Mighty Muskingum River Raft Race

Kristyn Robinson

It was ‘Bringing up the Rear’ in the lead throughout the whole race. Who would have thought a 450 gallon water tank would glide through the water so gracefully? The guys in the giant “toilet” from the Village Beverly Water & Sewer Department won the race, at least 5 minutes ahead of the second place rafter, FLMR’s own Dave Blount, in his recycled, homemade one-man kayak, ‘Shark’. Third place was awarded to Tony Long & Dave Pitzer in the ‘Blue By Ya’, sponsored by Kemron. Kudos to all those who crossed the finish line of their own accord!

The rest of the rafters spent a fair amount of time being towed by the safety boats, generally asking to be dropped off at the Putnam St Bridge so they could still row across the finish line at the Harmar Bridge. Design seemed to hamper the efforts of several of the rafters, many of which had a similar dock-like structure on floating barrels, but not very hydrodynamic.

It was one of the hottest days of the summer, so swimming across the finish line didn’t seem like such a bad idea to FLMR’s summer intern, Jesse Daubert and his brother Jake, whose raft, Ol’ Mudpuppy, began taking on water at the starting line.

The winners were awarded a recycled trophy from the original Jaycees raft race, donated by former Boy Scout troop leader Don Nicholson of Devola. “I’ve got the old trophy just sitting here in my garage, its been there for over 30 years,” he said when he called the FLMR office. “You’re welcome to use it.” FLMR had a new name plate made for it that says Friends of Lower Muskingum River - Mighty Muskingum River Raft Race, and retained the name plate that says Jaycees Raft Regatta. The Beverly crew will hold the trophy for one year and will pass it on to next year’s winner.

We hope the event will grow even bigger next year. We’d love to see some really creative innovations out there on the water creating a spectacle for the City of Marietta. It was a really great time for everybody, both rafters and onlookers alike!

See more pictures from the 2009 race here
http://cu.mariettatimes.com/galleries/index.php?id=306975