http://www.nelsoncountylife.com/2010/06/22/25th-annual-james-river-batteau-festival-underway-6-22-10/ Nelson County Life Magazine : Your Source for Everything Nelson Sat, 19 May 2012 19:51:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 http://www.nelsoncountylife.com/2010/06/22/25th-annual-james-river-batteau-festival-underway-6-22-10/comment-page-1/#comment-8184 Brady Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:11:47 +0000 http://www.nelsoncountylife.com/?p=29842#comment-8184 The Spirit of Amherst won the batteaux race in its inaugural year. I suspect it was the largest batteaux built since 1986. It was not historically accurate but was nevertheless quite a well-built boat with very nice lines and finish details. We pulled a water skier across the finish line at Maiden's Landing. It appeared on the front page of the Richmond Times Dispatch at the time. The boat was later retrofitted with walk boards for poling and participated another two years, then lived at the Amherst Historical Museum for some time. No idea where it is now. I could be wrong, but I remember batteaux racing for the first three years; some with oars, some with poles. In the end, the desire for historical accuracy and simplicity won out over those who wanted to race, which is unfortunate, because the racing element added a certain amount of excitement to the event. The Spirit of Amherst won the batteaux race in its inaugural year. I suspect it was the largest batteaux built since 1986. It was not historically accurate but was nevertheless quite a well-built boat with very nice lines and finish details. We pulled a water skier across the finish line at Maiden’s Landing. It appeared on the front page of the Richmond Times Dispatch at the time. The boat was later retrofitted with walk boards for poling and participated another two years, then lived at the Amherst Historical Museum for some time. No idea where it is now. I could be wrong, but I remember batteaux racing for the first three years; some with oars, some with poles. In the end, the desire for historical accuracy and simplicity won out over those who wanted to race, which is unfortunate, because the racing element added a certain amount of excitement to the event.

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