brace or even a strong low brace.  We quickly learned that Old Town had a strong paddle with a very thick throat that would stand up to our needs.  But then our skills were taking us to even heavier water and they started snapping.

Fortunately, Norse Paddle came out with their great paddle and even though it had a huge price tag of $17 we quickly had the problem solved.  They would eventually wear out and I think the last paddle I bought was $179.

Life jackets were Mae Wests for all paddlers and were so bulky that most of the time they were in the bottom of our boats.  An especially big problem if the boat was a kayak!  We found a company in France [Flotherchoc] that made jackets that fit like a vest, it had large open arm holes and a large, inflated collar.

With these we had complete mobility and usually kept them on unless on very quiet streams.  Some wore thick foam jackets made for water skiers, but they were pretty stiff. The only problem with the Flotherchoc from France was the Coast Guard outlawed them due to the possibility of air leaks.  We had to hide them if rangers were around.

Winter Paddling

Comer: “Winter weather gear was army surplus wool with a wool sweater stuffed in an ammo box in case of a flip. Many of our trips in ’69 through ’71 were first descents so we would use winter to paddle small streams because of good water levels and less issues with tree limbs over the rapids.  It also helped on some occasions to see a serious rapid or drop form further upstream.  I loved those winter trips with a couple of other paddlers.  I had the feeling that I was seeing scenes that few, maybe no others had seen.  New water, new rapids, quiet flowing streams in the mountains of NC and Virginia. Wonderful memories.”

Chester

“In 1969 Bob asked Lloyd and me to join him on the Week of Rivers [held by CCA].  We were just beginning to solo paddle but didn’t feel comfortable trying the Chattooga solo, so we went tandem in my 15′ Grumman.  What an adventure!  If we were not whitewater addicts before that week we certainly were afterwards.  We had heard stories of Bull Sluice and immediately portaged.  It had not been run successfully but a few of our 30, or so boats were talking big.  The roar of the Bull stopped most of the talk except for one paddler from DC, Chester Summit.

Chester had the build of a weightlifter, wore no shoes or shirt and seldom a life jacket.  If Bob Benner was the epitome of finesse, then Chester was the epitome of raw power.  It was assumed at that time that the first drop on Bull had to be on the right side hugging the boulder because the curler was somewhat smaller at the bottom.  Chester had failed in his first attempt in 1968 but tried again in 1969 with the same result.  The curler stopped him then slid him to the middle where the hydraulic sucked him and his boat out of sight.  It seemed like 10-15 seconds before he was released and as I pulled him out of the water he said, ‘Thank goodness I wasn’t wearing my life jacket because I don’t think I could have gotten out if it had been on.’ Chester was an animal. Years later a winter trip that he and two of his buddies had on the Gauley, a serious rapid was too much for two of the group who portaged and promised to take his picture if he actually decided to make the run.  Minutes went by with no Chester and just as they were worried of an accident, he rounded a boulder flying thru 3′ waves……completely naked!  While preparing for the run he had found that his ammo box was empty…no dry clothes and a class IV-V rapid to run.  In Chester fashion he filled the ammo can with what he had on and ran au natural.

We learned on the ’69 Chattooga trip that earlier that day a paddler had attempted the long rapid above the Bull but had missed the left-hand eddy badly forcing him to make a desperate turn back into the current and successfully over Bull Sluice.  They were not sure what had happened and had decided to run the river again the next day.  Chester decided he was going with them and spent the night in his truck without food or water or sleeping bag so that he would be there when they set up shuttle the next day.  He was successful on the Bull and we learned that (at that time, at least) one had to run center of the Bull at full speed to be successful.

In 1972 Bob called me in Louisville to tell me he was planning a trip on Section IV of the Chattooga.  His son David and Ricky Bennet (son of Lewis, one of the original members) had developed into outstanding C-1 paddlers and he wanted us, with the addition of Bob Moyer, to make the run.  Bob knew that Randy Carter had run Section IV, but he believed that no group of open canoes had run every rapid on the section.  Bob wanted us to attempt to be the first.

When I got to the put-in I learned that Bob had cracked three ribs running the Bull the day before and would not be able to go with us.  He insisted that we run without him and that he would set the shuttle.  Woodall Shoals captured Bob Moyer, holding his canoe for about 10 minutes.  With the trip so young and the Five Falls area a complete unknown, I elected to portage rather than risk a captured canoe that we couldn’t get out.  All rapids were run by David and Ricky in their C-1s, and I ran all the final rapids.  Since a canoe ran every rapid, Bob claimed we had accomplished his goal.  Maybe so.

Blue Holes and Mad Rivers

When the Bluehole canoe came out it meant the end of the Grumman.  By that time, I had so many miles (and was well into my second Grumman) that I could not abandon my sport, so I continued thru the rest of my paddling days in a Grumman with no floatation.  It cost me a couple of flips because the smooth Blues often couldn’t feel the drag of granite as it went over a fall but a touch of the rock on my boat could make me dive without always being able to recover.  Then the Mad River came out.  A group of us Viking CC members were on the Ocoee when I saw my first Mad River. The paddler was the worst of the trip and I never saw so many runs being made sideways and backwards in my life. The full flotation and the design of the canoe made it almost impossible to make a mistake.  When asked by my group what I thought of that boat, I answered that I hated it.  It required no skill to paddle and a class I paddler could immediately run Class III and maybe Class IV rivers.  Without skill, where’s the challenge…the fun?

Finishing the line

Well, I thought I had crushed any chance that anyone would buy a Mad River but at the next Viking CC meeting I learned that four members had bought them in the three weeks since the Ocoee.  When I asked why they informed me that I had endorsed them.  I think their actual words were….”You said that anyone buying a Mad River would immediately improve their paddling skills by at least TWO levels!!!!”   So full flotation became the norm for it and the Blue and my Grumman skills couldn’t keep up with the heavy water we were often paddling so I slowly faded from the whitewater scene that had lasted 20 years.

They were good, exciting times…the best days of my great life.

*The First Fifteen.